Sunday, July 12, 2009

Joyful evening at the Fortress



Place - the medieval fortress 'Cetatea' (the citadel) on a high hill overlooking the city of Brasov. It has four towers, a canon, and a 81 m deep well in the courtyard, weapons hanged on walls, statues of warriors.
The occasion - dinner at the restaurant of the citadel followed by a performance of a troupe of artists from the local Opera House of the city of Brasov. The place was packed with tourists sitted at tables on both sides of a long hall.

Well, the food was delicious, the wine opened the senses widely, and we were all happily waiting
for the main dessert - the artistic performance with arias from well known operas, choreography with a pair of dancers, and fine instrumental music.

I liked it all, the music, the voices, the dances - except for one thing - the way the three male opera singers looked. They were out of shape (the belly stood out) and dressed in a sort of depressive outfit. The younger among them
was dressed adequately for his love duets with the soprano, but the size of the tuxedo was big on him so he looked lost in it, and his shoes had ridiculously long, sharp tips (The three didn't know I'll be in the audience LOL..) .



the senior singer


the middle-aged singer


the junior singer, in a duet with the soprano

Apart from that, everything was just fine, considering the fact that the performers (for whom it was a way of earning some extra money) didn't have here the optimal stage conditions available at the Opera House in town.

the red-head mezzosoprano


the dancers


Finale
The programme ended with the orchestra playing some dance music to allow the guests of the restaurant to engage in dancing. Medieval walls or not, the happening within these walls was modern and lively.



6 comments:

  1. Duta, what a lovely evening! Thank you for sharing! I have had the same experience of LOL'g at the opera. My mother and I saw a performance and the leading man was this little short, fat, extremely ugly man...nice voice, but definitely not the right match for the lovely and extremely beautiful leading lady! She would be singing how she loved him so, they would run toward one another and embrace and my mother and I would look at one another and laugh...LOL
    I hate to be mean like that, but it really did ruin it for us. It became more of a comedy than a true love story!
    At any rate, the evening was still lovely and shared laughter is always a good thing!

    What an interesting place. How fun! I'm happy you were enjoying yourself!
    Have a Beautiful Day, Duta!
    xox

    ReplyDelete
  2. TheChicGeek,
    Thanks Kelly for your lovely detailed comment.

    Frankly speaking, I feel a bit mean for having criticized the appearance of the male singers. I think, however, they should have shown more respect for the audience by paying more attention to how hey look and how they dress. After all, an opera singer is not like any other singer.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That looks like a great place to dine

    ReplyDelete
  4. Baruch,
    Thanks for visiting.
    Yeah,the place has great atmosphere.

    ReplyDelete
  5. A warm welcome awaits you at fortress 'Cetatea' (the citadel).
    The host traditionally welcomes the guest with fresh bread (colac) with salt and “tuica” (fiery plum brandies)

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete