In July, Teatro Real was one of the world’s first
opera houses to return with a production that included a chorus, an orchestra
and soloists. On stage, an attempt was made to keep the soloists two meters
apart. Orchestra members wore masks where possible and maintained distance.
Plastic panels were placed in front of the woodwind section. Artists arrived at
staggered times to avoid crowding. Bathroom doors and taps were no-touch.
Interval was extended to 40 minutes to reduce queues and crowding.
*****
Before the start of the Masked Ball, shouting and clapping were heard from the upper
balconies. Nicola Luisotti, the conductor, entered, bowed to the audience, and
the overture began. The clapping continued. This was not applause, but rhythmic
clapping similar to a sports stadium. Luisotti turned and looked at the source
of the noise, his eyes pleading for decency. Then the music stopped. In the
upper circles, movement was visible; spectators could be seen changing seats.
The opera restarted, and Ramon Vargas finished his
first aria, but the slow clapping and loud murmurs went on. The theatre
acoustics are so good - spectators’ talk was as audible as the singing from the
stage. The singers, musicians and dancers left the stage. The show was
abandoned.
*****
Madrid regulations allow the theatres to use 75% of
the capacity. The royal theatre had sold 65% of the tickets. Mathematically,
these percentages can’t allow empty seats on both sides. Rows in the upper balconies were crowded,
meaning most seats were taken. Spanish blood is hot, even when it is running in
the veins of an opera lover. It particularly hurt because they could see below
them viewers in the stalls who were socially distanced. The upper circles decided
to protest against this class discrimination. The theatre’s statement later said
there was no discrimination. They had sold fewer stall tickets, being
expensive.
At the same time, large scale protests were happening
outside the theatre. From Monday, 21 September, 850,000 residents in some of
Madrid’s poor neighbourhoods are put in a lockdown. They are unhappy about the
impending restrictions. Sunday was their last chance to protest. Ironically,
they wanted to be free of restrictions, and those inside the theatre were
demanding restrictions should be abided by.
*****
Three months ago, on 22 June, a cute concert happened
in another part of Spain. Puccini’s Crisantemi
(Chrysanthemums) was performed by a string quartet in the Liceu Opera House in
Barcelona. That theatre has 2292 seats, and each seat was occupied – by a
plant. In a way, the concert was arranged for the only superpower in the world-
Mother Nature.
The two violins, viola and cello of the Uceli quartet
performed for the vegetable kingdom. The concert executing the beautiful
concept could be attended by human beings online.
*****
Madrid’s Royal theatre may want to take a leaf out of
the Barcelona book. Next time, it can place plants between viewers to stop them
protesting.
Ravi
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