_{OPERA PLACES} Wallis Giunta takes us to London, England

City where you’re working?
London, England

How long are you working on contract?
It’s an eight week contract, with nine performances. I’ve worked multiple times in London, but it’s my first time with the Royal Opera House.

What’s the opera house like?
It’s an institution! The Royal Opera House is one of the most exciting and vibrant theatres in the world, with a fascinating 260-year history and many world premieres along the way. Their programming is really interesting at the moment, and the artistic team is world class, and so kind. They’ve bent over backwards to support me while I navigate this production with my breastfeeding baby by my side.

Where is the most peaceful place in the city?
So far, I would say the Brompton Cemetery, near where I’m staying in Chelsea. It’s a very old, very beautiful cemetery filled with trees, and as soon as you walk in you forget you’re in central London. There are some really interesting people buried there, as well, like Emmeline Pankhust.

Best coffee or tea?
Luckily, they do a decent drip coffee at the opera house cafeteria, which is where I’m most often found. But for a special cup, I love Abuelo on Southampton Street. I’m a big fan of filter (not such an espresso girl) so I like places with more niche options.

Coolest bar or restaurant you’ve been to?                                   The Library Bar at NoMad – it’s like being in a cosy, private, 1800s library where someone happens to serve you drinks and snacks. Heaven…

An activity you have done that is unique to the area?             Let’s just say, with a 10-month-old baby, I don’t exactly get out much…but we’ve done a fair bit of thrift and vintage shopping together in the fabulous shops of Chelsea and Notting Hill. London does second-hand clothes like no other city! We’ve also joined two pro-Palestine solidarity marches, each with several hundred thousand people. Both had a beautiful energy from the crowd, and I felt so welcome and inspired. The collective liberation movement is powerful here in London, perhaps due to its incredible diversity as a global capital.

Is there something unexpected that happens locally that you discovered?
I wasn’t expecting 40,000 people to flood down my street every weekend when the local Chelsea FC football game gets out! Now I know that we live very close to the stadium, and even though our street is super quiet the rest of the week, on game day we plan ahead to avoid the exodus. It’s wild.

How did you find your accommodation?
Much searching online. I found the Airbnb listings in London to be hilariously overpriced, so I looked high and low for an independent furnished-rental option. I found one in the end with a lovely small company, called Art Apartments, who have several flats which they fill with interesting art (and furniture – LOL). It’s still expensive, but better than most other options I found.

What’s the most important thing you think of when it comes to finding accommodation as a singer?
It’s different now that I’m a parent. I look for the intersection of affordable, acceptable and not too far away – commuting with the baby means I can’t be too far out. It wouldn’t be fair to her to be riding the tube 2+ hours per day. If it was just me, I’d commute longer for a better apartment farther out, maybe with a garden, but in order to be closer to the theatre we chose something small and simple. The upside? We’re in Chelsea!

Have you had a chance to explore some galleries or museums?
Not yet. We’ve been to a lot of parks (Battersea, Hyde, Green, etc) but baby Bonnie is not yet museum/gallery ready, and thus I go where she goes: anywhere she can muck around and practice walking.

Is there anything you recommend beyond what we’ve asked here?
In London? Oh my God, the list is endless. Where do I even start? What are you into? It’s all here. For example, I was looking for a baby and toddler indoor play option for a rainy day and googled “ball pit”…the first listing was a nightclub filled waist-deep with balls where you pay a flat rate per hour for unlimited drinks. That’s London for you – you want it, they’ve got it.