On Saturday the girls and I got an early Christmas present, tickets to the ballet "La Sylphide" at the Zurich Opera house. Sarah's ballet teacher was able to purchase tickets for us before they went on sale to the public. They were a little pricey, but as I told Chris, one of my fondest childhood memories is going to see "The Nutcracker" with my mom when I was Sophie's age. So we went ahead and got them. The kids tickets were actually quite inexpensive, it was my ticket that was so over the top. Still, in the end it was totally worth it.
I told the girls that we needed to dress up fancy because the ballet was in a fancy building. They had lots of fun picking out what to wear, I let them do that all on their own. They came out of their room in matching outfits, and looked so adorable. We also put on their bracelets from Jenna and their Australian Opal necklaces from Grandma Lasko. 'Cuz it isn't fancy without lots of bling! :) They approved of my outfit as well, luckily and we all climbed in the car for a trip to downtown Zurich.
I had originally thought we would take the train in, but Chris said he would take the boys and Baby to the English bookstore and the toy store while we were at the ballet. So we made it a family affair. And of course, we left later than I wanted to so there was a bit of worry we would be completely late and miss the first act. However, we got there 10 minutes before starting time and were able to get to our seats no problem. In fact, it actually started a bit late, so we really didn't need to have worried at all.
The girls were very impressed with the fancy building from the outside. Sophie called it a castle. They loved the decorations on the inside as well. Sarah was a bit worried that someone else would get our coats from the coatcheck girl, but calmed down when I showed her the little metal claim tags she gave us. Our seats were kind of high up, but ended up being rather good seats for first timers. We could see the entire stage easily, and were pretty well in the center of the building. No tall people were in front of the girls to block the view and they could sit back and still see everything. They loved the fancy red velveteen chairs, and the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. They also wanted me to take pictures of the pretty paintings on the ceiling, so they could always remember them.
We had read the story of the ballet at home before we left. I explained to them that there was no talking during the ballet, just music and dancing, but if they knew the story beforehand it would be easy for them to follow along with the dancers. I also told them that if they wanted to ask me a question during the ballet, they should just poke me gently and then I would lean down so they could whisper in my ear. That way we wouldn't disturb any body else. They were very good and did this the entire time. As each different character would come on the stage, I would explain who it was and that helped them follow the story better as well.
During the intermission, I asked them if they wanted to go wander around the building and look at everything, but they decided they would rather just stay in the room. They were worried about the ballet starting back up again without them. I told them they would ring a bell to let us know when to come back in, but they weren't taking any chances. They did have fun exploring the area around where we were sitting though, and even walked down to the edge to peek over into the orchestra pit below. And of course, some well meaning busy body Swiss lady had to inform Sophie that that was very dangerous and she should be careful. Yeah, that's what the railing up to their chest is for lady, I don't think they are gonna fall with that in their way. Sheesh. Sarah saw several girls from her ballet class, but was disappointed that she couldn't see her teacher. We did run into her outside after the performance, though, so that ended up being all right.
We were all enchanted with the beautiful dancing and music and the very romantic story. When the ballerina playing the fairy escaped up the fireplace chimney the girls kind of gasped in astonishment. They both looked at me with huge eyes and asked, "Is she really a fairy?" It did look like she had actually flown up there, so props to the special effects person on a job well done. My favorite parts were when all the actors danced together. They did several intricate weaving moves and it looked gorgeous from our vantage point. They were both very sad when the fairy died, but liked how she floated up to heaven. They did mention that they could see the ropes, though. I was crying a bit at the end, and Sophie asked me why. I told her because it was so beautiful. I had forgotten how much love the
ballet, and have decided to now take the girls and I at least once a year. Well, actually next year I want to take everyone to see "The Nutcracker" if they are performing it.
At the end we clapped and clapped until our hands were sore, and then we clapped some more. There must have been at least 10 curtain calls. But finally it was really over and we had to go home. But first we stopped off in the bathroom and had fun playing with the fancy hand dryer and looking at the two statues you could see through the windows. We also ran into our friend Meike from church there. That was a fun surprise to see her as well. We walked back along the lake and over the bridge to Chris' work where he picked us up and then we went home together. It was a beautiful outing and a wonderful memory. Definitely money well spent.