DOING THINGS RIGHT
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I'm still overseas until Sunday, and last night I was in London listening to a performance that was one of the most satisfying events I've been to in a long time. The world famous Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra were presenting a performance of Handel'sDido and Aeneas. No doubt there are several performances of this work happening around the world on any given night, but none taking place (as this one did) underneath a navy vessel docked in the Thames. I've never experienced anything quite like it. The place I was sitting was at a level under the water line of the Thames, and if I looked up, I saw the bottom of the famous British ship constructed in 1869. The singers in roles as soloists were good enough (though I've certainly heard better), but the real stars were the orchestra and choir. There's world class and then there's world class. This was the latter in every way. Nuance, power, ingenuity in the use of space and projection of sound... I could go on. Having played the work countless times in my 20s, I thought I wouldn't be surprised by anything, musically speaking, but I was proven wrong almost every five minutes or so. It was revelatory.
As one member of the audience was heard saying as we arose from under water level to street level in Greenwich - "That's what happens when you do things right."
I have no idea if the person was speaking of the performance we'd just heard, but it matched my own sentiments exactly.
Soon home! Have a great weekend!
Mark and the SSM Team
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