VSO

So I went to see the VSO and Stephen Hough yesterday. It was my first time to see an orchestra at Orpheum.
It was my third time there and I really love that theatre but I had not imagined  how it would be with an orchestra. I had just seen Tony Bennett and Renee Flemming.  Well, on the whole, the performance was pretty good, but I was not able to enjoy to the fullest. VSO needs a new home. I mean Orpheum is just too small for them. I cannot believe that such an international city doesn't have any big enough concert hall in downtown. I have seen Centre of Performing Arts, Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vogue Theatre and Chan Centre but none of them are big enough for an orchestra. Orpheum is a beautiful theatre built in 20's and has the great interior that perfectly fits classical music. But come on, it used to be a vaudeville house, it's just tiny. It's like watching a school play.So after the first program, and the middle of the program, orchestra members have to stand up to move their seats to accommodate Mr. Hough's piano. It was just odd and painful to see. And sound and acoustic system are pretty bad. I was at back of the hall but the sound simply got stuck in front. It doesn't travel through the back of the theatre. So you feel like you are standing the hall way of a high school, in front of the closed door of the music room. It's would be too tough to compare with Tokyo, but I couldn't stop thinking of those amazing theatres there, like Orchard, Suntory, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space and Tokyo International Forum. All of them have great capacity to have major productions of opera and ballet. They were all sophisticatedly designed for maximizing the sound. I started missing those great theatres that I had taken for granted.
VAG doesn't need a new home. Let VSO and Ballet BC have the fund instead.

One more thing, it always surprises me when I see all those casually dressed audiences. It seems that there is nothing special about going to the classical concert or ballet in Vancouver. You wear jeans, sneakers, shorts, flip flops. Men don't wear ties. But girls wear beautiful dresses to go to Cactus Club. Guys wear suits to go to Joey's. What is special about Cactus Club? It's just a mini adult family restaurant. Sometimes it is very hard to get their concept of clothing. Maybe it's a good thing to make people feel much easier and more comfortable to go to theatres. But I sure miss Japanese people with the concept of Time Place and Occasion.