Opera

Opera….my aunt introduced it to me when I was a little girl. She lived in Arlington, not too far from our home in Alexandria.  It was just far enough away to seem exotic, at least to an 8-year-old.   Occasionally, I would spend the night with her on Fridays and stay at her apartment through part of Saturday.  She always had the radio on to the MET broadcasts, on Saturdays, and, still dressed in pajamas,  we listened together.  If the MET was not in season, we would listen to 78 rpm opera recordings on her turntable! It was one of the highlights of my childhood.

Since that time, I’ve seen Light Opera in Ohio, operettas and opera theater in other venues, Missoula included.  The MET’s radio broadcast plays on KUFM when we drive up toward the Flathead on weekend.  Somewhere in our collection of vinyls is Madama Butterfly with Leontyne Price in the title role.  I nearly wore that one out!  Still, we never have attended a full-scale opera in what is considered a ‘big’ house.

So, one of the things we knew we wanted to do while in Europe was attend an opera.  We did that early on in Graz (Don Giovanni) and later in mid-May while in Budapest (Otello)and again in Graz [Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi (The Capulets and the Montagues]) with opera-loving friends, when they visited.   And, at the recommendation from these same friends, we made arrangements to see Nabucco in Vienna when we had to be there anyway for a meeting in early May.  We loved the feel of the Wienerstaatsoper, from the elegant yet simple ‘house’ to the custom of storing coats without asking for payment (unlike any of the performance venues we’ve visited here in Graz!).  For attire, we saw everything from elegant long dresses to jeans!

 

It was marvelous.  Although opera companies in Europe are known for their ‘modern’ adaptations of opera, which occasionally startle, this one was exquisite in its contemporary staging.  It was a timeless portrayal of the persecution of Jewish people beyond the experience of great exile into Babylon.  (think WWII)

the 'slaves' chorus for Nabucco

We were treated to a masterful performance by Maria Guleghina as Abigail (Nabucco’s vengeful, power-hungry ‘daughter’) and the Philharmonic was amazing.

Maria - second from left

We had great seats in the mittel-loge

 

we sat here - dead center, second row.

but next time maybe we’ll check out the standing room only tickets at 4€ each!  They were right below us!  (the problem is, you have to stand for 3 hours!)  Even the standing room places have viewing screens with English and German subtitling!  No neck strains here!

On our way to the opera, we visited the sobering Monument Against War and Fascism in the Albertinaplatz.

 

After the opera was over, we walked by the ‘star’ for Nabucco’s composer, Verdi.

 

And we would have finished with a slice of cake at – where else – the Hotel Sacher or the adjacent Sacher Cafe but we had done that the night before! (I know…a pity not to have that much chocolate twice!)

Hotel Sacher with elegant doorman

 

the cafe next door - a little more laid back with rock music playing in the background

sachertorte - must have with schlagoobers!

For those chocoholics among us, you can buy the whole cake!

With or without the accompanying cake,  Bill thinks he may actually like opera as well,  so perhaps we will sign up for the MET series simulcasts in Missoula which are broadcast at the renovated Roxy Theater.   Although it’s fun to dress up for a night of elegance,  Verdi or Puccini sound just as fabulous from the comfort of my jeans.

Pass the popcorn.

 

Beauty in the eye of….

Vienna is a wonderful city for art.  From classical to modern, it has both in abundance.  On several trips to Austria’s capital city, I’ve had the chance to take in some of each.  In early April, I spent nearly all day in the Kunsthistoriches, Vienna’s collection of pre-modern art.  In early May, I spent maybe too much some time at the MUMOK, one of Vienna’s modern art museums, and then more time at the Belvedere, Prince Eugene of Savoy’s  ‘country’ palace and one of Vienna’s first public art museums.  Some art I had hoped to see was either ‘on loan’ to another museum (good for them, bad for me!) or simply rotated out, but there were plenty of redeeming works to make up for it!

The Kunst has an extensive Reubens collection, a smattering of some from one of my all-time favorites, Caravaggio (the wizard of ‘lighting’ in oil paintings), and a whole roomful of huge assembly of Breugel, to say nothing of a few by Rembrant, Bosch, Dürer, Raphael, etc.

Madonna of the Meadow - Raphael

Caravaggio - the passion of Christ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hieronymus Bosch

Bruegel - Peasant Wedding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Imagine coming ‘round the corner, expecting but not finding Gone were most of the Arcimboldo works of ‘portrait vegetable art’ – but how could I complain? They were on loan to Washington, D.C. and Italy!

 

 

Equally enjoyable was watching modern artists try their hand at reproducing the masters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The MUMOK (MUseum MOderner Kunst) is the largest Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Central Europe with an extensive Collection of international Art from the 20th Century and the Present.  Unfortunately for me, I didn’t thoroughly check the website before going or I would have learned that much of the collection of was rotated out.

