Loving Opera at Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse

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A first visit to Toulouse planned around La Traviata

Toulouse, La Ville Rose (The Pink City), so called for the iron-oxide-rich stone and clay bricks used here for centuries, is a city I’d long wanted to visit. As it has a good music scene, I planned around opera, and found I could work in a visit when La Traviata was being performed. Hard even for me to believe, but I’d never seen this opera staged, although I’ve listened to all its arias since my college years. I think of this opera as a series of greatest hits all strung together in one marvelous show. It’s just nonstop gorgeous. Could hardly wait!

I can’t resist sharing this music in case any readers don’t know it, so am offering some youtube links. And if you happen to be reading this even though you think you don’t like opera, please please please give these links a listen.

Just in the first act, we hear:

I had to include di Stefano, as I’ve listened to his recordings of this aria perhaps a thousand times! We only have audio, so we can’t see the production. But we can listen to this stunning performer. Do!

And Act 2’s first scene has all this:

Surely you’re convinced now! What beauty, what a joy to listen! You see how very different one production is from another. I can spend endless hours comparing performances of these arias. In fact, for the aria “Di Provenza il mar” I have some favorite singers from long ago, but wanted to share links from filmed operas. If you like these arias, search and hear some other singers. Or send me a message (“Leave a reply” below) and I’ll share my aria playlist with you.

Logistics and lodging for a brief visit

I came by train from Nîmes on Tuesday, April 25, after opera in Montpellier two days earlier. Following Google maps, I caught a local bus and got off about 4 blocks from my hostel, La petite auberge de Saint-Sernin, of course near the church of the same name. I had a mixed dorm room for 22 euros a night, with some minimal kitchen facilities right in the room. Aside from the moldy shower, it wasn’t bad, and the location was easy walking distance to the opera.

Mr Pepin, good wine store on the first plaza I came to
Basilique Saint-Sernin near hostel
my hostel, this block on the right

Taco trucks? Nope, empanadas – and a great wine store

12.9 euros

Place Arnaud Bernard, where I got off the bus, had an interesting-looking Argentinian empanada truck that I decided I’d come back to – and I noted an intriguing wine store just opposite. Great, I felt like eating very lightly but also looked forward to trying some new-to-me regional red. When I went back to make my buys, I browsed the selections for quite a while as there were so many fascinating bottles at Mr. Pepin’s. The bottle I chose turned out to be a winner, and the empanadas from El Gaucho 31, with good chimichurri, were very satisfying. So far, so good! I repeated this meal plan (LOL) the next days, and happily, the wine stayed delicious.

Diloy’s got me opera-ready

pre-haircut
selfie just to have a “before” shot

I’d been wanting to get my hair cut and colored, but wanted it done in France. No time till Toulouse. I found a salon called Diloy’s (a chain, I learned) on Blvd Lascrosses very close to me. I was feeling like such a witch with hair way too long for me.

got someone to take an “after” photo in front of the opera

Filling a free night with neighborhood theater

With opera on Thursday, I had a free night. A brochure at the hostel had the program of Theatre le Fil au Plomb, just up the street, and I decided to go to the Wednesday performance, extremely rude title notwithstanding (Du Fist au Phaedre). Sounded amusing, tickets were cheap, why not. I found it pretty dreadful, like one of NYC’s poorer Off-Off-Broadway shows I would explore back in the 1980s. A French immersion evening, at least.