I know that the William Tell Overture, the introduction to Giaochino Rossini‘s opera on the Swiss hero … is set in Switzerland.

But after a few days here with the UAE Olympic team, in Austria, also in the Alps, I have been reminded of the William Tell Overture … and feel as if I am living it. When it comes to the weather, anyway.

Mornings? Quiet. Serene. Peaceful. Just like Part 1 of the overture.

But a storm is never far off, as the timpani roll at the end of Part 1 suggests; it is meant to make us think of distant thunder … which is exactly how we know storms here are coming.

In Part 2, the storm is upon us, crashing and violent. (Donner und blitzen!)

I associate the storms more with the afternoons and evenings, here in Lienz, but sure, they could be in the morning, too.

And when the downpours suddenly stop … things here go back to utter serenity. Within minutes. Often, the sun is back out promptly, and birds are singing. It is hard to believe that the skies had opened only a few minutes before. Part 3 of the overture.

Now, the cavalry-charge-type music at the end … can’t say I have experienced that, in terms of weather. Austria doesn’t seem a particularly militaristic place, and I think I’ve seen about two horses since I’ve been here. And zero Lone Rangers.

But the first three parts? Absolutely. Every day since I’ve been here.

And can we give a shout-out here to Warner Bros. cartoons? Bugs Bunny and the guys were the great insidious popularizers of classical music. Key phrases from major works were often introduced into the background of the cartoon action.

In my case, and I assume in the case of many who watched Bugs and Daffy and Elmer Fudd and the rest … that dead time in a seventh-grade music-appreciation class was suddenly enlivened by the recognition of “Bugs Bunny music!”

“That’s for running up stairs! Or running down stairs!”

Anyway, a great piece of music, and as we go through dynamic weather, here in the eastern Alps … I think of Rossini and William Tell. Maybe a weird connection … but there you go.

Here is a complete rendition of the William Tell Overture. Love it.