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Unfortunately, again, we are only in this beautiful town for a short time. I guess we really are on the whirlwind part of our trip. The train into Linz was the best one so far. We are starting to see a lot of mountains and hills. The hotel in Linz was also the most expensive since there were no others available to book in advance. It was worth it, though. I think I would consider the room we had an executive suite compared to all of the hostels we'd been staying in. We had our own shower, our own bed, towels, breakfast, our own bathroom. It was incredible :). Walking around Linz was much different from Vienna. It was still a "rich" town but nowhere near as bad as Vienna, and in my opinion, it was prettier.
The opera (Lady MacBeth von Mzensk by Shostakowich) was A MAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! The music from the opera is a favorite of mine, and I really love 20th century music and Shostakowich, so I was very excited about it. For those who do not know, this opera was highly controversial when it came out (was it the 1930's? I forget) because of its sexual content, political satire, and the fact that it glorifies a murderess as a victim/hero. It received a newspaper review with a thinly veiled threat by an anonymous writer (most people think it was Stalin) against the composer and anyone who played the opera, because it was so against the regime. Any time I've read or heard about this in class, I sort of feel sorry for Shostakowich, thinking that Stalin (or whoever) probably overreacted. But...wow! This opera was completely scandalous and I think that Shosty knew exactly what he was doing. The first act has a very graphic gang rape scene, and there was a loottttt of sex scenes to follow. Also, Katerina (the main character) was really crazy, the police and priests were portrayed as drunken idiots, and there was not a single character who wasn't a completely horrible person. But the music was great and I really enjoyed the opera. I was really surprised that all of the old people didn't get offended and walk out. They definitely would have in Texas!
Tomorrow: Salzburg and the Sound of Music Tour! :)
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