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Doesn’t everyone dash off to London for a long weekend when a friend’s opera is being performed there? Well, that’s who we’ve become. Our friend Thea Musgrave is a Scottish national who has lived in the U.S. for decades. To say she’s an important composer is something of an understatement: in 2002 Queen Elizabeth II named her a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) and in 2017 she was awarded the Queen’s Medal for Music, all in recognition of her contributions to British arts. So when the English National Opera announced they were producing her “Mary, Queen of Scots” several of her friends announced that if she was going we would too.

It’s worth noting that the question of whether Thea and her husband Peter would go was of no small curiosity. Thea, you see, is 96 years old and at this point traveling across the ocean is no small issue. But this was worth it so off we all went. It was great fun traveling with a bunch of friends, though sadly it meant that we were pretty booked up the whole time and didn’t even get to see old friends who live in London.

The opera, I should add, was really great. Modern and somewhat atonal but still approachable. The staging was distinctly minimalistic in light of the English National Opera’s financial struggle but the singing was without question world class. And importantly – for me this is a big distinction between contemporary opera and the 19th century classics – the story was tight and compelling. Mary became the Scottish Queen at the ripe age of six days (that’s right, six days old) when her father James V died. She was shipped off to France at age six, betrothed to the guy who would become Francis II. He reigned for less than two years though before dying so she returned to Scotland at age 19 to rule as was her right by birth.

The opera covers the next six years as she tries – unsuccessfully – to fend off the powerful men who would usurp her power and authority. That tension and power dynamic make for an intense and thoroughly modern drama absent from older operas. It’s worth noting that while ultimately Mary failed to protect her crown – she fled to England where ultimately Elizabeth I had her beheaded (kind of the definition of a failed strategy) – she did succeed in one important way. Her son ultimately ruled as James VI of Scotland and, with the death of Elizabeth, James I of England. During his reign he supervised what became known as the King James Version of the Bible and lived as a raging homosexual, but that’s a story for another time.

OK, back now to our London trip. The opera was really good, the audience loved it, and it got really positive reviews. The crowning glory though was after the cast had taken their bows. While they were still on stage the artistic director came out and announced that they were honored to have the composer there in person. And then the spotlight hit Thea’s bright white hair as she stood and waved while the audience went wild. On and on the applause rolled, a five-minute standing ovation for our friend. I have to admit I had tears just running down my face, so proud of Thea and imagining what it must be like at age 96 to have that experience. A moment I will never forget – and will probably tear up at whenever I think about it.

But of course there’s more to do in London than just go to one opera. The day we arrived Thea was being honored at the House of Lords and the eight or 10 of us from New York were invited along for the event. Sadly, I’d been diagnosed with bronchitis the day before we left New York so I really didn’t feel as though I could go – I didn’t want to tire myself out and I really didn’t want to expose our elderly friends to my germs. Mark made it, though, and said it was a pretty cool event. I mean, it was the House of Lords!

Oddly, we saw another little opera while we were in London. Entirely coincidentally an old friend of mine from Minneapolis was involved in the production of an obscure little opera literally the night before Thea’s debut so off we went to see Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s “Dream Lovers.” It was a fun little escapade, reviving a lost 19th century piece, but not exactly the opera one would fly across the Atlantic for. But watching the production and then having dinner with Laura and her wife Mary was a great evening.

And still there was more music. Our NY friends Mary Beth and Sven came along as well, in part of course to see Thea’s opera, but also because their son Luca is in his third year as a pianist at the Royal Academy of Music. So one afternoon Luca performed a 45-minute piano recital for maybe a dozen of us. Now obviously I have an amateur’s ear but even for me it was obvious what a changed musician he is since he left high school less than three years ago.

Oh, and one more musical interlude. Since we were in London for five nights and only had two of them taken up by operas we bought tickets for “Les Misérables” which has been playing in the West End (London’s equivalent of Broadway) for nearly 40 years. We saw it on Broadway probably 20 years ago or more and loved it then … and loved it again this time. Just an epic story with grand music and staging.

And then there were the group outings. A group dinner at an Ottolenghi restaurant that Mary Beth & Sven love (and that I missed while nursing my illness). A group lunch at an Indian restaurant in the very cool Brick Lane neighborhood. An art exhibit centered in 1504 Florence where Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Raphael all crossed paths. The British Museum. The Tate gallery to see dozens of Turner paintings.

All in all it was a pretty hectic few days. For the first time ever though, I feel as though I started to get to know London. And definitely enjoyed it. From here we’re taking the train to Paris for five days and I find myself thinking “Why don’t we do this London/Paris trip more often?” Why not indeed.