Standing room, Fidelio Opera in Vienna

The opera was "Fidelio" by Beethoven, his only opera. About a wife who dresses up as a man to work in a prison as her husband has been wrongly imprisoned. The jailer's daughter falls in love with the disguised wife. The husband is eventually released and they all live happily ever after. At one point when Mahler was head of the orchestra he reorganized the music of this opera.

It was fully sold out, no student tickets, so I lined up for the standing room. God help you if you don't know the unspoken rules of places like this. There were all sorts of lines, some for students, old people, couples. But there was no shortage, as there were 500 standing room places. That's more than the capacity of some theatres. You pay $2 to be on the ground level, and $1.50 to be on the 6Th level, where you might be able to sit on the steps or spare seats, where as the bottom level is cut off from the seating area so there is no chance of sitting. So I went for the lofty gallery.

You line up with your ticket, then line up at the stairs to get a place allocation, then there is a stampeded into the theatre where you can tie a scarf around the bar in front of you to mark your place. Then and only then can you relax until the performance begins. I did this all then read my newspaper which I have decided to treat myself to once a week. After the overture I slipped into a vacant seat but after the interval the legitimate ticket holders came and so I moved into the isle. Some arsehole, who also had a standing room ticket, came and said to me in German to move down. So I moved down a few steps. Obviously I was in his spot. Then he - in full view of me - goes and tells an usher to check my ticket or something. In front of hundreds of eyes the usher came and checked my ticket. I had trouble finding it. Once I showed it to him he said I had to check my bag and coat into the cloak room area, and then move off the stairs to the standing area. This was all minutes before the second act began.

I ran all over the place sorting out the storage of my stuff, and explaining that my scarf was still tied to the bar, and could I please return there to get it. Eventually as the lights were about to go down I dashed into place, passing the arsehole on my way and only managed to hiss "was that really necessary", which he probably didn't understand. Well that ruined the second act overture for me which was supposed to be the most famous part of the opera. I stood through the second half, and will never do that again. The anxiety. The opera was just something happening, over there, while I was shifting from one foot to the other. I enjoyed the music but my favorite opera so far on this trip was "Cosi Fan Tuti". I rode home on a tram without a ticket, shitting myself that an inspector wouldn't get on.