Clothing

Letters from America

Monday 19 August 2019

I posted this selfie on Twitter last week. This is my new coat. I had to concede my favourite old pale trench coat was finished. Such a lovely, quality thing I bought in Double Bay ages ago, I had finally worn it out.

All this sentiment reminded me of the improbable scene in La Boheme where the old coat gets serenaded before being pawned to buy medicines for the rapidly declining Mimi, who is flushed with TB.
Caruso’s version of the song – The Coat Song:

https://tinyurl.com/yxomvnps

It’s a little while since I went to the opera.  But it’s a much longer while since I bought student rush tickets for $5.  In those days the opera theatre was often half empty.  The audience always included elegant Hungarian women in mothball furs though.  It’s great the opera is so popular now but it’s so sad the days of student rush are over.  Those heavily discounted tickets gave impoverished students the incredible privilege of going to the opera several times a week when the season was on – what a life!
xx MG