[Music] Yorke Trust Opera Orchestra Summer 2009: La Dolce Vita

From Norfolk, UK 2009

I am participating Yorke Trust Baroque Opera Orchestra now.

The shows take place in a lovely medieval church in South Creake, Norfolk, a very beautiful country area in northeastern England. Quite close to the coast.

The singers and continuo players have been rehearsing since the beginning of July, but the orchestra just arrived last Friday for one-week intensive rehearsals.


The house where singers stay and all people have meals every day.



From the house to the church, we will pass the field with ponies and cows and this lovely little path full of flowers.



Norfolk is a very beautiful country area in England. Quite close to the coast. However, South Creake is a little in the middle of nowhere, no shop and only one pub in the village. Car is definitely a necessity here.



I have tried to walk to the beach where everyone says it's very close, but 40 minutes later I was still surrounded by the field, and later a small woods.


After one hour walking, I gave up when seeing this.


The food and accommodation are both free in this programme.

The food is really nicely home-cooked everyday by a professional chef. As to accommodation, basically all of us, including the conductor, are staying with host families. I have been so lucky to stay in a beautiful barn-converted house which is only five-minute walk to the church.

My hostess is a very nice lady to make us feel comfortable in her house. She is also very kind to offer her laptop (iBook G4!) and internet for my use, so I can write this post now even if my laptop system is kind of break down itself.

And she seems to be a professional cook as well. She has full book shelves with all kinds of cook books and seems to be very pleased when I ask her if I may read them. She even offered me nice bread, oat cereal and homemade jam and real proper tea for my breakfast, even if we have free food in the house of York Trust. Therefore, I enjoyed a very nice breakfast this morning with all these high-quality food with one of Nigella Lawson's cookbooks (I have finished another before bed last night!)

We have played the first concert last night, and tonight will be the other...

Click here to see all the photos in Norfolk, UK 2009.