Firstly, I must say that I'll have to somehow get to Schottentor by 4:20am on Friday morning to catch the N66 to Sudbahnhof. I can either walk, and I'm not positive on how long that will take, or I can take the N41 from Kutschkergasse which leaves at 3:49am. Either way, Friday is going to be a helluva day. I'm just glad the coffee in Italy is strong.
Tonight, I went to the Staatsoper with Sam to see Die tote Stadt. This was a big hit in the 1920's when it came out but the composer, Korngold, had Jewish lineage and the opera was banned during Hitler's reign and forgotten until recently.
The opera's about a guy, Paul, who can't get over his dead wife, Marie. The city the opera is set in - the dead city - is Bruges, and there is a strong connection between Bruges and Marie for Paul. Paul sees this other woman, Marrietta (go figure), whose has the exact likeness as Marie. He falls for her but is conflicted because he still is faithful to Marie. Paul then goes insane (of which the majority of the opera consists) and flips out into some crazy hallucinations where Marietta severely messes with his head and finally he strangles her with his dead wife's shawl. It sort of reminded me of Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" with the ghosts of Christmas. They're two similarly structured stories but with different morals. Paul also kept Marie's hair in a glass box, which was a little disturbing. In the end, he comes to terms with his feelings for Marie and leaves her and Bruges.
In comparison, Carmen was a soap opera for the 1800's. Die tote Stadt actually has a complex plot, which I wasn't expecting. It was a pleasant surprise. Another good reason to see the opera is because this song is in The Big Lebowski, one of the greatest movies ever made.
The Dude Abides.
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