For reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com
Sunday, 24 July 2022
OperaDuets Travel 2022-06-30: Les Pecheurs de Perles, Staatsoper Berlin
Wonderful performance with video projection that have great function in the performance.
For reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com
For reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com
Sunday, 10 July 2022
OperaDuets Travel 2022-05-18: Barcelona and Benefit Concert for Fundació Montserrat Caballé
PERFORMERS
- Josep Carreras
Serena Sáenz
Montserrat Martí
Saoia Hernández
Ruth Lorenzo
Josep Buforn, piano
First BUS to Oslo. Thon Hotel Terminus in Oslo Centrum. Then train to OSL Airport. SAS SK484 Monday 16th, 2022, at 1105 to Arlanda. Should have been a shorter stop, but then security stopped operations in th airport so it was 4 hrs wait in stead. So I landed in Barcelona 2000. Taxi to the hotel Glories at 2100.
Finally, concert day, Wednesday May 18th, 2022:
Montserrat Caballé Claus, niese of the Great DIVA, organized the concert and was conferancier. Montserrat Martí Caballé, daughter of Montserrat Caballé (La SUBERBA) and Bernabé Martí. Sadly recently Bernabé Martí also departed from our world. A wonderful tenor, husband and father.
After the concert we were able to mingle among the stars and then back to the hotel.
Thursday, May 19th, 2022. More of Barcelona.
Friday, May 20th, 2022. Travelling back home. Direct Flight to Oslo and the flight home. HAPPY!!!
For reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com
Corona 2020-2022 and Operaduets Travel 2020-2022
Last performance I saw live in 2020 was Les Huguenots by Meyerbeer in Deutsche Oper Berlin 2020-03-09. After Berlin I had planned a travel to see Lucrezia Borgia in Auditori Tenerife, March 19th, and in Sevilla El Barberillo de Lavapies, but then Corona closed our borders.
Then finally came 2022 and I felt I could travel again.
For reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com
Monday, 17 May 2021
Norwegian National Day: May 17th. Constitution Day
On May 17, 1814 the Norwegian Constitution was signed in Eidsvoll.
Det berømte maleriet «Eidsvold 1814» ble malt av Oscar Wergeland 70 år etter grunnlovsforsamlingen og gitt som gave til Stortinget i 1885. Christian Magnus Falsen står oppreist og leser fra Grunnloven, mens sorenskriver Wilhelm Frimann Koren Christie sitter ved siden av. I maleriet kan rundt 70 personer av Riksforsamlingens 112 medlemmer identifiseres.[1] Bildet henger i Stortingssalen.
Norway was not really just Norway at that time we were under Danish rule, Denmark-Norway. And after our constitution we thought we would be a soveraign state but then Sweden did like the thought of being king over Sweden and Norway and so we were under Swedish rule but a bit freer in Sweden-Norway. But in 1905 we got our own King Haakon and then we really ruled ourselves in a parlamentary monarchy.
For reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com
Celebrating National Day in Norway (May 17, 2021), or everything has changed since Covid19
Last year I also celebrated National Day in Norway indoors just looking at Norwegian TV showing all the new ways to celebrate after covid19. This year I will also be watching a bit TV but just not all day.
For reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com
(Photo from http://tv.nrk.no/)
Last year (2020) in January my dad died. He was 91,5 years when he died and he had Alzheimers disease and was at the end confined to his bed. The institution he was living in did a great job caring for him. I was lucky enough to sit by his bed on his last day. I hold his hand and I told him we would be fine and that he could pass on now. And so in that night he died. He lived a full life before Alzheimers caught hold of him. Luckily he still knew who he was talking to but his memory was shorter and shorter. My regret is that I never asked my parents a lot of questions about their childhood or even how they met. This is the lesson we should learn: talk and learn from our people while they are still around.
In February I visited Berlin, Germany for Medea by Cherubini. In March I visited again this time for 3 operas by Meyerbeer. I had further plans for a visit to Canary Islands and Sevilla, Spain and I was just making everything ready when I got a call from work about the shutdown. So suddenly I was cancelling operas here and there and flights but I got the money back from the insurance company so I was good.
Obviously I could have continued blogging because I did not get the virus or anything but it just took the wind out of my sails this new situation.
Where I live it has been very few infections due to Covid. Had I been living in Bergen or Oslo life would have been so different due to much denser population and more infections.
I work as librarian so you would think it would not be possible for me to work from home but library work is quite diverse so of course many things has to be done in the library itself. Because of Covid19 our library chat-room got off much quicker than it normally would. We had been talking for years about having chat, but it was so difficult and impossible. Then chat came and became normal and so now we have librarians that can answer students and staff online from their home. We all have workcomputers that take with us home so that we can work from home even if you feel a little bit ill and it works. And who have not heard about ZOOM this days. Tomorrow I have 2 meetings I have to attend to and I can do that from home because of Zoom and I really think it has been helpful in making our meetings more effective. Luckily my meetings last only 1 hr each. Longer zoom-meetings are really tiresome and gives you head-ache. Longer than 1 or 1,5 hrs than you need breaks but still... Whole days on zoom that must be hell.
For reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com
Monday, 9 March 2020
My second opera travel in 2020: Meyerbeer in Berlin
So I am off again. Another opera travel to Berlin. This time my objective is to experience 3 operas by Giacomo Meyerbeer.
March 6, 2020.
On Thursday 5th I finish early at work. I go back home to see if I have everything ready. Still I forgot something. Maybe I will find it in Berlin. Bus to Oslo 7hrs, train to Airport and then bus to my hotel.
Friday March 6th I wake up at 5, breakfast and then bus to the airport. At airport 05.50. There I check in my luggage and then security and then wait for boarding. Last time I used EasyJet and landed in Berlin Tegel airport, now it is Norwegian Air Shuttle to Berlin Schönefeld Airport.
From Schönefeld I went by train S9 to Zoologischer Garten and then U2 to Deutsche Oper and soon I was at my hotel room.
March 6, 2020.
Le Prophète by Giacomo Meyerbeer at 1830 in Deutsche Oper Berlin: music and singing was wonderful, the Regie less so. Was all the violence, rape scenes and nudity necessary? And why did Oberthal win in the end and Jean ends only his own life. But the singing was divine, especially Clémentine Margaine, our Fidés. Brava!! Bravissima!!!
Saturday March 7, 2020.
Dinorah by Giacomo Meyerbeer at 1930 in Deutsche Oper Berlin. Opera Konzertant with Rocío Pèrez as Dinorah. She sang and acted superbly. It was a great opera evening!!!
Sunday March 8, 2020.
The opera starts at 1600 and lasts 5 hours. Les Huguenots by Giacomo Meyerbeer. Wonderful singing but I need time to digest the whole production.
Monday March 9, 2020.
And now the travel home again. But I will not go by bus from Oslo Gardermoen airport, I will go by plane. Double prize but I am home much earlier.
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