Oleśnica

Tuesday, the fourth day of our tour was the busiest yet, beginning with a joint rehearsal with the Wrocław Philharmonic Choir in preparation for the Britten War Requiem on Saturday and Sunday. There were numerous performance practice differences compounded by the language issues, but we persevered for three solid hours. Once finished we sat in the beautiful blazing sun to eat lunch before being whisked away to our third venue in Oleśnica. Unlike the majority of our venues, we arrived at the Miejski Ośrodek Kultury i Sportu (Urban Culture and Sport Center) which had a theatrical stage as opposed to resilient acoustics. Although daunted by the challenge of making music which demands the effect of reverberation, we persevered. It was personally very exciting to be on a stage as opposed to the floor of a church. We stopped for a quick, but delicious meal before the concert. The restaurant was in the same building as the concert and boasted banners of Marilyn Monroe everywhere. We were given variations on the crêpe theme. I was given a mushroom and cheese filled crêpe covered in a yoghurt and raw garlic sauce. Thank goodness all but three of our choir ate the garlic, otherwise it might have meant a slow death to the intermittent ones who had not indulged! It was so delicious I’m hoping to recreate it in the not too distant future. Regardless of all the garlic, and the lack of acoustics the concert was well performed and well received.