Figarodeon

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It’s not unusual for us to go to the local Odeon, but tonight was for TWO very different reasons.

Reason 1: This is the LAST TIME we’ll ever visit this Odeon. Why? It’s being bulldozed, together with the nearby Pub – Hobson’s Choice, to make way for (ahem!) ‘a new development’. Most of us locals are still reeling from the shock. Both buildings have been here as long as we have (20-plus years), in fact, I read that once it’s demolished it’ll be the first time in 100 years that Kettering hasn’t had a cinema! A sad day when that happens! 😯

Reason 2: We’re NOT here to see a film. Instead, we’re watching a live transmission of the Opera, Marriage of Figaro starring the Royal Opera Chorus and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House – and it’s a ‘one night only’ performance!

This is such a smart way to see Opera. No need to go all the way to London and by keeping it local, we get the best seats in the house – plus, it saves a fortune on travel and ticket prices! It’s not our first time seeing Opera on the cheap, as we were here in 2018 watching Carmen! Does it lose any of the atmosphere of actually being there live? Well, possibly, but the fact that the cameras can zoom in and pick up the facial expressions is something that you don’t get to appreciate at the ROH (unless you’re in row A…and rich!) 😯.

In many operas, the heroine meets an untimely demise. Sadly, tonight Ying Fang aka Susanna was hampered by something much smaller than the script – flu! Her understudy did a great job though! 👍👍

Curtain up was at 6.30 and good job we had reasonably comfy seats, as its runtime was close to four hours! 😵‍💫. OK, that included a thirty-minute interval (where Mrs P had prepared some elegant nibbles that befitted the occasion). Screen 6 isn’t the largest screen here, but it was good to see that it was just under half full for this one-off live-streaming event. I learned later that it had been beamed to most of the big cinema chains in the UK, so I wonder how that helped takings?

Before it all began, there was a useful introduction for noobies to the Opera itself by a rather gushing presenter, but in between her smiles the size of Corby (no one should be that happy!) she set the scene perfectly.

All-in-all then, a very worthwhile experience. and a great way to experience this rather elitist art-form without bankrupting yourself in the process – ROH tickets topped out at £245! (we paid £20 each!) and I’m sure we’ll do this all again sometime, but alas, not HERE! 😪😪

We left the Odeon just after 10.35pm and where, looking at the staff, they all seemed to be pretty chilled, in spite of the imminent demise of Kettering’s ONLY cinema.