Tenor Tale No. 2 – Car Trouble

The first three years I sang in Germany, I lived in Krefeld, a city of 250,000 residents just 50 miles north of Köln (Cologne), in the north central part of Germany. I was engaged in the theater there and, as I became more popular, I started landing guest gigs with other theaters.
Many singers would take the train when traveling to another theater for a performance. This was because the theaters paid first class train fair to ensure you would get there and, if the train failed, as they seldom did, missing a performance or being late would not be your fault. However, I preferred to drive because I liked the freedom of leaving and returning on my schedule and not the train’s schedule. And it was faster. And I could listen to the role I was going to sing while I traveled. I know, could have used a walkman, but I liked to sing along. That way I was warmed up when I arrived.
One day, I had an engagement to sing Cavaradossi in Pucini’s Tosca in Wiesbaden. Wiesbaden was a state theater which meant that it was an important gig. It also paid more money.
The drive to Wiesbaden was about two hours on the Autobahn and I usually left about 1 o’clock so I would have time to get dinner and warm up before the performance. I always drove home after the performance in Wiesbaden, getting in around 2 AM.
On this particular day, my car, a three year-old Opel Rekord, would not start. Try as I might, it would turn over, but wouldn’t start. Not yet panicked, I went into the house and called ADAC, the German equivalent of AAA. They told me that it was a busy day and the wait was two to three hours. Then I panicked. It was too late to take the train or to fly. I thought I might borrow a car, but that seemed dificult on short notice. Trying for a rental car was also difficult because, in those days, one needed to get to the rental agency. They didn’t have Enterprise, who would pick you up.
I told the ADAC operator I was an opera singer and I had to sing Tosca that night in Wiesbaden. She said she understood and would do her best.
I went back out to the car to wait and, just five minutes later, a little yellow ADAC car pulled up in front of my car. Booming from the his stereo was – you guessed it – Tosca.
The guy told me that he was only a couple of blocks away when he heard the call that an opera singer with a performance this evening had car trouble. Being an opera lover, he told his dispatcher he would take the call.
The guy was just great. He had the car running in 10 minutes. All the while he worked he kept asking me who I was singing with and finally, asked for a little sample. I was more than happy to oblige with a little bit of Recondita Armonia from Tosca. The guy thanked me, asked when my next date was in the local theater, and went on his way. I went on my way to a very successful performance in Wiesbaden thanks to this opera loving auto mechanic.
The guy never missed one of my performances after that and never failed to come to the stage door for a little chat.