Of Macbeth, the Vienna Boys’ Choir, Sacher Torte and Swan Lake

Back from my Scandinavia-Southwestern Germany trip! The trip was wunderbar, save for a few hiccups here and there. Denmark is surprisingly more enchanting than I imagined it to be, while Norway charms visitors with its fjords and natural beauty. Down south, the Rhine Valley is overflowing with character, while Frankfurt effortlessly entices with its ”Mainhattan” allure. 

Anyway, photos from the trip will be up when it’s time. Now, some photos from my (not so) recent days in Vienna which I hadn’t managed to put up:

Macbeth in Volkstheater

Went to see this Shakespeare masterpiece with Connie, Qing Qing and Nat on Saturday, 19 May. Was fully aware that the play was in German with NO English subtitles but went ahead after all, heh.

Volkstheater, literally translates to the “People’s Theater”

The student price is unbelievable! €3.60 for any available seat, and we managed to get the otherwise most expensive ones :)

I must admit that the whole 2.5 hours was just so intense that I couldn’t help but fidgeting in my seat sometimes. There was this part at the beginning where Lady Macbeth and The Three Witches walked among the audience, and then smoke started to fill the auditorium. It friggin’ sent shivers down my neck!  

Overall, the performance was kinda profound, the set all modernized and the ending twisted. Yet, although my comprehension wasn’t helped much by my rudimentary German, I’d say that watching the play was an experience on its own.

The Vienna Boys’ Choir at Hofburg Imperial Chapel

Woke up ultra early the following Sunday to catch Der Wiener Sängerknaben (The Vienna Boys’ Choir) singing in a mass in Burgkapelle. For the uninitiated, the choir is one of the oldest boys’ choir in the world and has been a symbol of Austria for nearly 500 years.

The interior of the Hofburg Imperial Chapel

The chapel was full to the brim (the boys only sing here on Sunday mornings, and tourists started queuing to get into the chapel as early as 730am) so Cheryl, Vishnu, Fish and I had to stand practically at the door just to listen to the singing. Didn’t manage to catch a glimpse of the boys, though, ‘cos they were at the upper level at the back of the chapel, where the organ is.

A stroll along the ring and Sacher Torte

From the Imperial Chapel, we decided to take a stroll along the Ringstraße (ring road) since we were already in the Innenstadt (city center) anyway. Next destination: breakfast at Hotel Sacher!

Oh by the way, the city center of Vienna is defined by the ring road on 3 sides and the Danube Canal on the fourth.

As we walked past the Burggarten, we found this:

A statue of Mozart! Only after staying in Vienna for so long that I finally discovered it! Hah.

A close-up view of the monument

We also bumped into a statue of Goethe! He’s German, not Austrian, by the way. I visited his birthplace in Frankfurt yesterday, heh.

Our tummies were just growling by the time we reached Cafe Sacher, the home to the original Sacher Torte, one of the most famous Viennese culinary specialties.

With my Sacher Torte and a delightful cup of Wiener Melange :) Sacher Torte is basically a chocolate cake with a layer of marmalade in the middle and dark chocolate icing. It is traditionally served with unsweetened Schlagobers (whipped cream).

Schwanensee at Wiener Staatsoper

Headed for the most classic of ballet performances, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, after my German class on Monday, 21 May. 

Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna’s premier opera house, at the background

I love how people would dress up at the opera :)

The ballet only ran for about 3 nights this time in Vienna, I think, so the opera house was incredibly full. For popular performances such as this, we gotta start queuing for the standing tickets 3 hours before they start in order to secure a good spot. 

Connie, Angie and me at the foyer

With Ivy

This opera house isn’t half as grand as Opéra Garnier in Paris, but the performance was top-notch 

A sneaky photo taken by Ivy, hurhur

Really enjoyed the ballet -Odile was somehow more captivating than Odette, even though they were performed by the same person! Can’t wait to see Romeo und Julia at the end of this month :)

Gonna hit the sack now, catching Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) at Volksoper tonight!

P.S. Anyone interested in watching Rebecca in the Raimundtheater and the Wiener Mozart Orchester in the Musikverein?