Had a good weekend so far; went out to the opera on Friday night to see Puccini's 'Madama Butterfly'. Very good, very Italian, and very high. The first opera that I've not seen on TV, and seen in its entirety. Went to the grand Grand Theatre in Leeds, which is fantastic and beautiful and tall, and sat in the Upper Balcony, the only place they had seats available, but still had a good view. Good thing we're not afraid of heights. Very nice, beautiful singing, beautiful music, and a wonderful way to spend a rainy Leeds night.
Saturday had much better weather - actually sunny - for the first time in about a month. Jo and I decided to go down to Kirkstall Abbey, a local landmark not far from our place that we still hadn't been to on account of the weather. Kirkstall Abbey is a Twelfth-century Cistercian abbey which was disbanded (or de-monked) by Henry the VIII (pronouced veeee! like a German bobsledder) in 1539, partially collapsed in a storm in 1779, and was donated to the City of Leeds in 1889. During the Victorian period, the main road (now the A65) actually ran through the main sanctuary, but the end was bricked up when they moved the road to its present location. Couldn't fit trucks through, apparently. Here are some photos:
The Abbey. In all its January glory.
The front door. Through there you can see the nave, the main sanctuary of the church.
Illustrating the openness created by columns and arches. And the lack of roof.
Jo, in a doorway, just off the South Transcept.
Light and shadow. And ups and downs, and dizzy.
More to come, like more photos and captions and such, but I'm off to the City to try and find Weezer's 'Pinkerton' album. Is there a "Madama Butterfly" connection? Is this non-cynical citing of "high art" a sign of the decline of postmodernism in pop culture? We shall see...
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