Henry Ingram of COUSIN FROM NOWHERE, Reminisces on DER VETTER AUS DINGSDA

Roderich and I go way back. Roderich is of course, the 'echt' COUSIN FROM NOWHERE, and that was one of my roles at Stadt Theater Trier when I sang there as the Spiel Tenor for the municipal opera house. Singing in Trier was one of the most important events in my professional life and I have many, many happy memories of my time living in die Älteste Stadt Deutschlands on the banks of the Mosel. And the food...Römerbraten, Weiβwurst, Schweineschnitzel, Salzbrot, Leichtes Himbeer Eiskuchen, Hausgemachtes Sauerkraut Frikadellen und Schmalz! Not to mention the best Mosel Wein I ever drank, all from wineries on the banks of the Mosel as it snakes its way north from Trier through Bernkastel and Cochem to Koblenz.

But back to DER VETTER AUS DINGSDA as Künneke's operetta is called in German. I was cast as the Zweiter Fremder, or the real Roderich de Weert, who runs away to Batavia (now Jakarta) leaving Julia, my childhood sweetheart , behind. It was a great role even though I only made my first appearance three quarters of the way through the show. I still remember my entrance driving a full sized sedan. And this terrified me for several reasons: 1) what if it didn't start; 2) what if the brakes failed and 3) what if I drove it into the orchestra pit. None of those things happened but more than once the ignition didn't quite get the car going so the stage hands had to shove me and my vintage sedan onstage.

The big tune sung by the tall handsome leading man is "Ich bin nur ein armer Wandergesell" and my character - Roderich # 2 - didn't get to sing it in the show. But never mind...I learned it and subsequently sang it at numerous opera and operetta gatherings in and around Trier. DER VETTER AUS DINGSDA is done constantly in Europe and I could never understand why it has not been done here. The story is very romantic, with handsome vagabonds, secret identities, great tunes and comic characters right and left. So, I was doubly excited this season, when TOT got a special grant from the Canada Council to present the Canadian Premiere of this delightful work. At long last I will get a chance to see this charming musical on a Canadian stage; I'm sure our audience will be as charmed as I was.

But you have to pay attention...there are TWO Roderichs in this show and it's easy to get them mixed up. Well maybe not...there's always a tall one and a short one. In Trier, I was the short one!

The big tune sung by the tall handsome leading man is "Ich bin nur ein armer Wandergesell" and my character - Roderich # 2 - didn't get to sing it in the show. But never mind...I learned it and subsequently sang it at numerous opera and operetta gatherings in and around Trier. DER VETTER AUS DINGSDA is done constantly in Europe and I could never understand why it has not been done here. The story is very romantic, with handsome vagabonds, secret identities, great tunes and comic characters right and left. So, I was doubly excited this season, when TOT got a special grant from the Canada Council to present the Canadian Premiere of this delightful work. At long last I will get a chance to see this charming musical on a Canadian stage; I'm sure our audience will be as charmed as I was.

But you have to pay attention...there are TWO Roderichs in this show and it's easy to get them mixed up. Well maybe not...there's always a tall one and a short one. In Trier, I was the short one!

Cousin from Nowhere

Toronto Operetta Theatre

Jane Mallett Theatre

May 1, 2014-May 4, 2014 - 8 pm & 2 pm

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By Eduard Künneke

CANADIAN PREMIERE

A mysterious young man makes romantic sparks fly under a silvery moon! Thrilling melodies, jazz-age sizzle and dreams of a Batavian paradise will intrigue and entertain.

With Lucia Cesaroni, Elizabeth Beeler, Christopher Mayell, Michael Nyby and Stefan Fehr