The One Where Jen Talks About Opera

Two nights ago, someone broke a rule at Teatro alla Scala. Someone sang an encore. La Scala in Milano is one of the world's most famous opera houses, mostly because of it's history and beauty but not least of all because of its many quirky, yet endearing, rules such as no audience clapping in the wrong place, no wearing purple and absolutely no encores. But when the audience demands the most exciting tenor since Pavarotti to sing once more that Everest of arias, 'Ah, mes amis' from Donizetti's La fille du régiment, how can a singer refuse the chance to be a renegade? That is how a young 30something broke a 70 year tradition at a 230 year old opera house.

When Juan Diego Florez, finished the aria, the house erupted in bravos and ovations, so much so that the handsome Peruvian could do nothing but simply start the song over and sing it once more from the top. To be in Milano, at La Scala, two nights ago, in front of a tenor such as Florez is one of those rare musical moments when you realise how lucky you are just to be there.