The London Trip
June 30th-July 7th, 1951
Cadogan Court Hotel,
34/9, Queensgate Gardens,
Kensington,
London, S.W.7.
Well, you Festival trippers, does that address strike a chord in your memory? Do you remember arriving at the Gloucester Road Tube Station, carrying your cases for what seemed a century in time but was in fact just over five minutes, and finally reaching the hotel, triumphing over your conquest of British Travel and feeling a bit sick inside - partly from hunger and partly from excitement? You do? Then let us not waste time or space but just put down the main facts of the holiday which was - thanks to everyone concerned - a great success and an experience not easily forgotten.
1. (Main fact) : Had good meals.
2. Saw main sights of London on first night - walked past Buckingham Palace, through Hyde Park, down Birdcage Walk and along Embankment.
3. Sunny Sunday morning. Service at Westminster Abbey. Afternoon - Richmond and Hampton Court Palace. Frantic hunt for the maze by a few girls. In despair one of them sat down to drink a lemonade. When she got up she discovered she had been sitting on a sign post which said "This way to the Maze" on it. By then it was too late to go. Free night.
4. Monday - lovely weather. First close-up of the Dome and the Skylon. Also first touch of Festival Fever. Dinner by the Thames. Roamed around all afternoon. That night, went to see "Kiss Me, Kate" at the London Coliseum. Some teachers went to an all-night sitting in the House of Commons.
5. Tuesday - still sunny. Tower of London in morning. Crown Jewels seen - they are still there! St. Paul's Cathedral after. Free afternoon. Battersea Pleasure Gardens at night. (Two of the weightier male staff almost felled the Treetop Walk by jumping on it. If they failed to do that, they did succeed in one thing - they brought terror to quite a few people in front and behind them). Pockets became lighter.
6. Wednesday - Tour of Houses of Parliament with Mr. Hale, M.P. for Oldham. Then Westminster Abbey. In the afternoon, took packed meal (which was quite heavy - thank you, boys!) to Kew Gardens where one began to realise what a hot-house plant must feel like. Free night.
7. Thursday - free morning. (To enable any who wished to write home for some more money - if possible). Windsor Castle in the afternoon. Went into St. George's Chapel where soon two of the best loved people in the country were to rest. Did not stay long enough. Regent's Park at night for "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Did this open-air production give you the impression that W.S. was not so bad after all?
8. Friday. Science exhibition in morning. Royal Naval College at Greenwich in afternoon. At night "Ship Ahoy", attended by H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth. This Sea Cadets' show ended with "Land of Hope and Glory" - all there joining in the chorus.
9. Saturday. Home by train and bus.
Important facts left out : Had good weather. Had not enough money. Had not sufficient time to see everything we wanted to - BUT definitely had a good time.
J. WILD.
"The Marriage of Figaro"
The school party met at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, on Saturday, April 4th, at 6.30 p.m. for the Covent Garden Opera production of "The Marriage of Figaro". This, although a satire intended by its author Beaumarchais to show in their true light the declining moral standards of the eighteenth century aristocracy, is treated so lightly by its brilliant librettist, Da Ponte, and composer Mozart, that we come to think of it only as a delightful comedy and little attention is paid to its serious aspect.
The plot is centred around the difficulties arising from the proposed marriage of Figaro, valet to the Count Almaviva, and Susanna, the Countess's maid. It involves in a complicated story the Count, who is tiring of his wife, formerly Rosina, ward of Doctor Bartolo, and the Countess, who attempts to win back his love. Doctor Bartolo seeks revenge on Figaro for tricking him whilst helping the Count to win the hand of Rosina. Marcellina, Bartolo's elderly housekeeper, has an agreement with Figaro to pay her a large sum of money - or marry her, and Bartolo is determined that Figaro should he forced to do the latter. Cherubino, the Count's page, further complicates the plot hy his own impish tricks and his part in the wily plans of the ladies.
The singing was excellent, especially that of Geraint Evans as Figaro, and Adelc Leigh (who took the place of Veronica Dunne) as Susanna. The whole opera, excepting that famous aria "Voi Che Sapetc" sung in Italian by Cherubino (Eugenia Lareska) was performed in English. Although the English words, written by Edward Dent, combined well with the music, they did not seem to have the easy flow of the original Italian.
It was, however, fortunate, for our party at least, as it allowed us to follow the story with greater ease. The words sung by Geraint Evans, Adele Leigh, Jess Walters (the Count), Howell Glynne (Dr. Bartolo) and William McAlpine (Don Basilio, a music teacher) were extremely clear, and of all the cast only Cherubino seemed to have trouble in making all her words clearly heard.
I am sure that the rest of the party enjoyed this fine performance as much as I did. On their behalf I wish to thank Mr. Wells for arranging this visit, and congratulate him on his wise choice of opera. "The Marriage of Figaro" is a "happy" opera and an ideal choice for people who are, as some of us were, newcomers to the fascinating pastime of opera-going.
P. M. GREENALL, 6 Sc.