Dukey1

Ingo, despite what anyone has done regarding greetings I continue to be inclusive of everyone, even those who might be sensitive.

Glad you are enjoying your stay, WeisserTee; I am looking forward to spending time in the city next year.

Ingo

Enjoy Stollenfest, Weisser Tee! Sunny and rather cold in the next days. I'll head up to the Erzgebirge mountains.

tom_mn

I couldn't travel from Leipzig to Berlin without stopping in Wittenburg-- guilt from too many Wednesday nights spent at Lutheran Catechism as a child. And 2017 is the 500th anniversary of the 95 theses....

To me cheering snow is like cheering rain, way too common an occurrence to be pleased to see it. Even now I am watching them make snow at a ski area across from my office window.

Dukey1

You know, on some days around here regardless of what you say you simply cannot win.

Ingo

Weisser Tee, did you see the Advent concert on TV? It was really good this year. I totally loved your Swiss fellow Regula Mühlemann, an excellent soprano (she outsang Yoncheva by far!) I had heard of her earlier - all praise - but never heard her singing. Whoa!

Dukey1

Ingo, are you an opera fan by any chance? If so, please tell us more.

PalenQ

BTW Swiss Pass not valid in Germany!

Ingo

Yes, Dukey, I am. Big fan. Dresden's Semperoper is my second home, so to speak What would you like to know?

Dukey1

Thanks, Ingo. I have alternative (to Dresden) hotel reservations in Berlin for this same period next year. The reason I did that is because, and very supposedly, the Unter D-L opera house is going to reopen in this same time period.

I know there is much speculation as to whether or not this is going to happen despite the assurances of the current project director so I guess I'm hedging my bets a bit on Dresden.

But having said all that, it seems to me that despite any performances in the re-opened Berlin venue, Dresden seems more than a little "worth it" and I'm of a mind right now to let any opera performances in Berlin wait for a subsequent visit.

I am also planning a couple of nights in Leipzig before training back to Berlin for the flight to Copenhagen.

Ingo

Well, of course we don't know the schedules of the opera houses in October 2017 yet, but I bet there will be something exciting on while you're in Dresden. Or, in case you decide to be in Berlin because of the re-opening of the Lindenoper, they will certainly have big names for this event.

You might also consider two other venues in Dresden: The Kulturpalast, built in the communist era, which is undergoing a major overhaul at the moment - basically completed, only minor works to do - and gets a world-class concert hall, home of the Dresden Philharmonic. This is the 2nd orchestra of the city (after the Staatskapelle Dresden), also very, very good. Re-opening will be 28 April next year, concerts with world-class orchestras are already planned.

The other is Kraftwerk Mitte, a former power plant that was turned into a place for culture/events/music, opening is in less than two weeks. It will be home of the State Operetta Theatre, which moves there from a place in the outskirts. This company also has an excellent reputation, they do operettas, musicals, even operas (like Magic Flute).

Leipzig has a pretty good opera, too, but it isn't in the league of Semperoper. Every now and then they really shine, did some really good Wagner operas lately, and an excellent Lucia di Lammermoor last week, but I've been disappointed a couple of times, too.

Mostly overlooked are the smaller theatres/opera houses in the region, which is a shame. Chemnitz has an excellent opera company, only a few days ago they did an outstanding Pique Dame (Tchaikovsky) - the critics all rave about it.

Whatever you decide, there will be plenty of options for wonderful opera experiences, I am sure.

annhig

Dukey, I don't know if either of these events would interest you but you should try to be in Leipzig on a Saturday when you can attend an afternoon service in the Thomaskirche [Bach's church] when the boys' choir sings a Bach motet - very special:

https://www.thomaskirche.org

Also there are a number of cabarets - the one we went to was really very entertaining.

Dukey1

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. The possible problem with Berlin will be getting decent tickets so I really don't have a lot of hope for that situation, at least not this year. The house was fine when I attended pre-renovation; have also attended performances in the Schiller.

I'll just have to keep my ear to the ground as next year rolls around.