We apologize for the delay

Sorry to take a while to get an update here! I’ve been in a bit of a fog. Yesterday (yes, that yesterday) I woke up with a stuffed nose a sore throat, both only on the left side. Weird, and slightly disconcerting, given the events of the day! I steamed and took some Sudafed and drank more tea and water than I thought possible. When I warmed up, everything felt fine, so I decided to go ahead and do the Met audition.

I made one slight change to my rep list: I took off “Glitter and Be Gay.” That piece takes so much energy, if I want to do it right, and I was a little nervous about the E-flat. It’s an extra piece on my list, anyway, so I didn’t even need to replace it with something else. I can not tell you how much more relaxed I was at that audition, not having to worry about whether they would ask for it! I felt 100% ready to sing any piece on my list, which is a good feeling and one that has been rather slow in coming. But that’s another post.

One thing about being a bit under the weather is that I conserved my energy. I didn’t ever get my little nervous butterflies or have trouble sitting still, things that often (but not always) present themselves before an audition. It was as if my body knew that I only had enough energy to go in and give a great audition, so not to waste any on being nervous! It was a true blessing in disguise. Jocelyn was with me, too, and we talked about all the people who were praying or meditating or sending good vibes for us at that moment. I felt so comfortable, so much like I was in the right place and ready to be there.

I sang Nannetta’s aria, and the only weird thing was that my ear buzzed a bit from the congestion. I noticed it, acknowledged it as part of “this moment,” and let it go. Then we talked a bit (there were two women there, both of whom seemed very nice and very “real”): how living in Seattle allows me to do “normal” things like own a home; how I’m not in the YAP there, but might want to be, although I’m doing mostly mainstage auditions at this point so blahblahblah; even how old I was, which I told myself I was going to start lying about, but you can’t lie to the Met! Well, I can’t, anyway. So I’m 29. Deal with it.

Then they asked for Sophie’s aria from Werther, which I was so glad to have a chance to sing. I love this aria. It is so sweet and innocent, perky even, but without being saccharine or annoying. When it was over, they asked how long I was going to be in town on this visit. Why?

Because they want to try and have me back to sing for “more of their colleagues” before I leave town.

Woohooo!!! I’d say that’s a successful first audition at the Met.

Of course, today I woke up with more of a cold, two auditions today and one tomorrow. (Tomorrow’s audition was arranged by a manager with whom I’ve been talking for a few months. A good sign!) This morning’s audition went fine, and this afternoon is Santa Fe, so it will just feel like singing for friends. I’m looking forward to it.
(The Seattle audition also went very well, including a Glitter ending that I was very happy with. I’m going to sing for Mr. Jenkins and the rest of the staff on Monday or Tuesday. More on that later, too.)