by Uta-Caecilia Nabert
Let’s take a look back … In the summer of 2024, the Staatstheater Darmstadt once again performed its “Opera Air Gala” on the forecourt of the Festspielhaus – with popular pieces from opera, operetta and concerts. Then everything is different. Better. Musicians and audiences will remember this evening for a long time to come.
Good weather, an early summer mood and the annual open-air concert at the Staatstheater Darmstadt, just like every year. The best conditions to once again attract hundreds of visitors to the theatre forecourt flooded with evening light: sitting on blankets, walkers, the concrete steps – wherever is comfortable. Like every summer. A bottle of wine, something from the picnic basket. You are a connoisseur and also appreciate the programme of this well-known ‘Opera Air Gala’, which includes pieces by Guiseppe Verdi, Georges Bizet and Leonard Bernstein. The evening is entitled ‘Heiteres aus Oper, Operette und Konzert’ (Cheerful Opera, Operetta and Concert) and is performed by top-class musicians, including three opera singers.
When the Opera Air Gala is suddenly so different
And at the latest when the first of the pretty soloists appeared, it became almost more cheerful than it was bearable, because he was unstoppable: the young man with a cap and Down’s syndrome from the audience. Gradually, the evening became fantastic – in every sense of the word. The ambitious visitor could no longer be kept away from entering the stage. He wanted to sit next to the musicians, wanted to dance to their music – and wanted to join in at the end. Right at the end, right on time for the encore, he stood on the conductor’s podium, having grabbed the baton long before.
It couldn’t have been worse – for a performance like this, dedicated to high culture, perfectly timed, presented by a meticulously prepared host who had spent weeks honing his puns. Domesticated perfection met untamable wildness, or actually: wildness met perfection. Caught her cold as ice, rammed her head-on, almost sent her skidding.
A young man with Down’s syndrome delights everyone at the Opera Air Gala in his own way
But perfection is perfect and so what made this evening unforgettable happened: the musicians, especially the singers and the conductor, embraced their guest with their music, included him and the encore was also allowed to take place. The orchestra accepted the newcomer and allowed him to lead them routinely through the last piece: ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’. The famous adventurer would have had a great time!
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