Well, it is confirmed. The hills actually ARE alive with the Sound of Music in Salzburg.
First of all, my sad showing at the Rathaus on Thursday evening... The Rathaus is the scene of the Summer Film Festival, which is a big screen showing of all kinds of opera, concerts, ballet. First of all, they have this huge international food market, which was incredibly crowded and fun! And I do love food, and choices, and a chance to eat something that is NOT meat and potatoes and schnitzel of all kinds! Then, about 9:30, everyone gathers in the Platz in front of this huge screen to watch the opera. Thousands of people, and they actually are become absolutely silent. These Viennese take their opera seriously. But the staging was SO WEIRD! There were football players! I did not understand. My problem is that I was falling asleep by 10 pm. So sad. I am not a night person.
But it was all OK, because I had to get up at 6 am to head out to Salzburg. The city is charming, and I did go on the corny Sound of Music tour and loved every minute of it. And yes, I did sing along with the recording in the van. And hopped up and down the steps. And walked down the cathedral aisle. One of the best parts was that she drove us out to the beautiful lake district, which I do not think I would have seen otherwise.
Then yesterday evening, we went to a Salzbergian (that is a word) restaurant, and there was a huge group of ladies wearing gold hats (their equivalent of the red hat ladies in the US). As we were eating our delicious food, they sang folk songs. I love moments like that!
Today, my two friends went to the ice caves, and I did a couple Mozart museums and came home. Tonight, I will make a second attempt at the Rathaus for Tosca. I am an eternal optimist.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
The Best and Worst...
This has definitely been a trip full of performances. Since the title of the institute is "Mozart and his German Operas," you can imagine that performance is a big part of our experiences and discussion.
The performances have ranged from the sublime to the horrendous to the "Huh?". We have seen some incredible operas. There are two opera companies here--the Staatsoper (State Opera), where Martin Short works, and the Volksoper (People's Opera), which used to be lesser in quality, but apparently has improved a lot over the last few years. We saw Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio--music and singing was sublime, but they changed Mozart's comedic ending from happily ever after to the four heros being killed. Huh?!?! I also saw Tosca and La Forza del Destina. Again, awesome music, but the staging left me wondering what kind of parallel universe I was in. Cowboys in Verdi?
One of the best, and possibly weirdest, was the marionette performance of The Magic Flute. Almost the entire opera--a great recording from the Berlin Philharmonic. And what these puppeteers could do with those marionettes was astonishing! I was so taken into the scale of the performance that I was fooled into feeling that the puppets were life-sized. And when the puppeteers stood behind the puppets to take a bow, I absolutely could not compute how huge the people looked for about 5 seconds. I think the thought that popped into my head was, "Wow, they found giants to be puppeteers!" Totally worth the money--I've never seen anything like it!
And now for the worst performance yet...I went to Bratislava, Slovakia to check out Eastern Europe (a half day trip was perfect). As we sat and had coffee, where we were served by a woman who was absolutely stone-faced. I think it was left-over from the Communist era. There was a "stand-still" street performer in my line of sight. He was completely silver, standing on a silver box. His gig is, to stand absolutely still, like a statue, and when people put money in his hat, he would move like a robot. So, the whole key to his financial success is actually standing still so people would pay to see him move. Well, this guy was the worst stand-still street performer in the history of the universe. He would take up his freeze position, and within 10 seconds, he would be distracted by a bird to his left, or someone walking past, or he would answer his phone, or get down off his box to look in the store window or eat a snack. Seriously! It was the highlight of my trip to Slovakia. Oh, and there was a pretty inner city and a very ugly rest-of-the-city.
So, if I ever am in need of a second career, I'm pretty sure I could outperform that guy in the streets of Bratislava and take his job. Good to know.
