Meeting Thomas Hampson

7:50 a.m. We are both up. It takes Kim a couple of tries to get me out of bed, but I get there.

8:30 a.m. We head out in search of Mr. Dunn's apartment, we are going for breakfast, and a class he offers on great performances of classical music. The other students are wives of diplomats and ambassadors.

9:30 a.m. We arrive, tired but ready, and after a cup of coffee and some breakfast pastries we settle into class.

There are only two other women who could attend today, both of whom were extremely easy to get along with, especially one from England!

Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 and the Shostakovich Piano Quintet in g minor. Both great pieces.

After class, we head to Dobliger, and Kim orders some music since the aria she wanted was not in stock. Then we head home because I desperately need a nap after getting up so early.

2:00 p.m. While riding the U-bahn, the train stops for probably a full fifteen minutes. and then at the next stop for another ten minutes. Of course, there is a German voice over the intercom that explains the situation, but Kim and I cannot really decipher it.

Exhausted, nap time.

5:00 p.m. Wake up! Time to find der Musikverein! We get ready, and head out the door!

6:15 p.m. It is raining outside, and Kim and I did not bring umbrellas :( . We trek most of the way there. (By the way, we don't exactly know where we are going. We have been there once though...) Our hair and clothes are soaked, and we get discouraged, we duck into a grocery store to get a break from the rain. We are both pretty distressed.

I turn to Kim, "Want to just call it quits?"
"We are almost there I think, and we have come this far..."
"Ok, let's do this."

We charge back out into the rain, the wind is strong, so it is hard to look up, but down a side street, I think I see the venue. If that's the one, and we could just go straight there, we could not have to use the circuitous route we had planned on going! We head down the side street, as we come closer we realize that it is indeed the Concert House we need!

"I'm a genius!" I cry.
"I want to kiss you on the mouth!" replies Kim.

We rush into the ticket office. Six Euro apiece. Not too shabby!

7:00 p.m. We get grouped in a blobbular line-ish formation pointed up the stairs, and wait. Kim and I joke around, as is our fashion. Definitely nothing obnoxious, but quiet jokes between the two of us. The people in line around us gave us the meanest looks! Austrians take themselves so seriously.

Side-note: (In class, most of our reading has been on the subject of how Viennese life seems so glamorous, but is really gritty and real. Honestly, while this is definitely true, and has been (especially in the past), there is a certain pride that Austrians seem to take in the fact that they suffer, and definitely an enjoyment, not necessarily of the "cafe glamour" facade itself, but, in fact, of the fact that they have a facade to up-keep. It is all very romantic.)

Anyway, we finally move to our standing area. Basically its a pen for hungry musicians. The first ones in sprint up to the bar marking the section, quickly tying scarves to their places to warn others away. Everyone else was sentenced to stand as close as possibly behind them, but we had to stay there because there is no way to mark you spot on the floor without really being weird.

I strike up a conversation with the girl next to me, and we hit it off right away! Her name is Aurelia, from Romania. She is a pianist, and a conservatory student here in Vienna! She and I talk non-stop until the performance begins, and she gives us tips on how to snag seats when people don't show, or they aren't sold. (Plans were made to come see her perform, and hopefully she can hook us up with a student recital schedule, so we can hear some singers our age!)

First on the program was Schubert's "Rosamunde" overture. Happy!

Next, was a new piece. And one that Kim and I both fell deeply in love with on first listen. Here is a link, because I highly recommend a listen. It doesn't contain the whole piece, but an interview with the composer, and some clips. It truly is a great work, like synapses firing in the brain, reminding me of events ranging from falling in love, to the destruction of worlds, and throughout there is a throbbing, rhythmic, like the beating of a heart or a drum. Just wonderful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjrEL_QBYjI

So now come the good stuff! I chicken out when Aurelia invites us to steal seats, so Kim and I remain in the standing only section. She is a very experienced concert-goer, and knows just what to do! During intermission, I meet a girl from Thailand who plays clarinet in a small music school in Vienna, but wishes to attend the larger conservatory here! She was with her mom, who was as adorable as her! They let us look at their programs. (We never get them because they cost at least 3 extra Euros, which in some cases is more than our ticket!)

