Dresden: Semperoper, the Famed Opera House

Approaching Semperoper, the opera house designed by Gottfried Semper

Dresden is a two-hour train ride from Berlin and even though it's south of Berlin it's colder here at 6 degrees (Berlin was 11 degrees)!

We even had rain greet us at the train station which was worrying. But in the late afternoon the rains cleared to blue skies (though very chilly).

The historic centre is very photogenic -- everywhere you look there are beautiful old buildings, many of them restored after World War II. However they also seem to need a good cleaning too, as the roofs of the buildings with beautiful decoration from stone carvings and bronze domes are black as soot. But it's understandable there are many other things on the priority list to fix than clean some buildings.

Inside the decor is completely faux to create an illusion

Some landmark buildings or areas are being refurbished, and so while the place is photogenic, there are construction gates everywhere that make some angles unsightly. Guess you can't have everything.

Nevertheless, today we got to tour the Semperoper, the opera house -- actually the second one, that was named after the architect, Gottfried Semper who was a professor of architecture in Dresden.

He designed the first opera house that was built in 1841, which had a round facade and was said to have the best acoustics and the most beautiful opera house in Europe.

However, much like the recent Notre Dame fire, some renovations of the opera house led to a fire that razed it to the ground in 1869 and the residents clamoured to have Semper redesign another opera house on the same site.

An "ad" for Shakespeare's Hamlet above one doorway

While he did draw up the plans, it was his son Manfred, also an architect, who built the second opera house, described to be Neo-Renaissance in style.

During our tour we were told the first opera house was only for aristocrats -- no ordinary folk were allowed in.

But by the time the second one was being built, the industrial revolution was well underway and created a wealthy middle class who were keen on higher pursuits, like the opera.

Apparently the aristocrats were mortified of the thought of having to share the opera house with the riff raff and pleaded with Semper to do something. His solution? Have the nouveau riche crammed up on the top floor -- but standing room only -- for three hours, while the aristocrats sat in boxes with partitions complete with snacks and drinks.

The bust of composer Richard Strauss

Also during that time it's interesting to note that these aristocrats had not traveled to Italy before and so the opera house was their first impression of quasi Italian opulence. The upstairs foyer -- only for the aristocrats -- appear luxurious but in fact are completely faux.

The marble columns and marble-like walls were carefully painted to give the impression of using rich building materials. Apparently to create the green marble columns, it took 200 to 250 hours of work just to complete one.

The opera house also inspired a nationalistic drive to write operas in their own German language, thus Richard Strauss was one of the composers whose operas premiered here.

Our guide also explained how the opera house had one of the first "advertisements" in the foyer. They were kind of like today's movie posters of the 19th century. For example there's a scene of Hamlet with the name of the play and the name "Shakespeare" below just to give the audience a hint of what's to come.

A look at the seating complete with the royal box

When we finally got the opportunity to go into the seating area, we were impressed by the lavishness of the decor, especially the royal boxes and the several floors of boxes around the massive room. We were also told interesting trivia that the stage and backstage was 3.5 times the audience seating area.

The stage is such that it can move 360 degrees, and it can fold up vertically. It can also be divided into rows and squares that move independently of each other.

When we were there, the steel fire door on stage prevented us from seeing the setting for Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss, though while we sat there, the fire door was lifted up to reveal a beautiful setting of a sitting room area and technicians were testing out the lights.

The stage is set for Der Rosenkavalier by Strauss

Our guide also talked about intermission intervals and how 20 minutes is so stressful because you are either in line for the bathroom or for drinks and by the time you have your champagne in hand, it's time to go back to your seat. He said back in Semper's time intermission was 50 minutes long, and added the Met is currently experimenting with 45-minute intermissions. Maybe this will be the new standard for arts performances the world over?

Feminine Touch to Shakespeare's Shrew

Shakespeare's Globe's all-female cast performing The Taming of the Shew

I just came back from watching the first of five shows of Shakespeare's Globe performing The Taming of the Shrew at the Lyric Theatre at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

In Shakespeare's day, all the women's parts were performed by men. But in this version, they were all female actors, which in the beginning threw my friend and I into a loop.

However it all fits in the theme of disguise and trying to figure out the real from the fake, though adding another layer to it with women playing men.

Here too the actors sing and play musical instruments, from the guitar to the trombone, accordion and saxophone to break up scenes or add a bit of levity.

Katherina and her husband Petruchio on their wedding day

I have to admit it was fun watching women portray men -- Petruchio, who demands the petulant Katherina be his wife, is very aggressive and struts with an egotistic air, while the servant Tranio pretends to be his master Lucentio and is puckish and hip, a guy who boasts much more than he could deliver.

The humour was shown by both physical actions and how they interpreted the lines, making it fun and fresh. However we have to say it was strange seeing two women kiss on stage -- even though they were playing a man and a woman...

I last studied the play in high school and so I had forgotten how Petruchio "tames" Katherina in such a demeaning way. Not only does he prevent her from eating and sleeping, but from cleaning after having fallen off her horse in the mud. He demands that she follow what he says, that if he sees the sun, it is the sun even if it is not -- and if he changes his mind, she is to accept that.

As a woman it was hard to watch, particularly at the end when Katherina instructs her sister and Hortensio's wife how the woman should be subservient and obey her master because he is the one who looks after her... one has to wonder if this is still relevant today?

Katherina is covered in mud after falling off her horse

Her speech ends the play on a serious note, but then as the saxophonist, the woman playing Katherina comes out again on stage on her own playing the instrument to a lively song that the others later come out and perform. It was a strange ending, though one could see the director wanting to end the show on a high note so to speak.

Nevertheless, all the actors were very strong in their roles, not missing a beat and bringing laughs from physical comedy to verbal puns. The fact that they had to sing and play musical instruments demonstrated how demanding their roles were, though the latter was not their forte.

A fun (though long evening) that started at 7.30pm and ended after 10pm.

The Taming of the Shrew

Shakespeare's Globe

September 25-29

Lyric Theatre

The Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts

www.shakespearesglobe.com