No Need For A Show

"Surely our eyes are given to us only so that we may weep."

~ Iolanta

And weep we all did during the concert performances of Tchaikovsky's last opera Iolanta, the story of a blind princess who learns to see when she encounters true love. This was certainly my personal highlight at this year's Salzburg Festival and judging from the sobbing and nose-blowing sounds that could be heard in the house I didn't seem to be the only one who was touched by this musically exceptional performance.


Of course this was named "The Netrebko Show" by various newspapers. Whoever comes up with such catchy lines should start reconsidering the verbal sellout of this talented woman. At the same time the reduction of this "show" to one singer does not do justice to the stellar performances the rest of the cast showed: Piotr Beczala as loving Count Vaudémont, John Relyea as King René and caring father and Alexey Markov, who in the small role of Robert received hearty ovations for his aria.

Piotr Beczala, Anna Netrebko, John Relyea

The surprise to me was that this concert performance touched me more than a staged opera has in a while. There was no "show" and there was no need for it. Tchaikovsky provided us with this beautifully composed music, Henrik Hertz with a heartbreakingl story and the artists brought it all to life with their talent and above all with the sincerity the treated this music with. One can only wish for more musical experiences like these which capture you in such an intense way while they're happening and resound long after you've left the concert hall.


A sneaky person captured the duet Tvoyo molčan’ye neponyatno during the final rehearsal which - despite not endorsing video bootlegging of classical performances - I wouldn’t want to keep from you:

Why High Heels and Salzburg Performances Don't Go Together Well

Performances at the Salzburg Festival make for a fancy occasion. One sure wants to dress adequately on the red carpet in order not to disappoint the onlookers, B-list celebrities and the odd real celebrity who mingle in front of the festival houses.

Wearers of high heels, though, should be warned to take account of the following hazards:
Cobblestone pavements. You can be most certain to break your leg if you attempt to take a longer walk through the cobbled streets of the old town. Speaking from personal experience I suggest to not even try it.

Walking distances. Salzburg is rather small and pretty much everything can be reached on foot. In fact, most festival goers prefer to walk to their performances as the traffic usually crashes in the inner city before a show and taxis have to go around the entire pedestrian area of the old city to reach the festival houses. It is more time efficient to use the pedestrians' shortcuts which unfortunately always lead through aforementioned cobbled streets. If you take a cab make sure you leave early. If you decide to walk make sure you wear comfortable shoes to avoid focussing on the blisters on your feet during your concert or opera.

Acquiring your intermission drink. Numerous stairs inside the festival houses might prevent you from getting to your well-deserved glass of champagne during the intermission in time. If you want to grab a drink you can order it before the performance to have it ready once you've elegantly conquered the stairs or be prepared to make a less elegant run down the stairs to be in front of the queue.

No Summer Without Salzburg

For many years the best remedy for my yearly cultural summer depression has been the Salzburg Festival. It always feels a bit like Christmas to visit Salzburg during the festival season when the small, usually sleepy city becomes vibrant and lively. You will hardly bump into any real natives of this city during the summer as it will be populated by hoards of The Sound of Music fans. Also, a large migration of classical music and theater lovers takes place as Salzburg turns into Austria's capital of music during the five weeks of the festival.

During this time keeping an eye out on a walk through the city it is likely you will spot a famous face, be it one of the artists performing in the festival or a socialite in town to see a performance or two (Salzburg rolls out the red carpet for their premieres for a reason). If you don't become lucky during your walk I recommend a visit to the restaurant Triangel, located right in front of the small festival house where the festival top nobs like to meet for a chat. I also recommend this place if you're simply looking for a good restaurant as the food served at Triangel is delicious. For amusement reasons they name their dishes after the festival's artists every year. Who doesn't like to say, "I'll have a Michael Schade!" (FYI: Noodles and vegetables of the wok with fried fillet of char!)

Triangel. View from the small festival house.

If on top of all the greatness that is Salzburg in the summer you're also lucky enough to even be granted (one doesn't simply buy) a ticket to one of the performances you shall have the perfect Salzburg experience. The world class artist per performance ratio is exceeded hardly anywhere else. Will I be among those lucky ones this year? I have yet to find out. But either way I will most certainly not miss out on Salzburg during festival time.