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.
