Mme Butterfly

 

I hadn’t realized beforehand that this play was set in Japan. I only knew Nagasaki because of the atomic bomb. I’m not particularly drawn to Far Eastern culture, but the set alone was very simple and incredibly effective.

During the first act, a thunderstorm also rolled across the Allgäu in the background — with so much going on, you hardly knew where to look.

And yes, although there were a few slow stretches at the beginning, the ending featured a spectacular showdown, complete with a blazing fire (in that heat!) and the suicide of the female lead.

Children really shouldn’t be allowed to attend operas — that’s what makes the drama truly emotional...

And if they are allowed in, then perhaps dramas about fathers who have been estranged from their children should also be artistically explored from time to time, purely in the interests of fairness...

Sunrise Avenue - final concert Helsinki

No, it wasn’t the band’s last concert — but only because several concerts in Germany had to be cancelled due to COVID and now still need to be made up. Otherwise, it might actually have been their last concert. But I don’t want to believe that anyway, because all the musicians still seem to enjoy performing live (at least in Finland) — you couldn’t detect any sign of fatigue.

Quite the opposite, in fact. Compared with nine years ago in Arbon, they have really grown into accomplished musicians. It no longer seems to be all about trying to land a hit. Their music has become noticeably more rock-oriented, and the guys from back then now really come across as a band that works well together.

Of course, the Olympic Stadium is a very different setting from the lakeside in Arbon back then, and the stage was much bigger too... But even the weather played along for this concert: it didn’t start raining until after the final encore, even though it had looked like rain was coming for quite some time