The mundane nature of my day ahead (washing machine delivery etc) is offset by the evening we had last night for our Ambassadors, a group of 100 committed and generous Friends. It took place in a beautiful house in Kensington that was once owned by Stanford the composer, an apt venue since many great figures from operatic history including Tchaikovsky and Wagner had visited him there. Indeed, Wagner was very much to the fore by the end of the evening as several Ambassadors, in what can only be described as a pincer movement, cornered James and I and made a bid for Wagnerian glory. Now Wagner is, I suppose a natural progression for a company that has been tearing through the giovane scuola and the 'Children of Tristan' but it is still one hell of a leap. Nevertheless our Wagnerian Ambassadors were encouraged to hear that we have indeed been thinking about introducing him to our stage in the years ahead and thus, right there, in the room in which the great man himself had once stood, was born the OHP WI (Wagner Initiative). We left them arguing amongst themselves about who should be chairman. My money is on a chap called Martin - he's a lawyer with some significant scalps in his pocket and I don't fancy their chances.
With a thoroughly pleasant evening ended, James and I retired to the pub for a nightcap where we wondered at how we had ever come to be at the heart of such a wondrous enterprise - more specifically I suppose we continue to wonder how we were ever allowed to be! I doubt either of us are in line for the top job at Bayreuth should it ever become vacant.
