Superfan and opera volunteer Heidi Herrmann

A weekly tour of the unexpected in the entertainment and arts scene.

Who she is: Raised in an East Prussian family that prized music and art, Herrmann was born Heidrunn-Urda Krawolitzki in East Prussia just before the start of World War II. She and her mother escaped from a Russian prison camp by hiding under a load of straw in a horse-drawn cart; Heidi now says she's glad she endured the war years "because everything else is wonderful by comparison." The mother of three grown children, she also has devoted her adult life to community service at the German Retirement Home, Continental Club and King County Schools, but most of all her great love, Seattle Opera. Herrmann also has indulged her love of fine art through her Haus of European Art gallery, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this coming weekend.

What she does: How much does Heidi Herrmann love opera?

Enough to see Wagner's four-opera, 17-hour epic "Ring" more than 30 times. Enough to work as a stair cleaner for her childhood neighbors in postwar Germany to get enough money for opera tickets, and to ride to the opera house on her bicycle as a young girl.

Enough to spend "many rewarding hours" over the years shepherding around Seattle Opera's German-speaking singers and conductors, translating for them, showing them the sights and serving them her own Wurst mit Kartoffelsalat. Now many of those artists, including conductor Hermann Michael and his family, have become fast friends.

"I greet them at the airport with a little German care package," she explains, "with some good German bread, some sausage and cheese — just a little taste of home." Even the non-German opera folks, like conductor Antonello Allemandi and soprano Harolyn Blackwell, like her cooking.

Thrilled when Seattle Opera founder Glynn Ross arrived in town in the mid-'60s, Herrmann and her husband, Hans (co-founder of the Nova-Tech Engineering firm), soon espoused the fledgling opera company.

"Opera has everything: beautiful voices, orchestra, scenery, costumes. It feeds the soul," she says.

You can bet she and Hans raised their children with an appreciation of opera — though they weren't always so appreciative of those Metropolitan Opera broadcasts in the old days (Herrmann admits they used to ask, "Who is yelling today?").

Her lifetime interest in art, particularly old-world etchings, also led to the establishment of her by-appointment gallery, attached to her home at 510 N.W. 195th St. in Shoreline (206-546-1355). The 25th anniversary champagne open house is 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday (with live music noon to 5) and next Sunday. When the Herrmanns would go off to Europe in quest of more etchings by Viennese etchers Luigi and Robert Kasimir, friends kept asking her to bring back an etching for them. Gradually a business evolved. Herrmann's biggest coup, in 1987: getting the late Robert Kasimir, then in his 70s, to come to Seattle and create three etchings of Seattle scenes.

Why it matters: For her community service and her "untiring efforts in promoting international understanding," Herrmann was awarded Germany's Order of Merit (Verdienstkreuz). Her devotion to opera has made life more interesting, and Seattle more homelike, for dozens of German-speaking singers, conductors and directors. She's an excellent example of the dedicated army of volunteers behind the scenes of this region's arts groups — the people you never see on the stage but whose contributions are vital.

Melinda Bargreen: mbargreen@seattletimes.com