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| Sinterklaas close to the Stopera
(c) 2016 Team Terpsichore: all rights reserved
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Only 126 miles separate the Hook of Holland from Harwich. English is spoken very widely in the Netherlands. Their own language is a first cousin of English, appreciably closer than either German or French. Their climate is very much the same as ours. They share our maritime heritage. They are a constitutional monarchy just like us. The colours of their flag are red, white and blue. According to Wikipedia the Dutch even play cricket (see Cricket in the Netherlands Wikipedia). The Dutch are just like us, aren't they!
Well no! Not exactly! And certainly not in every respect as I found out for myself on the way to the Muziektheater or Stopera, the home of the Dutch National Ballet. I usually take the tube to the Stopera but the nearest exit to the theatre was closed for some reason or other on Sunday. I had to leave from another exit on the other side of the Waterlooplein. Last Sunday, however, my way was blocked by a big parade. There were scores of floats and marching bands with men and women in 17th-century costume doling out sweets and biscuits to children and other passers-by. Many of them had blackened their faces with makeup. In the centre of the parade on a milk-white horse rode a man in a mitre with a false white beard and a wig of white curls who was waving to the crowd. He turned out to be Sinterklaas and his black-faced assistants represented his companion, Zvarte Piet ("Black Piet").
I felt a little uneasy at seeing all those blacked up faces but the Black and Asian folk in the crowd did not seem to mind at all. They appeared to be having just as much fun as everyone else. Sinterklaas sounds almost the same as Santa Claus but he is nothing like our Father Christmas. We tell our kids that Santa lives in Lapland where he is attended by elves and reindeer. When he wants to deliver presents on Christmas eve he travels by sleigh. Sinterklaas, by contrast, lives in Spain, travels by boat or on horseback and is attended by Black Piet. Instead of a red hood, he dons a bishop's mitre. Sinterklaas's story is told by the Sint in Amsterdam website and the video Intocht Sinterklaas Amsterdam 14 Nov 2010 gives you the flavour of the parade.
After the procession had snaked its way along the Waterlooplein we crossed the road and made our way to the Stopera. We enjoyed a superb performance of La Bayadere which I reviewed yesterday in Dutch National Ballet's La Bayadere 14 Nov 2016. After reading my review Richard Heideman, the National Ballet's press manager kindly sent us the following pictures By Marc Haegeman.
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| Dutch National Ballet, La Bayadere
Photo Marc Haeeman
(c) 2016 Dutch National Ballet: all rights reserved Reproduced with kind permission of the company |
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| Dutch National Ballet, La Bayadere
Photo Marc Haeeman
(c) 2016 Dutch National Ballet: all rights reserved Reproduced with kind permission of the company |
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| Dutch National Ballet, La Bayadere
Photo Marc Haeeman
(c) 2016 Dutch National Ballet: all rights reserved Reproduced with kind permission of the company |
Although we had come to Amsterdam primarily to see ballet that was not the only thing we did there. The Philips Symphony Orchestra gave a concert at the Concertgebouw which we attended on Saturday evening. They played Brahms's Violin Concerto and Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony in their main auditorium which was an experience in itself. Excellent acoustics, beautiful chandeliers, the walls bearing the names of many of the world's greatest composers. Each piece was introduced by a short lecture of which I fear I understood only the gist as it was delivered in Dutch. In the interval free drinks were served in the bar. "A very civilized touch and typically Dutch", I thought.
Earlier in the day we had spent our afternoon across the road in the Stedelijk Museum which displays a small but precious part of its collection of paintings and sculpture from the last 150 years and a massive display of every aspect of design. There were several special exhibitions on Saturday of which a retrospective on Jean Tinguely absorbed most of our time. I have to confess that I had never heard of Tinguely before I visited the exhibition but I was fascinated by his moving machines. They were like Heath Robinson come to life.
All good times come to an end, of course, but I was sadder than usual to board my plane back to Manchester on Sunday night. The Dutch appear on average to be about 6 inches taller than us Brits but they also seem to be gentler in their dealings with one another and certainly with foreigners. A land of Big Friendly Giants with arguably the best ballet company in Europe if not the world. I could get used to living in Amsterdam.
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