Vienna State Opera

I went to an excellent ballet on May 31, 2010, and I stood in the standing room area at the Vienna State Opera. We had to get there pretty early, but it was worth it. The tickets were only 4 Euros for a perfect view of the stage. I was unsure of how I would feel about standing for 50 minute periods, but the intermissions made it completely possible.

            I found it interesting how Rudolph, the Crown Prince of Austria, is finding his marriage to Princess Stephanie of Belgium to be boring. It is clear in the very beginning that he is unhappy with his relationship. Much of the artwork that we have viewed seems to center upon dissatisfaction with some facet of life. Mary became his next mistress, and they enter a suicide pact. I do not see how a suicide pact could ever be conceived as romantic. In class, we read about this figure in the Morton book entitled A Nervous Splendor. In the book, Rudolph appears frustrated by his position and his lack of power to create change. He sees that Vienna is resistant to social change; thus, he and others wish to push away from tradition. This desire for change and novel ideas sparked the fin-de-siecle.

Standing room seats made the ballet experience affordable

            I really enjoyed the ballet because it drew many connections to the material in our course. It shows how Mary escapes the Viennese traditions and chooses to participate in a suicide pact at Mayerling. In A Nervous Splendor, Morton made it almost understandable for Mary to make this choice. It was a time of poverty and hopelessness. The ballet was very entertaining, but it did not illustrate the economic hardship that destroyed homes and caused great despair. This was actually suicide time, and sadly, it was not uncommon for a person to take his or her life. I am glad there are standing room seats in the opera house because it made the experience affordable.