I had a pretty decent time in Kolozsvár (otherwise Cluj-Napoca). Train ride was uneventful, a bit of difficulty getting to where i wanted to go (no good info about public transport), but got to the place finally, a 2br apt which i was to share with Nico, a student who was renting br#2. I had a decent sized room, shared kitchen and bath. It was in the exact middle of town, from my window i could see city hall directly across the street.
Photos....
1. City hall from my window
2 part of old city wall.
3 where i stayed, my bedrrom was about 8th window from corner,two levels up from streez
4 interior of st michael's church (genuine gothic)
5. Restrained art nouveau building....
...............
Through internet search i had made contact with a us ex-pat, we met for coffee, he and a canadian who is teaching at the Reformed Church seminary. The teacher is also a musician, and he suggestef i go to the production of Elidir d'amore, being put on that eve at the Hungarian opera house. I know it will be in italian with magyar titles, so i try to find an italian hungarian libretto online, of course there isnt any, so just wind up studying the italian.............
Head off towards opera after a few hours wandering about the city, "enjoying" a lunch of tepid pureed spinach with fried egg and tough canadian baconish patty, also tepid to cool. It was nourishing, cost only $4.
...........Found the Magyar opera, bought my ticket (row 6, 6 seats left of center aisle), then went to a nearby restaurant. Scrumptious fish filet (pike?), very good beer, tasty salad and potatoes. But had to rush--opera started 6:30.....
Get settled. Public announcement, i understand: tenor. Mexico. Lopez. So i conclude: last minute substitute............
Act one... Very engaging cast, Adina is good, Nemorino seems a bit hesitant, but that is in character. One extra touch in this production, the Medicine man has an assistant//done up as a comedia d'arte mime in facepaint. I liked the concept, it made more sense as the quack reveals his thoughts, since he sings to his assistant, not just in a soliloqy..........
Act 1 is over, retire to foyer, find Brian, the Canadian, who knows several of the singers personally, and who fills me in on the fact that the tenor was drafted at last minute, lucky for them he knows the part. He is doing DonJose tomorrow in Carmen at the Romanian operahouse.........
All ends happily, very good job by all, and i suggest to Brian that we get a beer or something. The foyer cafe remains open, we go and are joined by Leput a fine performance (his given name), who is finishing amastets onnuclear physics and who also plays the organ (which is how Brian knows him). We chat, then the Adina comes by, Brian is a good acquaintance, we chat with herand then the baritone who was charming, handsome. Energetic, and who sang quite well. He is off to sing Onyegin somewhere, doing it all phoneticaly. Then we got to chat with the tenor, who put in a fine performance overall and whose "furtiva lagrima" was dead on. .... ...
Next morning, friday, i decide i will find the busstation and make sure about next day's trip. Cannot figure out how to get theteby bus, take one partway, seems wrong, get off, catch same number going opposite direction, but this is definitely wrong, get off, ask directions, ultimately get to train station and walk the 500 metets or so on to the bus station. To find out no tickets are sold in advance, you show up and pay the driver in cash, no credit card!.... Ok, have to live with that, but am tired and hungry and go int a nearby restaurant, where as soon as i enter i am greeted in english. I ask how the young man knows i am a foreigner. Is it the shoes? He just knows. Maybe it is because i dont greet everyone when i enter (dont know the phrases).... Good lunch with a $1.50 tuborg beer. Really tired, take taxi back which costs $3 instead of 60cent bus. Worth it.
.............
Have wifi back at apartment, Lehel has onvited me to join him for Carmen, which i do, he gets his student ticket (balcony) for 5 lei($1.60), mine costs twice as much for the seat next to him. Performance is heavy on costumes and dancing, a bit stodgy in the way the singers sre choreographed (except for catfight scene between Carmen's fellow workers at the cigarette factory), the bullfighter was only so-so, but carmen, don jose, and michaela were excellent. There is a third male role, a smuggler, who was quite good, i wished he could havebeen the toreador ( who was too pudgy for the role).....................
Next blog wont have pictures, it will cover the conversaton with
Lehel at dinner after the opera............
A few days later.… no it wont, other than to say that i covered some areas that he had not thought about very much, primarily because this part of the world is very pious, conservative, traditional, etc etc. I brought up some issues that he might run into if he goes to Germany or even Budapest for grad school in physics. Good conversation. But not for this blog.
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