Okay - give me a moment while I check where Europe is

Now, now, don't take too long. :-)

A famous hotel chain caused an outcry (from some) when they built a modern hotel onto an old (800 year old) religion building. Name the European City

8 letters _ _ _ _ _ _ S _

S is from previous clue

It's just a guess --
Budapest?

Tis indeed Budapest - the Hilton built their hotel onto the remains of a 12th Century monastery - truly ugly - if Charles thought that the Sainsbury wing of the National Gallery was like a "carbunkle on the face of a dear friend" I hate to think what he would have said about the Budapest Hilton!

yeah. I think it is the Hilton in Budapest.

Wow. I did various searches for Budapest and couldn't find anything -- should redo search for Budapest + Hilton.

Was trying for a Google-proof clue. I was in Budapest back in May and came across the description in my research - then I got to see the building and it is IMHO pretty awful

111op-

I put "modern hotel church" in google and it comes up (assuming church when wombat mentioned religious building).

I'm using "s" again.

2 words, 1st word = 1st name = 5 letters: - - s - -

2nd word = last name = 7 letters.

They share the same first name but their last name is usually spelled a little differently. One is Viennese and designed furniture. The other is a famous pianist.

Clarification -- their last names are spelled differently but both have 7 letters. Give both versions.

yk, you let me win? I'm touched. :-)

Another clarification -- if needed -- tenses are a bit screwed up. They're both dead, so maybe the past tense would have been more appropriate. Still, should be an easy Google search. I just did it. :-)

Interesting.
Josef Hoffman - furniture designer
Josef Hofmann - pianist

Yep.

So you go again.

(By the way, just went to the Neue Galerie over the weekend. So was inspired to give this clue.)

This character in the Bible caused the death of another character by performing an *artistic* act. Interesting, she was not named in the Bible itself.

She was the title character in a play written by a famous Irish author, as well as in an opera by a German composer.

Character:
_ _ _ _ _ _ (6)
Irish Author:
_ _ _ a _ (5) _ _ _ _ _ (5)
German Composer:
_ _ _ _ a _ _ (7) _ _ _ a _ _ _ (7)

The "A"s are from HoffmAn/HofmAnn.

Salome

Oscar Wilde

Richard Strauss

It's funny -- I thought of giving a clue on Salome. Just saw the opera a few months ago and struggled with the play a bit (the original was written in French, by the way, but at a level somewhat accessible to me).

You are just too quick!

Saw Salome (the play) in NYC last year with Al Pacino & Marisa Tomei. Quite an "interesting" experience...

Well I happened to be thinking about it. I guess we just think too similarly.

The play didn't get such good reviews, did it? The opera had excellent reviews (Mattila took it all off, supposedly, for a split second, but I was in the nosebleed section and couldn't really see).