Last night we went to Puccini's Turandot at the Volksoper (the people's opera) and it was quite a spectacle! Instead of Asian royals, the show was about bug royals ... vaguely Oriental bugs ... so that was interesting. The technical design was amazing! The costumes were terrifically reminiscent of Star Wars (or, according to Ben, Power Rangers villains), the lighting was uber dramatic, and the set was outrageous and had so many moving pieces! It was a much more daring production than the one we saw at the Staatsoper, but I didn't enjoy the singers quite as much. The tenor was very good and I enjoyed his aria greatly. The soprano was a beast and the worst actress I've ever seen in my life ... but her voice was indeed beautiful.
This morning we watched Ann teach an English class on Second Life! For those not in the know, Second Life is like an online community where you design an avatar and live as it and actually interact with other people online more than just talking in a chatroom or something (I had only ever seen it on CSI!)... apparently, you can buy things with real money and also transfer money out. So Ann sat at the computer with her headset and taught a class of students at a technology school a few hours from here. It was so cool!
Then, for the meaty part of our day, we made our way to Bratislava, Slovakia! The train ride only cost 14 euros (roundtrip) and lasted about an hour. It had a distinctly more eastern feel ... and to me felt a lot like Istanbul, but more European. We walked around for a few hours and had a meal then got back on train to return to Vienna! We won't be going to Salzburg (Mozart's birthplace!) as originally planned because the times didn't work out for the fabulously kitschy tour of 'Sound of Music' sights, but I'm glad we got to see a place so different from anywhere else that I'm going.
I really, really like Vienna. I especially like the fact that people follow little rules like not walking on the grass and not crossing the street on a red light even when there are no cars. Honestly, nobobdy does it! As someone who enjoys following rules it makes me so comfortable! I can't wait to go to museums and (hopefully) see more opera in my last couple of days here :)
Finally, I miss everyone--including you, Matthew--very much. So quit telling lies to my mother.
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3 comments:
avatar - CSI - that's where I saw it from too. How cool. I like Ann's job. I miss you!
have fun together in paris!
i'm very very excited about this.
and, i saw eric yesterday and belfast and brussels sound really fun.
i'm a bit sad that you won't be able to go go salzburg. though mozart chocolate tastes okay, so you didn't miss anything.
my sister went there like 10 years ago and got me a mozart doll (do you cal male things doll too?)
What lies?
Okay, not all my Brown friends are here: you and Aviad are both abroad and it's sad!
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