Drive & Live

To understand, “get”, the title you must pronounce “live” to rhyme with “jive” not “sieve”.  It’s the silliest idea since that opera performed in four helicopters that cropped up three years ago in A Flying Soloist. 

I read Peter Jonas’s obituary a few days ago, recalling the glory days of ENO in the Powerhouse years. (The other members of the Powerhouse were Sir Mark Elder and David Pountney.) I acknowledge staging exciting opera sometimes leads to spectacularly expensive disasters and ENO has put on some good productions and has to some extent got a grip on its budget. But, bet you were waiting for the “but”, ENO thinks that because opera lovers drive to Glyndebourne, Garsington, Grange Park et al they will drive to Alexandra Palace to see La Bohème and/or Magic Flute (thanks, I rented it from Moss Bros) as a drive-in live opera. Both operas will be cut to run for ninety minutes, just the right length for a bibulous picnic in the car. The tickets, I suppose, will be relatively cheap, but I would have to rent a car and driver. On the plus side Bertie could come too. The sight lines from a Mini are hopeless and driving home afterwards would be illegal. But it may draw a new audience to opera and that will go some way to justify the £12 million Arts Council England bung that comes their way. As I write I’m listening to Turandot from the Met and worrying about Wexford. Ireland may not be as hospitable as usual to overseas visitors this year.

Can I have three wishes? I wish I hadn’t sold Astra Zeneca, I wish I hadn’t bought Marks and Spencer, I wish there were goldfinches in the garden – and that wish has been granted. There were six today; enough to constitute a charm.