The performances have ranged from the sublime to the horrendous to the "Huh?". We have seen some incredible operas. There are two opera companies here--the Staatsoper (State Opera), where Martin Short works, and the Volksoper (People's Opera), which used to be lesser in quality, but apparently has improved a lot over the last few years. We saw Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio--music and singing was sublime, but they changed Mozart's comedic ending from happily ever after to the four heros being killed. Huh?!?! I also saw Tosca and La Forza del Destina. Again, awesome music, but the staging left me wondering what kind of parallel universe I was in. Cowboys in Verdi?
One of the best, and possibly weirdest, was the marionette performance of The Magic Flute. Almost the entire opera--a great recording from the Berlin Philharmonic. And what these puppeteers could do with those marionettes was astonishing! I was so taken into the scale of the performance that I was fooled into feeling that the puppets were life-sized. And when the puppeteers stood behind the puppets to take a bow, I absolutely could not compute how huge the people looked for about 5 seconds. I think the thought that popped into my head was, "Wow, they found giants to be puppeteers!" Totally worth the money--I've never seen anything like it!
And now for the worst performance yet...I went to Bratislava, Slovakia to check out Eastern Europe (a half day trip was perfect). As we sat and had coffee, where we were served by a woman who was absolutely stone-faced. I think it was left-over from the Communist era. There was a "stand-still" street performer in my line of sight. He was completely silver, standing on a silver box. His gig is, to stand absolutely still, like a statue, and when people put money in his hat, he would move like a robot. So, the whole key to his financial success is actually standing still so people would pay to see him move. Well, this guy was the worst stand-still street performer in the history of the universe. He would take up his freeze position, and within 10 seconds, he would be distracted by a bird to his left, or someone walking past, or he would answer his phone, or get down off his box to look in the store window or eat a snack. Seriously! It was the highlight of my trip to Slovakia. Oh, and there was a pretty inner city and a very ugly rest-of-the-city.
So, if I ever am in need of a second career, I'm pretty sure I could outperform that guy in the streets of Bratislava and take his job. Good to know.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Staatsoper!
Well, I've made my one and only trip to the State Opera...that's the ritzy (i.e. extravagently expensive) one. It was definitely worth it!
Last week, we took the "behind-the-scenes" tour. Have you seen Father of the Bride? You know Martin Short's character? That was our tour guide. Seriously. And he was cranky. But the opera house is absolutely beautiful! And I just had my own private little chuckles over Mr. Crabby-Pants.
Last night, we saw La Forza del Destino...The Force of Destiny. Typical dramatic, powerful Verdi. Plus an extremely convoluted story line. And basically everyone dies. Cheery stuff. I think I have outdone myself in the uncouth department, since I chose to take and eat a Clif bar on the opulent balcony of the Staatsoper. As the elegant people surrounding me sipped their champagne and ate decadent dessert, I loudly unwrapped my energy bar and wolfed it down. Well, you can't have a rumbly tummy during the opera!
The singers and orchestra were amazing, especially the tenor, who I wanted to wrap up and put in my pocket (that's a Jane Austin reference, in case it reads strangely). But the staging? Weird. The chorus were dressed as cowboys and cowgirls. Hmmm.
Tonight, I'm off to a FREE organ concert. Woo-hoo!
Last week, we took the "behind-the-scenes" tour. Have you seen Father of the Bride? You know Martin Short's character? That was our tour guide. Seriously. And he was cranky. But the opera house is absolutely beautiful! And I just had my own private little chuckles over Mr. Crabby-Pants.
Last night, we saw La Forza del Destino...The Force of Destiny. Typical dramatic, powerful Verdi. Plus an extremely convoluted story line. And basically everyone dies. Cheery stuff. I think I have outdone myself in the uncouth department, since I chose to take and eat a Clif bar on the opulent balcony of the Staatsoper. As the elegant people surrounding me sipped their champagne and ate decadent dessert, I loudly unwrapped my energy bar and wolfed it down. Well, you can't have a rumbly tummy during the opera!
The singers and orchestra were amazing, especially the tenor, who I wanted to wrap up and put in my pocket (that's a Jane Austin reference, in case it reads strangely). But the staging? Weird. The chorus were dressed as cowboys and cowgirls. Hmmm.
