Via Prague

If you're ever in Prague, you absolutely must attend a performance at the Estates Theater in Old Town. It was here in 1787 that Mozart's Don Giovanni had its world premiere, and was featured in the movie Amadeus. Mozart wrote the tragic opera for the city following the glorious success of his 'Marriage of Figaro' in the Golden City.
My friend Michelangelo Cavalcanti, a Brazillian who has trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London, invited me to attend a performance last night of the Don at the the theater. I picked up my ticket and sat down literally in the front row looking down on the orchestra pit, and as the lights went down and the famous ominous chords opened, I watched the conductor, realizing that this was exactly where Mozart himself stood during the premiere.
Michaelangelo was cast as the doomed Don Giovanni, and I must say it's easy to see why he has performed in opera houses throughout the world. His performance -- along with the rest of the mostly Czech cast -- was stunning, and the climax -- where the dead Commander comes to the Don's house to consign him to eternal flames, Mozart's spirit truly comes alive. I definitely owe Michelangelo a dinner and a few drinks for a priceless experience.
As I said, I sat in the pit near the orchestra, and thanks to Michelangelo, only had to pay about 100 crowns (about 7 bucks!). Usually of course it costs much more, and I can't imagine how much it cost for those who sat in the private boxes, but anyway ... After the performance ended I strolled down the street. It was a clear night and so I walked over to the Three Golden Lions, where Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo da Ponte stayed while they were writing the opera. It's just down the street from the opera house, and each night they (along with Cassanova, who advised them on Don Giovanni's character) swilled down beer and punch and Prague ham in the cafes and pubs.
Walking along, I reflected on my whining about visas and foreign police, and how long it has been since I did something simple like stroll through Old Town on a summer night. It's easy to forget sometimes, to get caught up in the day to day, the teaching, expat melancholy, why I came here in the first place. Long live Mozart!