Prague Journal

Sunday, November 07, 2004

Rick and I went with Charlotte and Bruce to see the matinee performance of Lucia di Lammermoor at the State Opera. We were lucky that Charlotte was with us to translate, since there were Czech overtitles, but none in English. The Prague Post’s review was right on: “…how can you not love Lucia di Lammermoor? – especially with Donizetti’s marvelous score, which epitomizes the appeal of the bel canto style. Director Anton Nekovar has also pulled off a neat trick in breathing new life into this war horse by striping it down to bare essentials…Nekovar has made the story timeless by putting his cast in muted costumes of indeterminate origin and sweeping te stage clean of so much as a single stick of furniture. This puts the emphasis squarely and solely on the performers, a smart move with an opera written essentially as a singer’s showcase, especially Lucia’s famous and flashy coloratura lines. The accents and highlights come from occasional splashes of color, like Lucia’s bloodstained nightgown, and a set of large mirrors that are used to great effect in creating psychological depth…This Lucia respects the original while invigorating it with a fresh approach and dedicated rendition of music that sounds as engaging now as it did when Donizetti composed it 169 years ago.” (October 13-19, 2004, B2). Not to mention the joy of sitting in a balcony box in the ornate State Opera hall.
After the performance we went to Zahrada v opeře (The Opera Garden) restaurant for a light dinner. This restaurant is tucked away behind the State Opera, accessible only through military barricades that surround the adjacent building that houses Radio Free Europe, imposed by the city officials after the World Trade Center attacks. The restaurant’s webpage now has “opera” crossed out and reads Zahrada v obležení (Garden under Siege)! The restaurant has been described as a “minimalist Zen space,” but in fact is a very pleasant modern, almost art-deco, interior. The food is exquisite, and tastefully presented, with relatively moderate prices. Braving the chilly evening weather, after dinner we strolled through town to the Cream & Dream for Italian ice cream. Fortunately, by that time it had stopped raining.

posted by JWinn @ 9:35 PM