Last night, I went to a concert at the Austrian embassy. It was part of the Embassy Concert series held every year. The concert featured Katarina Michaelli, soprano, Daniel Johannsen, tenor, and George Peachey, piano, and was entitled "An Evening of Opera and Operetta". It was delightful. The vocalists were excellent, the choices of performance were intriguing. Lots of Mozart, and some selections from operettas by various Austrian and German composers which whom I was not familiar with, like Frederich von Flotow and Edouard Kunneke. The audience was almost as entertaining. They were mainly couples in their 70's, though there were about 2 dozen between 20-40, with about an equal mix of German and English speakers. The people sitting behind me were obviously long-standing opera fans, as the gentleman gave a running commentary about the music, the quality of the vocal style, and the story line of the operas. He was very well-informed. At the end, the performers sang a few old favorites that the German-speakers obviously knew by heart, like the Merry Widow Waltz (click the link to hear what it sounds like, with different performers).
There was a reception after the concert, and I was able to meet the performers. They must have been very tired, adn the concert was well over 2 hours long, but they were very gracious to each audience member who spoke to them. I've posted a couple pictures of the performers and the inside of the embassy for you to see. Enjoy the trip to Austria!
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