“There is a terrorist attack in town.
We are stuck in the theater.
I don't know what's going on, we don't know what to do.
We are really going through a terrible time.
It is a Roberto Alagna still in make-up and costumed who posted this short video on his Instagram account Monday evening around midnight.
History to reassure his family and his fans.
The 57-year-old Franco-Italian tenor and his wife, Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak, were performing at the Vienna Opera House, not far from the area where the terrorist attack took place that killed four and many victims, according to a provisional balance sheet.
Still confined to the Austrian capital, he tells us this Tuesday afternoon how he switched “from distraction to horror”.
How are you ?
ROBERTO ALAGNA.
Well.
We had a somewhat short night.
We went to bed at six in the morning, having been stranded in the theater until 2:30 a.m.
We were lucky enough to drive back to our apartment with a theater manager, who had managed to get an exemption to go through the police checkpoints.
But afterwards it was difficult to get to sleep.
When did you learn that there were shootings in Vienna?
At 9:28 p.m.
On my smartphone, which I was consulting between two scenes, I received an SMS from a cousin warning me against a terrorist attack in Vienna.
There were pictures of anti-terrorist police just outside the theater, under my dressing room.
Obviously, it was worrying.
But I didn't tell anyone.
Because we had to finish the performance - it was the last of "Paillasse" before confinement in Austria - and it was filmed.
And then you know, artists are used to it.
We often have shocks and we do with it.
Show must go on.
It was at the end of the performance that the director announced the events.
In what way?
During the applause.
He went on stage and asked everyone to stay in the theater.
We heard screams, but the police arrived and it quickly calmed down.
Between the spectators, the orchestra musicians and the choirs, there were several hundred people confined, including children who were given blankets to sleep.
The musicians stayed in the pit and played to make everyone wait.
It was like being in the
Titanic
.
What did you do next?
After my video on Instagram, we were invited with my wife by the director of the theater to share goulash (
Editor's note: Hungarian soup
) and bread in his office.
I received a call from Domingo (
Editor's note: the tenor Placido Domingo
) who was also in Vienna but stuck in a restaurant.
We gave each other some news.
But we had a lot of conflicting information.
There was talk of a hostage-taking at the casino, for example.
Newsletter - Most of the news
Every morning, the news seen by Le Parisien
I'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to enable you to receive our news and commercial offers.
Learn more
VIDEO. Vienna attack: at least four dead, one attacker still on the run
How were the spectators from the theater evacuated?
At 2 o'clock, a large part was evacuated by the metro entrance in front of the theater.
A train has been assigned especially for them and to transport them to hotels outside the city.
With my wife, we returned to the apartment by car.
In the city center, there were police checkpoints everywhere, it felt like we were under siege, at war.
We have switched from distraction to horror.
It's terrible to go through this.
Are you still in your apartment since?
To be on the safe side, we don't go out.
We had to go see friends, but we canceled.
We never know.
If there are fleeing terrorists, reprisals ... We have a lot of things to deal with anyway before we leave on Friday or Saturday.
I have two hours of homework in video with our daughter (
Editor's note: Malèna, almost 7 years old
), who stayed in Poland with her grandparents, I must be in Berlin in five days to start rehearsals… But I don't know not if the show will be maintained… It is all very confusing.
What is the atmosphere like in Vienna?
Wait, I'm looking out the window.
There is nobody.
It's completely silent and it contrasts with usual life in the center of Vienna, where a certain freedom reigned in recent days despite the pandemic.
We haven't watched television yet, we'll check it out.
But I admit that I, who am naturally optimistic, between the coronavirus and terrorism, I am worried.