As I mentioned in a previous post, the Vienna State Opera asked Brenda to jump in on short notice for an ailing singer. Brenda ended up doing three of the four performances in the run. In fact, her last performance was the Vienna State Opera's last show of the season. That performance was broadcast live over the radio and also projected onto the side of the opera house so people outside could watch it for free. We've heard that Brenda's performance will be rebroadcast in the coming months by numerous radio stations throughout Europe.
My parents and I went to Brenda's first performance which happened to be the same day they landed in Germany. I picked them up at the airport at 8:30 am, brought them home, made them a cup of coffee, and then forced them to go back to the airport and get on a plane to Vienna. I am really impressed that they managed to stay awake the whole day.
You can't even tell that they had been awake for almost 30 hours.
I really have to stress how big of a deal it was for Brenda to sing the title role in an opera at the Vienna State Opera. If I knew anything about baseball I would say that it was kind of like she was the starting pitcher for the Yankees (or your favorite baseball team). And it was the World Series. And she pitched a no-hitter. It was an amazing thing, and I couldn't be more proud of her.
A picture of Brenda taken from her first performance outside of the Vienna State Opera.
If you look closely you can see the reflection of her biggest fan in the glass.
Brenda outside of her dressing room.
Audience members enjoying a drink before the show.
As you may recall, Brenda did an opera called The Rake's Progress a month or so ago. A local magazine decided to do an article about the production, and they focused on Brenda. When Brenda and I were out and about yesterday we picked up a couple of copies.
The magazine.
A close up.
A look inside.
So that's pretty much what Brenda has been up to. She will be doing two concerts next week at a music festival in the area and shortly thereafter she'll be doing a couple of performances at the Bavarian State Opera. After that she will get to take a well-earned break.
In addition to forcing my parents to go to Vienna without any sleep, we took them to Hamburg, Berlin, and Paris. We saw a lot of the big sites and we ate a lot of good food. My dad was on a mission to eat as many chocolate croissants as he could get his hands on. He did well. We had a great time with my parents - as we always do. I think they had a good time, too. They didn't even get mad at us when we abandoned them in Frankfurt for two nights while I flew to Vienna to see Brenda's last performance. They've got this Germany thing down pat.
I think I will call it a night. There are a few more things that I could share with you (such as our washing machine is broken and I keep buying underwear instead of going to a laundromat) but some things are better left unsaid. I hope you all have a great weekend, and I'll talk to you on Tuesday.
2 comments:
Great post Chad. What are the buildings in the reflection of Brenda? Congrats to Brenda!!! Same to your parents for the surviving their schedule. Can't wait for Wednesday to read your POSTS!!! Ron and Marilyn
Hi Ron and Marilyn! Thanks so much for commenting. I hope you are enjoying your summer. I'm sure you've been doing a lot of traveling, too. I don't actually know what buildings those are in the background. Brenda's picture was on the right side of the Vienna State Opera building so those other buildings are the ones across the street. Brenda and I will have to spend more time in Vienna so I can get to know it a little better. :-)
I hope you two are doing great, and hopefully we'll get to see you soon! - Chad
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