BARITONE HAMPSON: AN AMERICAN ABROAD

Like many American singers living in Europe, Thomas Hampson admits he misses certain foods during the long winters there.

“Mexican food, for sure,” he specifies without hesitation, then tells a story about arriving at the Frankfurt airport and having to explain “one whole suitcase lined with packages of tortillas we had brought from California.

“But, hey, we got those tortillas for 49 cents a dozen. And, while American-made Mexican foods are available at our local importer, they are, first of all, canned--which takes away some of the flavor--and then (they cost) something like 2 1/2 dollars for a dozen.”

But Hampson, the prize-winning American baritone who appears on the Gold Medal series at Ambassador Auditorium Monday night, also puts food in perspective:

“While we’re in the States, we really miss the fresh cheeses we get every day in Switzerland.”

Hampson, who has spent the past four years in the resident opera companies of Duesseldorf and Zurich--he is currently in the first year of a four-year contract with the Swiss company--says he also misses the view of Lake Zurich outside his living-room window.

“We’re just a 15-minute train ride from the opera house, in a little village. It’s a great place to raise our daughter Meghan,” who was born (March 4, 1982) during the Hampsons’ first year in Duesseldorf.

Careerwise, though, Hampson has no complaints. Indeed, he says he finds himself “in the grateful position of being able to choose the projects I want to do.”

Recently, he says, he canceled his first Pelleas, in Debussy’s opera, scheduled for this month in Lyons, France.

“It was a monumental decision, because I had looked forward to that role for years. But, as the time approached, I found I just didn’t feel right about it. It was uncomfortable on several levels. Maybe later. . . . “

About Don Giovanni, which may be the ideal role for a singer with Hampson’s looks and Mozart experience, the 29-year old singer from Spokane, Wash., says he feels fortunate that circumstances have let him wait until now to sing it.

“I have this feeling about Giovanni. I think I will sing it for many years. But I didn’t want to start too soon.”

Hampson says he will first sing the role in Zurich in two years, though “I’d prefer to try it out somewhere smaller, first. But maybe I don’t have that option.”

One option he tries to exercise as often as possible is recital work. His current monthlong visit to the United States includes 10 college and community recital dates, concerts at which Hampson will be assisted, as he will be at Ambassador, by pianist Armen Guzelimian.

The baritone reveals his Monday program: three songs and an aria by Haydn; Ravel’s “Don Quichotte a Dulcinee”; a six-item group by Richard Strauss; Samuel Barber’s “Three Poems of James Joyce”; Paul Bowles’ “Blue Mountain Ballads, and a closing group of songs by other American composers.

“Sure, this program is quite a workout--as well as a showcase--for the pianist. But, hey, it’s not so restful for the singer, either. But I love it--especially the all-American second half. We don’t ever hear enough of our own composers.”