Opera

We are wrapping up our stay here in Vienna this week. Monday we had class in the morning and then the afternoon we wined and dined. Tuesday however, I went to the Vienna state opera house and saw my first Wagner opera live; Siegfried, the third opera in the 4 part Ring Cycle! It cost 3 euro!! Mind you its standing for 4 hours but well worth the price to hear such a great orchestra and amazing singers. They simply cannot replicate that on a CD or DVD. What an amazing orchestra as well. By far the best horn section I have ever heard live. All 8 or however many horns they had. The timpanist was great also. Our view was spectacular and you could hear everything. It is very intense here with Opera. The folks line up every day starting at 9 in the morning sometimes, to wait all day to get the best standing spot in the theatre. The actual seats to the opera haus cost way more and the boxes are generational luxuries. Think sports in America cost money for box offices? Try the box offices at the Vienna state opera haus. You'd need not just money but family ties to someone that has a box office and some sort of aristocratic standing in society. They are not just for any wealthy man or woman. So no worries about Brittney Spears, or any pop stars having anymore chance of getting the best seats in the house. Today I head to the MozartHaus museum and the tour of the opera haus where we get to go on stage apparently! I am going to have to restrain myself from diving in to the orchestra pit to play the timpani. What a great headline it would be though! "Crazed american music student dives into orchestra pit during tour, just to be close to timpani!" I may be going to see a Ballet later this evening and the final 3 acts of Wagner's Ring Cycle tomorrow evening, Goterdammerung. Then we are done and leaving Friday morning. It has flown by and I am not ready to leave. I wish I could be in this enviornment all the time and walk from my house to the subway with my stick case in hand, and walk in my black tux, to the opera haus and perform a 4 hour opera, pick up my paycheck, and then do the same thing the next day! 

Dr. Albrecht

http://dept.kent.edu/IBEWebsite/editors/albrecht.html

This is the link to Dr. Albrecht. Please take a moment and glance over the accomplishments. Also this is in no way close to updated or as full as his accomplishments are currently. What an honor to be around such an intellectual and humble couple. 

Hallo!

Sorry it has been a busy few days here in Wien. With the Albrechts guiding us around town we have stayed busy sightseeing and learning. We visited the archives to view death records of musicians and composers to see just how Ted and Carol go about researching the lives of these original musicians of Beethoven's orchestra. We also stopped in the music and theatre archives which house archives of several centuries of performance programs and flyers all originals! We got to see the original flyer for Beethoven's 9th symphony! Also for several other works and their premiers. Our internet has been down two nights because folks were using the washing machines, the dryers, and ironing and apparently the fuses blew. The churches have all been amazing. Last night we were able to attend a free concert outside of the Vienna Philharmonic at Schonbrunn Palace!!! Pictures here. 

Tonight we went to the crypts to see where the entire line of Imperial Austria was buried. Incredible. Pictures also attached. More to come. 

Long Day with Dr. Albrecht.

What an amazing day we had today. We spent the day with two of the foremost experts on Viennese music culture Dr's Ted and Carol Albrecht. Dr. Hafer is my history professor on the left and Dr. Albrecht and Wife on the right.

Guten morgen meine damen und herren.

After awaking yesterday with plenty of alcohol still in my blood and hungover like never before, we proceeded to Schonbrun palace.(forgive me I don't know how to add text edits). We took the Grand tour of the palace and stood amidst some of the most ornate and historical rooms in world history. One room being the room in which the young Mozart gave his first public performance made all of us feel awestruck. This palace was built to trample on Versailles, but the decline in finances halted the project and did not quite trump the french counterpart. Still who could notice! It is a massive expanse of land, gardens, the worlds first zoo, and 1400 rooms, with most having Gold molding, gold door handles, gold and silver thread beds even! We then went and ate at an Italian restaurant in which I had lasagna. All of us returned around 6 to the Hostel and we crashed, waking up at 9 minutes to 10! Today should be interesting for our sleep deprived bodies. Nonetheless it is fun and I would move here in a heartbeat. My german is improving greatly, and I can carry full conversations with most of the locals. More photos to come. 

Bierfest zwei tausand neun immer das Pub!

Wir haben eine grosse Bier! 

We spent yesterday at the Musik instrument collection of historical instruments obviously. Very cool. Then we had dinner at a Pub outside of town and gathered in singing songs and drinking bier. Afterwards we went out for a night on the town and stopped at an Australian pub...by the way, a quick word of advice for American visitors....do not ask "wo ist die Kangaroo" those are in australia, this is austria. Apparently its a problem and a joke with the townsfolk. they have shirts with pictures saying, no kangaroos in austria. We had a good day overall. I am for sure hungover and I have no problems admitting it. It was well worth the experience with friends. Who knew that bier would be the cheapest drink and wasser(water) would be just as expensive in some places as coca cola! In my apparent drunken state of mind, my german apparently improved as i conversed with several locals and my friends back home that are from germany. Alles gut! There is more music going on in this city every hour at every place we go, than in the biggest cities in america. And it is all devoted to haydn, mozart, or beethoven and several other notable composers. truly astonishing. 

today we take a tour of der Shonbrunn palace

Ach, Ich bin im Wien!

Hallo,

  Ich bin sehr gut und im der Hostel nach Wien. 

We arrived an hour and 25 minutes late due to a delayed take off in Washington. However, we arrived, dropped off luggage and immediately started our tour of the city. The Photos above are (top) Stephandsom Cathedral, being renovated. (middle) the hofburg palace grounds (bottom)me on plane to Vienna.