The premiere of The Magic Flute was on Friday, which we expected to be very good because (1) This is one of Mozart’s only operas in German (the rest are in Italian) and (2) Austrians love Mozart. The opera itself was disappointing—the singers weren’t anything special, the costumes seemed like those of a high school musical, and the orchestra and singing wasn’t in sync. The people watching, however, was fantastic. We saw a woman dressed in a corseted, aquamarine dress, which made me think of Ariel the Little Mermaid, Part XXXVIII. We saw men in full tuxes drinking 9 euro glasses of champagne. And, finally, we saw

Austrians making out in their box seats before the show started
Austrians
making out in the refreshment hall during intermission.

I know Friday night is date night, but I thought Italy was the country of love. I never saw this hanky panky at La Scala.

Maybe this is why Italy is shrinking and Austria is not.