Monday, May 23

After a nice weekend exploring Vienna, we all met again in our hotel breakfast area for morning classes. Today in the Music in Vienna class we talked about Haydn and Mozart. And in the Intro to Opera class we also talked about Mozart, but specifically about his operas. We also talked in depth about Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, as many of our group are planning to go see this opera this coming weekend at Vienna's Volksoper ("Folk Opera") theater.

After lunch we went into the very center of Vienna, just behind St. Stephen's Cathedral, where Mozart and his family lived for almost three years. It was when Mozart was most successful during his ten years in Vienna, and it was the most luxurious apartment he ever lived in. It was also one of his most productive times, as this was when he wrote the opera The Marriage of Figaro, and numerous other instrumental works. Unfortunately, photos were strictly forbidden inside the apartment, only on the stairwells and landings.

But we did get to take a group photo at the entrance to the apartment.

The streets outside the apartment have changed very little since Mozart's time.

After the apartment tour the students were on their own. Many decided to go by Doblinger's Music Store on the way back to our hotel. Doblinger's is a Vienna institution, the most respected music store in town, with much sheet music. Unfortunately, the students told me that their prices seemed to match their lofty reputation!