Magical night at the one and only exclusive music club
Maxim, Moulin Rouge, Blaue Katze, Folies.
At the end of the 19th century Budapest was full of orpheums with revues and cabarets providing entertainment of the highest quality for those who could afford going to one of the above mentioned elegant, exclusive clubs.
Sadly, only one of those is still standing, the Moulin Rouge, but even that one is functioning as a high profile discotheque nowadays.
But behold, something is coming to life once again. Finally, the Orfeum is here, working in the basement of the five star Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal. Just like the hotel itself, it's very elegant with luxurious plush sofas, and yes, 5 star prices. But the thing is, it's mainly for the hotel's guests. It's been there for over two years and almost no one had noticed it!! The entrance looks like it belongs only to the hotel, and average people, like me are walking by day by day never once thinking about checking it out, just perhaps sigh and think "oh, one day, if I'll get very rich..".
I never would have thought that I don't have to be rich to get inside! Last month there was a jazz concert there called 'Sinatra and Friends' and there was a ticket sale on the Internet with a 50% off last minute discount. That was when I realized that even the full price is very affordable, even by Hungarian standards. It's the average discotheque entry fee or the price of a movie theater ticket (but the food and some of the alcoholic beverages are way too expensive for us, so we drank coffee and ginger ale:).
Needless to say, it took me about 5 seconds to make up my mind and purchase two tickets and start thinking about what would be the appropriate outfit for the occasion.
I wasn't disappointed. The interior design despite all its up to date stuff perfectly mimicked the atmosphere of the early 20th century orpheums - minus the smoke.
The concert itself was practically an over three hours long one man show of the singer/musical actor Gábriel, accompanied by his jazz trio. They played everything from Sinatra to Cole Porter and Edit Piaf. Most of the songs were famous standards but there were a few unknown gems.
Tonight there was a discount again for the show called "A piece of my heart", but this time Gábriel sang Hungarian standards from the '20s to the '70s.
To be honest, I don't like Hungarian music at all. I don't hate it, but I don't listen to it, because it most often reflects the general mentality of the nation. And Hungarians are...well, how should I put this politely... they're in love with their misery. They always find a reason to bitch and whine about something. No wonder that one tenth of the total population are alcoholics.
But Gábriel somehow put together songs from the first talking movies to the '50s-'60s most popular dance music and made them sound positive, lovely, heartbreaking, old and new at the same time. He made them sound jazzy and owned them, with a huge bow before the original artists. This was no tribute concert though. This was about a man's love for what he does and pouring his heart out in song on a mini stage, and whatever he sang, you couldn't help but believe him. Seeing his face transformed into an expression of pure emotion was a sight to behold. We laughed and cried with him, and left a piece of our hearts there.
This night was truly magical. Something you would box up if you could, put up on a shelf of your mind palace to take it down years from now on on a cold, rainy night and relive it just as it had been, unfaded, preserved forever. But some things are meant to be fleeting, that's what makes them beautiful and priceless. I'm glad I was there to witness it, and for many more nights to come, I will put on my nicest dress to hear Gábriel sing in Budapest's one and only exclusive music club. It's good to know that there's still a place for something like this in this world.
