We ended up outside Mozart's house, so we went to have a look. The house has of course been turned into a museum, and fitted out in the period of his day. Most of the house has portraits on the walls, of his sister and father and other family members. There was a portrait of his wife Constance and it was strikingly different to the standard portraits of his time. Her hair is short and all messy and mousy brown, when it was the style at the time to wear those big white powdered wigs. The house was 4 stories high with steep stairs and intricate hall ways, that you could get lost in.
We saw an open cheese market, with an enormous cheese cutter, so we stopped for lunch on the steps of a church. Then we went to the Landstheatre, the first theatre in the region. We paid $8 and saw Mozart's "Cosi Fan Tuti". The theatre is the most beautiful I have ever seen. Totally impractical because of the bad sight lines, but exquisite. Gold and deep red decor, a giant chandelier, box seats, horse shoe audience and a proscenium arch. The little lights around the boxes were shaped like violins. The opera was excellent, full of fun. It is a comedy about 2 couples, testing their wives fidelity, by dressing up and presenting themselves to see if their wives would have an affair. The set was sparse and pale colours. We went home culture sated.
Someone once asked us why we are "doing" Europe while we are young, when we should be seeing the harder countries like India and South America, well now I have the answer: the discounts for students and young people are significant - an opera at $8 - unheard of! We decided to move on to Vienna the next day as there is an opera there tomorrow night.
Photo by Italiangerry
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