Longbourn

Jane Austen fan fiction is nothing new, but it can rarely have been done with such skill and imagination as in Jo Baker's Longbourn. It seems unfair even to call this novel fan fiction for, although it is set in the same milieu as Pride and Prejudice, Baker's characters inhabit a world entirely of her own creation. Events here cleverly match up with Austen's plot, but everything is seen from another point of view. For her characters are the servants to Austen's Bennet family, shadows that come to life thanks to Baker's imagination and thorough, though lightly-worn, research. It's fascinating to hear what toil, sweet and tears it took to keep the Bennet household running, what blood, guts and trauma were involved in the war talked of so flippantly. Themes are shared between the two novels, themes current in society at the time I imagine, in particular poverty, freedom and the nature of love. But, historical detail aside, this is really a coming-of-age story as the young housemaid Sarah deals with her own battles in love – that's what makes it such a compelling read.

Moses in Egypt

Welsh National Opera (WNO) has twice this year staged operas based on the story of Moses. But the  rum-ti-tum tonality of Rossini's Moses in Egypt couldn't be further removed in musical style from the stern rigour of Schoenberg's twelve-tone Moses and Aron. The 19th-century Italian's score, clearly an influence on Verdi's Nabucco and influenced by Mozart's Don Giovanni, is a mixed bag; but one thing's for sure, Rossini sure knew how to whip up the excitement at the key dramatic moments. He also added an 'impossible-love' subplot to liven up the Biblical narrative for his entertainment-loving audience, with Osiride, the Egyptian heir, in love with a Hebrew girl, Elcia.

Gorgeous voices, gorgeously complementary in their quartets and duets, made up the clutch of soloists for the Rossini. The Chagall-inspired colour palette for the costumes – lemon yellow, aqua blue, fiery reds and oranges and warm pinks – bathed the stage in a rainbow glow, making up for a rather insipid, functional staging. The parting of the Red Sea seemed marginally less miraculous when six stage-hands were clearly visible. Still, the effortlessly natural conducting of Carlo Rizzi and the WNO orchestra, and the glorious singing from all on stage, made this an enjoyable evening.

Hello 2015!

Happy New Year!

No resolutions so far, but I do have a beautiful new notebook for scribblings.