Like most bachelors, Mendelssohn lived within walking distance of his work at the Deutsche Oper am…read moreRhein where he led the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker 1833-1835. He was 24 years old and this was his first paid post as a musician. He was only its 2nd appointed director, serving after two interim directors after the founding director, Friedrich August Burgmüller. Today, the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker performs 250 times a year, in both the Tonhalle and in the Deutsche Oper am Rhein with two opera houses. It became a municipal orchestra in 1864 and is the 2nd oldest municipal orchestra in Germany after Aachen. It is now one of the largest orchestras in Germany. Mendelssohn's full name is Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Grandson of the reknown Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, he was supportive of his grandfather's work despite conforming to the Reformed Christian tradition in which he had been raised since 7 years old. The name Bartholdy was adopted by his father at the suggestion of his brother-in-law who inherited a property with this name to demonstrate a decisive break with the traditions of his father. Even so, anti-Semitism likely affected his initial prospects. Despite having composed dozens of symphonies as a tween as well as chamber pieces and re-ignites I J.S. Bach's works by arranging and conducting his St. Matthew's Passion at age 20, he did not receive enough votes to succeed his composition teacher, Carl Friedrich Zelter at the Berliner Singakademie after the latter's death in 1832. This led him to accept the position in Düsseldorf in 1833. He left in 1835 after receiving numerous offers for Leipzig. He passed away there at age 38. The original statue of Mendelssohn outside the Deutsche Oper am Rhein was erected in 1901. In 1936, it was torn down during the rise of the National Socialists or Nazis. In 2012, a second statue was erected in the same place. https://www.operamrhein.de/en/people/duesseldorfer-symphoniker/

Magnificent architecture. Small but elegant theatre in the centre of Liege. I had a chance to see…read moreMacbeth in this hall which was excellent too. However, the slanted stage is quite unpopular among dancers. This opera house is soon to be renovated, I heard. I hope they will keep the classic splendor.

From the owner: Créé en 1967, l'Opéra Royal de Wallonie est, en grande partie, subsidié par la Fédération…read moreWallonie-Bruxelles, la Ville et la Province de Liège. Depuis son origine, l'institution occupe le Théâtre Royal de Liège. Les œuvres issues du répertoire du XIXe siècle occupent une grande place dans la programmation mais l'Opéra a également une vocation de découverte. La maison liégeoise ouvre donc ses portes au répertoire moins connu du XVIIIe. Au fil des années, l'Opéra Royal de Wallonie a acquis une solide renommée et se positionne comme un acteur incontournable de la scène internationale. L'Orchestre et les Chœurs sont performants et s'illustrent brillamment dans de nombreux répertoires. Cette aisance est reconnue tant par le public que par la presse spécialisée et les professionnels du monde de l'opéra. L'Opéra édite régulièrement des DVD et CD's des spectacles qu'il produit. Depuis 2010, de nombreux spectacles sont également diffusés gratuitement et en direct sur internet.

Check-in easy, no complaints. Friendly staff, very helpful. Nice accommodations. Intermission break…read morehelpful.

Went to Apollo Variete to see the Burlesque - Stars & Straps show tonight with my boyfriend. After…read morehearing a lot about the show I wanted to check it out and see what all the fuss is about. My expectations weren't to high as I've been to Moulin Rouge in Paris which I thought was amazing and have yet to see anything close to comparable. I will say that the woman singing in the beginning of the show did impress me as she was singing live and not lip-singing and she had a great voice. She's also a great dancer and I couldnt take my eyes off her whenever on stage, maybe cause shes so tall. You never even notice the other girls on stage with her. The woman prancing about as the Queen of England bothered me because the song playing was Let Freedom Ring which is an American song..??! Why would that be playing alongside the Queen of England, but then I realized as the show went on that her entire act was pretty horrible. I didnt find it funny at all. Just boring, but the German's seemed to find it entertaining so maybe thats just my different taste. I just dont find comedy that fitting in a burlesque show which should concentrate on the dancing and music. I understand they do it to give the performers time to change but I think they should get more better performers than filling the gaps with randomness. Louise De Ville had some beautiful costumes and was great with the crowd. She did a multitude of acts and was never boring to watch. She did a really cool silhouette dance in the beginning. I do feel that being a burlesque show there should be more acts like this and more girls, usually one is the star but there are always others as well as the star. I enjoyed Judita who came out cracking whips as a man and then transformed into a girl. She did a great job acting and was funny in the right way. Loved that. The two girls that were doing the acrobatics were stunning and did an amazing job and had a great selection of music behind them. Their costumes were also very eye catching. The guy with the box, music candles, baloons, random jokes and thick German accent I didnt find entertaining at all. I spent most of his acts on my phone. Would have much rather seen a real magician and not a wannabe one, someone with actual skills. But again the German's were cracking up and I just dont understand how they found him funny. It also didnt help that I didnt really understand anything that he said. The only impressive thing he did was eat apples he was juggling but I feel like any skilled juggler could do that. The girl in the second act with the hula hoop was not bad. The show kind of reminds me more of a circus variete rather than a burlesque variete but I believe the show does come from circus roots. I had to plug my ears with the damn comedian woman horribly singing opera music. So bad and not funny. Deafening I think is the actual word. The two comedic acrobats in the second act were pretty good. Compared to Cirque Du Soleil.. no. But for a show like this, very impressive. They pulled some really hard balancing stunts. Overall the show was sub-par. I think it has a lot of potential to be much better, but again I'm comparing to some of the best shows in the world.