Mr. Lee & The Tolkien Ensemble in Austria

**Conny Nierobisch** · 21st August 2007, 08:09 PM

Hi everybody,

in Austria, Klagenfurt, on 23rd June 2007 The Lord of the Rings Concert with Mr. Lee and the Tolkien Ensemble took place at the Wörthersee stage. My brother and I visited the concert and I would like to tell a bit about it.

The sea stage was opened at 8 pm and then it had begun to rain. But fortunately this was no problem. There were sold rain coats for the audience and the stage was roofed, so all actors stayed dry.

The event started at 8:30 pm. Mr. Lee was called on the stage with the words "Commander of the Order of the British Empire - Christopher Lee" and he was welcomed with big applause. He smiled and waved to the audience. Then he said, this was his third visit at Wörthersee with his wife and daughter and he liked Austria and its people. He told briefly how as a young man he had once met Professor Tolkien in a pub and had got nervous.

On the stage was a wooden chair with velvet and a sheepskin. Mr. Lee sat down there and asked the audience to stand up for the national hymne of Mordor. The orchestra started to play. Mr. Lee begun to read a synopsis of The Lord of the Rings and his reading changed with the musical pieces and the singing from the choir and members of the Tolkien Ensemble. There were played songs of the Tolkien Ensemble as well as songs by Howard Shore.

After an hour there was a short break. When Mr. Lee entered the stage again, he was again welcomed with great applause. He smiled and pointed at the other actors and musicians, that the applause should be also for them. What a fine gentleman! The rain stopped slowly and a next hour the audience traveled through Middle-Earth.

At the end of the concert Mr. Lee gave his thanks to the actors from the choir, the musicians and the audience. He spoke a few sentences in german and thanked for the patience and courage because of the weather. He said: "Ich bin zwar ein Zauberer, aber das Wetter kann ich nicht ändern." "I am a wizard, but I can't change the weather." The orchestra played add-ons. A few minutes before the official end of the concert Mr. Lee left the stage. Outside there was a car waiting. Mr. Lee got in and the car drove away in the night of Klagenfurt.

I would like to thank Mr. Lee for his participation in this concert and all the other people besides the Tolkien Ensemble who were involved in this event. It was indeed a wonderful concert. I enjoyed it very much, especially Mr. Lee's reading. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to visit this event.

Regards
Conny

**Helen Dyer** · 22nd August 2007, 02:26 AM

Conny, Thank You so Much for sharing this! It must have been absolutely wonderful....

Cheers,
Helen

**Kaitlin Wright** · 22nd August 2007, 02:39 AM

Thanks for the posting Conny it must have been great to be there. Kaitlin

**Isabel Alves** · 22nd August 2007, 04:47 AM

And I was there in thought. Probably a lot of people were there also with the force of their desires of to see and to hear Mr. Lee.

Conny, I am twisting the fingers for you to have a new opportunity for... who knows.. until speaking with Mr. Lee.

**Helen Dyer** · 8th October 2007, 04:25 PM

Hi Everyone, I discovered a really well filmed (approx. 5min ) video (on YouTube) of Mr. Lee and the Tolkien Ensemble at the concert this past June (2007) 'Herr Der Ringe'....

If you have the time and are interested here is the link:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arch&plindex=3

Cheers,;)
Helen

**Kaitlin Wright** · 8th October 2007, 06:11 PM

Thanks Helen That was so cool. I love Mr Lee's voice. the material is so interesting Kaitlin

**Isabel Alves** · 9th October 2007, 01:08 AM

Thank you, Helen for to find and to share the video. I am every time with less time for researches in the internet.

The voice is POWERFUL and everything is touching. I love that guitar soil (soleado) of the beginning and everything more.

**Andrés Verdú** · 9th October 2007, 01:29 PM

Hello everyone,

I only just noticed this thread! Thank you very much indeed, Conny, for posting that wonderful account of your experience of Mr Lee and The Tolkien Ensemble at the "Lord of the Rings Concert" in Austria. I am absolutely delighted that, after the disappointment in May here in London, you were finally able to see and hear Mr Lee in concert! Your recollection of the event is very well written and gives a real sense of how thrilling it must have been, despite the weather. Well, you may remember that we had bad weather in London too when we met, but we didn't allow it to dampen our spirits, and I am sure that the rain did not put a dampener on the concert either. Anyway, I will just end by saying once more how truly happy I am that you finally got to see Mr Lee performing live. I knew it would happen! God bless, and all the best:

Warmest regards,

Andrés

**Joakim Lundberg** · 9th October 2007, 02:07 PM

Conny, thank you for sharing the event with us. Watching the video clip was great but hearing that music live is something that doesn't happen very often.

**Conny Nierobisch** · 12th October 2007, 09:02 PM

Great video clip, thanks Helen.

Andrés, thanks, my short visit to London in May wasn't at all a disappointment. I have nice memories of our meeting (you surely will remember the Burger King?) like our walk alongside the Thames in the London rainy weather.

Joakim, did you hear The Tolkien Ensemble live before?

Bye
Conny

**Joakim Lundberg** · 12th October 2007, 11:22 PM

I haven't heard them live. I hope I will someday.