London sketches

I have carried my little sketchbook with me in London but haven't found many places to sit with a sketchable view.

This, though, is right up the top of the Tate Modern which is a converted power station. There are lots of girders and steel struts.

Tate Modern ceiling

Another unexpectedly quiet (well relatively quiet) place in the teaming mass of humanity around Covent Garden was the garden behind St Paul's church (not the cathedral). The outdoor space is full to the brim with weathered garden benches.

Back.of St Pauls

People squeeze between them to take a seat or lie down. I sat there and painted the wall that bounds the garden. It seemed to me a typical London scene: red brown brick, smudgy white window sills, external pipes and shutes. 

London wall

Turandot in London

I've just seen a fantastic Turandot at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. It chased away all my London blues. Both singers and orchestra under the baton of Dan Ettinger were very convincing.

Christine Goerke was a fabulous Turandot. It is a tricky role because not only is it very demanding technically but the story demands that Turandot be a ruthless 'ice maiden', scared of intimacy for most of the Opera only to declare herself for love at the end.  Christine Goerke did a wonderful job today of suggesting vulnerability while still espousing violence.

Ping, Pang and Pong  performing acrobatics at the same time as singing (how do they do it?) and tenor Alexandrs Antonenko was a strong Calaf.

I was sitting high in the gods but heard every word of both lead singers. Such extraordinary voices.

Turandot performers take a bow.

Good things in London

Here is some of the good stuff about London:

1. There are so many diverse areas, so there is something for everyone. I have stayed in  the bit around the Thames this visit, so my comments have been about a small area.

2. You can get excellent salads in take away pots almost everywhere (or everywhere I've been) so eating good food is entirely possible, even for the tourist. The salads are inventive and tasty but expensive.n

 £1.25 for half a carrot and some houmous dip.

3. You can buy Bratwurst with Sauerkraut at the Borough Markets - something I searched for in vain in Leipzig which is awash with pizza places and Lebanese food. There are also lots of other good things at those markets like Italian Parmesan in large lumps and specialty Indian tea in the 35gm lots. (The first time I went there I was so dismayed by the grubby surroundings I didn't see any of that!)

Borough Markets are in the dead space
under a series of bridges near London Bridge.

4. Interior spaces in pubs and the like are as cosy and hospitable as their reputation. Perhaps London is really an interior city and people just use exterior spaces to get to another nice interior space?

5. Local university halls rent out rooms during uni holidays making it possible for non-millionaires to stay and see the many and varied 'sights' and musical offerings.

6. The people. But I've said that before!

Concrete London

I am adapting to London as the days pass, but still I wonder what they were thinking when they built these concrete bunkers on the Thames River. This is the National Theatre, part of Southside which is one of London's entertainment precincts. (There is a similar but smaller commercial building in Sydney designed by a famous architect and I always wondered why he remained 'famous' after creating such a person unfriendly building.)

So much concrete could kill a precinct but the inventive citizens of London have found a way around the architectural nightmares that are built around them. They colonise the in-between spaces with all sorts of makeshift structures, like tents, containers and caravans and set up shop in them. These temporary-permanent structures are everywhere and serve as canteens, pubs, ice cream shops etc. They don't add to the beauty of the area but at least they are functional.

Container food outlets at Southside.

Outside the National Theatre sits a sculpture of two naked women with perky breasts. It is called London Pride. It apparently commemorates the Festival of London which was held to cheer people up after the war.  I think it rather suits the building.

'London Pride'  by Frank Dobson

Not all of inner city London is concrete. There are some attractive council buildings, like those outside my window. They are older and brick and were probably considered old-fashioned by the concrete architects. I wonder which will survive longest.

My view, with council flats and London Shard behind them.

Bollards

Bollards are spreading like a measles rash. Understandably there are a few in London.

Bollards on London Bridge

Bollards have also popped up in Melbourne and the population is responding in true Melbourne style.

Bollards in Melbourne
(Screenprint from junkee.com)

Addendum: oh dear, the thought police don't like the artwork

London city - the pretty bits

This is the Oxo building, not far from the National theatre. It is full of design studios and shops and is one of the prettier buildings on the Queen's walk.

