Sunday, August 31, 2008

The Opera Curse Continues

One of the more serious disappointments from my time in Buenos Aires was that the Teatro Colon was under construction, forcing me to go to the smaller Coliseo - or out to La Plata - to get my opera fix.

The situation in Saigon, however, seems much more dire:



This pinkish French confection used to house the National Legislature, but after the RVN government collapsed it reverted to being a musical venue and was given the uninspiring name of the Municipal Theater.

For my entire time here, however, it's been closed and undergoing repairs. The doors are open but the interior is blocked off, with cobwebs and a dusty notice board advertising long-past concerts.

One can't expect too much in terms of live classical music in most third-world countries, but sheesh, throw me a bone here.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You mention the theatre is closed for repairs, but do you see any work being done? Your comment about the cobwebs doesn't inspire confidence.

Anonymous said...

Maybe you will have to go to Hong Kong or Beijing to see some Western classical music. What about Vietnamese music?