Opera and Adventure
So you want value for money, you want a cultural experience, you want really good food, you want an adventure, you want to get away for 24 hours to somewhere very different. The opera houses of mainland Europe deliver a perfect “quickie”. This autumn I flew Easyjet to Amsterdam and Zurich. After an afternoon arrival at Amsterdam I took the bus from Schiphol Airport,10 kms to the Hotel Titus in the City Centre with free Wifi. My room overlooked an attractive canal, there may have been a few prostitutes over the way but it was still charming. Picking up some delicious open sandwiches nearby for the interval I made my way to the opera house at Waterlooplein past the old Stadtshouwberg Theatre where I myself have sung. Wending my way along glorious canals and bridges with bright lights flickering in the water I peered into fabulous loft apartments with high ceilings and tasteful lighting. The moon was full, it was magical. The Netherlands Opera delivers value and muscle. Its lean toned production of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites directed by Robert Carsen featured some amazing singers. In particular the transcendent stylish singing of Adrianne Pieczonka as Madame Lidoine, Sabine Devieilhe as a pert-voiced Soeur Constance and Doris Soffel as the deeply disturbed Madame de Croissy. I want to sing that role and “act out” scratching away my face too! The following morning I was off to the Van Gogh Museum, 700 metres from Hotel Titus. You won’t find a more attractive lunch than at the museum cafe. For souvenirs why not take a bunch of fresh flowers home at a fraction of London prices. Tulip bulbs can be obtained at the airport as can Leonidas orange slices dipped in dark chocolate. At 3 euros for 100 grams you are rich in every sense of the word.
www.hoteltitus.com/location.htm
For my second excursion, Zurich provided the perfect contrast to Amsterdam. Surrounded by snow capped mountains it is small, village-like and dominated by the serene lake. The slick train from the airport takes you almost door to door of the compact attractive opera house. Get off at Stadelhofer station. To return direct to the airport trains go at 11 minutes past the hour. On this occasion I took in Puccini’s’ Turandot featuring the Swedish soprano Nina Stemme in stunning voice as an icy Turandot who finally melts into the generous arms of Riccardo Massi as Calaf. Before the show I met the exceptionally friendly conductor Alexander Joel clutching a gold letter-embossed leather score and sporting an appropriate Mandarin jacket. I also met Riccardo Massi’s singing teacher which provided a fascinating discussion of technical interface. Great food can be had at the back of the opera. Ristoranto Conti was perfect for a posh after-opera snack of champagne and exquisite linguine whereas Titbits a bit further up the street has perfect healthy but nice food. Presented in buffet form they weigh your plate. Particularly fine were the dried green bean salad and spicy humus. With easy chairs one could truly relax. Next morning I indulged myself in a sacred Roman Irish bath ritual at theThermal baths. Situated in an old brewery the value for money entry fee of approx £40 includes robes and towel. Everything here is done to a very high spec. You can eat upstairs and swim out in an extended heated pool on the roof top with fabulous views of city and mountain.They hire out swimming costumes too. The only negative aspect to this is that the Therme are not easy to get to and you might want to indulge yourself in a taxi home. Another morning option could have been to take the train out to Kusnacht and visit the house where Carl Jung lived. This for me was akin to visiting Bethlehem. If you fall in love with Jung’s house and want to stay longer you can take seminars on Jung-related subjects at certain times of the year in English. Kusnact is 16 minutes away on a local train, a good place to stay is Gastof Ochsen .
http://www.tibits.ch/en/restaurants.html
http://kuesnacht-ochsen.ch