If you keep walking east along the river you pass the Globe theatre, then a pretty brick pub built in the 17th century.

Globe theatre

Anchor pub

There are a lot of buildings I would call architectural failures in London, but interspersed between them are these old or ancient gems.

Exactly when did the ability to design nice looking budimgs die, I wonder.

London - Gray not green

Part of Queens Walk near Tower Bridge

Brits are famous for their gardens, but they seem to have locked them out of their capital city. London streets are narrow and noise levels high. I am finding the grayness and high noise levels overwhelming after the greenness and comparative quietness of Hamburg.

In Germany there is a lot of traffic calming, and planned islands of green in the inner cities, small oases of calm. I have yet to discover any of these planned oases in London.

London trees

There are trees but they are planted in concrete/gravel and the lack of undergrowth make them seem fake somehow.

Today I walked from Southwark passed London Bridge and the Tower Bridge to trendy Bermondsey (right side of map) and found very little greenery at all.

Over the Tower Bridge, north of the river I found a map of green spaces - it shows how few there are.

The map was next to a church (St Dunstan in the East) that had been bombed during the war and converted to a garden in 1967. It is one of the only green spaces in the area and the seats were full of lunching business folk when I was there.

Garden at St Dunstan

A lot of Londoners still smoke. Some use electronic cigarettes but many don't and there are still a lot of butts on the streets.

Cleaning the railing

I saw one house front being cleaned by a man in business clothes with a red cloth and I wondered if it is the continuous traffic that makes the whole city feel dirty. All of the parts of London I have seen so far are contaminated by vehicle noise and pollution. I know there are huge parks in the west, but it is the everyday city greenery I am missing.

Electric cars and buses will have a major impact here.

Londoners at a sidewalk function

London today

London!

One of the wonderful things about London is its multicultural edge.  People from all over the world live here and Londoners themselves are from very diverse ethnic backgrounds. Here is where you really see the effects of colonialism at work.

People are friendly, helpful and kind. It's a great place to be a tourist.

It is impossible to be in London at the moment and not be aware of the politics of the place.

Flowers lie on London Bridge and bollards are strategically placed in several touristy areas.

London Bridge

Grenfell Tower is in the news all the time as is the extraordinary incompetency of the conservative council of Kensington-Chelsea in which Grenfell is situated. The council tried to hold a council meeting behind closed doors and I heard a lawyer explaining on the radio that if you want to ban the public then media presence is even more important as people have a right to know what happens in council meetings. The autocratic tendencies of this arm of government are striking and there are calls for mass resignations.

Yesterday some citizens groups staged a banner-unfurling action in support of Grenfell residents.

Message

http://www.redpepper.org.uk/a-beautiful-message-to-the-grenfell-community-from-the-housing-estates-of-east-london/

La Traviata in London

La Traviata was on at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden last night, so that's what I saw.

The house has all the trimmings you expect with the names 'royal' and 'opera'; a wonderful red curtain which lifts to the sides like an old fashioned granny-curtain, very fancy lights by the dozen, and great acoustics. It is a pleasure to experience.

Lights in the Royal Opera House

Alfredo was sung by tenor Atalla Ayan and he was perhaps the strongest of the cast. The production was thoughtful and even the curtain became an actor for the evening. It was so gently raised for the third act we knew we were in for tears.

I was sitting next to a young artist, Suzanne Forrest, from Scotland. She is having a show of her work here in London and races back to Scotland for a show there next week. We found we had a lot in common and the company of she and her partner really added to my enjoyment of the evening. Her art is worth a look ... you can find it here.

St Paul's watercolour

St Paul's, peeping over the Riverside budings. Drawn from the opposite river bank.

St Paul's Cathedral

Bicycles, kids, Hamburg

Back in Hamburg.

Bicycles in a local school

When you see children pouring out of the local Hamburg primary school on their bikes you realise what Australian children are missing. Bikes give kids a sense of control over their transport as well as being a great exercise machine. In the current cold wet weather the kids ride by in yellow waterproof capes that cover both them and their bags.

