Trip to DC

As thoughts turn to Spring I'll wrap up the Winter travels quickly....My third business trip brought me back to Washington, DC.

I returned to take in the Opening Nights of "Manon Lescaut" and "Norma" in both of which I had some emotional investment having planned those titles, productions and casts 2-4 years before.
It was delightful to see so many friends again, even though it had only been three months since I left. It was truly flattering to be welcomed back by so many with smiles and hugs.

The performances were wonderful with Pat Racette in her role debut as Manon Lescaut and with Angela Mead as Norma (I hired her for this 4 years ago after judging her in the Belvedere Competition which she ultimately won).

I also had the chance to dart up to New York one Saturday to take part in the Opera Quiz at the second intermission of The Met's "Don Carlo" (probably my favourite opera).

Peter Kazaras, Thomas Wolf, Yours Truly, Gerald Moore, Diana Damrau

I have been on the quiz before, but this was my first appearance representing the Royal Opera House Muscat!

Waiting at the airport in Dubai I was often struck by seeing those big contrasts between the very modern, high-tech airport and lots of very traditional clothing.











Just another sunny day in DC at my favorite vantage point just north of National Airport, a great place to watch planes land and take off....in case you didn't know: I LOVE planes










It wasn't all opera work...I also got to take in a Washington Capitals hockey game with Anne, Geoff and Marilyn - great fun and the Caps won 30 seconds into overtime with a spectacular quick goal! It was also nice to see ice again after months of warm sandy desert!









A busy though enjoyable week on all levels!

St. Petersburg, Russia

The next business trip took me to St. Petersburg, Russia.

ROHM is bringing in a "Madama Butterfly" from the Mariinsky Theatre, so primarily for technical issues our Technical Director and I traveled all the way to Russia to see it. The original production, directed by Mariusz Trelinski, belongs to Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, and it is one that I had brought to Washington National Opera a while back. A few years ago the Mariinksy Theatre was licensed to built a slightly scaled down copy of the production which they still own. Even scaled down from its original grand scope the production still presents some scenic challenges and we wanted to see those first-hand to work out any solutions for our theatre ahead of time.

It is a wonderful production that was extremely successful and well received in Washington. 
In St. Petersburg it looked just like I remembered: striking imagery, cinematic transitions and beautiful traditional, if stylized, costuming.











A view of the Mariinsky in the snowy Russian winter....remember that when we left Muscat it was sunny and 26°C (78°F)!













My colleague, Geoff W. and I were the only ones in the royal box for the performance! Just as in days past the audience stared inquisitively into the box, wondering who these people were who rated a private suite.











We also had the chance to see a performance of "La Juive" by Halévy at the Mikhailovsky Theatre across town (next to the Russian Museum). It is a company that has seen a surge in popularity in recent years after the auditorium and lobbies were renovated and the whole company reinvigorated.







It was a productive trip overall and I enjoyed being back in St. Petersburg again. My first trip was in 1994 and in several visits since then I have gotten to know many colleagues in this beautiful city. Having grown up with the Wall dividing Berlin and Germany, and the world divided into the Eastern and Western blocs of the Cold War, it never ceases to impress me to be strolling around so comfortably in St. Petersburg, Russia. Oh, and right now I have a 3 year/multiple-entry Russian visa in my passport.....the world certainly is an amazing and ever evolving place !

Dosvedanya !

Milano and Verona

In recent weeks I have been out "on the opera road" on Royal Opera House business.

First up: Milan and Verona, Italy.
The main purpose of the trip was for our Technical Director, Geoff W., and I to go to Verona to evaluate a possible production for us to bring to Muscat, but first a stop in Milan thanks to available direct flight routing. I used the opportunity to meet a couple of friends and we all went to La Scala to see a production of "Nabucco". A very grey production, although, without going into details, I have to say I am glad I had the opportunity to see it.

The weather in Milano was sunny and cold at first, but then turned dreadful! Grey, cold, snowy, wet...and the same in Verona. Not the weather I have been used to in Muscat!

We took a morning train to Verona in time to see a matinee of Verdi's "Attila" (not the show we are considering bringing), after which we met with an agent to discuss a few other possible productions for ROHM from other Italian companies. In the evening we were free, so I managed to take a rather nostalgic tour just outside Verona to visit a place that has great memories for me. I went to the Baita (a wooden, mountain-retreat-style house) belonging to the Coro Stella Alpina where I reconnected with friends from 30 years ago and revisited this house where some childhood friends from Hamburg (Jens, Gernot, Ingrid, Alphons, Hanne, Joachim, Thies) and I had spent some memorable summers.

Our whole "gang" would stay at the Baita, see performances at the Arena di Verona and enjoy the hospitality of the Coro Stella Alpina members.

The next morning we had a long and productive meeting in Verona, then returned to Milan in the late afternoon and flew back to Muscat that same evening.

A quick but fruitful trip on many levels !

A trip to Jebel Shams mountains

Oman has plenty of mountains as well as the highest mountain peak of the Arabian Peninsula, Jebel Shams, at 3.100m/10,200ft.  Situated close to its peak is the regional air traffic control radar installation.  Below the peak is Jebel Shams Canyon which reminds the traveller and hiker a little bit of the US Grand Canyon in terms of the shapes of the cliff walls. The depth from Canyon's highest edge to its bottom is about 1.200m/3,900ft.

We drove in a big SUV from Muscat via Nizwa and then up the mountain to the Jebel Shams Resort.

Most of the access road was paved in steep S-curves, but at some point it became just a dirt road cut into the rock, still steep, still curvy - not for the faint of heart.  Neither is the canyon hike, but more about this later.

