A Night at the Opera

View of the Hoog Brug at night

A night at the opera is a great way to start off the weekend! Through a friend and fellow arts colleague at work, Jaap and I received free tickets to see Kát'a Kabanová by Leos Janácek at the Theater aan het Vrijthof last night. Along with a group of other colleagues from work, we enjoyed a night of good music, champagne, wine, and lekker haupjes (snacks) for free! Free things are always good. 

Theater in the background of the Vrijthof

I really enjoyed the opera as well. A sad love story of a married woman falling in love with another man whom, you probably guessed it, commits suicide in the end. (A typical bizaare opera story line.) A tragic tale, set in Russia, sung in Czech, and produced with Dutch subtitles. Interesting. I didn't think it would turn out to be a place for me to practice my Dutch, but I actually understood a lot of the subtitles. It was good practice for me. And well done to the Dutch performers singing in Czech! 

Afterwards, Jaap and I like to discuss the performance, the orchestra, the stage & direction, what we liked and what we didn't like. It's our own little critics corner. It's the best part of our music nights out and one of the reasons I love him so much. :)

So to any other Maastricht or Limburg residents out there...I would recommend seeing this production by Opera Zuid. For anybody who is afraid or turned off by opera, it's only 1.5 hours. What's not to love?