Music in Versailles

This post is for the music geeks out there. I have thought that moving to Europe would give me the ability to travel to various places more easily. I think that in the US, the "TRIP TO EUROPE" in capital letters and as many quotes as you can give it, is a right of passage and, for some, a once in a lifetime event. Literally. For me, Europe has always been a place I love to go. Years ago, I would come to Paris every Thanksgiving, both to avoid family and see a city I loved. Now, though, Paris is my home base and the entire continent is my oyster.

There is something here called EasyJet: a small airline that charges less than 100 euros to get almost anywhere in Europe. Yes, you can only take one bag; yes, you are treated like cattle; yes, it is uncomfortable. In fact, I swear they try to make you suffer a bit. For instance, they always have stairs involved and curbs. You are required to have a carry-on back so you would think that ramps would be the thing. Noooo! Their terminals usually have stairs, both coming and going. Even getting off the plane, they invariably have the old-fashioned stairs that attach to the plane and you need to exit the plane to a bus. One time, I was in the back of the plane and those in the front got to enter the plane via the normal ramp, but the rest of us needed to descend the stairs on the outside of the ramp, then go to the stairs attached to the entrance at the back of the plane and enter there. All with a rolling back. I don't get it.

We have been touring the continent's opera houses. Helmut had never been to an Opera, at least that is one story (there seem to be other versions), but so far this year we have together been to the Opèra Garnier, the Opèra Bastille (2 houses here in Paris), La Scala in Milano, La Fenice in Venice, The Met in NYC. This week, we added the Opèra Royale at the Versailles Palace.

For this event, we did not take a plane. The Paris Metro (subway) system includes both numbered lines AND a couple of lines that go slightly outside of Paris, called the RER ("Air-uh-Air", in French). For about 3.60 euros, you can take a train to Versailles. We decided to make a weekend of it and got a hotel room for one night. The opera we are planning to see is Lully's Armide. For those of you who are not opera geeks, one rarely get to see a Lully opera outside of France. In France, it is rare but not impossible. There is an American, William Christie who has relocated to Paris and has taken on reviving these Baroque French Operas, doing them wonderfully. He usually tours with them as well and if the show comes to a town near you, GO. 

But I had a chance to see it where it premiered in the Versailles theater. It was truly a wonderful experience. I think we don't see Lully operas because it is a strange mix of singing and dancing together. The Christie group chose to have the chorus in the pit and the dancers on stage. The style is quite different than Handel (which is probably the most performed Baroque opera composer). Here, the singing is a lot of recitatives, and the numbers are tied to the dance a bit more. They have created their own style and it really makes the pieces come alive.

We also toured the grounds and the castle. It was wonderful to see it off-season. I was here last summer and there are about 150 buses parked in the lot; absolutely crazy to be in the castle. They have one path to take, and it is a bit horrifying to try and squeeze 200 people through one door to get to the next room. Yes, it was a bit crowded now, but nothing like in July. One of my favorite parts of the grounds is the little farm of Marie Antoinette. When I first learned about it, it was described as a place where Marie "played milkmaid" but I think the historians have revisited this. Now, they describe it as a place Marie went with her children. A "back to nature" sort of thing. Of course, she did force people to live in this 8-house town, but I digress.

I loved every moment of it. I love being able to see such things here and experience these things. I feel so lucky.