Sunday night, I went to see "Tosca", one of my ALL-TIME favorite operas by Puccini. It's got everything you could possibly want in an opera...romance, betrayal, murder, death and destruction...the works. It also is one of the only operas I've ever seen where I don't get bored by the third act. I know that seems a bit odd...since I do love opera, but they can be dreadfully long if the pacing/acting isn't clicking. With Tosca, it's so not the case. I was completely glued to it the entire time!
The conductor, Leo Hussain, is also the assistant conductor in the production that Eva is singing in here in Salzburg, so she was able to snag me a free ticket! It was such a treat, especially since I was feeling pretty rotten on Sunday. The singing was truly wonderful, and the SET...gahhh...it was such a spectacle, the way opera is supposed to be!
After the performance, I stuck around to see if I could catch Leo to say hello, and I was successful! I was a little nervous, since I had never actually met him before...I just knew who he was, but I saw him come out of the stage door and I bravely marched right up to him to introduce myself, officially, as "Sara Abernethy, Eva Vogel's au pair.." I was lucky, he recognized me instantly and gave me a warm greeting with the kiss on both cheeks! He then was kind enough to invite me for a drink with his friend/colleague/assistant, Andrew, and since I wasn't getting picked up for another hour, I gladly went!
It was so nice to sit there and chat with two native English speakers, both Leo and Andrew are from London. I really didn't realize how much slang I use in my every-day communication until I got here and was surrounded by people who don't speak English as a first language...I've had to completely re-evaluate the way that I speak. So, it was such fun to be able to revert back to my old ways :) They were both lovely and funny and very down-to-earth, I got to ask them all kinds of great questions about the back-stage happenings of Tosca. In return, they were curious to know more about me and what how I got over here.
Yesterday, it snowed like crazy...I have never seen so much snow in my LIFE. HUGE, big chunky flakes, and you couldn't see very well in front of you. It was like a white out! Eva and I almost couldn't get out of our driveway...I had to get out and push the car so we wouldn't get stuck, and ended up falling on my face into a huge pile of snow. It was hilarious, but I was a bit wet and cold for the next hour.
After Eva's rehearsal at the Festspielhaus we went to Afro Cafe and had a coffee and some cake...afternoon coffee and cake is kind of becoming a daily ritual for Eva and I. I tell you, I don't hate it. Then, we went and had dinner with one of the other singers from Eva's production...Mischa. I had been told much about this character, Mischa, already...Russian bass/baritone, and let me tell you...he is a DUDE. It's a bit difficult to describe Mischa...just imagine an extremely tall, incessantly cocky, loud dude with a thick Russian accent wearing designer boots over his designer jeans with his designer sweater vest. Whoa.
We had a delicious dinner at this hotel restaurant that is on a lake about 3 minutes outside of the city center...we all had some kind of delicious buttery fish called, "zander" with parsley potatoes, grilled vegetables, and a crisp riesling. SUCH a treat. I can't believe Eva invited me to come along, it was very VERY kind of her. Little Mucki slept through dinner entirely, so that was good. I got my own personal taste of the dude, Mischa, and after having dinner with him, I think he is truly good at heart, he just is a little bit frivolous and isn't quite aware how lucky he is to be so successful. He said to us at dinner, scoffing almost (and of course you have to imagine the Russian accent) "Oh weyull, Evaah, I don't sing for de money anymore...I jus' don't even have to worry about money". Dude just doesn't quiiiiite get it.
Time to head back to the theatre so Mucki can have lunch...and maybe I will go find some strudel elsewhere...
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