Open-Air Opera in the Cathedral Square.

Preparations are in full swing for this year's opera in the Burgplatz, where  the city's "Theatre Opera Group" will perform,  "The Bartered Bride"  by Smetena.  This little stall is the ticket office, and a lonely man can be seen waiting for some customers.  So few people were out and about on Wednesday, as this week the weather has been abysmal, with fine drizzle and a grey, heavy  blanket of cloud hiding the sun every day.  Each year it is possible to sit on one of the lion benches and listen to the rehearsals.  When the sun shines, and while eating ice cream, this is a very pleasant way to spend an hour or so with other interested Braunschweigers, all out in the fresh air and enjoying the free entertainment.  But yesterday the benches were soaked, (see bottom photo) and only those who'd come prepared with a plastic bag  to cover the wet seats could sit down and listen.  I walked past, and will wait until the weekend, when temperatures of 30c are forecast. and the seats will have dried out. 

Bedrich Smetana wrote his three act, comic opera between 1863 and 1866, and it was first performed in Prague on May 30th 1866.   You can read more about this work on:

The Bartered Bride - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bartered_Bride

Henry the Lion's lion monument stands in the middle of the stage, and each year is incorporated into the action.  How damp the scene looks, and I remember last year, when I had a ticket for "Turandot," that on the evening of the performance  it rained  so heavily that the event was cancelled.   We watched an extra performance a week later, but that too was accompanied by drizzle.  It is fortunate that  I have been given a new Braunschweig umbrella by the DEG this year,  and it has had several outings in the rain already. 

 

Eight wet, lonely lions look out from their benches beside the Cathedral.  They remind of the caged lions,  waiting impatiently for their next meal of fresh gladiator in the Amphitheatre in Rome.  This row of benches is on the sunny side in the afternoon, and is a good place to sit and  read on a warm day.  When it gets too hot, I move to the shady side benches, where I sit, eat ice cream and chat to elderly German ladies in grammatically incorrect German.   They always seem to understand my every word. 

Tonight (Thursday evening) Germany play Italy in the semi-final of the Euro 2012 Football Championships.  The tension here is palpable, and tonight our choir practise finishes early, so that we can all get home in time to watch the match.   I shall wave my German flag with my fingers crossed.   It will be miserable in the city  tomorrow if they lose.