Bikes are everywhere, ridden not only by the young but by all ages including the very old.

They also pop up in unlikely places. The all-green bike below is an ad for music lessons (the red sign says "Learn an instrument " ). It stands outside the Laeiszhalle Concert Hall.

Bike locked to a rail on the steps to a shop.

In Leipzig bicyclists power along, travelling really fast along city streets, stopping at red lights with the cars, then setting off again to pedal fast when the lights change.  Bike speed probably reflects population age, as Leipzig is a university town.

Robert Stadler

When I bought my ticket for the Dresden gallery for sculpture and fine arts, I was offered a ticket to the show in the building  next door as well, a show by called 'You may also like: Robert Stadler.'  I had poked my head in the door on my way to the gallery and had seen that it was a one room show which didn't look terribly promising. But I bought the dual ticket just in case. I am glad I did because looks can be deceving. Like the title of the show, Stadlers 'art’ (or craft?) is thoughtful and memorable. He takes everyday objects and changes them, making comments on society and how we organise our lives.

I particularly liked his dissolving plastic chair. He said he made it because he hated the ubiquitous plastic chairs that are just everywhere. I think he'd like them to decompose organically, but like everything plastic they don't. They just break and become a problem.

Disappearing plastic chair by Robert Stadler

Another of his works struck me particularly, mainly because it reminded me of a childhood incident. Stadler had made a  monkey with very large pink balls,  a comment on what we find embarrassing and don't like talking about.

The three silent staff members who stood like statues for the half hour (or was it longer) that I slowly meandered around the room might have smiled as I chuckled. I don't know as I was too engrossed with the monkey.

When I was a kid there was a very prudish Minister​ of the church who called in to say hello  occasionally. I remember him drinking tea  with us one day. We were  being very proper (we were four children) when the talk turned to zoos. I think we must have recently visited a zoo as my  youngest sister looked up at this Minister  and very earnestly informed him that “ the baboon had a red bottom!”. The embarrassment factor must be why I remember the incident to this day. I'm not sure whether he or we were more embarrassed, but most likely my sister once she discovered that you don't talk about bottoms as you drink tea with a Minister.

Robert Stadler's Monkey with large balls.

As I left the gallery that day I congratulated the nearest staff member on their ability to stand motionless for so long. She laughed and looked appreciative. 

Rescuing 'Die Frau ohne Schatten'

Opera is a live performance and live performances have their problems. We should probably wonder why they don't fail more often than they do.

The third and final opera I saw in Leipzig was Die Frau ohne Schatten by Richard Strauß and the problem they had was that Jennifer Wilson, the dramatic soprano who was to sing the role of the Dyers Wife, called in sick two days before the show. Not many people can sing this role - it is extraordinarily demanding and requires a certain type of voice - well, the voice of a dramatic soprano.

Leipzig opera was very lucky though. The Russian dramatic soprano  Elena Pankratowa is studying the role for Munich and found time (flying in from another engagement a couple of hours before the curtain went up) to sing the role in Leipzig.

She sung it from the score, standing to the side of the stage where the audience could see her. The role was 'acted’ by one of the staff, though acted is too strong a word really. The substitute dressed in approximately the clothes the Dyers Wife would wear and moved to the spots where the singer would have stood.

It was a good tactic, because you could see the emotion of the actual singer at the same time as you saw where she was meant to be.

The substitute moved about the stage like a wooden doll and this lack of acting made you realise how much you depend on real acting by the singers to bring their roles alive. It was a fascinating experience and a  rewarding insight. Elena Pankratowa got a huge ovation and it wasn't only gratitude that she had made the effort to come to Leipzig but a sincere appreciation of her singing. It is such a demanding role, and she sang it wonderfully well. 

'Frau ohne Schatten' cast take their bows
with Elena Pankratowa in the pink stole (middle right)

My only previous contact with the opera was listening to a YouTube recording of a friend singing one of the Dyers Wife pieces. The Dyers Wife is unhappy and it shows in her singing so I had been prepared for a discordant opera that I mightn't much like.  I was surprised to discover how very beautiful the music is (I am sure having Ulf Schirmer conducting helped), particularly the part of Barak, the Dyer, sung by Franz  Grundheber.  I'll remember Barak, the Dyer, long after I have forgotten many other singers.