The minimalist abstract art exhibit wasn’t all that bad – it was good for its genre, but there was so little of it.  (heh heh)

 

Richter - Fuge in Red and Green

 

However, I started on the bottom floor with “Actionism” and some VERY disturbing photos/videos of self-and other-mutilation.  Perhaps that is the point – to shock.   I found it just plain creepy. And  I didn’t see anyone trying to reproduce this stuff!

 

John Cage’s music action was simply great, however!  See it here.  My parents used to watch I’ve Got A Secret.  It was funny to hear it dubbed in German! (no dubbing needed for the actual music however!)

 

But there was nary an Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Joseph Beuys, Jasper Johns and Roy Liechtenstein to be seen anywhere. Boo!

In between the extremely noisy exuberant students who were having a lesson with docents,

group of young students meeting; this was at their quietest. Mostly they were running around all over the rooms!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found these two gems!

Paul Klee - Boats and Cliffs

Kadinsky - Obstinate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely support that art museums encourage love and knowledge of art at an early age and keep right on doing that up through older age.  And I am not the ‘don’t touch the books and don’t make noise librarian-type’, but the activity did make it a wee bit hard to concentrate or even hear the audio guide!  Sometimes the art becomes the people IN the museum, which is maybe what actionism is all about!  The fact that I am still thinking about all that modern art is a testament to its gift to stimulate pondering and discussion!

 

The Belvedere I visited after our trip (on non-trip) to the American Embassy (whoops – we needed to visit the consulate instead – that’s in another part of town!).    Side note:  A sad sign of the times, apparently – the American Embassy is cordoned off from the rest of the world, where as the French embassy is on a beautiful street, merely surrounded by a simple, elegant wrought iron fence.

The French Embassy in Vienna

The US Embassy in Vienna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No photos were allowed inside the Belvedere, but there I found a happy marriage of the old and the new(er) in this museum devoted mostly to works by artists of the central European region.  The medieval art – the carved altarpieces, and sculptures were stunning.  Works by late 19th and early 20th century artists Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Oskar Kokoschka both delighted and probed.

All photos courtesy of the Belvedere Museum website.

Gustav Klimt - The Kiss

detail of Znaim Altarpiece

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Kiss is like an icon, both figuratively and literally, with so much gold overlay!  The Znaim altarpiece is the biggest one I have ever seen!  It must have been 15 feet high!

Oskar Kokoschka - TigerLion

Egon Schiele - Embrace

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The extensive outside grounds had lots of potential but the gardens were still ‘in preparation.’  It was a cold and blustery day!

Upper Belvedere Palace

Looking toward Lower Belvedere Palace and the Stables

Statue near Upper Belvedere

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patterns of (potential) garden between Upper and Lower Belvedere

Cascade of waterfalls and fountains in the middle of the walkway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next time I will post about some of the churches we’ve seen while in Vienna.

Thanks as always, for reading!

Springtime in Graz

Spring comes early to this part of Austria.  By early April this year, the snow had melted and the vegetation, with its unmistakable chartreuse hue and resplendent flowering, appeared as if by magic.

the sweet fresh green and white of spring

By mid-April, children were picking and vendors hawking  the budding catkins for Palm Sunday festivities, another plus for the European ethic of using what it plentifully at hand.  In the US, it’s typical for churches simply to order palms in for this festival; if you exclude the southern tier of states where palms might grow anyway, where is the ethos in that?

By May, lilies of the valley sprang up in gardens. It is the ‘mutters tag’ flower.   

 

 

Aside from Mother’s day, May in Austria brings two other celebrations:  The raising of the May Pole (Maibaum) and May or Labor Day.

The Maibaum dates back to at least the 16th century in Germany and Austria, and perhaps is older than that, if one considers Celtic festivals or Freudian theory.  We were lucky enough to see the former, being freshly installed, as we ate in a traditional rural restaurant with our friends Gernot and Christina following their performance of a Haydn Mass at Mariatrost Basilica the Sunday after Easter.  In Austria, each baum’s ribbons or other decoration reflects the region where it is installed:  green and blue for Styria, red and yellow for Burgenland.   As we travel the countryside now, we see maibaum erected in nearly every village and often by local bars and restaurants, such as the one in Kainbach bei Graz, below.

the maibaum, located near a rural restaurant

it's decorated with carvings and the date

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

better view of the baum

Restaurant in Kainbach bei Graz-best backhanderl (fried chicken) ever!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

traditional colors of Burgenland - red and yellow.

Here is another, a little more than a month old, near the border of Austria and Hungary.

