Prague

I arrived last week in Prague to sing Mahler's 2nd Symphony with San Francisco Symphony Orchestra at the Prague May Festival on their European tour. My plane landed, and as we disembarked from the plane, there on the tarmac stood a man with a piece of paper with my name on it. Instead of getting in the bus like everyone else, he whooshed me and my luggage into the waiting black Mercedes and took me to the luxurious VIP lounge, where they told me my car to take me to the airport was waiting. Wow! I hopped in and was off in less than 3 minutes after landing! What a life! THIS is what people imagine an opera singer's life to be! Ha ha! If only if were always like this. (Thank you, May Festival!)
Hotel involved the now-standard "Oh, we didn't know you needed a feather-free room" (despite faxes, calls, reservations, etc...) and I had to wait only 3 minutes for housekeeping to show up to change out all my pillows and duvet, etc... Years of experience have shown that putting ALL your linens out in the hall in a lump seems to get housekeeping's attention. Problem is that most housekeeping staffs in EVERY country in the world involve minimum wage immigrants from some OTHER country who don't really speak the language that well to begin with, nor seem to ever read directions from the front desk. Oh well. At least I know the routine now.
My first night, I came upon the strangest sight - a square filled with people dressed up like cowboys, Union soldiers all on horseback and one lone indian and a guy who looked like Davy Crockett (no horse, though...) They were lining up for some kind of parade. It was surreal to be in the Czech republic and come across cowboys when I've just spent three months in Texas without seeing ONE!
Anyhow, running around town, I came upon some gorgeous Art nouveau architecture, and realized that some of my favorite pictures of Art Nouveau actually come from Prague!! The funniest thing was when I came into the restaurant of the theater where our concert was: it had a clock I had been drooling over in my picture file. Here I was, SINGING where the original was! And I didn't even know it! I really have to start researching more before I go someplace....
Prague was a fairytale, and we enjoyed our time here immensely. I'd love to go back when my camera really works... ;-)