The Husslin' & Busslin' of Berlin- Anika

     With a long and complicated past, Berlin has risen from the ashes and rubble to become one of the most vibrant urban cities in Europe. The city acknowledges its history, while paving the way for a brighter future. The atmosphere of the city seamlessly blends the old with the new, and everything around you is either shrouded in historical significance, or expressing the urban industrialism that propelled the city into the twenty-first century. 

    After an informative tour describing the rise and fall of the Nazi party in Germany, a visit to a section of the Berlin Wall, a self-guided tour through the Pergamon museum, and a stop at the Topography of Terror, our class began the music-focused portion of our time in the city. With Berlin's tumultuous history and cultural context in mind, we experienced an otherworldly and discomforting performance of the modern opera, Oceane. The often atonal orchestration and jarring vocal lines, combined with a riveting performance from the lead soprano left our class in a slightly spellbound trance. We agreed that the performance and the opera itself was phenomenal, but we weren't sure if we actually liked it. The experience seemed purposefully open to interpretation, and I have a feeling the unsettling atmosphere was intentional. It certainly made us think and prompted discussion, which is sometimes the point of more avant-guard forms of art. 

    The next evening was spent witnessing one of the finest productions of Mendelssohn's Elijah that has probably ever been produced. The choir, orchestra, and soloists held the audience in the palm of their collective hand during the entire 2 1/2 hour performance. The musicians expressed the story as one entity, and the technical perfection combined with the emotional collective storytelling consistently moved the audience to tears. Personally, I am a highly analytical and critical audience member, but I was so captivated by the hive-mind magnificence of these musicians, I couldn't help the tears from falling as the choir came in during the opening of the first movement. I sobbed through the last four movements, and was trying to find the most graceful way to wipe the tears and snot off my face whilst maintaining some form of decorum. I honestly didn't even know this level of performance was possible, and my eyes have been opened to the possibility of what's achievable when collaborative and spiritual human expression is masterfully elevated from the foundation of technical precision. I've never heard a more transcendently glorious live performance, and I don't know if I ever will. I'll be thinking about that experience for the rest of my life.