A Night Like No Other

Yesterday was 26-6-26, a date that O.K. and I originally wanted for our wedding. It would have fitted our engagement date 25-12-25 so well, but of course we were about two years too late for the appointment with the registrar's, and married on the 8th of May instead. As you know from my blog, that day was simply perfect for us, also in terms of the weather. Had we indeed celebrated yesterday, the heat would have been very hard to bear in formal dress and all (keep in mind that our mothers are in their 80s, and of our small party I was the youngest at 58!). So, I am glad things turned out the way they did.

Now, what was so special about last night?

My Mum, my sister and I had tickets for a very special concert at Ludwigsburg's palace theater. It was my Mum's birthday present for me in March, and the date was in my diary ever since.

The location alone is special: Built in 1733, the theater retains most of its original stage machinery, backdrops and scenes. Please click here for photos and information in English. It is a small venue with no mod cons such as air conditioning or heating - we're happy to have electric lights! Tickets are very much sought after, and the concert we had tickets for (in the 1st row, can you believe it!) was a highlight in terms of music and artists, too.

The view from my seat. Can‘t get closer to the music unless you‘re part of the orchestra!

Have you heard of Bruno de Sá? He is an extremely gifted singer with a unique voice. Unlike most boys, his voice did not change during puberty, and so he uses his natural voice as a Soprano, while most male singers change to falsetto or use other techniques to achieve the high notes requested from Tenors and Counter Tenors.

Emmanuelle de Negri is also a Soprano gifted with a great voice. Together, the two singers had a wonderful presence on stage; they were completely "with" every note, every word and every emotion that the music meant to express.

The music was by Georg Friedrich Händel, brilliantly performed by the Basel Chamber Orchestra. 

Two cantatas were on the program: "Il Delirio Amoroso" and "Aminta e Fillide". Händel wrote them at the age of 21/22, and both became instant "hits" with the noble society of Italy. Between the two cantatas, an interval was scheduled. But...

...we never had that interval. Or, yes, we did - but not as planned!

A minute into the "Delirio", Bruno de Sá's singing was interrupted by a fire alarm. The entire theater, audience and artists alike, were told to leave immediately. Staff was very helpful, directing us out of the building in an orderly, unrushed manner without any hint of panic. 

Everyone gathered in the courtyard, witnessing the arrival of the firemen and a police car. None of us saw any smoke or flames, but Bruno de Sá (who stood near us) mentioned in conversation that there had been a smell behind the stage.

While we were all waiting for information and further instructions, we were free to mingle - audience and artists -, and my sister and my Mum took the chance for a "selfie" with Bruno de Sá, who was very kind and approachable.

After a little while, we were told that it was nothing serious and we would soon be allowed back into the building, but in the meantime, we were all invited to walk over to where the drinks for the interval had been set up and enjoy cold drinks which were of course VERY welcome (the temperature was still at about 37C/98F at that time.)

Mum pointing at Bruno‘s glass on our table. His lips have touched that! 😍😉🤣

We drank and chatted until we were asked to return to our seats. The musicians and singers had agreed not to pick up where they had left off or start again from the beginning, but move straight to the second part of the program. That was absolutely fine with all of us; it was getting late, it was hot, and the evening had already been particularly demanding for the artists, who had the heat of the stage lights to deal with on top of the high temperature in the venue anyway.

Walking back to the theater, which is reached via the family portraits gallery of the House of Württemberg. 

The music and the singing were simply fantastic. You could tell that these people do not only really, really know their stuff, they also LOVE what they do. More than once I was close to tears, because the delivery was so moving. As I am fluent in Italian, I had the advantage of understanding the words (but there was also a detailed booklet outlining the background and "story" of the two cantatas).

Hardly surprising, the audience gave standing ovations, and we were even treated to a short encore!

Afterwards, the three of us slowly made our way to the market square, where we stopped at the Irish Pub's outdoor seating for a cold drink before we accompanied our Mum to the bus stop. We waited until she was safely seated on the bus and then walked home across the still very hot town centre.

I was at my flat just a little after midnight, and of course the first thing I did was opening all the blinds and windows. What a truly wonderful, unforgettable night it had been!

The following pictures are from Bruno de Sá‘s instagram account, courtesy of my sister:

(By the way, we had been off to a bumpy start - my Mum had ordered a taxi that should have taken us to the venue with about half an hour to spare before the start of the concert. The taxi arrived TWENTY minutes late, making us rather nervous and leaving us with only a few minutes to rush through a cold drink and find our seats in the first row. But all anger was forgotten as soon as we were in there.)