Grüße aus Österreich! (Greetings form Austria!) When my words last appeared in these pages, thanks to the courtesy of my dear friend Bruce-Michael Gelbert, it was on one of the first days in March after we began a strictly-enforced “stay at home” policy and serious nationwide business closures, distancing, hand sanitization, and mandatory masking.
Austria’s national rate of new infections has dropped to and remains at less than 1% every day for more than a month (as low as 0.01%), and we’ve had less than 10 deaths over the last 15 days.
In the last two weeks, rules have started to become relaxed. I learned the extent of this by approaching an unmasked woman at the supermarket yesterday to tell her she needed to wear a mask. When she said she didn’t, although every other person in the store was masked, I went to the manager, only to find that she, too, was not wearing one: as of June 15, masks are only required in public transportation and taxis, in doctors’ offices, hospitals, apothecaries, hairdressers, nail salons, and anywhere it isn’t possible to maintain a distance of at least a meter.
Still, restaurants and bars have limits, with bars closing at 11pm, but cinemas and theatres are starting to reopen, albeit under strict distancing rules.
Last week I was one of 100 people who won the chance to buy a ticket for €50 to a concert by the Wiener Symphoniker (Vienna Symphony) in the Goldener Saal (Golden Hall) of Musikverein, the glorious 1840 concert hall which you’ve all at least glimpsed on TV when the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic) presents its annual New Year’s Day concert, which is televised worldwide. It was strange sitting on one of three chairs in a loge meant to hold 20, and 99 other people distanced throughout the hall which has seating capacity for more than 1,700 plus a couple hundred standing room places.
There was no intermission, but the orchestra was neither distanced nor masked. At the end of Beethoven’s Third Symphony, the orchestra’s hunky—and openly gay—music director, Philippe Jordan, bumped elbows with his first chair players, as did the rest of the musicians with each other. Everyone onstage and off celebrated the joy of hearing and playing live music again. The symphony was preceded by Beethoven’s “Leonore” Overture Number Three.
Both Musikverin and Konzerthaus have assembled an amazing array of talent for concerts through the beginning of July including eight concerts by the Symphoniker and a handful by the Philharmoniker. After is longest closure since World War Two, Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera) has live events almost daily–not complete operas, but piano-accompanied solo recitals from world class singers like Juan Diego Flórez, Camilla Nylund, Günther Groissbock, and Krassimira Stoyanova. Some nights are devoted to a specific school of opera–bel canto, French, etc.–presented by the company’s young ensemble members, 34 of whom will gather with the full orchestra on June 27 for a farewell gala honouring outgoing director Dominique Meyer.
While the Bregenz Festival has been cancelled for this year and the 100th anniversary of the Salzburg Festival severely cutback from over 300 events to about 90, the Grafenegg Festival, situated on the grounds of an old castle in the wine country about an hour west-northwest of Vienna, will go on as scheduled from mid-August through early September. A dizzying array of classical music stars including Anna Netrebko and Jonas Kaufmann have committed to performing at the outdoor Volkenturm (“cloud tower”) which has an arena with a capacity of 2,100, but audiences will be limited to 1,250.
Our annual Pride parade–one of the biggest in the EU – has, of course, been drastically downsized, but not cancelled: on June 27, decorated trucks, cars, and motorcycles will take five laps around the Ringstrasse, which encircles the historic First District, driving by the city hall, parliament, the Hofburg complex—the home of the Austro-Hungarian dynasty; Staatsoper; Burgtheater—one of the oldest extant theatres in the world; the twin art history and natural history museums; and various other historic edifices, and pass along the Donaukanal (Danube Canal), which marks the northern edge of the district.
Various bars and restaurants throughout the city are hosting smaller events, including internet hook-ups, to Global Pride celebrations.
Throughout June, every streetcar in the city—and there are hundreds of them—flies rainbow flags from the first car, and rainbows are seen in windows everywhere.
I was quite taken aback and moved on my way home from running errands today. In my last report, I mentioned the emptiness of the usually crowded Sonnenuhrgasse, a one-block street around the corner from my flat, which is defined by elementary schools at ether end. At the far end, the Astrid-Lindgren-Schule, a bilingual public elementary school—German and English—is flying a huge rainbow flag from its façade.
It’s nice to know I am living in a country where LGBTQ+ people are not only accepted and celebrated, but our history is being passed to future generations.