Opera Austria
US Department Of State Post Report
The grand opera presented in Warsaw at the Teatr Wielki (Great Theater) is a great bargain for an evening out. Extraordinarily lavish productions with fair to excellent singing and acceptable conducting are the norm; tickets average around $15–$25. The repertoire includes Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, Moniuszko, and contemporary Polish opera. The Chamber Opera (Opera Kameralna) is charming and of a high musical standard. Here one can see first-rate productions of early opera, as well as some of smaller scale, including Mozart. Some very interesting and daring operatic productions are produced at the Poznan Opera as well. ... [Read More]
Remarks With the Honorable Rudolph Giuliani, Mr. Abe Foxman, and Representative Christopher Smith
MR. GIULIANI: Well, I'm really not an art critic. If it was an opera, if it was an opera, I'd be able to comment on it. But works of art I'm not -- I'm not an expert on. And I haven't seen it so I don't know what it is. ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
Budapest is the heart of Hungary’s cultural and social life. Excellent opera, ballet, and concert productions feature performances by both local and foreign artists who focus on new and classical productions alike. During the summer months, open-air stages in both Budapest and the provinces compete with Budapest’s rich and elaborate theaters such as the spectacular State Opera House, the Erkel Opera Theater, and the Operetta Theater, now undergoing restoration. Each year in August, Budapest is host to the Summer Opera and Ballet Festival as well as the weeklong Pepsi Island Festival—one of the largest rock festivals in Europe. During the theatrical season (September to May), over 30 theaters with resident companies offer a broad range of classical and modern repertory productions giving audiences a choice of almost 300 different plays to see over the course of the year. The spring and fall music festivals organized each year in Budapest focus on new and classical music and theater. In ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
Performing Arts Zagreb has 20 theaters, the oldest of which is the Croatian National Theater (Hrvatsko Narodno Kazalište -- HNK), founded more than a century ago and built in the neo-Baroque style. Culture historically was heavily subsidized, and admission to operas, ballets, and concerts is still reasonably priced. Opera tickets in Zagreb (October–May) can be purchased for USD 10-60 per performance. Operas are presented in their original languages, though the quality of performances can be hit or miss. Visiting opera companies from the region perform as well. Zagreb has a popular children’s puppet theater. Most theater is performed in Croatian. The Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall is the favorite place to hear the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and various holiday musical concerts. ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
In addition, six freestanding institutes of higher education that grant diplomas have recently been established, with three already fully operational. Two other institutions, the privately operated GEA College and the MBA Center at Brdo, both have excellent international reputations. ... The Slovene capital of Ljubljana has a variety of theaters: drama, opera, and ballet companies of the Slovene National Theater (Ljubljana), the Municipal Theater, Slovene Youth Theater, and other amateur theaters. There are also drama, opera and ballet companies in Maribor, Slovenia's second largest city, and professional theaters perform in Celje, Kranj, and Nova Gorica (as well as in Trieste in Italy). An international agreement guarantees the Slovene minority their own artistic creativity. ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
Opera has a long tradition in Bratislava www.bratislava.sk, and the Renaissance-style Slovak National Theatre maintains a lively schedule of performances annually from September through June. Just opposite the theater, in the neo-Renaissance and neo-Baroque building called the Reduta, the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra performs an annual series of concerts, also from September through June. Tickets to both the opera and the symphony are readily available at reasonable prices. The summer months are filled with the music of outdoor concerts, drama performances, and puppet shows, most of which are free, during the annual July-August Cultural Summer concert series. All operatic performances are in Slovak or have Slovak titles. Even with competent Slovak skills, it is recommended one study the story of the ballet or opera one will attend. ... [Read More]
Eyewitness to History: Recollections of VE Day - Volume III - US Department of State
A few things though were apparent to me. One was the love-hate relationship with Germany and German culture. My father refused to return to either Germany or Austria after the war. He once traveled to Italy, but could not bring himself to cross the border into Austria. After coming to America, my father tried to become as completely American as he could. He learned the rules of baseball and American football and taught them to me. We spoke only English at home. But, my father kept (and I still have) his copies of the novels of Thomas Mann and many of the classic German writers. He memorized many of Goethe’s poems and could recite them with evident pleasure. When I expressed an interest in learning German, my father encouraged me. When I wanted to travel to Germany and Austria, my father never stood in the way. While my father took me to my first baseball game at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia, Cubs vs. the Phillies, (the Cubs lost - what a surprise), he also took me t ... [Read More]
John Foster Dulles
Met with senior French officials and with representatives of NATO and the Organization for European Economic Cooperation. ... Unofficial visit. Attended opening of the Vienna State Opera. ... [Read More]
Public Diplomacy: Rethinking an old Concept
Austria, as anotherexampleof success, undertook after the Second World War a sophisticated campaign tominimize thethen-prevalent impression in the allied world that the Austrians, having welcomed Hitlerin 1938,had participated actively in fighting the allies, and had played a significant role in thepersecutionof Jews. Through cultural attractions -- the Vienna Opera, Vienna Boys Choir,Lippizaner horses-- Austria was eminently successful in changing that overall impression. Indeed, not somanyyears ago, I sat at a dinner in Vienna next to a Polish diplomat who, upon my questionof whetherhe liked being stationed in Austria, answered in the negative. When I asked him whyhe felt thatway, he pointed to Austria's subtle propaganda campaign, which he said made theworld believethat Hitler was a German and Beethoven an Austrian. ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
The U.S. is one of the 55 nations participating in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). OSCE began as a Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1975, at the Helsinki Summit. It has served as the foundation for human rights standards and performance in Europe since that time. Since the fall of communism, the OSCE became a more operational organization, responsible for conflict prevention, crisis management, and democracy and human rights promotion in Europe and Eurasia. It has been especially innovative in developing early warning mechanisms and a strategy of preventive diplomacy. It currently fields 18 missions including in the Balkans, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. The Mission is also responsible for implementation and adaptation of the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, the Open Skies Treaty, the Forum for Security Cooperation, and the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Tec ... [Read More]
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