Surprise

My husband is excellent at planning surprises. Among many others, he planned and organised a birthday party on a boat on the Norfolk Broads with family and friends and a two-night stay in Cambridge, all without me having an inkling of what he was up to. But the most wonderful night I remember was on Thursday 27th February 2003. David told me to pack some smart clothes and we travelled down to London – no surprise there, as we are both Londoners and we still enjoy going back to visit. He had booked us into a pleasant hotel, where we prepared to go out for the evening.

I was intrigued when we started to walk in the direction of Buckingham Palace, through the park and along streets I didn’t know. Not that I was complaining – I was enjoying the view, the streetlights  and the sight of people coming home from work, going out for the evening, living their busy lives. As we turned a corner, I noticed a crowd making its way towards an impressive, large, domed building, which I recognised as The Royal Albert Hall. There were banners but we were too far away for me to read them. The closer we got, the more excited I became as I read the words. My heavy metal loving husband had booked tickets for Puccini in the round: my favourite opera, Madama Butterfly. We had seats right at the front, where we could clearly see the water-filled circle with up-lights and stepping stones leading to the main set, a revolving Japanese house, with sliding walls. The house lights went down, the busy, fugal opening bars of the orchestral prelude started up – and I was transported. Tears trickled down my face at the silver notes of Ciocio-san’s Ancora un passo (‘One step more’) floating down from the back of the Royal Albert Hall as the singers made their way between the seats, past where we were sitting, and crossed the water.

fragile butterfly
sun-kissed on a spring morning
falling with blossoms

Kim M. Russell, 2016

madame-butterfly-2

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Haibun Monday: And to all a goodnight

It’s Haibun Monday with Toni and this week she has chosen to inspire us with a quote: ‘And to all a good night…’ from Moore’s ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’. She wants us to write about one good night we’ve had – whether it was a Christmas night, a first date, lying out under the stars and watching a meteor shower, time spent with family and/or friends, staying up and waiting to catch Santa Claus….a good night!

The rules are: it must be non-fiction, must have happened directly to us, one – two tight paragraphs ending with a classical seasonal haiku.

36 thoughts on “Surprise”

  1. I love Puccini. And you so totally shared that wonderful night with us. What a loving and wonderful husband! I am paetial to Tosca myself. But Madame Butterfly is so beautiful. Your haiku is spectacular and as beautiful as the opera itself. I have see it at the Met in NY. But the Royal Albert Hall…oh my.

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      1. I have Tosca on DVD but I have been to see La Boheme a few times. I love the scene near the beginning when Rodolfo takes Mimi to meet his friends at the Cafe Momus and the parade goes by – the stage gets really full and it’s almost like you’re in the middle of it.

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    1. Thank you, Sarah. We’ve had quite a few trips and adventures, some of them complete surprises, and I really don’t know how he managed to keep them secret. For the Madame Butterfly trip he even organised time off from work! everyone else knew but me!

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  5. I love opera and it is surely a sign of how much they love us when our heavy metal, or in my case, jazz-loving husbands go with us. I’ve never seen Madame Butterfly, though. And to see it in London–that would be the dream of a life time. Wonderful haiku.

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  6. Kim! This is so, so beautiful. It brought tears to my eyes. What a marvelous surprise your husband planned…..Butterfly is so beautiful, poignant an opera. What a wonderful night you had. I sat on the edge of my chair reading your haibun….and that haiku is divine. What a night for both of you.. What a memory!

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  10. Madame Butterfly is the only opera besides (Phantom of the Opera) that I’ve seen and it was an amazing experience. It does so much in such a reserved yet passionate manner. You have excellent tastes

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