Salzburg Festival Blog 8 (30 July)
I go down to the Orchesterhaus early to meet Genia Kuhmaier our soloist for the forthcoming Mozart Matinee. We rehearse and she is singing beautifully despite having sung Beethoven’s 9th Symphony the night before and feeling very tired. (She is also pregnant). After the Arias we play the rest of the programme in anticipation of the public Dress Rehearsal after lunch. I go over to the Festspiel Haus to meet my family for a quick lunch at Triangel. Then comes bad news my telephone from Matthias Schulz ( the Festival Concerts Organiser and No.2 to Markus Hinterhauser).
Genia has gone to hospital-she is pregnant and not feeling well. So one hour before the Dress Rehearsal we have no chance to find a singer for this last, important and public rehearsal. Also we do not know if she will recover in time to sing Saturday’s concert. Matthias and I discuss various options for replacement singers, if needed and he will start to check availabilities. The Dress Rehearsal is therefore ,necessarily shorter but goes well particularly the great E flat major Symphony. After these excitements I feel that my attending the premiere of ‘Cosi fan tutte’ might just be too much, in light of the fact , that I may need to rehearse a new singer before Thursday’s ‘Theodora’ performance so my wife Tess goes in my place. She has however come in dressed to attend a concert Dress Rehearsal not a Salzburg Festival Premiere so a quick visit to the ever-tempting Stassny is called for to find a beautiful Austrian jacket. I love the Austrian ‘tracht’ tradition. As well as being beautiful the clothes are often surprisingly practical. The helpful Stassny assistants still have Tess’s measurements from her last visit – unlike the case of her husband’s waistline – these measurements can still be dependable!! Sam want’s to spend a quiet evening with his Dad as he will soon be leaving for Spain. So, Triangel and a movie!