In the evening, the time had come: we were off to the Semperoper.
As for the building itself, the opera house is, of course, beyond reproach – it’s a beautiful building. Here are a few photos of the corridors, staircases and so on.
We were sitting in the royal box, which only has a few seats. The view is good. What we could already see of the production certainly raised some questions.
The opera performed was *La Traviata*; here is the cast list:
What was on offer wasn’t anything to write home about. I don’t find Amitai Pati a particularly fine tenor, and Adela Zahari was shrill in the high notes. Overall, it didn’t impress me artistically; in theatres such as Essen, Dortmund or Gelsenkirchen, I can get something of at least equal quality for less than half the ticket price. Nor did the Staatskapelle Dresden blow me away.
But even worse than the lacklustre artistic performance was the audience in the box. For a start, it smelled of alcohol. Either someone was wearing a dreadful perfume, or someone was drunk. To my left sat a bloke who chewed gum the whole time; luckily, he left at the interval. To my right, however, sat someone who breathed loudly and steadily; I reckon he was asleep. Behind us sat a couple who commented loudly on everything during the music; they were obviously quite excited to be allowed to go to the opera. Turning round several times and giving them dirty looks only brought temporary relief. I felt like I was at the zoo; I’ve rarely encountered such a dreadful audience. Thirty years ago, half of them would have been thrown out of the opera house (OK, many would have been turned away at the entrance for not being properly dressed), but in any case, I can’t remember people like that.
I’d ordered some canapés for the break; they were supplied by Beans & Beluga. They were fine.
It was a thoroughly disappointing evening, even though the performers were given a standing ovation. But I get the feeling today that people shout ‘Bravo!’ at the drop of a hat.
A few last glances.
