Holiday Nuttiness

Yesterday afternoon, we went with Frédérique to see The Nutcracker at Le Silo in Marseille. This one was done by a Bulgarian company. Both the orchestra and dance troupe were smaller in number than the Russian company Fred and I saw last year at the Aix arena, but I think, over all, I liked this time better. The sets weren't as fancy, but the music was tighter, the sound was better, and we were closer, up in the right side balcony and it was fun to see into the pit. Laureva had a perfect view of the five violinists. Maëva didn't like being able to see the left hand wings, though. She thought it ruined some of the magic of the show. Also, our seats were unusually high, which was strange. Fred couldn't touch the floor at all and I only could with my toes.

As the troupe was smaller, they changed some of the order of the scenes so dancers could play multiple parts. They also added in an old grandfather figure with a cane to the first act party scene, which was amusing.

Unfortunately, after the show, we were stuck in the parking garage for fifty minutes, not moving at all for at least thirty. We had not parked strategically, not knowing the garage, and were unwittingly at the end of the line. We didn't get home until two hours after the show ended. Luckily, we had music to entertain us. Maëva wanted to practice her Mamma Mia songs for choir.