Opera Number 2: Il Viaggio a Reims Ossia L’Albergo del Giglio d’Oro (Le Voyage à Reims ou l’Hôtel du Lys d’or)

(This is the poster for the Opera)

I forgot to post a little note on the latest Opera I saw in Montpellier on Dec. 28th. Il Viaggio a Reims was an awesome, actual opera. There was actually a set, costumes, characters and everything. This is a great improvement from Aida that I saw earlier this year. Below you will see some pictures of the inside of the theatre. I loved the show and I loved being inside this theatre. It was in the Comedie Opera which you have seen in other pictures, covered in lights at Christmas. Inside the Comedie Opera, there were amazing paintings, chandeliers, etc. I used my student rush pass again which is a great deal, if I haven't mentioned it before. For 15 Euros, I get to see 4 shows (symphony or Opera). This is such an amazing deal since the cheapest ticket for this opera started at 13 Euros. Anyway, with the pass, you don't get to choose your seat but no seat is really that bad. We were up in one of the boxes as you can probably tell in the picture of me. I love being in the boxes. It makes me feel royal and important.

(Here I am in the box!)

Some pictures of the inside of the Comedie Opera:
(This is inside the actual theatre space, above the audience)

(A view from the 2nd level balcony to the main lobby)

(The ceiling in the lobby)

Anyway, the show was great and long (as most operas are). There was only one 20-minute intermission but the first act was about 2 hours and the second act was about an hour and a half. The set moved with revolving doors, moving walls and a circular middle part of the floor which was used as a "train" and many processionals. The actors were all very good and projected well since no one was mic'd. There were mics above the stage thankfully but no one was mic'd individually. The supertitles were actually legible since during Aida, I had a really hard time reading them. The show did have a couple scenes in front of the grand curtain, which made the supertitles impossible to read because the curtain was in the way of the screen for the titles. I basically understood what was happening and hearing the Italian was really beautiful anyway. Italian is sort of easy to understand since it's close to French and Spanish (since it's a Latin based language). There are a bunch more Operas I plan on attending while in France and I can't wait to see how the sets are constructed and what it looks like. I am such a techie!