Miss Jones, There's a Conflict in My Schedule

Okay I've got a real schedule conflict on May 30, 2009. We have tickets for two concerts that day at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival and its also the last night of our regular subscription at Accademia di Santa Cecilia. MAY 30, 2009!!!!!

The fact that I know about this conflict already scares the hell out of me. I've never planned my life that far in advance in the past sixt fift few years. Six months or so sure but I bought those Salzburg tickets as the 2008 Whitsun Festival was coming to an end - one year before the event - one friggin' year. I mean how the hell do I know if I'll still be in Italy in May 2009 or alive for that matter. Of course optimism is the best approach to this sort of thing but one year in advance?????

So why not buy tickets to events closer to the dates? Well there are two good reasons for that:

1. Often the things we want to go to sell out very quickly or at least the good seats do. Example: the Rossini Festival in Pesaro, on June 22 the best we could do for a performance on August 22 were two high stool seats in the back row of a third tier box, actually two separate boxes.
2. If we don't take subscriptions to things we talk about going and then when we finally decided find out it was two days ago.

So last night I sat down with our kitchen calenders (2008 and 2009 - yes we have that one already) and marked down dates. Keeping in mind that the tickets for next year's opera season will go on sale in November so at that point we'll have plans through to December 2009.

I'm just being optimistic!

18 lulgio - San Frederico

Extravagance ... and Optimism

In a gesture of extravagance and optimism I purchased a box for the Opera and Ballet for the coming year. Extravagance because a box is five seats and we are only two but this way we can invite friends or visitors to come out for the evening with us. And I'll never had this chance again - our own box (10D) at the opera! Damn the expense I say! Optimism because I am saying that on December 11, 2008 I'll be alive, well and able to attend Otello. But to be honest if I don't book subscriptions we will end up not going. Its happened so often in other places: Oh look the bus-truck production of the hit musical In Cold Blood is coming to town, we must get tickets. Oh damn that was last week.

Okay Roma isn't La Scala - hell I guess its not even La Fenice or San Carlo - but at least here you have a chance of getting a seat as most transactions still have to be done at the box office. There are a few other opera houses, that will remain nameless, were the only people who seem to have seats are the scalpers. The minute seats go on the Internet they are snatched up - and how exactly at 2 per customer do those totes outside the theatre end up with rolls of 10 to 12?? The big subscription booster this year is the Muti Otello scheduled to open December 6, 2008 - on the strength of that one production alone the subscription series appear to be sold out and all five performance will be standing room only. I guess I'm not alone in my optimism.

So we now have subscriptions to the Opera, the Ballet and the Accademia Ste Ceciela which guarantees that at least three times a month we'll turn off the fascinating Italian quiz shows, get off our asses and get out on the town. However friends and acquaintenances should note, we are still available the rest of the month for dinner parties, cinema and pizza forays.

06 decembre - San Nichola di Bari