Patriots And Puccini

This past Friday was a good day. I successfully purchased two tickets to see the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play at Wembley, London, in October this year. I went to the NFL UK match this past year, and had a fantastic day out at what was my first official NFL game. I had been to Foxboro back in 1996 to see a preseason game of New England and my Redskins, but this real deal game was superb. So when I’d learnt that the Patriots were coming to London, I was delighted. Then I was anxious. I had missed out on the ticket lottery the first year, and then got lucky in the second year. And I really wanted to go. So the club seats went on sale for London, and I was lucky enough to get myself one! Being a Boston sports fan, and seeing the Rays triumph over the Red Sox in 08, I am hopeful to see the Patriots give the Buc’s a good old-fashioned thumping!

Saturday night was about as far removed from football as you could imagine. I went to a movie theater in Amsterdam to watch Opera. The Opera was La Rondine by Puccini, and was performed by the Metropolitan Opera in New York. They were having a Saturday matinee performance in New York, and this was being broadcast around the world. So some friends and I sat there on Saturday evening, and watched our very first opera. I really had no idea what to expect. I had no idea whether I would like it or not, I just saw it as a good opportunity to soak up some culture. As it happened, I really enjoyed it. The music was beautiful, the singing was amazing, and it was a really good show. What I think made it was the English subtitles at the bottom of the screen, which meant that if you weren’t an Italian speaker, you could still follow what was going on. It was a really nice story, and made for a thoroughly enjoyable evening. I might even go back and see opera again! So, if like me you are sitting out there being skeptical about opera, I really recommend that you give it a try, you might well be pleasantly surprised!