A friend had cancelled on the day: my babysitter was booked and I was hot to trot. Rather than slope to the cinema or grab some sushi, I decided to see if there were any tickets left for something a little less ordinary.
I wasn't disappointed.
There is something quite special about Covent Garden. As a little girl, I marvelled at the main staircase, gently stepped to allow gowned ladies to glide effortlessly down.
The glamour of the timeless details never fades - individually so charming
and then quite majestic as they sweep the balcony curves
Giselle is a gorgeous, ethereal ballet in the best classical tradition. As my dear friend and dance critic Mark Monahan says, it is the essential Romantic ballet.
(Don't worry, I didn't take photos during the performance, it's a photo of the curtain calls!)
I was experiencing this romance up in the gods and quickly discovered that the drama of the stairs is commensurate to the price of the ticket. At £22.00 that meant going up....
...and up
and round the corner and up again...
and up just a little more... don't look down...
.
...and then there I was: right in the middle of the excitement and the wonder, looking down on a jewel box of world class talent.
Up in the gods, I was so close to that beautiful ceiling I wanted to reach out and touch it!
Isn't there something peculiarly English about the honesty of the pre-ordered interval drinks!
Immersed in beauty, sipping fizz and looking down on the melee
I can't help feeling, as daughters dream and lovers know, that sometimes upstairs is the best place to be.
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