Now I understand why Die Frau ohne Schatten is called Strauß's best opera and why it is so often performed. I just count myself lucky that this, my first experience, was with such an accomplished cast and orchestra.

Leipzig- present and past

This is my favourite photo of Leipzig. It seems to encapsulate the city. Music and musicians are so much part of Leipzig but so is being lively and different.

Leipzig has many layers though. Not far from where this musician is playing are two museums devoted to the often difficult history of the city.

One of them is called the Forum - it is free and is devoted to contemporary German history since 1945. It is several stories and full of information about former East Germany and what it was like to live there.

Russian uniform (front) and East German uniform

It felt as if the city father's wanted to be sure the upcoming generation were informed of their past.

The Forum seems to be circular and is easy to get lost in. There are so many corners of video screens, displays and posters I felt rather overwhelmed. I guess I'd read a lot of it already, one way or another.

I decided a maze of DDR paraphernalia was all too much early in the morning but I couldn't find the exit and had to ask how to get out.
Hmm.

Stalin-at the Leipzig Forum

Mendelssohn House

I had not intended to visit Mendelssohn House in Leipzig, but after being so moved by his Oratorium I decided to see where it was written.

Mendelssohn House, Leipzig

Mendelssohn House is within easy walking distance of the Leipzig Oper so was a no-brainer really. The house is large and imposing, as expected, with an elegant interior but without any of the embellishments that the wealthy surround themselves with nowadays.  Polished wood floors and a small music room where Mendelssohn probably spent most of his time. I found the house aesthetically pleasing.

Music room at Mendelssohn House

Mendelssohn painted as well as composed and several of his watercolours were on display. 

A watercolour by Mendelssohn.

On Sundays concerts are held in the concert room that was once used by the Mendelssohns for their own musical pleasure. It is a particular pleasure to hear music in such surroundings and I was lucky I arrived early enough to get a ticket. The ticket seller told me they were often fully booked.

Perhaps these concerts are on the radar of companies who organise music tours as most of the attendees on the day I was there seemed to be English speakers (Australians?)  

That didn't detract from the performance however, which was played and narrated (in German) by the accomplished Subéja Trio, comprising Flautist, Oboist and Pianist. They played a selection of music (including by Bach's eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach) but no Mendelssohn.

Leipzig and Dresden

If you know the language of countries you visit, your visit is so much richer. I wish I knew more languages than two. A good example of added richness this visit were the pre-concert lectures, but chatting with chance acquaintances was equally informative. 

After seeing Salome, my head was in the clouds and I got on the wrong tram. It was a lucky mistake as it brought me in contact with a friendly student from Erfurt. We talked about opera, about music and about the difference between Dresden and Leipzig.

‘ Oh yes,’ he said. 'You' are right. There is a big difference between the two cities. Leipzig is very ‘Weltoffen’ (open to the world). Dresden, not so much.’

I had read in Dresden that the city had been at the end of the train line during the days of divided Germany and too far from the border to get western TV, so they had to rely on state television. (How times have changed.) My student friend said that the impact is still being felt. He said that there have been big demonstrations in Dresden against asylum seekers that shocked the rest of the country.

I told him about the woman in Dresden who said she couldn't imagine people wanting to live in a place they weren't born in. She had been astonished to hear I was traveling alone and I doubt I could ever have changed her mind set. My student friend said that in his opinion the changes since 1989 had simply been too much for people to cope with. The wall came down, the old order was replaced by a new order that was not always better, and then there was the refugee crisis. 

My Leipzig landlady on the other hand was an example of Leipzig openness. She said that there were a lot of mixed marriages nowadays, 'whites and blacks; Christians and Muslims, Germans and foreigners' and in her opinion the only thing that mattered was that the couples were nice to each other. 

