La Cenerentola

As a reward for signing up for the Wiener Staatsoper newsletter, I got the best birthday present ever from a company: a free opera ticket! I got to choose my ticket, and ended up getting a center balcony seat to Rossini's La Cenerentola, a comedic interpretation of the Cinderella story, at the Volksoper. Very nice.

What was not so nice was the coat check lady, who, waited on about six old people before she took my coat, looked me up and down and said, "You have a seat in the BALCONY?" (full price for the ticket was €80), to which I replied, "Indeed I do." I fought the urge to stick my tongue out at her.

It was my first time to the Volksoper as well. My landlady doesn't like the Volksoper, but I thought the production was charming. Really, La Cenerentola is more of an operette, seeing as there are only six characters, and the show has only two acts. The story goes that a girl is enslaved by her stepfather to do the housework and care for her two ugly stepsisters. Then, one day, the prince comes into the village disguised as his valet and he and Cenerentola fall in love. Unbeknownst to the sisters, however. They take the valet for the real prince, and fight over him. That's most of the thing. And then, at the end, good triumps and Cenerentola and the prince are married and live happily ever after, at least until curtain call.

I loved the performance, in fact. The part of Cenerentola is sung by a Contralto or Mezzo Soprano. Being a Mezzo, I liked that. Also, the costumes were outrageous - they did overdone baroque to a T. The physical humor between the stepsisters was also magnificent. Those ladies can do acrobatics! And, come to think of it, the sets were a bit bland, which fit with the smallness of the production (in contrast to Die Zauberflöte) and contrasted finely with the costuming. But, I cannot forgive the lack of attention to color scheme: one sister had a peachy costume, the other had a mint green one (otherwise identical) and the father had a forest green costume. The walls were also green, and there was JUST TOO MUCH GREEN! I would have done the walls in gray or blue, and the father in purple. Cenerentola's ball gown was white (Disney inspiration, anyone?) and the prince wore red, which made the whole thing too Christmas party for me - thus, blue walls. Or gray.

Jekyll & Hyde: A Broadway Show Comes to Amstetten

Richard Mansfield in the 1887 double roll

Last week, Jekyll and Hyde: the Musical came to the Pölz Halle in Amstetten. I bought my ticket from one of the students and, surprisingly, it was worth it.

Why "surprisingly'? Well, a town of 20,000 people is not likely to attract class acts - fewer people means fewer cultural interests, right? At least that's how it goes in America. And, I can vouch from personal experience (this year) that certain - certain! - shows that make it to Amstetten's theater (yes, just one!) are slap-dash and mediocre. But this production was actually quite professional, although utterly Austrian.

If you haven't already disregarded this post as the blathering of a theater snob (or worse, hack critic!), please, read on.

A German-language rendition of the Broadway musical with fabulous singing and choreography, the overall feel of he performance reminded me of so many creep "classics" I've been exposed to through learning German. The dark side of Austrian humor continues to fascinate me. I maintain that there is a distinct Alpine and central European penchant for death and the devil. Could it perhaps be a holdover from they days of the Holy Roman Empire? Visions that come to mind:

1. The Cabinet of Dr. Calighari (need I say more?)
2. Brecht's Threepenny Opera (I had the wonderful opportunity to also see this staged in Berlin in 2007)
3. Das Parfum (notably the scene at the end where a mob of homeless Parisians literally eats him alive)
4. Cabaret (really, just Joel Gray's version of the MC)

...and the list goes on! Much less the 1931 and 1941 (respectively) sugar striped versions with Frederic March, and/or Spencer Tracy. Lots and lots of sexual innuendo, partial nudity, and skin-tight costuming (which showed off the rest of what wasn't exposed - I felt like I was back in Amsterdam!*) but, hey, I wouldn't expect any less in the land of Freud.

My overall critique of the musical is a positive one. Fabulous singing, dancing, costumes, the works. The actors even got a standing ovation at the end. And I know it's not Vienna (where a standing ovation really counts for something) I'd like to think that Austrians in general are discriminating in their tastes, at least the ones who attend plays, musicals and operas.

Should this grace be extended to my students, who made up a large portion of the audience that night? Well, let's give them the benefit of the doubt if they've come to the theater at all.

NB: *Over the Semesterferien I went to Amsterdam with Jake. A rendition of these events (plus photos!) is to follow...at some point in the future when I have time to upload my pictures :)

Goethe!

I noticed in the paper the other day that a movie is coming out about the life of the young Goethe...

Of course, I have to go see it, right? I mean, a) it's about Goethe's life and any self-respecting German major would go see for that alone; b) though the reviews were not great, it has eye candy (Alexander Fehling, anyone?) and it's a costume drama. What more could I ask for? As far as I'm concerned, it's already tied with Young Victoria...and c) whoever titled it put an exclamation mark at the end. Genius.




So, I'm looking up showtimes online...and guess what? It is playing in Vienna, or Linz. Not Amstetten. And, yes, Amstetten does have a cinema. This means that I have to make an "excursion" to see this movie!!! WHY?? Well, my options are limited, and must wait until the weekend. This weekend, perhaps! Because Tuesday is Austria's national celebration, (26 October - which is incidentally, my parents' 25th wedding anniversary this year) I get a four-day weekend! Which will most certainly find me in Vienna. Because, well, Amstetten isn't big enough for a four-day weekend. Plus, isn't it always exciting being in a capital city on the day of national celebration?

I was in Berlin on 3 October three years ago (Tag der deutschen Einheit) and I was in Paris on 14 July two years ago (Bastille Day) but I was never in Washington, D.C. on July 4.








 Sad sad sad, because when I was 12, we took a road trip to see certain Civil War battlefields, and catch up on some American history. It was really one of the best family vacations we ever had. We went to Vicksburg, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg; took a tour of Monticello and Madison's house, Mount Vernon, and Colonial Williamsburg. We got into Washington D.C. on  July 6. Two whole days late! And we didn't even stay there. We took a bathroom break near Capitol Hill and moved on to Gettysburg.

Parade at Colonial Williamsburg

Well, I would consider these things important! National pride and all...it's always great to get an insider's view of such things - if you can objectify your own nation's world P.O.V. Which I think I can do (and do do) pretty regularly.

You may have picked up I have a thing for the Enlightenment...or the 18th century on the whole...

I think it's the hairstyles. This picture is of men, and, thus, cannot count. If you're in doubt, look up Marie Antoinette. Oh. That and the whole Enlightenment attitude of "pure faith is not good enough! We must find truth in analysis!" I analyze things to death.