HOW IT BEGINS

Here I begin a journey in writing based on my journeys in the world of opera.

On 12th December 1984, the day after my 22nd birthday, I attended my first opera performance. The opera was Rusalka, composed by Antonin Dvorak in 1901. It was performed by the English National Opera (ENO) and staged at the London Coliseum. I remember very little except how excited I was to be there and how I nodded off a few times...

Almost 230 opera attendances later and with a collection of just about every opera programme and ticket to those performances, I have come to realize just how passionate I am about opera and the buzz I get from the moment I arrive at the theatre. Travelling widely for work these days, I am always eager to search out the possibility of a trip to the opera. Last year I saw 30 opera productions in places including Melbourne (MEL, my hometown), Sydney (SYD), Frankfurt (FRA), London (LHR), Paris (CDG), New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX).

Due to a work schedule that could be disrupted at any time, I will not usually have a ticket for the performance so I have to rely on tickets obtained on the day. There has never been a problem. In fact, it is at this point that the adrenalin begins and I am more often than not rewarded with a brilliant start to the night and a story to go with it.

And so, it is from this background, based on the encouragement of my friends, many of whom have never been to the opera and all of whom listen patiently and often eagerly to my stories, that I begin this blog. Celebrating the 26th year of my opera attendance the Operachaser embarks on a mission for 2010...