A new love...

I went to the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie yesterday evening in Kaiserslautern expecting to hear a maybe 2nd class, hopefully 1st class Symphony Orchestra in a beautifully ornate 1800 concert hall. What I experienced instead was the most glorious orchestrated sound in a rather ordinary music hall built in around 1850. The building was not ornate but it was big, with a capacity of 1,000 patrons, and the ceilings were ordinary, the pillars huge, the floors tile and the seats mobile. Accoustics were fantastic. The foyer was almost as big as the music hall, and the bar was the most ornate fixture in the entire building.

The music however was more than heavenly. Pieces of 5 different composers, 3 of whom I was familiar and 2 I was not, were Overtures of Opera's so each piece was sung as well as played. I have never been an Opera fan and I know nothing about it, but last night I left the un-ornate music hall in love.

When the Mezzo-soprano came on stage to sing the lyrics of the music the orchestra was playing, I looked at her slim fit body in a skin tight long red gown and thought "this is no opera singer." I was wrong. Which, by the way, seems to be a common theme in my life these days. What I presume to be true, what I declare to be true, what I KNOW to be true, is simply NOT true. This woman opened her mouth, her diaphram and her heart and gave me goose bumps that I had never had before. And when the Tenor joined her for song, I thought I was going to loose it. The beauty was almost to much to enjoy.

The Conductor would tell the story of each piece before it was performed, but I don't understand German, so I was "lost in translation." It mattered not. I didn't need to know what was being said, because I saw the emotion and heard it with every piece of hearing I have. I left thinking I would prefer to loose my sight than my hearing, because I don't believe I could ever see what I heard in that simple concert hall that evening .

After the concert it was a walk across the city square to find a place for dinner. A traditional German resturant was selected and filled with patrons of the Art. The meal was excellent but the patrons were exquisite, with some refusing to let go of the experience they had had and stood spontaneously to imitate the actions of the Conductor. I refrained but I swear, I had his moves memorized and could set them to motion with the least bit of encouragement.

What a wonderful event, experience, evening. I just love the symphony, music in general and I especially love being in the company of those who truly appreciate what they are experiencing. I want more. I think I may enjoy studying opera and becoming a regular attendant who knows what is being sung. But, I think truly it doesn't matter if you understand the language...but then again, I am living in a place where I have not understood what was being said for 4 months! One learns to look at eyes, hand motions, body language. And when that is accompanied with a full 60 piece orchestra there is an understanding that is not denied.