La Ci Darem La Mano…

And let’s go into the world of Don Giovanni, dear reader. That is what I have been focusing on this whole time now that I have recovered from Prague. Actually, I don't have time to take you into the world of Don Giovanni right now, because I have to study for once. This morning we continued listening to Don Giovanni (and I have been listening to it nonstop on my ipod as I walk around Vienna) and heard a fabulous lecture on a “feminist interpretation of Don Giovanni.” Now, you might very well say to yourself (and to me) “How on earth can an opera about a womanizing licentious sex addict be feminist?” And you’d have had me stumped until I met Marilyn Fischer, philosophy professor extraordinaire and expert on Mary Wollstonecraft and (most of all) Jane Addams!

Can you believe this woman? She is amazing. She even dresses up as Jane Addams every year and gives a lecture in character to her freshman humanities class at University of Dayton! Is this a woman after my own heart or what? After class we went out to another of Vienna’s magnificent cafes, this time Café Sperl, still containing the original panels and other décor from its opening in 1880.

After lunch, I finally went to the Albertina to see the Mozart exhibit they have there for his 250th anniversary. I’m really glad I saw the other schlock exhibits in Salzburg and Prague before this one, because this exhibit blows everything else away. I can’t even begin to name everything they have there, including a ton of original manuscripts, letters, paintings, and so on. They even have the painting of Voltaire getting dressed that is on the cover of our Candide books! And some original 1797 Marquis de Sade illustrations from La Nouvelle Justine that I would NOT want my kids to see!

But as far as Mozart, I think the biggest thrill was seeing the original opera manuscripts they had there, penned in Mozart’s own hand. They had Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Idomeneo, and Cosi Fan Tutte. I think seeing that first one, open to “se vuol ballare, was probably the highlight for me. They had Leopold’s original 1756 violin book as well, published the year Mozart was born. And the original manuscript of “Ave Verum Corpus.” That was pretty amazing too. They also had some really bizarre costumes for the Queen of the Night designed by fabulous modern people, and upstairs this strange exhibit called “Reinventing Roccoco” with some strange John Galliano faux dresses that I could only see Nick Garrison wearing.

I love Vienna. As I was walking to the tram, I realized I had started to take being here for granted and took some photos just of the views I was seeing every day going back and forth. I have also started thinking about buying souvenirs, which I haven’t really done (except in Prague). Finally, I have to catch up on my reading of all the Don Giovanni material, including the old Spanish play by Tirso de Molina and a few other commentaries, since that’s what my project is on (as you all know by now). Later there will probably be some kind of festivities on the roof, as usual, which I will let you all know about later. Thanks for reading. Walking through the Volksgarten




Here's the "D" tram I take almost every day, either to or from class. Public transportation here is unbelievable! If only we had something even remotely as good in Seattle.