The Real Life Adventures of Your Average Opera Diva

As the resident opera fan, I always like to share the “Opera News of the Weird” just to ensure our readers that opera is a wonderfully flawed and human art form. Enjoy!

Opera-go-round

Confirming that opera is never dull, Sally Silver, singing the eponymous role in Scottish Opera's Lucia di Lammermoor on Saturday at Glasgow's Theatre Royal, sprained her calf muscle in Act 1 and couldn't go on. Now we are not saying anything about the average age of opera-goers, but Sally was able to borrow a wheelchair from an audience member who was safely in her seat, so the show went on with Lucia whirling about the stage in the chair, singing as beautifully as ever.

Since then, Sally has had to endure fellow singers breaking into a version of Wilson Pickett's Mustang Sally changed to Wheelchair Sally, when she hirples past.

The decision on whether Sally can sing tonight has still to be taken. She could, of course, do the role on crutches, but with the surname Silver, it doesn't take a genius to work out what her new nickname would be.

Maybe it’s a Brit thing, but I’m at a loss as to the “new nickname” she will receive. Long John Silver, maybe? He had a crutch, right? Someone please explain the joke. Cheers.

-Kari G.