Jun 2008

Ok so have in baden for a couple days now. May not have so much time to write for the next 5 weeks, we'll have to see but we have a pretty tight schedule. Christine and i get up early and practice from 8 to 9 (then we don't have to fight over the room with the grand and its pretty much the only time to temperature is decent) then 9 to 10 is poetry seminar, then 2.5 hours of master class followed by lunch and then 2.5 more hours of master class, an hour for dinner and then various individual coaching on acting, diction, poetry, piano and voice from 6 to 9. so far we have had everything but the master class, those start tomorrow. But we have had a few day of practicing and poetry and walking in the woods.

So today I went to three art galleries. It took all day and I deffinatly skipped over some stuff.
Sot the first was the Albertina they had an exhibit of Monet to Picasso so it had all of the impressionists ect it was quite good acctually. Saw those two, matisse, braque, chagal ect.
Then I went to the Leopold Museum they had another big Klimt.
And then I went to the Art history musuem which was the best but gigantic. The building itself was amazing, it was built by the hapsburgs to be their art gallery. Then there is one wing of all of the italiian artists - raphael, cargovaggio, ect and then another wing of dutch and austrians - van Eyck and van der Weyden (i have a big list of all the big names that i saw that i will put in next time i didint bring it with me). I really liked the Rubens and the Titian and they had a lot of those, again very glad for art history.
So now Im just figureing how im meeting with christine tomorrow so we can figure out how to get to Baden, thakfully it dosent matter what time we arrive tomorrow so if it takes us the day to figure it out we are ok. And the game is in Vienna tonight so it could be loud, last night was thankfully really quiet despite the game becasue of the crazy big storm we had.

I forgot to say I sat in the balcony for Don Carlo well stood, i think i liked it up there better. Itis easier to sit when you get tired and its not as crowded, cant see the bottom corner of the stage unless you get there really early but its not to bad.
So yesterday I went to Belvadere Castle. It was a lot different than the Schonbrunn. The grounds were a lot smaller and not as impressive (they were working on the fountain though). Then there are 2 buildings, the lower palace has a bunch of more contempory art didnt like most of it there were a few good ones though and there was a salvador dali that i liked. That building was under construction though so zyou couldnt really see the outsidfe of it. Then the upper palace had soe really cool rooms and a way more interesting gallery. They had some medeval works and sculptures as well as Monet, Manet, Rubens, Renoir, Munch, Klimt (the kiss and judith) and David (the one with napoleon on the horse). Its kind of nice that I took art history and acctually understand what those were.
Then I went to Stephansdome it was very different than Karlskirche but they had these whute decorative sheet things up that kinda of just wrecked it.
And then last I went to the Volksoper to see Orpheus in der Unterwelt. I got really cheap sitting tickets so i didnt have to stand for the 4th night in a row so i couldnt see the a big chunk on the bottom part of the stage but at least i didnt have to stand. It was good though, really funny and really good acting even if the singing wasnt as good.
Then today I went to Slovakia for the day. Went up to the castle wich of course was under construction and you couldnt go in, but the view was really good. Then i just walked around the old town for a while it was nice. It was cool how differnt it is arcitchturally and langage and everything but its only an hour away.

So in the morning I went to the Schonbrunn palace. Its a huge mostly rococo designed building with french gardens in the back. Had a mozart crossaint for breakfast but it wasnt that good had some funny green stuff in it. I basicly spent the whole day here the grounds are huge and there are fountains and statues and stuff everzwhere and a hedge maze that i deffinatly did not get out of.
Then I went to sit in the line for Don Carlo. I only got there like just over an hour early and it was a busy night. it was crazy, after every act they put the curtain down and came out for bows. Then at intermission after lots of bows a bunch of people in suits come out and this guy talks for 15 minutes in german and then brings out Dr. somthing from the chorus and talkes for another 10 and then the Primeminister comes out and talkes for about 5 and gives the chorus guy a ring and a certificate or something and then the first guy goes on for like 10 minutes and then the Dr. went on for another 10. I have absolutly no idea what was going on, I could understand most of what the Primeminister said so it was some sort of award for service to the opera house i think.
So today I think im going to go to the belvadere castle and if i have time to stephansdome.

Ok so Ive been here for a couple days but onlly just found a internet cafee, the spelling could be pretty bad here, none of the keys are in the right spot.
So heathrow was confusing again i didnt have a ticket and noone could tell me which terminal i should be in but thankfully i had like 5 hours to figure it out.
So the first day i walked around and figured out where everything is. Unfortunatly since the Euro 08 is here all of the gradens in the ring are closed off and a lot of the squares are filled with fanzone and stages and big screans.
So I went to the haus der musik, it was really cool they had the museum for the orchestra and then a bunch of things on how the ear works and different levels of hearing and then rooms for each of the major composers.
Then I went on the opera house tour, they let you go on stage!!! and it was cool becasue they were just setting up the set for Capriccio.
Then i went to change to go watch it later. There were people in line 4 hours ealy! I got there about 2 hours early and thankfully the door was already open, its really really hot here. So then you sit inside on the floor for a long time. i was getting something out of my bag and slipped and hit the French guy next to me which was great he showed me how the whole system worked and knew more about opera rep and performers than anyone ive heard. So we got our tickets, then you go stand in another line, then they finnaly let you in, you take a scarf and tie it on the railing to mark your standing spot and then you can go look around. The French guy then took me on basicly the tour of the house over again before the opera started(Capriccio). So sore after from standing but it was really good!
Then that night there was a big game so it was loud all night, im talking like whyte ave durring playoffs but aallllll night.
So now yesterday i went to Zentralfriehof in the morning, it was really hard to find but i saw the graevs of beethoven, schubert, strauss, wolf and gluck. Then I went to the Stadtpark becasue its one of the few parks/gardens acctually open, wasnt very good though.
So I went to karlskirche, wow!! so cool. I went in and thought that they were doing maitenence becasue there is scaffoling up the the cool ceiling fresco but it turned out it you can take a scarry elevator up to the dome where the whole platform shifts when anyone moves but you are right up at the fresco and then there are even scarryer stairs (praobably not acctually that bad but you can see the whole way down) they went up through the dome onto another little platform in the little tower thing, there were bars on the windows but you could still see really far and the fresco on the roof in there was really nice.
Then I headed back to the standing ticket line to see Pique dame, the line wasnt as long this time but the opera sure was, I liked it better though, the cast wasnt as notable but i like the opera where people die better.
And now my legs hate me but there is another good one tonight, 4 hours though so we'll see.