Wien

I have not been to Vienna for over 30 years. At that time it was dark and gloomy, with large institutional buildings. The buildings are still there, but now they are bright and lively. Things are going well in Vienna.

When I was here before, I came to audition for the opera. Chris came with me, and since there was nowhere I could leave him, he came with me to the auditions and sat in the reception. I had bought him a red suit which made him look adorable. He was too young to be embarrassed by this. The secretaries all loved him.

I sang the aria from La Favorita, a virtually never performed opera, and made a good impression. They smiled but did not know what to do with someone who sang La Favorita, sort of Verdi without the high notes and therefore perfect for me. Someone should have whispered in my ear, "You need to have high notes. There is really no place for a singer with no high notes."

I came to Vienna this time because they are doing La Favorite in French, Philip Gossett´s preferred version.