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The circumstances are the worst imaginable for the already crisis-ridden cultural scene: after a performance of “The Merry Widow” from the University Course in Classical Operetta in Music and Art, Private City University of Vienna (MUK) at the theater of Gumpendorfer Straße (TAG), there are now 24 corona Cases have been confirmed. Today two line-up changes had to be made at the Vienna State Opera.
Exactly who infected whom and how remains to be clarified. The director of the State Opera Bogdan Roscic, who was not present and who later had to reorganize his house, provided reports this Monday of visitors who spoke of “dance scenes in the auditorium, among other things”, that is, a mixture between the stage and the public area. it should be unthinkable. “If these reports are true,” it is shocking irresponsibility, “Roscic said. Our colleague, who was only present as a member of the audience wearing a mask, was also notified too late to immediately isolate her.
Ferdinand Urbach, commercial director of the TAG, made it clear: “There is not a theater group from TAG, but a group of essays from the music university.” The “Merry Widow” performance at TAG was a rented event, he explained, referring to the house’s strict prevention concept. “I daresay all the infections occurred during rehearsals and not during the performance,” Urbach said Monday night.
September 6 was the first event at TAG since Corona’s closure in March, internal rules provide for tests and contact diaries for employees, personalized cards “in the checkerboard pattern”, exemption from buffet operation and Mandatory mask for visitors even during the presentation. they are therefore more or less a voluntary orange switch of the internal crown traffic light.
All TAG employees were tested both before the start of operations and now in the course of the identified group; the only positive case concerns a lighting technician who was directly involved in rehearsals for MUK’s production of “The Merry Widow,” Urbach said. He is responsible for compliance with the crown rules in the auditorium, but not for the stage processes in an external event. The alleged “auditorium dance scenes” criticized by state opera director Roscic were only a performance of three dancers through the auditorium and not a scene in the audience.
Crown-related changes needed at the State Opera
According to MUK press spokesperson Bernhard Mayer-Rohonczy, MUK’s Covid-19 task force was informed on September 6 that “one of those involved in an operetta production tested positive for Corona.” All subsequent presentations were immediately interrupted and the requested information passed on to the responsible authorities. “As far as is known, the contact persons were informed, quarantined and tested. There are currently 24 cases, all of which date back to this group.” All the activities of the affected courses have been suspended since the occurrence of the cases until the regular start of conferences on September 21. Furthermore, all public events at the university were canceled until the end of September ”.
On Monday night, as a consequence of this cluster, the National Opera had to make two changes: Evelino Pidò will direct “Elisir d’amore” and Javier Camarena will play the role of Nemorino. Both changes were necessary as part of the follow-up of all contact persons for a member of the State Opera’s opera studio who tested positive, he said from home in the ring. This person had attended the performance at TAG on September 6 as a spectator, which was said to be attended by 61 people, and subsequently tested positive. “She has been in quarantine ever since. Even before authorities notified this person, however, this person participated in a joint trial, which has now led to more infections in the home,” said a statement from the State Opera. “The State Opera immediately isolated all direct and indirect contacts of the person concerned and subjected them to daily tests to prevent the infection from spreading to the house.”
At TAG, all performances were canceled immediately after the infections became known. The game will start again tomorrow Tuesday. The program includes a performance by singer-songwriter Bernhard Eder. Appropriate title of his concert: “Reset”.