Tonight, I'm off to a FREE organ concert. Woo-hoo!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Beginnen!
My Abenteuer has begun!
First of all, yes, I am going to use all of you unsuspecting victims to practice my horrendous high school German on (and apparently also bad grammar). Since the Viennese won't let me speak German, I have to find some other venue in which to practice!
My adventure began with Lot Polish Airlines. Now, I really appreciate that they were able to give me a bargain. But I wasn't really expecting the airline seat to feel like a shallow metal bowl covered with a thin layer of material.
The dinner was apparently a Polish specialty, according to my Polish seat neighbor. It was a compartmentalized tray with a slab of cold ham, topped with two carrots and a slice of yellow pepper. There was a half piece of rye bread and a half piece of white bread. My friend said, "The Polish, they love their ham!"
After a sleepless night filled with many Polish cartoons on TV, I was living for one thing only. Breakfast. And some good coffee. So when I saw the flight attendants coming down the aisle, I was getting excited. As they approached my row, I held out my hands expectantly. They handed me a tray. With a slice of ham, two carrots, a yellow pepper, and those two familiar slice of bread. Seriously?!
The plane was late getting into Warsaw, and I had an hour for my connection. As I headed towards my gate, I hit a wall of people. Hundreds of people with no organization, no lines, and no sign of what was ahead. In short bursts, we scooted ahead every few minutes, until I could see Passport Control ahead of us. Still no lines, just a mass of people. There were about three agents, taking about five minutes on each passport. I looked up at the list of departures, and saw "Vienna--Now Boarding." No problem, I thought. I have my boarding pass. They know I'm coming.
"Vienna--Final Call" was what sent me into a mad scramble past all of the Polish people who couldn't understand me apologizing for cutting. As I ran through the halls and started through security, they were calling my name at the gate. I told the security guy that they were calling me, and he helpfully whipped me through and directed me. And I made it. I was sweaty, but I was on Austrian Arrow to Vienna.
And so, in closing, I will not be flying Lot Polish Airlines in the future. Even if it IS the best deal.
First of all, yes, I am going to use all of you unsuspecting victims to practice my horrendous high school German on (and apparently also bad grammar). Since the Viennese won't let me speak German, I have to find some other venue in which to practice!
My adventure began with Lot Polish Airlines. Now, I really appreciate that they were able to give me a bargain. But I wasn't really expecting the airline seat to feel like a shallow metal bowl covered with a thin layer of material.
The dinner was apparently a Polish specialty, according to my Polish seat neighbor. It was a compartmentalized tray with a slab of cold ham, topped with two carrots and a slice of yellow pepper. There was a half piece of rye bread and a half piece of white bread. My friend said, "The Polish, they love their ham!"
After a sleepless night filled with many Polish cartoons on TV, I was living for one thing only. Breakfast. And some good coffee. So when I saw the flight attendants coming down the aisle, I was getting excited. As they approached my row, I held out my hands expectantly. They handed me a tray. With a slice of ham, two carrots, a yellow pepper, and those two familiar slice of bread. Seriously?!
The plane was late getting into Warsaw, and I had an hour for my connection. As I headed towards my gate, I hit a wall of people. Hundreds of people with no organization, no lines, and no sign of what was ahead. In short bursts, we scooted ahead every few minutes, until I could see Passport Control ahead of us. Still no lines, just a mass of people. There were about three agents, taking about five minutes on each passport. I looked up at the list of departures, and saw "Vienna--Now Boarding." No problem, I thought. I have my boarding pass. They know I'm coming.
"Vienna--Final Call" was what sent me into a mad scramble past all of the Polish people who couldn't understand me apologizing for cutting. As I ran through the halls and started through security, they were calling my name at the gate. I told the security guy that they were calling me, and he helpfully whipped me through and directed me. And I made it. I was sweaty, but I was on Austrian Arrow to Vienna.
And so, in closing, I will not be flying Lot Polish Airlines in the future. Even if it IS the best deal.
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