Throwback Thursday – Two Tenors on Ö1 Radio

The German language is awesome. Who else has a specific word for the day someone dies: "Todestag" is the opposite of Geburtstag (birthday). So they don't observe the anniversary of someone's death, they observe the Deathday. (How very Addams Family!) Why am I even writing about this? Well, Ö1 Radio in Austria is celebrating two celebrated tenors this week. So: 

Alles gute zum Geburtstag, Heldentenor Wolfgang Windgassen *

And

Glücklich Todestag, lyric tenor Anton Dermota** 

  

*This program is all Wagner. As I am writing this, the program hasn’t been broadcast yet. It’s on tonight at 19:30 CET.

**For most of his career, Herr Dermota was known for singing Mozart, Lieder, and operetta, but he occasionally ventured into heldentenor territory; there's an excerpt from Fidelio in this program.