London 2015 Day 6, July 5 Sunday

London 2015 Day 6, July 5 Sunday

Woke up far too early today and it rained a bit! Just a mist really. Since we were early we had our first English Breakfast here in the hotel terrace room. Very nice and filling, with sausages, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast and pastries, fruit and juice!

Then we took the 15 bus up the Strand (down the Strand? along the Strand?) to St. Paul's Cathedral for the 11am orchestral mass with Mozart's Coronation Mass sung by their boys and mens choir. Really really impressive sitting right near the front. The church is stunning, particularly the nave which is unadorned with the Victorian mosaics of the choir section. We didn't have a tour since no tours on Sundays when there were services. But the music was thrilling

After that we took the 15 bus back for a short visit to the Courtauld Gallery with many fine Impressionist paintings, and one of my favorite Manets, the Bar at the Folies-Bergere. A little lunch in their cafe and then off to the opera across the street!

The Royal Opera House in Covent a Garden is worth a trip to London by itself. Seats were really pricey but the view was close from our seats in the Stalls Circle as they call the first ring of seats. ThenOpera was Guillaume Tell or William Tell by Rossini but sung in French. Much press has been written over the last few days about a rape scene with several soldiers and a young girl. The production was toned down a bit from opening night and she is no longer left naked. But it was a small part of a four and a half hour long performance, with only two half hour intervals. It was overall a strangely moving production with several crowd scenes and a huge dead tree revolving around the stage. Singing was excellent, and this was an HD filmed show for theaters around the UK and maybe eventually the US!

Whew, after our marathon opera afternoon, from 3 to 7:30, we wandered through Covent Garden Market where most young ones were enjoying a pint or two! We found a little Italian restaurant for a yummy dinner, and then a short walk back to our hotel!