Friday, June 1, 2012

Big Girls go to Operas

 Monday was another holiday.  I went to the Deutsche Oper and saw Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) for my opera class.  You are probably familiar with Wagner’s song “Ride of the Valkyries”. 
Did I mention that the opera was 5 hours long?  It sounds intimidating, but it went by really fast!  It is based on Norse mythology and the storyline is a combination of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Thor.  The opera we saw is part of a four opera series “Der Ring des Nibelungen".  Wagner intended for them to be preformed consecutively (that is almost 15 hours of opera).  I really enjoyed Die Walküre.  In the third act especially there was a song where both Sieglinde and Brünnhilde were singing that was so powerful.  Wagner is a genius.  To make it all better, we were in the second row:
 On Tuesday I went to my favorite museum so far: the Alte Nationalgalerie.  The day before we had a reading for my Art and Architecture class where we learned about the different art movements from the 19th century.  In the Alte Nationalgalerie I saw paintings from the masters I had been reading about!  I saw a Van Gogh!  I had a conversation with a Manet.  A couple Monets and I came to an understanding.  It was very surreal.  Here is one of the Monet’s I saw:
 On Thursday we explored the Berliner Dom.  It is a Protestant church that was built in the neo-gothic style.  It is very gaudy and elaborate, especially for a Protestant church.  We climbed to the top to get a panoramic view of the city.  While we climbed we sang Phantom of the Opera, naturally.  It seemed appropriate to sing “Music of the Night” in the corridors and “All I Ask of You” on the roof.  Pictures:
Today I am going to see another opera: Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro”.  It is a comedy and looks like it will be really fun!  Wow,  when I say I go to operas, it helps me pretend I am really sophisticated.
Oh and last but certainly not least: I AM GOING TO PARIS!  We have 6 free days in between our stay in Berlin and Vienna, so I decided to spend them in the City of Light!  If anyone has recommendations for “must sees” while I am there, please leave them in the comments. :)
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3 comments:

  1. KatharinaJune 1, 2012 at 5:07 AM

    There's this tower...something with Eiffel. You might have heard of it, but I'm pretty sure that's a must-see. ;)

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  2. skJune 1, 2012 at 7:41 AM

    Next to the Gare du Nord there is the cutest bed and breakfast. You'll see the entrance if you walk north a couple of blocks (can't remember exactly, it was pretty dark). Be sure to stop at the convenience store on your way and get large bottle of piña colada tang, as this is both your breakfast and your pillow. Walk past the convenience store to a large grey building with and underground entrance. The security made me feel extra safe, just make sure you dodge the CCTV by walking pressed up against the wall underneath it. When Adam and I stayed there we were the only ones! There were a smattering of Parisian automobiles here and there, but we were the only people! After a grueling day it is nice to have a place to just lie down, soak in the city sounds (as well as odors) and just conk out from exhaustion. I give it a half a star as a B&B but 5 stars as a parking garage. Clean concrete, CCTV protection, they played classical music over the speakers, and we weren't chased out by a pair of snarling German shepherds like had happened at a trainstation B&B earlier. Ah paris.

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  3. KenJune 3, 2012 at 6:49 AM

    OMG THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO! :D
    Also, Paris.
    Also, Opera!
    Also, VAN GOGH [and Monet!]
    AND Berlin! So envious of everyone in Europe! :)

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