The first time I came to Buenos Aires I took a tour through its famous Teatro Colon. Ever since then I’ve hoped to see a performance there, and tonight I got my wish. I went with a group of people from InterNations to see a production of Beatrix Cenci, which I had never heard of.

It is truly a magnificent theatre, both inside and out as you can see from these photos (which I didn’t take, needless to say!)

The most amazing thing about Teatro Colon, though, is that it has no sound system as we know it. There is not a single microphone in the whole place. The accoustics are completely natural, coming from the way the theatre was built. The effect is wonderful. We are so used to hearing voices always electronically amplified, and this is so different. The voices all projected beautifully to all parts of the theatre. There was one scene where a cleaning cart was wheeled onto the stage, and you could actually hear the wheels turning.

The singing was excellent, and the staging beautiful.

Having said all that, the opera itself was the worst bloody rubbish I’ve seen in a long time. From the minute the curtains opened until they closed, I had no idea what was going on. Lots of slow walking and breast beating — and several totally naked men, which I never did quite figure out. Several times I just sat back and looked around, enjoying the theatre itself and ignoring what was going on onstage!

Culture is hugely subsidized in Argentina, and I paid only about Cdn.$14 for my seat. If only I could be here next month to hear Don Giovanni! I would like to go there again next time I’m here, but I’ll pay more attention to what I’m going to see first.

On a different note, today was Palm Sunday. I was walking along Avenida Santa Fe, and several people were selling olive branches, rather than the palm branches I’m familiar with. I realized it was because there was a church nearby. By the time I reached it, it was clearly standing room only, and many people were standing outside on the steps, holding their olive branches and listening to the mass broadcast from inside. I joined them and listened for a while, but it was hard for me to follow.

Here is my little olive branch, now standing on my coffee table in a glass.