This is how it goes...


Diane. Recent Graduate of Mason Gross School of the Arts. Taking a year off before grad school. I guess you could say I'm just hanging out "in the middle" right now.

"I've never known a musician who regretted being one.
Whatever deceptions life may have in store for you,
music itself is not going to let you down."

2nd August 2011

So, the broadcast of Così was absolutely fabulous last night.  The setting alone is enough to give you goosebumps.  The screen was set up in a square right outside of the cathedral in the Altstadt.  There were vendors, an outdoor cafe where people were drinking wine & cocktails while watching the broadcast, children running around with ice cream cones.  There were seats set up closer to the screen, but lots of people were standing, mingling, having a beer, and enjoying the night.  And as it got dark, the lights on all the buildings were lit up, and the beautiful fortress was right above us on the hill.  We stood for the first half, but then snagged some seats when people left before the second half.  The modern interpretation of this production did not take away from the opera at all.  In fact, it put a very fun, new perspective on it.  The Don Alfonso was a little weird & creepy, but he made it work with his character.  Overall, I really enjoyed it. Today I had rehearsal literally all day.  In the morning we started with a mask workshop at 10, and then a coaching for the drei knaben, followed by staging & runthroughs of act I til 5 pm.  We barely had time to grab lunch, so we were on our way to a nearby Bäckeri to grab a sandwich when we spotted this little burger joint.  We decided to check it out.  Now, this place was cool for a few reasons. There are practically NO burger places in Austria.  Not that I was DYING to have a burger while I’m here, but it’s just an observation.  They have Chinese food, Indian food, Korean food, Turkish places on every corner…but not many places to get a hamburger. This place uses only fresh, local produce.  Fresh veggies, fresh meat, fresh bread…EVERY DAY.  So it was a healthy(ish) burger. As we were sitting in there, we noticed that this is the hot spot for all the young, hip, super indie Austrians.  So it was an interesting crowd. The burger was CHEAP & not an overly gigantic portion like they serve in the US. There were quite a few Vegetarian options on the menu, which is always a plus! One thing about this place:  it was NOT exactly fast food.  They literally make everything right there after you order it, nothing is premade & sitting out.  So you have to wait for your burger to be cooked, which is A-ok with me.   As we were leaving, the guy behind the counter (who basically did EVERYTHING from waiter to cook to answering phones) gave us all one of those frequent-buyer card thingies, where they stamp it every time you go there & eat.  Needless to say, if I wasn’t already planning on going back there, that sealed the deal. So, ladies & gents, if you are ever in Salzburg, try BioBurgerMeister. I’m off to practice & make dinner, so bye for now!

So, the broadcast of Così was absolutely fabulous last night.  The setting alone is enough to give you goosebumps.  The screen was set up in a square right outside of the cathedral in the Altstadt.  There were vendors, an outdoor cafe where people were drinking wine & cocktails while watching the broadcast, children running around with ice cream cones.  There were seats set up closer to the screen, but lots of people were standing, mingling, having a beer, and enjoying the night.  And as it got dark, the lights on all the buildings were lit up, and the beautiful fortress was right above us on the hill.  We stood for the first half, but then snagged some seats when people left before the second half.  The modern interpretation of this production did not take away from the opera at all.  In fact, it put a very fun, new perspective on it.  The Don Alfonso was a little weird & creepy, but he made it work with his character.  Overall, I really enjoyed it.

Today I had rehearsal literally all day.  In the morning we started with a mask workshop at 10, and then a coaching for the drei knaben, followed by staging & runthroughs of act I til 5 pm.  We barely had time to grab lunch, so we were on our way to a nearby Bäckeri to grab a sandwich when we spotted this little burger joint.  We decided to check it out.  Now, this place was cool for a few reasons.

  1. There are practically NO burger places in Austria.  Not that I was DYING to have a burger while I’m here, but it’s just an observation.  They have Chinese food, Indian food, Korean food, Turkish places on every corner…but not many places to get a hamburger.
  2. This place uses only fresh, local produce.  Fresh veggies, fresh meat, fresh bread…EVERY DAY.  So it was a healthy(ish) burger.
  3. As we were sitting in there, we noticed that this is the hot spot for all the young, hip, super indie Austrians.  So it was an interesting crowd.
  4. The burger was CHEAP & not an overly gigantic portion like they serve in the US.
  5. There were quite a few Vegetarian options on the menu, which is always a plus!

One thing about this place:  it was NOT exactly fast food.  They literally make everything right there after you order it, nothing is premade & sitting out.  So you have to wait for your burger to be cooked, which is A-ok with me.  

As we were leaving, the guy behind the counter (who basically did EVERYTHING from waiter to cook to answering phones) gave us all one of those frequent-buyer card thingies, where they stamp it every time you go there & eat.  Needless to say, if I wasn’t already planning on going back there, that sealed the deal.

So, ladies & gents, if you are ever in Salzburg, try BioBurgerMeister.

I’m off to practice & make dinner, so bye for now!