Mark und Neustrelitz e La Traviata... e Sibile

What a treat seeing this opera performance in Neustrelitz, where Mark, our nephew, lives and works.  There was a banner for the show outside town.  We got into town before it was time to meet Mark and Sibile, so we had a coffee and treat at a cafe in the town square.

The opera star...

The venue...

The pre-performance meal...

At the performance.

The post-performance bow...

The post-performance party...

Mark topping his piece-de-resistance cheesecake...

It was opening night for this production of La Traviata.  Mark invited us, along with Sibile, to the after-party, a pot-luck in the basement of the theater.  We met Paula, who hails from California, along with many others in the cast, an assemblage of performers from around the world.  Mark likes that the theaters are nationalized in Germany.  It makes opera accessible to everyone and provides jobs for aspiring singers.

What impressed Jan and I was the excitement in this little town about the opera.  Mark had gotten us a hotel in town, and the opera is all they were talking about at the hotel, including the next morning after the performance at breakfast.  The town was fairly abuzz about the opera.  How cool is that?!!

Then it was on to Berlin, where Sibile lives and works.  We liked Sibile a lot.  Her work is with the DNA of sea turtles and manatees...Mark has a small place in Neustrelitz, and Sibile has her place in Berlin, so they go back and forth between the two places.

Here, Jan is calculating our route with her ever-present maps.  Mark had reserved us a place in Berlin, in the tallest building in town.  I told Jan, no problem, we don't need maps... we can drive right to it.  I was right... this one time.

The map story continues in the next post...