Deep into the Peak District lies the Spa town of Buxton. Best known for its mineral water, it is also home to a gem of a theatre, the Opera House. It is part of a complex known as the Pavilion Gardens, built in the style of the Crystal Palace (and by the same architect).

The Opera House was the last to be built in 1903, and it is by the legendary architect Frank Matcham. Whilst it is called an opera house, it is more of a lyric theatre and presently seats 902.

The exterior is in Derbyshire stone and has twin cupolas, a style Matcham was fond of. The garden pavilion to the left was originally on the theatre site so it was dismantled and rebuilt alongside afterwards.

(This pavilion is currently closed due to structural problems but as the theatre has exits into it then a scaffold safe zone has been created inside). The canopy is a fine piece of wrought iron and the stained glass has been restored to the original design (after half a century of Cinema use from the 20s to the 70s).

This next shot is actually a cheat- it is a mirror image so that the writing is readable.

The main lobby is fairly small, but then again, in 1903, it was only for the wealthy patrons. (The ordinary folk had separate entrances to the sides for the Pit and Gallery). Through a pair of double doors, you come into the space with a terrazo floor and a painted mural ceiling.

This close-up of the ceiling mural shows this cherub with a mask.

A doorway to the left of the lobby leads to the stalls, whilst a wide staircase leads up to the dress circle. The handrails are embedded in a very ornate piece of marble.

At the top of the stairs is something rather unusual- a fire hose there for historic purposes only. (They like to keep things the way they were at the Opera House).

Passing in to the auditorium, the colour scheme is cream and gold, with blue seats. There are two boxes either side at circle level, with a single box above capped with a sunburst motif.

The Pièce de résistance of the auditorium is the ceiling, consisting of several murals around a central sunburner, the detailing being nothing short of sumptuous.

This is a close-up of the Sunburner, which was a victorian air conditioning system, creating an updraft to
remove the vitiated air. It is servicable but cannot be used as it is not certificated. (Apparently it was restored by Gas apprentices as a training project and includes a piezo-electric lighter).

In the upper circle slips there are stained glass windows either side which presumably used to allow light into the auditorium in the past (they are blocked off and backlit now).

On a technical note here, this was the first theatrical outing for my new camera. I was using it in dual mode, where it takes pictures both with and without flash. The following two photos show the difference in results for a proscenium cherub with a tambourine. The non-flash photos are warmer and more natural but more grainy due to the low light levels.

Here is a similar dual shot of the area above the proscenium. Note that the lights look much yellower when the camera adjusts the colour temperature to the flash.

From the circle slips, the serpentine curves of the balcony fronts can be seen.

Just for the sake of it, here is one of the ceiling bosses. That must have taken a lot of gold leaf!

Working our way back down the building, this is the rear of the decorative windows above the canopy in the circle bar.

From the back of the stalls, the balcony overhang is fairly substantial, although the upper circle does not suffer from this, as the gallery is behind. (the flash emphases it somewhat though).

The side walls of the rear stalls are tiled, somewhat more smartly than the gallery, which are plain.

Standing on the forestage, here is the view of the ceiling, showing the sunburner.

A close up of the stage left box front shows that what looks like terrazzo is in fact the scenographer’s art.

Stage right, underneath the box, the bard is celebrated.

Here is the view of the auditorium from behind the setting line.

At the back of the stage, the money shot, eye contact with every seat. (I could have been a fair bit further downstage with the Kodak camera with the wide angle setting).

As we transition from front of house to backstage, here is a section of the building, this is an original Matcham Architectural Practice drawing from a superb display area open during every performance.

The stage is pretty much like it was in 1903 in that it is still a hemp house with a wooden grid and original rake. There have been gradual introductions of technology but nothing earth shattering so it feels very much like an old theatre. The wings are fairly cramped either side but workable.

The Dressing Rooms still have original features and high cisterns in the toilets. This is #1, the star room (& you can see me in the mirror!)

From the Fly Floor, we can see the stage, flys and grid. Unusually, all the dark areas are a very dark brown rather than dark blue or black.

Under the stage, the orchestra pit has been enlarged to a useful space. The stage was cantilevered on huge girders in order to be able to remove the supporting wall. It is hard work for the crew though as there is no pit lift, it all being removable rostra and stagedecking.

Behind the orchestra pit is the electrical store. This suffers from flood water (the river is nearby) and two pumps (from dual power supplies) ensure the water stays below the false flooring.

One final view- the get-in. There are substantial dock doors on the side of the building but the stage is a couple of metres below. Originally it was just a steep staircase, then it became a removable ramp and now they have a scenic lift. It all helps…

Both of the Gaudi apartment buildings in Barcelona give you the opportunity to go up on to the roof. The striking feature up there is the proliferation of chimney pots- all are distinctive. The design appears again on the passion facade of the Sagrada Familia, used for the helmets of the Roman soldiers (as a homage to Gaudi).

