Remembering His Roots Opera Luminary Thomas Hampson Works Spokane Stop Into His Schedule

What’s Eastern Washington University grad Thomas Hampson up to these days?

A few little things — singing “Don Carlos” at the Metropolitan Opera, performing in “Eugene Onegin” at the Bastille in Paris, headlining with the London Symphony Orchestra, and then heading back to Vienna to perform and record.

He’ll also perform a recital at the Spokane Opera House on Friday, sandwiched between recitals in Chicago, Toronto and San Francisco.

San Francisco, Vienna, London, Paris — Spokane?

Let’s face it, only sentimental reasons could induce an opera star of Thomas Hampson’s caliber to book a market this size.

Thank goodness Hampson is a sentimental guy.

“I want this to be a serious recital, like the ones in Toronto and San Francisco, but at the same time I want it to be a jubilation, a homecoming feeling, the feeling that I always have when I sing in Spokane,” said Hampson.

Few if any artists have given Eastern Washington so much glory and credit in the world of High Culture. Hampson grew up in Walla Walla, went to high school in Spangle, and learned the art of opera in Cheney and Spokane.

Far from disavowing his roots, Hampson has always reveled in them. When the New York Times Magazine did a profile of him in 1991, the headline was “The Don Juan from Spokane.” Technically, the magazine might have said “The Don Juan from Walla Walla.”

“My American residence is still in Walla Walla,” said Hampson by phone from his other residence, in Vienna. “I’m a Washingtonian, and proudly so.”

His home is actually the entire world. At age 42, he is in the middle of his vocal prime, so he is almost constantly traveling. His calendar for May, for instance, lists 11 performances in Brussels, Amsterdam, Vienna, Cologne, Chicago, Toronto, Spokane and San Francisco.

“I do have my office and library here in Vienna now, and I’m very happy with it,” said Hampson. “My real problem, though, is that I have been so busy I’ve had to be preparing and studying things on the road, and I really don’t like to do that. I’m such a library freak. I like to sit in my own library and avail myself of that. My deep study period has been nicked away. I’m desperately rearranging my schedule for next season to make sure that doesn’t get out of control.”

He first made his name in opera, but now his performances are about 50 percent opera, 50 percent recitals and concertizing. He would like to keep that mix, and still have time to do projects for PBS, similar to his Stephen Foster special and his “I Hear America Singing” broadcast of American concert songs.

As for pop crossover material (he recently made an album of Broadway tunes called “Leading Man”), he’ll be cutting back on that.

“Pop music, as it were, should remain pop,” said Hampson. “I would like to do another Cole Porter album, with bass and piano, but I have no particular plans for that right now.”

He said he carefully selected his Spokane recital program to reflect both his serious side and his “more accessible” side.

The recital will begin with four songs set to Walt Whitman poems, by composers ranging from Ned Rorem to Leonard Bernstein. Then he will close the first half with Mahler’s “Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen.”

The second half will begin with two instrumental pieces, Gershwin’s Three Preludes and Copland’s Suite from “A Quiet City,” performed by a chamber orchestra culled from the Spokane Symphony.

Hampson will return with “An Old Song Re-Sung,” which will include “The Boatmen’s Dance,” “Shenandoah,” “General William Booth Enters Into Heaven” and “Danny Deever.”

Hampson’s piano accompanist will be Craig Rutenberg.

All of Hampson’s previous appearances in Spokane sold out immediately, but there are still good tickets left for this one since it was sold separately from the Spokane Symphony’s main subscription season.

If you care about the art of singing at all, you might not want to miss this. It’s not every day that we get one of the world’s top opera stars dropping in for sentimental reasons.

CONCERT Thomas Hampson will perform in recital at 8 p.m. Friday at the Spokane Opera House. Tickets range from $18 to $38, available at the symphony ticket office (624-1400), G&B Select-a-Seat outlets or call (800) 325-SEAT.