The New York Times runs their Metropolitan Diary feature every Sunday in the New York section. Occupying a quarter of a broadsheet page, it comprises readers’ short diary entries related to life in New York City. I enjoy reading it each week
There was a piece on Sunday, October 29, 2023 that resonated with me:
DEAR DIARY
I was at a Broadway theater waiting for the show to start when a couple approached the people in the row in front of me.
“I think you two are in our seats”, one said to the people sitting there.
As they compared one another’s tickets, an usher arrived and had a look.
“You’re right, these are your seats”, he said to the couple. “However, you are in the wrong theater.”
TIM VOEGELI
In early May 2023, I just had to be in London
There was a new king
This does not happen often
I felt the need to be in my home country to experience the collective national euphoria of the coronation of King Charles III
After a few days with my family in the North of England it was then the train ride down to London for the big event. This was to be followed by a train ride under the waters of the English Channel for a week in my favorite European city, Paris
The plan was not to actually stay in Paris, but an apartment in Versailles, which is a short ride (on a train) from the Arc de Triomphe and La Tour Eiffel and all the other pleasures center of Paris offers
Several months earlier, after realizing that there would be some rare live opera performance in the magnificently restored Royal Opera inside the Chateau de Versailles (Louis XIV’s magnificently ostentatious palace), tickets were booked. Just 3 performances of Lully’s Armide during the week was too good to pass up
Our connected world meant that it was super easy to book the tickets (in the Royal Box, no less) online. Electronic tickets arrived by email moments after my Visa card was hammered for significantly fewer Euros than Ticketmaster might charge for any North American concert
On Monday May 8, with King Charles recovering from a his coming out party at which over 50 million delirious citizens took joy in, the Eurostar was boarded in London. In next to no time, after stepping out into the concourse of the Gare du Nord, it was a rapid transfer to the commuter train and onward to Versailles and the apartment for the final week of the trip. Less than a mile from the gates of the Chateau, was a cozy and wonderfully modern living space which began its life perhaps 250 years ago as a a stable off the courtyard of a large house owned by some aristocrat member of the King’s court
I was eagerly awaiting the performance of Jean-Baptiste Lully’s 5 act 17th century musical tragedy based on a book by Phillipe Quinault. This work was first performed at the Theatre de Palais Royale in Paris in 1686, and subsequently presented to Louis XIV in the Royal Opera. I was particularly looking forward to the period costumes of the 17th Century
Saturday May 13th arrived and it was important to be on time at the gates of Versailles in good time for the 7:30 performance. All tickets for the Royal Box included a pre-show reception with Champagne…
The courtyard of the Chateau was almost deserted around 6:45pm. It also seemed a little strange that there was nobody in the lobby of the Royal Opera, save a few ushers dressed smartly in black suits
“Vous avez billets?” (Do you have tickets) we were asked
“Oui” I replied and presented the printed copy of the tickets that were emailed all those months ago
My heart sunk when I saw that the show started at 7:00pm. That explained why nobody else was in the lobby. Damn, I thought, there goes the champagne reception.
Ah well, at least we had the show, with those amazing costumes
“Oh Dear” I said out loud when I realized that not only did I have the time of the performance wrong, but our tickets were for a different day, Thursday May 11. I was engulfed by a wave of utter and complete embarrassment as well as the feeling of a hole in my wallet as a couple of hundred Euros drifted down the suwannee river
Saying nothing, the usher said “Venez, vitement” (come, quickly)
Since there are no elevators in the Royal Opera (Mr Otis did his invention stuff in the 1800s), she led a brisk march up a number of ornate tiled staircases, and through some dusty old corridors of the magnificently restored 17th Century Royal Opera
She opened a door and the instruction was to “Asseyez la” (sit there) on an empty bench at the back of the what I later discovered was the actual Royal Box. She then disappeared
Every seat in the box, including the cheap seats on the bench at the back had a great view of the stage
The purchased tickets were for 2 of the 12 seats in the Royal Box. There was clearly no grounds to ask the couple sitting in our seats to move … we were in the right theater … in the right box … but on the wrong day
Seated just as the prologue was concluding, allowed Armide’s 5 acts to be observed from the very seats where king Louis XIV’s servants sat as they waited on him over 300 years ago. That felt pretty cool
The set and costumes were contemporary but any possible disappointment at not seeing the traditional costumes quickly evaporated
However, I was shocked (pleasantly so) to see the orchestra playing the original score on instruments faithful to the 17th century - including 3 different sizes of lute
The performance ended with several curtain calls
As the Royal Opera emptied, one could only marvel at the stunning architecture and decor of the ceiling…
…and the boxes where members of Louis’ court indulged their love of music and cake in the 17th Century
Walking home after the show, I couldn’t help imagining how all those candles would have been lit…