Ann has just left the Nathan Gunn recital at Oberlin. What follows is my interpretation of her account of her adventure.
Ann arrived in Oberlin a bit early so she tooled about a bit looking for somewhere to grab a quick snack. She wandered into a chocolate shop and picked up a pile of deliciously rich dark chocolate covered raspberries, quickly setting the tone for the rest of the evening.
At the chapel she realized that there were many empty seats in front of her, so instead of remaining in her 18th row seat, she moved forward to the 9th row on the aisle. Perfect view. The lights dimmed and out they came. Ann reports that he looked Absolutely Fabulous with his longish hair, perfectly-fitted tux and clean-shaven face. Julie too looked mahvellous in a long navy gown with criss-cross straps and super-high heels. They began to perform without preamble. The program was Schubert's Die Schone Mullerin. Nathan looked around at the audience as he sang and Ann thinks that it's highly likely that they made eye contact a few times. She was in a lively red sweater, alone in the row, on the aisle, and most likely stood out, visually, from the other nearby audience members. Additionally, the house lights were on slightly to allow people to read along in the program. Did he recognize her but not remember how or why? Possibly. We'll likely never know.
She said the music was so wonderful, his voice so wonderful, the piano so wonderful, that it was almost too much to take. She felt like she needed to take a break, get some air, come back to herself and then return to the music. But she couldn't! It was wonderful and in a way, exhausting. The songs were about a lovesick young man and of course Nathan was able to expertly convey that vulnerable lovesick thing as he sang.
In between songs there was sometimes a spattering of applause from a few people in the front row. Ann said that Julie would turn from the piano and smile at the applauders with such warmth that it spread through the entire room. And I think I wrote about watching Julie play when I went to Zankel Hall last April - she is amazing. She becomes part of the piano and just dances with it. Ann reported that Julie's beautiful gown was cut in such a way as to really show off her playing. Piano fashion - who knew?
So after it ended they came back out for an encore. Nathan told the audience that they never do encores with this particular program, but it's Valentine's Day so... and now Ann has no idea what that encore music was. She said it was beautiful, like the rest of the program, but.... what was it???? Perhaps she'll find out tomorrow at the Q&A. Now she has something to ask other than, "Do you google yourself and read people's blogs?" Oops did I just type that? Silly me.
More to follow after the Q&A session tomorrow.
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On a personal note, since this blog is about me, I haven't forgotten that I must still write about Die Fledermaus. Here's the pic Husband took of me on my way out the door. Details to follow, I don't know, tomorrow I guess.
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