Going to a Concert

I had an opportunity to attend a concert at the Opera House located across the street from the Hotel de Ville.  I did not have a ticket, but decided to just show up at the door to see if I could get one.

When I arrived the front doors were locked and another couple was looking in the windows, looking forlorn.  They were an older couple and only spoke a few words of English.  We were able to convey the facts that we were both looking for the concert.  They had the advantage of being able to talk to others, so I told (more like showed) them there was a side door and then followed them.  This was the entrance we needed to use.  It was not a main entrance, but the door usually used by employees and artists.  Once inside, we needed to talk with the ticket manager, who had not yet arrived.  Once he did arrive, it was very informal. 

He had a list of "will-call" tickets and about 10 extra tickets.  He had us sit and wait while he passed out the paid tickets.  Then the manager just took our money and handed us a ticket.   I am proud of myself because I needed to communicate with all these people using French and I knew just enough to ask the correct questions and get a ticket. 

Once I had the ticket, we stood in line waiting for the elevator.  The lifts are very small in most of the buildings here.  There were two lifts being operated by attendants, but only 4-6 people could cram into each one.  The concert was being held on the top floor of the Opera complex.  The elevators only go up to the 10th floor and we needed to wind through the corridors and climb another floor to the very top.  This room is used on their brochure since it has a rounded glass roof and full length glass windows looking out over the city. It is a ballet studio with bars all around the outside and the back wall is all mirrors. They had protected the floor with a covering to accommodate the chairs and the audience.

 The view out the windows is fantastic. The Hotel de Ville is directly below and the square out in front on the other side is a great place to sit and watching people, with lots of cafes and outdoor seating.  To the left is an old nunnery that was converted into a museum.  The interior courtyard is free to visit and has several interesting statues.  I have visited both of these places to sketch. The view stretches out to the eastern hills of the city.

The program was Hummel and Schubert Musique de Chambre.  They consisted of a violon, alto, violoncelle, contrebasse, and piano.  They played a set from Hummel and retired off stage.  Then they returned to play the Schubert set.  The pianist was fantastic and these selections were mostly featuring the pianist.  I had taken a seat that allowed me to watch his hands.  I am always amazed to watch someone who is that accomplished.

I enjoyed the concert immensely.  I spent a lot of time listening to classical music the first semester of my PhD research. 

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is in Aurora, about 50 miles from Boulder.  In the first semester of the program, all the PhD research students take a class together. Unfortunately, the biologists like to get their classes done early so they can spend the rest of the day in the laboratory.  This mandatory class was from 8-10 am,  Monday-Friday.  As anyone who knows me will tell you, I am not a morning person and bear-ly a late morning. I have not woken up regularly before 9 am since I was a sophomore in high school.  It was not an option for me to commute each day since I would have needed to leave the house about 6:30 am because of traffic.  The best alternative was to take an apartment near the campus.  I rented a small apartment that was only a 10 minute walk, meaning I could wake up and stumble sleepily across the street and be at class in 15 minutes.  I spent most of the day after class trying to re-read enough to understand what had been presented during class that day, and then read about the class for the next day.  I brought the radio/CD player along with a selection of CDs from our collection.  This was a long winded way to say I found classical music was perfect for letting me read and concentrate without the outside sounds distracting me and Schubert was one of my favorites.

The week after this concert I wanted to continue my cultural refinement and attend the ballet Giselle.  I was late getting started and once again did not have a ticket.  I hustled through the city, needing to catch two metro lines to get to the Opera house again.  I made it right at the stroke of 8 pm when I thought the ballet started.  I approached the ticket desk, this time through the front doors.  In my best French I asked for a ticket and they just looked at me and said there was not a ballet there that evening.  The ballet was across town, just a kilometer (half mile) from where I started my mad dash. The person that spoke the most English told me "tickets fini", which I took to mean they were sold out.

C'est la vie!