Dangers, Dilemnas, Distractions and Advantages, Inspiration, Oceans and Venues

TOP 10 PERFORMANCE VENUES

By Louis Lebherz | International opera singer; founder, Carmel Opera Foundation and Festival

10. Stern Grove in San Francisco, summer 1976: “Tales of Hoffman,” with the San Francisco Opera Merola Program.

9. Central Park, Manhattan, 1979: “Aida,” with the New York Metropolitan Opera. There were more than 20,000 people in the audience. The Met sent a limousine to pick me up at my apartment on 43rd Street and 10th Avenue.

8. Teatro Municipal, Caracas (built in 1881): I sang nine roles there from 1979 to 1981. I caught a thief in my dressing room one evening. It scared him a lot more than it scared me.

7. Herod Atticus Ampitheater at the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, 1981: My European debut as Zacaria in Verdi’s “Nabucco.” I returned there in 1985 to sing in Handel’s opera, Xerxes, with the Badisches Staatstheater from Karlsruhe, West Germany, where I was the principal basso.

6. Le Grand Theatre, Geneva, 1987: “The Magic Flute” (The cantina at that gorgeous theatre was catered by a five-star restaurant!). The costume department had to buy two pair of boots, cut them in half and glue them together to accommodate my size-16 feet!

5. Camden Yard, Baltimore, 1997: I sang the National Anthem for a playoff game between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles won the game but lost the series.

4. The medieval castle in Savonlinna, Finland, summer 1999: “Don Giovanni” at the International Finnish Opera Festival. The sun never set! In order to get from my dressing room to my entrance position, I had to climb though a 600-year-old window, down a shaky ladder and through another window to stage left.

3. The Basilica of Saint Peter and Paul Outside the Wall, Rome, Summer 2000: Verdi’s “Requiem.” I flew from Los Angeles to Rome on a Tuesday, arrived in Rome Wednesday for the dress rehearsal, sang the performance on Thursday evening, and flew home to LA the next morning. The Pope was supposed to attend, but he had to cancel, and sent a cardinal in his stead.  

2. The redwood grove at the Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel Valley: I have sung an opera concert there every July since 2002. Everyone dresses in formal attire and is served a seven-course meal after the concert amid the ancient trees.

1. The Carmelite Monastery, south of Carmel, every Sunday since December, 2005: I conduct a choir of cloistered nuns at the 9am mass. It’s my favorite venue of all time!