18 January 1977 - Tuesday
We had breakfast in the hotel lobby and checked out. We took the Vaporetti from near the hotel all the way to the station. It was about a 45-min ride, a little cold, since we sat in the open air part. The trip gave us a good view of Venice along the Grand Canal. It is a most unusual city. We got to the station and had tea, bought a couple of box lunches at the restaurant and boarded the train, which pulled out for Milan at 11:38, on schedule. Pages 53-57 were written on the train from Venice to Milan. Italian tracks are sometimes smooth, but usually rough.
The landscape is nice. In the distance the mountains. Green grass and many vineyards or we get closer to Milan we see some snow on the ground. Compartment all to ourselves all the way.
The following[1] is written on the train from Milan to Bern. When we got to the Milan Station (an enormous, elaborate place) we found out that there were trains to Bern at 9:50 and 12:30, then we went to the Tourist Info. place, and found them very helpful. The woman spoke good English, gave us a map and a book, located some hotels, called one for us, and reserved a room. All for no charge. Our taxi took us into the Center by La Scala and to the Hotel Star, Via Bossi 5. The street was so narrow the taxi had to stop half a block away so he could pull up on the sidewalk. The bellhop came running out for the bags. The clerk spoke some English, but his replacement later that afternoon spoke none. The clerk was not very optimistic about getting tickets to the opera. (Norma, by Bellini, had its opening). He said that the soprano (not Norma) was staying in the hotel and that she hadn’t been able to get tickets for her own mother.
We walked to La Scala (Teatro alla Scala; the square is “alla Scala”) and, after giving two wrong places we finally figured out that standing room tickets (posti da Laggione) could be bought by standing in line at the door. Tickets would go on sale one hour before the 9:00 performance. It was not yet 5:00, but a line had already started. We then walked across the square through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (I get these details from the tourist book). We looked at the Cathedral (Duomo), an enormous “Italian Decorative Gothic” building. We even went into the crypt. Across the Piazza was another Italian Govt. Tourist office. We went there and verified the suspicion about the opera tickets. We also decided to try for a baby-sitter. If we couldn’t get to the opera we would still go out. The very helpful English-speaking woman at the tourist office called an outfit called “Baby’s Club” and made all the arrangements for a babysitter to come at 8:00. The cost would be 2,200 lire per hour. Then we walked (I had to carry Susanna on my shoulders for a good portion of this trek) to a 14th century castle now apparently used for offices, with parking in the courtyard. On the way out we looked for restaurants (I also slipped on ice while carrying Susanna in my arms, but we weren’t damaged), Many were closed. We tried the one next to our hotel, but it seemed closed. The one at La Scala didn’t open until 7:30. Then we returned to the hotel but found the Grande Ristorante da Emilio (next to the hotel) open. It was a godfather sort of place, quite large, marble columns, a fountain that changed colors, and a cook that sang opera in the men’s room (he happened to be there at the same time as I). The meal was good.
After eating I went to stand in line while Alice & Susanna went back to the hotel to wait for baby-sitter. I only stood in line 15 minutes or so. Then the doors opened, and I got two tickets without any trouble. Then I hurried back for Alice. The baby-sitter arrived shortly after. Her name was Victoria, or whatever the Italian variant is. She spoke limited English, and Susanna said later she was less fun than her Vienna baby-sitter.
(start page 60 as referenced in Footnote 11)
We got to the opera house and found our way in and to the standing area. La Scala is not prepared for standers the way the Staatoper in Vienna is. Everyone just crowds around the back seats and keeps moving around for a better position. There are benches in the back for momentary rests. At Vienna, there are tiers of rails (with velvet cushions) to lean against. And the tradition in Vienna of tying a handkerchief around your place at the rail to reserve it while you’re away seems well honored, the Milan atmosphere is quite different from Vienna’s too. There is not much difference in tone between Die Valkyrie and Norma; both are quite heavy. We thought we heard some boos for Sigmund, but mostly there was polite applause between acts. After Norma’s first aria (the tenor) there were sounds of sssh all around, many coming from a group of young men beside us. An usher (all ushers wear black and have chains and medallions around their necks; they look like priests) came over and, if I can translate the tone and the expressions, he said, “hold it down,” and hey said “sorry, but he deserved all the boos he could get.”
Norma, who was fantastic in the soft. High tones got “bravoes” from our group, but a few sssh’s from other places.
Another odd feature of the gallery section was the presence of the Carabiniere=the Police. There were dozens of them walking around, mostly watching the opera. In fact, while I was waiting in line, I saw three trucks loaded with them stop across the piazza and they all got off. Outside the opera house, a dozen or so more were walking around, with rifles. Fortunately, the tenor in Norma was not so bad as to require the use of the riot squad.
Also interesting was the presence of the Radio-Tele-visione Italiana trucks outside. We found out from one of our fellow standees that this production was being shown live throughout Europe. Television cameras and lights had taken over several of the choice boxes right at the stage, and one mobile unit kept revealing itself around the edge of the stage. It’s no wonder the La Scala productions have such a reputation for technical perfection. One little slip-up-- a slightly flat note, a voice breaking, a horn part flubbed -- and murmurs spread at once throughout the house.
The set deserves mention. It was a series of wooden blocks made probably to suggest Stonehenge. The whole set revolved, revealing four different areas, from a bedroom to large steps for the chorus to stand on. I tried to draw it, but this doesn’t succeed.
The acting was a bit less rigid than that in Die Valkyrie, but the chorus seemed to move in rather strict formation. When the opera ended, our feet and legs were very tired, so we got to bed at 1:00 or so. Susanna had already been asleep for some time and Victoria seemed to have gotten along well with her.
[1] To top of page 60.
18 January 2022 - Tuesday
One of the fun things about this project is finding supporting information for my Dad's journals. On a whim, I put "Norma Opera Milan January 18 1977" into the Google search bar, and in a few short seconds, I found a link to the actual performance that my parents attended.
Dad's sketch wasn't as bad as he thought:
Comments