The final chord hurt my ears last night, but there don't seem to have been any lasting ill effects (eh? what was that? etc)

The RAH people made a game attempt to illuminate the empty bench that St F had recently occupied but I wouldn't say it was the most stunning lighting effect I've ever seen. I agree with everyone else that the concert as a whole was vv good though.

I read a rumour that there may be a DVD of this production as staged in Amsterdam.

I sure hope so, Ollie, but I have this nagging fear that somebody may have misread this, which seems to me to refer to the Golijov being recorded for DVD by DG, rather than the Messiaen.

Goodness knows, Bryn, but I share your nagging fear since it seems all too probable.

Now I do wish you could have heard and seen Christine Schäfer as the Angel. I know I've gone on about this before but it was one of the most wonderful things I've seen in a theatre. Or anywhere. A little bit boyish and cheeky but in the last scene the call of 'François' was an absolute kick in the guts in the nicest possible way.

Si l'Ange avait joué de la viole un peu plus longtemps, par intolérable douceur mon âme aurait quitté mon corps...

A RAH-limited attempt was made to do that and, as I had one of the lights pointing straight at me, it sort of worked up to a point but nothing like the blinding face-full when its done in a theatre. The one (and only) error of judgement in the whole evening were some very feeble lighting effects at the back of the platform to accompany the Angel's knocking at the door. It hardly mattered, given that everyone's hair was standing on end from the sound, but someone really should have said 'no' in rehearsal.

The singers were, incidentally, placed in front of the orchestra for last night's performance (apart from the angel in two scenes) whereas I believe (Tam?) they were placed behind the orchestra in the Amsterdam performances which I would have thought could only be described as 'brave'. [Edit: Sorry, scrub that last bit about the Amsterdam performances. I misread something I had found on the internet.]

I don't think anyone has mentioned the orchestral layout yet. All the strings on the left of the conductor and all the woodwind on the front right. Is that how it is normally done? Or maybe even something that Messiaen specified in the score? It seemed to work very well having the woodwind seated together in a block particularly for the more complex bird-song episodes.

Nordey in Paris had nothing whatsoever. Well, just Frau Schäfer knocking on thin air. That was fine with me.

That would have done me very nicely too. I've got my Predestination answer ready just in case Frau Schäfer happens to come knocking on my door one day. I do love the fact that Messiaen adheres to that fine structural tradition of the 'comic buffo scene at beginning of Act 2' but goes for profound theological jokes rather than slapstick with buckets of glue and wallpaper. (I do believe though that there might even have been a tuned slapstick in there somewhere.)



Ah, <embarrassed cough, blushes to roots and beyond>. Thank you, David . I, er, obviously realised that, ahem, but, um, .... ooh look there's an Icterine Warbler?