Here's Rosemary for remembrance.
Some sad news this weekend. Whilst all the feline drama has revolved around Nutkin these past few months, it was Jemima who passed away last night.
Active to the end (I saw her chase down and catch a small, blue butterfly less than a week ago), she went from being a bit unwell on Friday to subdued by Saturday lunchtime (though still drinking water of her own volition) and then a rapid decline on Saturday evening. Fitting slightly, she died in Ross's arms while I was on the phone sorting out emergency veterinary cover.
Probably the most poignant moment so far has been Nutkin cat's reaction when he realised that, for the first time in fourteen years, he would be sleeping alone.
A night of Gallic lyricism, perfumed emotion and high camp was therefore just what the doctor ordered and Gonoud's Faust on a live cinema relay from Covent Garden delivered.
I felt I was attending a masterpiece with layers of accrued saccharine carefully wiped away by Dan Ettinger's account of the score. I was wholly unconvinced by the work, the production and the music makers on the previous occasion I saw this show. This time, I felt that they knew not just how it all went but also why it all went that way. There was a redemptive struggle going on underpinned by all sorts of religious guilt, shame and fear. Sort of Les Misérables meets The Exorcist.
Erwin Schrott's Méphistophélès was masterly, so much fun and yet chillingly evil. Michael Fabiano was a debonair Faust while I thought the third replacement Marguerite, Irina Lungu, booked some future work at ROH. It's the first time I've heard a performer launch the final trio sounding like someone who is genuinely imploring for mercy on their immortal soul.
Interestingly, the screening happened to fall on Walpurgis Night. Now, I've obviously been labouring under a misapprehension as I've always linked Walpurgis Nacht with Halloween. Google was my friend: I looked them up and, although the basic traditions are pretty much the same, one takes place at the end of the fourth month and the other at the end of the tenth month - ie they're six months apart.