Saturday morning, October 18.

Brenden has gone to return keys to the Smart Car to the rental place at the Bahnhof.  I’ve just showered and find myself drenched in the final moments of Strauss’ Tod und Verklarung on the CD player.  

A word or two about Brenden: Brenden Gunnell entered my life in the autumn of 2000 when I was assigned to accompany him at a NATS regional competition in Muncie, Indiana.  This random encounter led to some further vocal coaching over the next two years.  When the time for college came, I knew enough about Brenden’s talent and drive to suggest that he try for the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia.  He got in, as the only tenor they took that year.  

The rest is history.  Brenden is now singing with the Landestheater in Innsbruck.  He’s performing all over Western Europe.  He’s increasingly recognized as a Britten tenor, even at age 25.  He’s succeeding wildly, and he’s still the sweet, mostly sensible guy he was at 16 when I first met him.  

When the time came for a trip to Austria, I had no question that I’d also take a few days to see Brenden.  Tonight he’ll sing Lun Tha in The King and I at the theatre, and I’ll finally be able to see him in a professional role.

So there’s the background.

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The train from Vienna was running late, so the conductor suggested that the Innsbruck-bound passengers disembark at Salzburg, then take the faster train when it arrived a few minutes later.  Well . . . the faster train was late too (there goes my faith in the much-advertised European rail efficiency), and I was confused about which platform to use, and the timing of just exactly WHICH train from the Vienna west station, but with the kindness of strangers and a bit of persistence on my part, I got on the right train, arriving in Innsbruck at about midnight.  

Brenden was nowhere to be seen.

He thought my train was coming in on platform 3.  I arrived on platform 6.  The Innsbruck train station has a giant common area, so I waited there, pretty much by myself at that time of night.  After about 20 minutes, Brenden rounded the corner in his full tenoresque glory, complete with scarf and umbrella.  I rarely am so happy to see a friendly face as I was that night!

We rose yesterday, ate pastry around the corner, walked a bit, and then drove through the Alps to the Aqua Dome.  I didn’t bring in my camera, which is just as well, since was spent most of our time in the no-clothing sauna/pool area.  I didn’t expect to spend my first full day in Europe with throngs of naked Europeans, but that’s exactly what happened.  One quickly becomes accustomed to the lack of Puritan oppression!  Along the way, we lounged outdoors in the thermal-heated pools, looking toward the peaks of the Alps from our place in the little valley.  [DO click on that link, select English as the language, and then look at ANY picture you can find that includes the Alps.]

‘Magical’ is not too strong a word to describe the sheer beauty of the setting.

We both had massages, and we both fell asleep in the relaxation room looking outdoors toward the snow-covered peaks of the Alps.

I didn’t know how much I needed a day at the spa….

THIS will be a perennial destination, every time I’m here to visit Brenden!

Dinner last night, at 9 p.m., was at Sitzwohl.  Brenden ate rabbit and hare.  I had a cream of artichoke soup (incredible!) and Wiener schnitzel (pretty good, and a local basic).  We finished with dessert near midnight at Sacher, around the corner from Brenden’s apartment.  By the time we got back here, the four flights of stairs in this old building in the city center were pretty daunting.  (The wine and digestif added to the chore.)

We’ve sung some Schubert this morning, me at the piano returning to my happy role as accompanist and coach.  We’ll walk around the old city center some this afternoon, and then I’ll sit in the house tonight to watch a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical sung in German.  We’re coaching tomorrow on The Dream of Gerontius.

I told Brenden yesterday that I hope and trust he’ll never become jaded about where he lives.  The Alps are truly, magnificently stunning.  Innsbruck is a keeper.