Description

A lively snapshot of the 1895 Covent Garden season opens the collection, full of witty commentary on the latest operas. The writer celebrates singers like Miss Alice Esty as Elsa in Lohengrin and applauds daring attempts to stage German, French and Italian works in English, noting the conductors’ nicknames. Playful barbs about “Tête Monté” versus “Tête moins Monté” give the piece a breezy, insider feel while still welcoming listeners unfamiliar with the theatre world. The tone stays light, inviting the audience to share in the season’s buzz and occasional theatrical mischief.

The humor shifts to a mock‑serious report on the fictional “Amnesia Bacillus,” an epidemic that wipes memories from everyone from Brighton ladies to borrowing labourers. Through exaggerated cases—lost identities at railway stations, borrowers who forget debts, and “New Women” whose pasts evaporate—the essay lampoons Victorian anxieties about class, finance and social change. Even clergy and judges suffer mild forms, forgetting ordinary words and prompting the need for “cockney interpreters.” Listeners will enjoy the clever blend of cultural critique and wit that feels both of its time and relevant today.

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