Aunt Maria was very excited about the box itself, with an image of her town’s gothic city hall on the lid. Even better, the gift was from the Dallmayr Delicatessen, which caters to über-expensive tastes. Champagne, chocolates, and cheeses were among the many goodies packed inside.
I’m happy for my aunt and glad that everything is going well for her. In 2007, when I last visited Germany, I had a chance to talk with her about her experiences during World War II. She told me many interesting tales. A few have made it into my novel, The Still Voice, in one fashion or another.
I remember recording her stories as we sat on the patio of the Angermaier restaurant in Rottach-Egern, Bavaria. The restaurant is her favorite and she celebrated her ninety-fifth there this week. My cousin emailed pictures he took of the day. How different it looks covered in snow.
Aunt Maria, daughter-in-law Heidi, daughter Ingrid in front of AngermaierWhen aunt Maria was fourteen, she lived with her family in Wiesbaden. Word went out to the schools from the city’s Staatstheater (opera house) that youngsters were needed for the Kinderchor, or children’s choir. My aunt and another girl were chosen by their music teacher for their beautiful voices. Aunt Maria is proud that the opera’s general director sat in on the Kinderchor during rehearsal. He wanted to make sure he approved of all the voices under his direction.
My aunt sang in such productions as Hansel and Gretel, Peterchens Mondfahrt, and Der Evangelimann. Once, she got paid twenty-five marks for a performance and bought her mother a coat. Aunt Maria would’ve loved to have gone on with her career. But voice training lessons were beyond the family’s means at the time. I can still see her baking in her kitchen and singing away. Her father used to call her “theater doll,” because she loved all things theatrical.
Aunt Maria was twenty-nine and living in the country when the Wiesbaden Staatstheater suffered damage in a terrible bombing on February 2, 1945. In the fall of 1947 the opera house finally reopened. City Mayor Hans Redlhammer acknowledged the citizens’ attachment to the building and proclaimed its revival a symbol of the city’s recovery. I know the restoration contributed to aunt Maria’s emotional recovery, too.
My aunt sang in such productions as Hansel and Gretel, Peterchens Mondfahrt, and Der Evangelimann. Once, she got paid twenty-five marks for a performance and bought her mother a coat. Aunt Maria would’ve loved to have gone on with her career. But voice training lessons were beyond the family’s means at the time. I can still see her baking in her kitchen and singing away. Her father used to call her “theater doll,” because she loved all things theatrical.
Aunt Maria was twenty-nine and living in the country when the Wiesbaden Staatstheater suffered damage in a terrible bombing on February 2, 1945. In the fall of 1947 the opera house finally reopened. City Mayor Hans Redlhammer acknowledged the citizens’ attachment to the building and proclaimed its revival a symbol of the city’s recovery. I know the restoration contributed to aunt Maria’s emotional recovery, too.
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