Hausdermusik das Klangmuseum

On Monday, May 24, 2010, we went on a tour of the opera house and to the Hausdermusik das Klangmuseum. Our tour guide at the Vienna State Opera house was wonderful, and I could understand her very well. She described how the Opera House was once criticized, and one of the designers even committed suicide over the disapproval. From the information learned during our class in Indiana, suicide appears very common during the period of the fin-de-siècle.

            The tour guide sparked my interest in the siege and the rules that Maller set up for the opera shows. She mentioned how the siege destroyed 70% of the original opera house. It was very costly to rebuild this ornate building, but I am glad that the Viennese chose to preserve this important element of their tradition. She emphasized that the main staircase was originally there, and it is quite impressive. The structure is very beautiful, but I was surprised that the basic rules needed to be set up by Maller. These restrictions are customary in modern American theater: dimmed lights, closed doors, and no food or drink allowed in the auditorium. Before Maller instituted these regulations, people were showing up late and eating during the program. This behavior is shocking because the opera seems like such a formal place in Vienna today. Maller definitely revolutionized the concept of going to the opera.

The opera is such a formal place in Vienna today.

            The last activity was a visit to the Hausdermusik das Klangmuseum. This is a modern museum of sound that was located in the center of Vienna. It was very interactive, and I really enjoyed the room that was supposed to demonstrate the feeling of being in a womb. There was a bench in the room where one could feel the thumping of the womb, and it was strange. This exhibit made me think about my thesis on Freud because it brought visitors back to their childhood. Freud wanted to make people think about themselves and their actions. This exhibit does exactly the same thing that the work of Freud is intended to accomplish.