Handel, Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar in Egypt), Access to Opera and Theatres

New York Times

The Met, watch Natalie Dessay

I was really glad to be able to see the Met Opera live satellite transmission of Giulio Cesare in Dorchester last night, but it's a long opera when you are nursing a swollen and injured foot and ankle in a fibreglass lower limb cast. Chris, the manager at The Plaza, couldn't have been more helpful, letting me into the theatre early to settle down, and allowing me to bring a footstool to keep my leg up. I managed to negotiate the front steps with the help of crutches (I'm still no expert with them). Luckily this production was being screened in the viewing theatre on the ground floor. But I was there from 4.15pm until close to 10pm. It made me think about mobility and access issues  for those who are permanently or seriously disabled.

I won't be able to see Verdi's Nabucco on Monday, because it is being shown in a larger screening theatre two and a half flights up, and there is no way that I can negotiate the stairs. I'm not complaining, that's the nature of the building, which is a huge asset to people from all over Dorset. Cinema tickets are so reasonably-priced that it seems that they must be subsidised.

Some European countries, like Sweden, have exemplary facilities for people who need to use wheelchairs or crutches. Others, like Greece (I'm thinking of Corfu) are almost impossible to negotiate because of the nature of the pavements (where they exist), steps and other hazards.

Having to use crutches for a few months certainly sensitises one to the need for all people to have easy access to public spaces and other places such as theatres, museums, airport departure lounges, trains and underground trains and restaurants (and rest rooms).

Obvious, perhaps. It's easy to forget, even after the Paralympics, how it must feel to be excluded.

Incredibly, the TUC's Action for Rail Disabled Passenger Survey has revealed that one in four disabled rail passengers (especially wheelchair users)  has suffered a hate crime or abuse.

Back to Handel:
I certainly wouldn't have wanted to miss Natalie Dessay's interpretation of this beautiful aria, Se pieta di me no senti, from the end of Act II, but the production and cast didn't hold my attention all the way (probably the cramps). Review "McVicar’s witty staging emphasized the East-West culture clash of the opera by transforming “Rome” into Victorian Britain and “Egypt” into a fantastic medley of Indian and Southeast Asian exotica" (James Jorden). Some other critics thought the production a little too camp. I'm surprised the Egyptian Government didn't lodge a complaint about the stereotypes and depiction of some of the characters, rather as the Iranians protested about the portrayal of King Xerxes in the film "300"!

See also Natalie Dessay, Paris National Opera production.

I regret that I won't be able to see The Royal Opera House production of Verdi's Nabucco. I'll listen to some blues instead. That's alright!

Or how about some Little Richard, singing this well-known Verdi aria.