Basilique du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre

Today Rosalind and I walked up the hill to the Cathedral, packed with pilgrims from every corner of the world. There was such peace and tranquilty there: I lit candles and said a prayer for peace in the world, and the protection, health and prosperity of family and friends..... It's only about ten minutes walk from the apartment, and I managed to reach it with remarkable ease by using my "stairclimbing" technique - breathe in very slowly, through the nose, on each step, then out very slowly through the mouth - no huffing and puffing in and out through the mouth - that actually makes one breathless, and very dry in the throat. My first discovery of this method was when visiting a friend in Berlin, just after recovering from the almost fatal fire accident, and it "came to me" out of a survival instinct, to climb one hundred and thirty stairs to their flat. Strange how an idea "pops into the mind" without any intellectual input - very useful .....We then went in to the village of Montmartre where we partook of delicious onion soup, then went out gazed at the vast panorama of the city. The enormous Palais Garnier was minute from this vantage point, and the Eiffel Tower looked like model ! After this relaxing walkabout, we ended up at the Opera House to - yes, have a breathe! Rosalind found some exquisitely lovely pianissimo phrases and we returned to the apartment. This evening we're about to watch "The Green Card" dvd, a comedy to end a very serene day. Tomorrow is the pre - general rehearsal of "The Prisoner" at the Opera. Its story is originally set at the time of the Spanish Inquisition, but it is, as usual these days, updated, giving the designer much scope with a fantastic set, motorised walkways, and a treadmill on which Rosalind is seen tramping labouriously on the downstage edge of the scene - it's tricky as it's not very wide and she is wearing heavy men's boots - and singing and acting - what an amazing lady ! To be a successful singer these days one has to be more versatile than ever before - a couple of weeks ago I was watching Anna Larsson falling spectacularly from the above the scenery, turning over in slow motion, down to Hades as Orphee - phew !! In this production, a prisoner is dropped down, head first, hanging by the ankles and almost hitting the stage - only to be flung violently between other prisoners who beat and kick him senseless - oooh, the realism turns your stomach....and can make one stop breathing momentarily - but I hope you're all keeping the lungs moving .....more about this soon... k..p b.......g