The second half begins. Unexpectedly, the director walks onstage, and announces something in German. Murmurs run through the crowd. I frantically ask the woman in front of me what is going on.

"The tenor has a cold."

A cold? Ok. So, Thomas Hampson steps onstage, and sings two thirds of his half of the piece. (Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde) Everything that he does onstage is exquisite, a true master of his craft. We are slightly more confused, when he walks off stage after performing only two of the three songs assigned to the baritone. So at this point we have heard numbers 2 and 4 out of 6.

A pause, and the director comes on yet again. Another announcement in German. Another rushed explaination.

"They are waiting for the tenor to get better."

From a cold?

A long intermission is taken, many people leave. Aurelia comes and finds us and gives us the whole story. (Her English is excellent.) The tenor is having Kidney problems and is in a lot of pain, most likely a kidney stone. There are doctors on site trying to help him through it. They are waiting to see if he will be able to sing, since there is no replacement.

More waiting.

The orchestra assembles onstage, and everyone finds their seats and/or spaces. Then everyone realizes at the same time that there are tons of empty seats in the audience now! A mad dash is made for the seats, (after intermission, everything left open is pretty much fair game) Aurelia catches my eye, and waves me down. She has saved two seats near her for Kim and I.

Now in our seats, we see the director walk onstage yet again. Another announcement. Aurelia translates: There is a tenor who has been booked on this stage later in the season, singing a Beethoven piece, which they had been rehearsing already. The Mahler was in his best known repertoire, and he has come in as an emergency replacement!

This man is a hero.
He really was. Everyone on that stage pulled together, and gave an altogether inspired performance. The tenor was incredible. The energy onstage was incredible. When he had performed his half, 1, 3, and 5, the applause was riotous. Three times he was called back on the stage, the last time because, as the applause dwindled, a single clap was heard loud and strong from the back of the audience, and inspired by his excitement, the entire audience again burst into applause.

Now, after all that excitement, Thomas Hampson stepped back onto the stage. Man, that guy is huge! And the image of strength and control onstage. He performed the last part, number 6. Even though it was now way later than intended, there were invisible sparks of energy flying off that stage. The evening closed, finally, and during the thundering applause, Aurelia took us to the stage door.

We were pretty much first in line, Aurelia really knows what's up. She had to split because she is driving back to Romania tonight for Easter break with her family. That left just me and Kim. We suddenly were extremely nervous.

Of course some creepy guy comes over while we are waiting.

"gibberish"
"Sorry, we don't speak German."shortly.
"You sound so American." creepily.
"I am so American." shortly.
"Well, you look European."

Then we play the avoid-eye-contact game until the doors open. We are led, in a line, to a small room with a couch and a piano, where King Hampson shall receive his visitors.

We must have looked like such goons. We both had the biggest smiles on our faces. I opened with, "We are American music students!" He shook both our hands, we talk about Missouri, and where he is from, how Matt saw him in Athens, Georgia, how I would really like to see his American Art Song Recital. How we both were so impressed by him. He talked to us in no rush, just as if he was not a super-singer. It was very refreshing, and it definitely put us at ease, since we were both giddy to meet a famous person. He took a couple pictures with us and even made a joke about "Awll mah brothers buried dawhn in Missourah."

Kim and I were starstruck the rest of the night. Even when the coat check had shut down, with our coats still in it, and we had to go searching for another office on the other side of the building for where our coats had been stashed.

Magic happened tonight. Musicians pulled together and showed their strengths. All of the chaos made the night what it was. (Of course I really would like to hear the Mahler in order at some point, but I made my point.) It was one of those movie-moments, where 30 minutes before the number goes onstage, the lead singer falls ill, and its up to everyone else, and some brave soul to pick up the pieces because the show must go on!

Lemon out.

Goodnight!

E