Although I watch the Eurovision Song Contest every year, I didn’t remember when and where this year’s final would be.
As luck would have it, I arrived in Vienna at the start of Eurovision Song Contest week. The final is here in a few days. The city has gone Eurovision mad! Everything from police cars to rubbish collection trucks are celebrating that Vienna is hosting the final this year.
To open the contest, there was a Eurovision festival outside City Hall. It was free to attend. You had to hand in your bag, for which there was a long queue.
On stage, a host introduced various performers (singers, dancers) and spoke to people in the crowd.
Eventually, the contestants were introduced. They emerged from a building, one at a time, and walked on a red carpet with a wall of people on both sides. I was barely able to see them. The first out was JJ, last year’s winner from Austria. The tradition is that the winning country hosts the following year’s competition.
It took each contestant at least 10 minutes to walk the carpet and reach the stage. Then the next contestant would appear. They posed for photos and selfies. The crowd loved it.
I had time to see just a few of the contestants before having to leave.
The queue for bags was still long. If I queued I would be late for my next show. When I was queueing to drop off my bag, I noticed someone walked to the front to pick up his bag. I assumed that was because 99% of people, at that time of day, were dropping off bags. So I did the same and retrieved my bag!
I had to leave the Eurovision opening festival early because, unusually, I was going to the opera that evening!
Yesterday, whilst walking around, I came across the grand opera house and popped in. I asked someone if there were tickets available for any show in the next few days. He said at 10am each morning, standing tickets go on sale. So this morning, I checked and found there were a few tickets left for the opera Salome. I grabbed one.
After leaving the Eurovision festival, I found a cafe and had a quick burger and chips. Then I headed for the Vienna State Opera building. I was a bit early and joined a few other people sitting outside. I read on my Kindle then entered the building 15 minutes before the start of the show. I was at the very top although the view was fine.
Curiously, the standing places are numbered. There is a metal bar in front of you that you can lean on, which was especially welcome if you start wilting half-way though the performance!
There are also small LCD screens for everyone. You can display the words of the opera in your language.
As the show was about to start, someone moved into the space next to me. After 20 minutes or so, he started looking at his mobile phone. There had been an announcement at the beginning of the performance for mobile phones not to be used and put to silent. So I quietly reminded him. He replied that he was looking up the summary of the opera and continued looking at his phone!
After the performance finished, an angry man came over to him and repeated what I’d said except he was louder and more blunt, finishing with “Next time DO NOT USE YOUR PHONE” and promptly left! The chastised person remained silent. A woman looked at him and pulled a face, in sympathy, I think.
Although I couldn’t remember the whole story, I vaguely remember reading Oscar Wilde’s French play Salomé. This was during my “Oscar Wilde phase” when I was reading all of his writings voraciously, including a moving biography of his tragic life by Richard Ellmann. This opera, by Richard Strauss, is based on Wilde’s play.
After the initial novelty of being in a beautiful theatre wore off, I found Salome a bit pedestrian. It was too wordy and the music was uninspiring. Nothing was especially melodic even though I do like some opera music.
I have an opera playlist on my phone. This consists of the “best” opera songs sung by women. Many people, even those who have never been to an opera performance, have heard some opera music. A British Airways advert many years ago adapted the Flower Duet from the opera Lakmé. There’s nothing in Salome up to that standard.
At some point in my life, I realised that the reason I like some opera music is that I particularly like the soprano voice. It has the highest vocal range of all voice types. There is a certain purity to it.
Last year’s Eurovision winner, JJ, is a sopranist (the male version of a soprano). In 1974, ABBA won Eurovision with their song Waterloo. Their female singers, Agnetha and Anni‑Frid, are both sopranos. Anni-Frid is classically trained. Of course, to make a perfect song, a good singing voice requires equally good music and lyrics. This is where Benny and Björn come in to make up the group whose appeal still endures after 50 years.