A lecturer staying at my pension who runs exchange programs with the Leipzig University told me that students love Leipzig. She said it is not only cheaper but 'much cheaper' than studying in the big cities where the price of a room is very high. The waitress at the little Italian restaurant across the road confirmed this. She was from Albania and has spent a year in Hamburg before moving to Leipzig. 
"I've been here seven years now," she said proudly. "I love it here."

Südplatz, Leipzig:
the Italian restaurant
 is on the ground floor

Spinnerei, Leipzig

Spinnerei, Leipzig

The Spinnerei ist an old cotton spinning factory on a 10 ha block in Leipzig's Plagwitz (get there on the S14 tram) that now houses artist studios, galleries, event spaces and more (including a wonderful art supplies shop).

When the wall came down in 1989 there were still more than 1500 people employed  at the Spinnerei spinning cotton but soon afterwards the site was sold and work dwindled. Alternative art and performances started to take place on the site and over time it has transformed into a vibrant arts hub.

If cities want to stay livable (Sydney City, I'm looking at you) they need to create spaces where their artists can thrive and the Spinnerei ist a good example of what can be achieved with a bit of imagination.

There are tours of the site, so if you are going to Leipzig, look up the timetable. I was sorry I hadn't know about the tours as the site is an interesting one.

Spinnerei, site plan

Nena

Nena on the cover
of Blitz magazine

Brava to Nena, still going strong after all these years. This is the current issue of Blitz magazine,  picked up at the friendly Italia restaurant.

Nena is, I think, the only German singer who hit the top of the pops chart in America. We all know her song 99 Luftballons.

Arabella in Leipzig

It is amazing what a difference a short talk  by the chef dramaturg (head dramatist?) Dr Christian Geltinger made to my understanding of the Strauß operas I saw in Leipzig. He gave a short description of what to expect to see and then explained why the set was chosen. 

Dr Christian Geltinger
(from the Leipzig Oper program)

Both the operas he introduced (Arabella and Frau ohne Schatten) had sets that were particularly relevant to the time in which the operas were written, but if you didn't know that, you might have been left wondering. The Arabella set in particular was very much a comment on the time in which the Opera was set and after the Opera, at the tram stop, when I overheard some Australians complaining about the Arabella production I was sorry they had not been able to hear the pre-concert talk.

Arabella is often talked about as a sort of musical, light and frothy, but there was nothing frothy about this production. All the characters were played straight and without frivolity and it made the Opera work as a serious comment about society and women's choices in society.

Arabella: cast take a bow in front of the completed set

The set was disjointed for much of the Opera, much like floundering society structures at the time, only coming together right at the end of the opera when the characters had learned that dreams are fine, but not to be mistaken for reality.

I really enjoyed this non-musical-like version.

A Salome to die for

Wow! Wow! Wow!

I just saw the most fantastic Salome. I had been running on empty today but this opera and music has completely revived me. Now I sit in a tiny Italian restaurant with a candle, a glass of wine and spaghetti, trying to absorb what I have just seen.

The scene and costume designer of Salome, Rosalie, died on 12 June this year ( just a few days ago)  and this production was her last work. The cast dedicated the evening to her.  She is well known for her work and judging by the quality of this production she deserved every accolade she has received.

I had seen the American Met of Salome as a movie. All I remember of that production was an alluring dance and Salome singing to a dreadful severed head. Any explanation of why Salome acts as she does remained a mystery. Perhaps seeing Salome simply as evil seductress (the whore/saint divide) makes sense to the Americans.

In the Leipzig production Salome's behaviour is no longer a riddle. She is shown in the middle of a decadent society with an dissolute mother and abusive step-father. The dance which is central to the opera is no longer a dance of seduction but a story of Salome's abuse as a child. The step father sits taking photos on his smart phone during the dance performed by Salome and figures with masks, including two small girls.

The score is very moving and particularly so when played by the Leipzig orchestra conducted by Ulf Schirmer, who has a reputation as the best Strauss conductor alive. What better place to hear a Strauss festival?  What better place to hear an inspired Salome.

Last but not least, all credit to the marvellous Swedish soprano Elisabet Strid  who sang and acted this difficult role with such persuasiveness. Brava Brava!

Elisabet Strid takes a bow, with cast of Salome