Skip to main content

Partenope

By
There is simply not enought time to document all of the exciting things that happen to me while I'm in Vienna. However, the more significant things that happen make me feel like a rockstar, and MUST be blogged about.

Last night I attended the dress rehearsal of Theater an der Wien's production of Partenope, an obscure Handel opera (The Messiah guy). Just click on the link above to see some production photos. This show was nuts! GOOD NUTS! They moved everything to present day- making the queen a wealthy woman who does yoga, goes swimming by the pool, hosts lavish parties, has a personal trainer, and has many love affairs in the meantime. The music was exquisite. This was some of the best singing I've heard in Vienna since I've been here. Christine Schafer, soprano, starred as the title role, David Daniels, one of the leading counter-tenors in the world was also in it (a counter-tenor is a man who has trained his voice to be able to sing entirely in falsetto- so he almost sounds like a woman), and Kurt Streit (tenor).

The exciting thing about this though, was that we got in for Free! Sebastian Schwartz, the casting director at Theater an der Wien, knows Joseph, a student on this trip with us. And so we were waiting for him at the front of the theater, he comes in, then takes us around the BACK! We got to walk in backstage, and then found our seats before anybody else got there, we were in the 4th or 5th row from the pit- which was excellent by the way (you could tell they were playing closer to the bridge [the strings] and so they had SUCH a baroque sound. LOOOVE IT!). 

We will return later for a tour of Theater an der Wien. This is the theater that premiered The Magic Flute! It's so historic! I've already seen two shows in both the Volksoper and the Staatsoper- it was good to be in a different building (and for FREE too. I'm such a cheapskate). 

Before we went to the show, I went with a couple other students to look at paintings in the big art museum. I took pictures of random weird things that I saw. The little fat baby cherubs were my favorite funny attraction. Sometimes they are just doing ridiculous things. You just have to look for it!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maybe My Dreams Are Too Small: Joining the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

By
Close-up at the end of "Love One Another" on my first broadcast. I have been asked by a friend to share how I came to join the Mormon Tabernacle Choir . It's taken me a long time to put this post together. To get the full experience of this blog post, please watch the videos! I hope you'll enjoy listening to the songs. People often ask me, "What made you want to join the choir?" Grandma Bateman gave me  Consider the Lilies  soon after I turned fifteen. Mack Wilberg's grand arrangement of " I Believe in Christ " really caught my attention. I sat on my bed, captivated by the music and filled with the Spirit. The words and music of this hymn burned within my heart. I knew that what the choir sang about was true, and that Jesus was my Savior. I longed to sing with them. I knew then that I needed to join the choir. (Journal entry April 11, 2004, age 15) Happy Easter! It is my dream to become a part of the Mor...
Post a Comment
Read more

Moving from our first home

By
We are moving from our first home in Eagle Mountain back to Provo in one month! We have loved our time out here. We have enjoyed making little home improvements to our place over the 2 1/2 years we've lived here but know that Provo is where we are supposed to be. Here's pictures of our place, which has already sold. We will remember our time here fondly! When we moved here, there was a low-hanging chandelier and unattractive fluorescent  kitchen lighting. We changed that!  There was also some crazy lighting in the front room.. see all the streaks on the walls? We got new lighting. And notice the PINK??  Fixed that too. Ashley and Ryan slept over once and really enjoyed moving around our sectional couch to make this bed-like area! We enjoyed being close to Thanksgiving point and going there for date nights or Family Nights!  Bike rides were also a favorite past time. Eagle Mountain sure has great biking trails and parks! ...
Post a Comment
Read more

European Choir Tour 2016

By
I returned last week from the MoTab's European tour-- the first tour outside of the country in 18 years! (except a quick stint in Canada in 2003). What an experience. I felt like the whole experience was a missionary trip to uplift the hearts and minds of those who have been experiencing terrorist attacks throughout the year. Although I enjoyed touring the historic cities, nothing paralleled the feeling of singing for the people and hearing their enjoyment of our music. The music of the choir affected me greatly as a teenager, and I like to think that there were some in the audience who are like me, who came to feel the peace of the music amid these tumultuous times. This tour seemed to go more smoothly than the last one, despite it being a week longer and in seven countries where the native language isn't  English. We were more prepared as a choir with our repertoire, and I was personally more prepared. I was particularly excited to return to Austria!!!  :D All you gotta ...
Post a Comment
Read more