Tag: Entertainment

A Night at the Opera

On Tuesday May 10, I went to the Copenhagen Opera house with three of my friends and classmates for what can only be described as the strangest opera I have ever seen.

A little back story before I get to my night- I have been to operas before with my dad back in San Fransisco. When we went, we would make a whole nigh out of it- dressing up, going to a nice restaurant, buying nice seats. Basically what you would think of as a classic night at an opera house. One of my favorite nights with my dad was when we went with my best friend and her father. We splurged on box seats and as soon as we sat down, my dad pointed to a group of seats about 20 feet from us and told us that that was where the opera scene in Pretty Women took place.

I knew going to the opera here would be different, I just didn’t think it would be that different.

My story starts 12 hours before the opera began when we bought our tickets. I had a friend visiting from W&L and he brought up the possibility of going to the opera that night after he saw that The Tale of Hoffman* was showing. I loved my past experience at the opera, so I of course said yes and invited Maggie to join us.

Fast forward to 6 p.m. when we are getting ready. The opera started at 7:30 and our plan was to grab food at Paper Island and head over. Unfortunately, we completely underestimated how long the walk would take us, so we had to sprint to the Opera House with food in hand just as it started raining. Thankfully we made it to our seats with one minute to spare- then the real fun began.

From my past experiences, I knew to read the synopsis before the show began because even with subtitles, operas can be hard to follow, especially since this one was in French. What I didn’t realize was that the subtitles would be in Danish, not English; as soon as the show began I instantly regretted my decision to take 7 years of Spanish instead of French.

So there I was, about to sit through an opera in languages  I wouldn’t be able to understand…and then a man appeared on stage in a glittering dress, only to have it ripped off to reveal a corset underneath.

Over the next three hours I witnessed the strangest show I had ever, and probably will ever, see. About every few minutes Maggie and I would just look over at each others with looks of shock, confusion, and embarrassment depending on the scene.

While I won’t go into specific details, throughout the show we witnessed a lot of crossdressers, pornographic images displayed on the large screen and some very graphic scenes that left nothing up to the imagination. During intermission the four of us honestly stood outside the theater for a solid 5 minutes not saying anything- still in shock from the first half of the show.

The opera ended in the same unique fashion in which it started and even though I knew the plot, I still couldn’t tell you what happened. Although my night at the opera turned out to be a different experience than what I thought it would be, I still had fun. If anything, this is going to be a fantastic story to tell my friends and family when I’m older. I mean how many other people can say they accidentally went to a opera/drag show while studying abroad in Copenhagen?

* This actually was a great opera- the music and songs were amazing. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Just go in with the expectation that it is different than more classical operas.

Fredagsrock: Friday Family Fun

The Tivoli stage area during the day.

Each weekuring the summer, Tivoli hosts Fredagsrock (literally translates to Friday’s rock). Having heard good things about the event, I decided that I needed to experience it yesterday night. While I did not know any of the artists that would be performing the during our time here, I picked a day where two different Danish artists were performing. Why not experience the music culture of our host country? The night was advertised as a “dance party under an open sky,” which I thought could be fun. The two artists were Kongsted, a DJ, and Infernal, a dance/pop group (according to Wikipedia).

Although many claimed that Fredagsrock part of the Copenhagen experience and life, I was not sure what to expect. Hence, I was surprised that this was an event for everyone. I felt that every demographic was represented! There were families there with young children, couples out on a date, groups of friends looking for a fun night out and people of all ages. Looking around, there were the people dancing enthusiastically near the stage, a slightly older group bobbing to the music further in the back and people drinking beer at restaurants nearby.

Given that Fredagsrock is free with Tivoli entrance, I can easily see how the concerts become an important part of the nightlife in Copenhagen. For DKK 330, which is just under USD 50, you can have unlimited access to Tivoli and all the Fredagsrock concerts. If I was in Copenhagen for a longer period of time, I would definitely consider the annual pass. After all, Fredagsrock is not just Danish artists. For 2017, which is also the 20th anniversary of Fredagsrock, the organizing group is bringing in international artists such as Lil Wayne, 5 Seconds of Summer and Brian Wilson. There is also a diversity in the type of music

One thing that I enjoyed about Fredagsrock was how relaxed the atmosphere was. Of course, people were excited to be there, but there was a lack of group mentality. If you wanted to dance like a crazy person, you could dance like a crazy person. On the other hand, you could also just to listen to music while having a drink and catching up with friends. And even though it was crowded, I never felt overwhelmed by the crowd and was thankful for the respect of personal space that can often be disregarded at concerts.

A Fredagsrock experience is really what you make of it. However, if you find that Fredagsrock is not your thing, Tivoli offers beautiful gardens, amusement park rides and even a 10-minute light/water show each day. There really is something for everyone!