Two days ago, someone told me the Lohengrin "What time is the next swan?" story as absolute fact: a friend of his was there when it happened...Yes, I believe it is absolutely true, and was the /bon mot/ of the great tenor Leo Slezak. It's even funnier in German, as train and tram timetables tell travellers 'wann faehrt die naechste Bahn' and the rhyme with 'Schwann' makes it a pun as well as a
Deb, thanks for that. The problem I have with the story is this: I can imagine a witty tenor coming out with the line full-pelt at a rehearsal, and I can picture him whispering it to a nearby chorus member in performance. But the standard version of the tale has Lohengrin *turning to the audience* and asking his question - and that I find very hard indeed to swallow.
I think Deb is right. I heard that story too, years and years ago. I
believe it to be typical singers inside story, where the swan not only stands for Lohengrin, but you can actually understand as: when will be
the next staging of Lohengrin, and where? And it sounds witty in
German.
--
Met vriendelijke groet,
Cheers,
Herman van der Woude
On Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 9:48:11 AM UTC+13, Herman van der Woude wrote:version of events. His son was the actor Walter Slezak, 1902-1983, and Walter's autobiography is titled "What time's the next Swan?" It seems odd to title your autobiography after an incident in your father's life, but there you are.
I think Deb is right. I heard that story too, years and years ago. I believe it to be typical singers inside story, where the swan not only stands for Lohengrin, but you can actually understand as: when will be
the next staging of Lohengrin, and where? And it sounds witty in
German.
--The story is as true as any other. The tenor was Leo Slezak, 1873-1946, an Austrian. If you can find a copy of his autobiography, published in 1938 in English as "Song of Motley: Being the Reminiscences of a Hungry Tenor", you can probably read his
Met vriendelijke groet,
Cheers,
Herman van der Woude
Enjoy your pandemic Christmas,
Roger Cruickshank
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