The other May Day celebration is a nod to the political process, and the ‘workers parties’.   It featured, in both Graz and Vienna, large parades.  We knew about them because they disrupted our normal route to the train station as we headed to Vienna! No trams were running.  Fortunately, we did get to the train station and on to Vienna for the week, a trip which will be featured in the next installment.

"red" flag still flies in Vienna, 1 day after May Day (Labor Day)

In early May, we also finally made it to the Schloss Eggenberg.  Besides being the terminus of our tram line in Graz, it’s one of the most impressive remnants of the baroque era in Austria.  It dates back to the late medieval period (1460) and was the property of advisors/financiers to Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor.

Because the weather was warm and sunny, we chose not to tour the palace itself but to remain outdoors in the lovely gardens.  Both the palace and the gardens reflect elements of cosmological theory:  for example, the palace has 365 windows, one for every day in the year; the bushes and shrubs are arranged as a planetary garden, with groupings of plants given names like “Mars”, “Jupiter”, the “Sun”, “Earth” and “Venus”.  We were intrigued and so glad we went!   Where we found the gardens of the big palaces in Vienna devoid of spring flowers (presumably because they are annuals and must be planted each year), the gardens at Eggenberg, with mostly perennials, were bursting with color and scent and sound!  Ahhh, spring!

a perfect spot for wedding photos

Peacocks are everywhere!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we grow these back in Montana

tree with magnificent burl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

amazing peonies

close up of burl - I know some woodworkers who'd like to get their hands on this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

azaleas leading into the 'sun' part of the garden

arbors of yellow wisteria represented the rays of the sun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

this hedge is part of the Venus grouping. Can you see it is a heart?

 

 

purple wisteria, too!

and here is the goddess, herself

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone was enjoying the day!

a reader

children checking out the fish

 

 

 

 

 

 
the peacocks
Especially the peacocks!  (click on the link, above, to open video)  There was some kind of sporting event going on in the stadium adjacent to the schloss.  Every time the crowd would roar, the peacocks would answer!

We thought perhaps it was a soccer match, so we stopped by on our way to the bus stop, to see what was happening.  Here’s what it was!

stadium

American football!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Castles and football in the spring…who knew?  Just another day in Graz!

Thanks for reading!

 

Springtime..not in the Rockies

Many of you have written, wondering if we had fallen off the face of the earth, because there have been no posts for about a month!  We most assuredly have not, but it has been a busy spring here in Graz, and to points beyond.  Honestly,  I am still trying to decide how best to organize the month of activities so as to convey the most interesting information with the best pictures.  For now, here is a little taste of late April/early May for us, right after the visit of our friends from France at Easter.

First of all, they brought all this cheese:  five or six different types, mostly unpasteurized.  We ate as much as we could but two people can only consume so much! Plus we were leaving for a week in Vienna.  So, in a desire to honor their gift and enjoy the flavors au mélange, we created a pizza!

the French cheese - starting with noon position: St. Felicien du Dauphine, Chevre avec cumin, Reblochon de Savoie, Le Brebion pur Brebis (sheep); Beaufort fromage (like Guyere)

 

Then it was just a matter of creating the pizza with everything else we had in the refrigerator.  Absolutely the best ever!

Fresh mozzarella, olives and tomatoes (this was before the e-coli scare!)

 

 

crisped prosciutto

and fresh basil, feta chunks and bits of pimento

grated cheese: combination of Holland Gouda and French Beaufort fromage

 

In general, Austrian produce, dairy and meat is very fresh and of high quality.  If you don’t buy your food directly from the farmer or butcher, you most certainly know from which farm it came, because everything is labeled that way, even in the grocery store!

 

Meanwhile, the dough was slightly rising with the yeast I bought a month ago.  Finally another use for yeast since the Easter hot cross buns!

whole wheat crust glazed with olive oil, sprinkled with pressed garlic, Italian herbs, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Add sliced salami and slighly cooked onion slices

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

partially baked pizza with salami and onion gets some grated cheese on top

and tomato, fresh mozzarella, other cheese, feta, olives, pimentos and basil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back into the oven for the final cooking….

cooking!

meanwhile, the local beer while we wait

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

done!

Eh, Voila…..the pizza au mélange!

While eating, we enjoyed a beautiful view out our window.  At this point, it is warm enough to be out on the terrace, and we don’t have to worry any longer about rutschgefahr (slipping) on the surface.

a hot air balloon appears just beyond our forest. we want to go up in it!

wisteria in bloom everywhere!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

this is the old stop at Hilmteich

and here is the one we use!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my opinion, there is no contest as to which one is lovelier.

the local Billa...ubiquitous grocery stores throughout Austria

 

So I will be working tomorrow on getting out some more photos of our many excursions in and  out of Graz.  Stay tuned and thank you for reading!