Vivien Schweitzer
@vivienschweitzer.bsky.social
Jersey City-based writer (music, travel, culture) / photographer / pianist / author of "A Mad Love: An Introduction to Opera" / ESL teacher / cat lover
vivienschweitzer.substack.com
vivienschweitzer.substack.com
First time for everything! Detoured off my usual beats and wrote about an international chess tournament in Italy.
Prawns, Pawns and a Pile of Skulls in Puglia.
vivienschweitzer.substack.com/p/no-senior-...
Prawns, Pawns and a Pile of Skulls in Puglia.
vivienschweitzer.substack.com/p/no-senior-...
November 21, 2025 at 5:22 PM
First time for everything! Detoured off my usual beats and wrote about an international chess tournament in Italy.
Prawns, Pawns and a Pile of Skulls in Puglia.
vivienschweitzer.substack.com/p/no-senior-...
Prawns, Pawns and a Pile of Skulls in Puglia.
vivienschweitzer.substack.com/p/no-senior-...
Now this was MY kind of parade! The Berlin Carnival of Cultures, founded in 1996 as a protest again right wing nationalism, proved the perfect beginning to my trip to the Dresden Music Festival, where the theme this year was LOVE.
Link below to my Substack article.
Link below to my Substack article.
June 17, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Now this was MY kind of parade! The Berlin Carnival of Cultures, founded in 1996 as a protest again right wing nationalism, proved the perfect beginning to my trip to the Dresden Music Festival, where the theme this year was LOVE.
Link below to my Substack article.
Link below to my Substack article.
Photo Essay: The Brief but Spectacular Life of an Allium
open.substack.com/pub/viviensc...
open.substack.com/pub/viviensc...
Photo Essay: The Brief but Spectacular Life of an Allium
Even Death Becomes Them
open.substack.com
May 23, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Photo Essay: The Brief but Spectacular Life of an Allium
open.substack.com/pub/viviensc...
open.substack.com/pub/viviensc...
Handel heaven this past week with a gritty take upstate and an immaculate rendition at Carnegie Hall. #GiulioCesare
How Do You Like Your Handel: Raw and Earthy or Immaculately Tailored?
Hudson Hall and the English Concert Offer Contrasting Takes on Giulio Cesare
open.substack.com
May 7, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Handel heaven this past week with a gritty take upstate and an immaculate rendition at Carnegie Hall. #GiulioCesare
Laughter is therapeutic, but the word icebreaker suddenly has an eerie chill. My thoughts about the Broadway play, my own experience teaching ESL and Colm Tóibín's wonderful historical novel "The Magician," in which the German author (and anti-fascist) Thomas Mann struggles to learn English.
Teaching English in the Shadow of ICE
Reflections on teaching immigrants, Sanaz Toossi's play "English" and Colm Toibin's novel "The Magician"
open.substack.com
February 10, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Laughter is therapeutic, but the word icebreaker suddenly has an eerie chill. My thoughts about the Broadway play, my own experience teaching ESL and Colm Tóibín's wonderful historical novel "The Magician," in which the German author (and anti-fascist) Thomas Mann struggles to learn English.
Roller skating+Gnawa music is definitely my new favorite thing. And Live from the Bardo: recurring nightmares and more.... #PrototypeFestival
Genre Bashing in the Bardo
If there’s an artistic collaboration you hadn’t yet imagined, there’s a good chance you might experience it at PROTOTYPE, the experimental opera & music theater festival that offers a provocative rang...
vivienschweitzer.substack.com
January 20, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Roller skating+Gnawa music is definitely my new favorite thing. And Live from the Bardo: recurring nightmares and more.... #PrototypeFestival
Final Substack of the year! If you enjoy the read, you'll make my day if you sign up for a (free) subscription!
A Swansong for 2024
Reflections on Women Without Shadows, Angelina Jolie's "Maria" and Céline Dion's Comeback
open.substack.com
December 31, 2024 at 2:08 PM
Final Substack of the year! If you enjoy the read, you'll make my day if you sign up for a (free) subscription!
Reposted by Vivien Schweitzer
As Congress is on the cusp of passing a resolution to avoid ruining Christmas for thousands of hard-working Americans, Elon threatens to shut it all down. Welcome to oligarchy. You are now under the rule of Elon Musk and his little errand boy, Donald Trump.
December 20, 2024 at 8:01 PM
As Congress is on the cusp of passing a resolution to avoid ruining Christmas for thousands of hard-working Americans, Elon threatens to shut it all down. Welcome to oligarchy. You are now under the rule of Elon Musk and his little errand boy, Donald Trump.
My favorite plaza looking lovely in the December rain. Reflections (ahem) on Strauss and more coming soon to a Substack near you.
vivienschweitzer.substack.com
vivienschweitzer.substack.com
December 20, 2024 at 2:24 PM
My favorite plaza looking lovely in the December rain. Reflections (ahem) on Strauss and more coming soon to a Substack near you.
vivienschweitzer.substack.com
vivienschweitzer.substack.com
Reposted by Vivien Schweitzer
Surround yourself with the kind of people who read banned books.
December 13, 2024 at 9:36 PM
Surround yourself with the kind of people who read banned books.
December 12, 2024 at 4:46 PM
A post-election weekend in Philly with the mummers. (Also subtitled: I can't take any more takes)
Marines, Mummers and Me
I'm me. Who are you?
open.substack.com
November 18, 2024 at 2:07 PM
A post-election weekend in Philly with the mummers. (Also subtitled: I can't take any more takes)
Hello BlueSky! Having a look around and see a request to "post a picture you took (no description) to bring some zen to the timeline." Happy to oblige!
November 17, 2024 at 2:36 PM
Hello BlueSky! Having a look around and see a request to "post a picture you took (no description) to bring some zen to the timeline." Happy to oblige!