It will be my third production. A masterpiece and a real thriller.

They accuse Bellini of musical infantilism. I can’t even. More than anyone else, he embodies the art of knowing what to remove (like Michelangelo with his sculptures) rather than adding (a horror vacui from a lack of ideas), creating an astonishing simplicity that says so much about the character’s personality, the dramatic situation, and the emotional impact. No wonder he was admired by the greatest musicians of his time, like Chopin, Wagner, and many others.

The usual von Doderer: disdainful, sharp, ironic, cynical, and sometimes sarcastic, but with an unmatched expressive power and a deep understanding of humanity, which doesn’t let him cut himself any slack either. Not everything is agreeable, but definitely everything worth thinking about (excluding, sometimes, the spirals and linguistic twists that are, all in all, a bit old-fashioned).

After one year, I am again in Vienna, with resurging memories of beautiful and less beautiful times. It is a city full of life and, simultaneously, afraid of its morbidity. Yesterday evening, walking back to the hotel, thoughts of decay and death overcame me. This is no longer justifiable “grandeur”—so out of place now. And yet, it is a testament to times that gave us the most astonishing art and music.