It was already dark by the time we arrived at the camp and a small campfire was waiting for us outside our bedouin tent.  Staff built it up to bonfire size which kept us warm and provided coals for the barbecue.  The temperature in Muscat had been 25C (77F), and up in the mountains it was 8C (46F), so my heavy jacket was put to good use. There are places in Oman that get cold, sometimes there is even snow! 

The full moon rising over the mountains and the clear, very starry sky were amazing and ....the SILENCE so relaxing !!!  After a rustic and tasty barbecue of chicken and beef, plus hummus and green salad we went to sleep in the tents.  Two layers of blankets kept me comfortably warm in the bed.

 

The next morning we woke up around 8am and the simple camp canteen provided a good and hearty breakfast. By 10am we took off to the canyon, a bumpy 15min drive to one of its lower edges.  We were dropped off at an area with a few very simple stone houses inhabited by a few families that live from raising goats and selling found fossils and simple homemade crafts to hikers.

 

Off we went on a more than four hour hike, 

two hours each way 

and a little rest. 

The beige trail is just visible here --------->

Houses reminiscent of Mesa Verde (Colorado, US) wedged into the cliff side.
Inhabited until a generation ago.

More or less the end of the canyon, our ultimate destination:

We stopped atop these terraces, pictured at the center of the photo

<--

A close up of those agricultural terraces -->

Notice our four-legged companion at the resting spot.  A local mountain goat hoping for a snack.

See the big boulder?  Now see the tiny people in the lower left? BIG boulder.

The view on the way back

Filling up

Filled up the car last week.
59.18 liters cost 7.1 Omani Rials.

59.18 liters = 15.63 gallons

7.1 Rials = $18.45 = €13.5 !!!

A Day at the Races

On Jan. 1, 2013 I was invited to attend The Annual Royal Horse Racing Festival of the Royal Cavalry presided over by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos.  What a spectacle it was!

For those who might not know I used to ride English saddle as a teenager regularly for about 5 years, and since then on the rare occasion. My interest in horses, watching dressage events and show jumping has never ceased so this Omani Royal Cavalry event was a treat for me!

There were six horse races, five for purebred Arabian horses only and one for Thoroughbreds.  Those were interspersed with processions of mounted military units and horse drawn vehicles, trick riding, displays of various equestrian skills and races and processions featuring other animals. Most events were accompanied with music by the Royal Guard band.

As per the invitation my friends and I arrived at 2pm with passes to sit in section B. We were almost the first to arrive.  It was general seating within each section and once you claimed a chair it was best to stay in it.  Leaving a scarf or purse on the chair was not an acknowledged means of reserving it.  By 4pm most seats had been filled, various mounted military units and carriage brigades had filled the parade ground just inside the track, the sultan had arrived and the event could begin.  All spectators were there by invitation only and on very good behavior, nonetheless the quiet that reigned over the whole area was remarkable.  Only subdued conversations and the occasional horse whinny could be heard.

The ushers were dressed up.  Their headscarves matched their sashes, each man had a different fabric pattern. The traditional dagger, a khanjar, is tucked into the sash.   There were only male ushers.  The women we saw were supervising!  The seats were quite comfortable and everyone received a fancy program booklet.

There was a fanfare for His Majesty's entrance into the Royal seating area - the only one with shade.  From our seats 2 sections over we had a decent line of sight to his silhouette.  There are stands only along one side of the track, the finish line is at the far right just before the track curves.  The Royal Box is at the finish line, the remaining seating areas extend to the sultan's left as he looks towards the center of the track.

The National Anthem followed and then the first race was off!  At about the same time liveried waiters started handing out box lunches to every single person, gratis.  This was followed by beverage service, water, orange, pineapple or carrot juices...in glasses!  Meanwhile the activities carried on seamlessly.

 Horse drawn cannon

One of many beautiful horses on display

 Horse drawn military band

Women in traditional dress

2 men standing on horseback, the women riders were equally daring.

These men were tossing poles around. Others shot arrows and stabbed things with spears.

 One team specialized in hanging off the side of the horse.   A teammate of his slid down one side, climbed under his horse and back up the other side while at full gallop.

For comic relief: the white donkey race, note the backwards riders; falling off was expected.

The running and display of the bulls; other non-horse displays included goats, llamas, and dogcarts.

The ostrich race, again falling off is normal, except for this rider.

And the big finish, an assembly of all the participants.

His Majesty handed out trophies to the winning jockies, the orchestra played the national anthem again and then everybody left. (In the video below note the sultan waving on the big screen, then waving from the stand.)  The whole event lasted just under two hours and was a most memorable treat to start the New Year!

Ambassadorial meetings

Now that I'm in Oman full time I can better assist in promoting ROHM.  The international community has been especially welcoming.

Dec 1, my first day, I attended a reception at the German Ambassador's Residence honoring their National Day (which is actually Oct.3, but that is beside the point).  In addition to Ambassador von Reibnitz I met the former Dutch ambassador, members of US and Spanish delegations, and a Belgian official, among others.

Dec 2 an appointment with the German ambassador in his office.

Dec 4 lunch with the Thai ambassador; in the evening an event at French Embassy in honor of organist Jean Guillou who had performed at ROHM the night before; on this occasion I met the ambassadors from Italy, Japan, and the Netherlands.

Dec 5 attended a reception in honor of the anniversary of the day of birth of His Majesty the King of Thailand (also known as National Day). In attendance were many of those listed above, plus current US Ambassador Greta Holtz, the Moroccan ambassador and his wife, and the wife of the ambassador from Afghanistan, among others.

Dec 9 reception at the Italian ambassador's residence for the Italian community, of which, apparently, I am a part.

Dec 14 reception at the French embassy for Opera de Nice, performing at ROHM.

Dec 18 reception at the US residence for Joshua Bell, another recent performer at ROHM.

It seemed a whirlwind start, but fortunately there was a break for the holidays!