Even if you don’t enjoy the architecture, look at that beautiful blue sky…

A selection of snaps from Barcelona Zoo

A few weeks back, when I first posted about visiting Barcelona, JMB expressed an interest in finding out what Barcelona Zoo was like as she had recently been visiting San Diego zoo and was keen to compare them. With this vaguely in mind, I reviewed my photos in order to choose some and then realised that rather than finding photos of a zoo, I had photos of animals instead which could have been taken pretty much anywhere.

So, what is the zoo like? It is roughly L shaped, taking up a corner of a large public park. It is an urban setting, being surrounded by apartment blocks on one side and some unusual office blocks the other. It feels much like a British zoo in that it is relatively haphazard in layout, enclosures being created wherever it suits (many against or built into the perimeter wall). There are many trees and bushes within the zoo itself but it is mostly flat walkways other than a smattering of elevated ones (and a miniature mountain reminiscent of the London Zoo Mappin terraces).

It is a fairly old zoo and has some fine turn of the century buildings, although they seem to be mostly used for administration rather than exhibition. (London Zoo is hampered somewhat by the listed status of many of its structures- they have moved some animals out to Whipsnade to give them more room as they can’t readily alter or extend them.) It has a huge diversity of animals, some in enclosures uncomfortably small for the size of beast. Some areas are full of interest for the animals, others rather barren. There is a decent level of signage, the majority of which is tri-lingual (Catalonian, Spanish and English). Some pens have several different types of animals in and the text is frequently not illustrated so it is necessary to read closely to seperate and identify some unfamiliar species.

The zoo has a strong reputation for the breeding of primates and various species were found in our wanderings. It used to be famous for having an Albino Gorilla called snowflake (the only one in captivity) although he died several years ago. (He is still widely available as a fridge magnet in Las Ramblas souvenir kiosks though.)

Our visit was midweek and it is currently the low season so much of the catering was closed, there not being the visitor numbers to warrant it. There were a lot of primary school children there though on class outings, showing various levels of enthusiasm.

Zoos mainly appeal to children of course, so they are catered for to encourage repeat visits. Imaginative play areas were found in several areas and a large petting zoo area showed the more domesticated animals. One enclosure had climb-over ladders to be able to access the goats, however they were closed off with chains at the top.

The staff get around on bicycles, their department clearly labelled in large letters on the front handlebar support. Two security men had a not particularly discreet presence loitering around the entrance complete with truncheons anjd they turned up later for a dolphin show. (You might not regard a zoo as a hotbed of crime but someone stole a penguin in England a few years ago and teenagers tend to mess about wherever they go anyway, something likely to endanger the animals or indeed themselves).

I find zoos slightly uncomfortable as a spectator because of the constraints the animals often have to live to. Indeed you often see destructive or compulsive behaviour from animals due to distress or boredom. I’m not going to go on a candle-lit vigil to get them closed down as I appreciate they have a scientific purpose as well as an entertainment value. Also, keepers I’ve met and talked to (or seen on telly) do seem to take the welfare of their charges seriously.

Probably the best zoo I’ve ever been to (and also the most unlikely one) was Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Here the imagineers had gone to great lengths to mimic the natural habitats of the animals within the constraints, of course, of a Florida Climate. They also had the world’s cleanest petting zoo, where the poo barely touches the ground before the cast member pixies magic it away. Of course, if you look too closely behind the magic mirror then you will realise that the apparently natural behaviour is tweaked and encouraged somewhat for the benefit of the guests. (An example of this is the food being put out near the Animal Kingdom hotel so that the Giraffes come close enough to the buildings to be gawped at by the punters, particularly the ones that have paid top dollar to have a savannah view).

Whilst not strictly a zoo, Florida Seaworld has always felt to me like how a zoo should be, even if it is an aquatic one. You get the feeling that the enclosures are just right for the animals, whether shrimps, rays or dolphins (and just right for the humans too). I suspect that for big old Shamu the killer whale though, nothing short of the Bay of Biscay is really big enough.

On our recent Barcelona break, we stayed in a 20’s apartment in the middle of the City. Being on a corner, none of the rooms were symmetrical, the back bedroom winning the biggest number of walls award having seven distinct angles. There were two apartments per floor and the stair well was somewhat gloomy.

I was particularly intrigued by the peephole arrangement in the door. Inside, it was a fairly simple rotating brass plate but on the outside it was a very ornate grille.

(You can just about make out David peeping through in this shot).

I have two door examples from the hand of Gaudi. The first is from the Casa Battlo apartments, where the stairwell is light and airy, also being an internal light well.

The second is from La Pedrera (Casa Mila), in a reconstructed apartment there. It is interesting to read that all of the internal walls are non-structural, so that the apartments could be designed and laid out to the whim of the rich owner. (Note that the door closing handle is almost identical, Gaudi liked simplicity).

So what is the view alluded to in the post title? Back to our apartment, the back bedroom had a shuttered window, but when you opened it, you got this…