Salome on the Zürisee: An Essay on Desire in Five Parts (Part 1)

Part 1: The Opera in the House

Sit in the 1100-seat Zürich opera house, ganz oben im zweiten Rang, for 35 or maybe 95 Franks, and bend your neck towards the stage, so that you can see more than just the front. No matter how far you lean in, your view of the orchestra is always better, which, depending on the opera and the production, might be an advantage. If the woman on your left is leaning farther forward than you care to, blocking your view of anything, or if the scene is set too far upstage, then your neck will after a while naturally revert to perpendicular to the opera, you’ll lean back into your seat, and you’ll look up to the ceiling of the house. It is mere meters away.