Happy Thanksgiving weekend, all! Hope you had a lovely day of food and football and family.
My parents are here in NYC for the week (the power of grandchildren!), and they braved the rain to take in the big parade while E and I worked on dinner. I did most of my cooking at my apartment in Manhattan on Wednesday night, then carried everything over to Brooklyn. Let me tell you, food is heavy!! I had a squash casserole (classic southern dish), veggie-sausage and apple dressing, a pecan pie, and a chocolate-pumpkin cheesecake – all still warm! – carefully set into a laundry basket. Then I had a bag full of cheeses, olives, other hors d’oeuvres, and two bottles of wine. All in all, I think it was about 50 pounds of stuff! I only had to walk two (Avenue) blocks to the subway, but my arms were aching the next day! Nothing got even slightly damaged in transit, though, and everything tasted as good as it looked. E made the turkey (her first!), a really yummy cranberry sauce, roasted winter veggies, Brussels sprouts, green beans, and a pumpkin pie. It was quite possibly a perfect Thanksgiving meal.
We all said our “thanks” before dishing up, and as always, family topped the list. We missed having S&S, my sister and bro-in-law, and sent them lots of love on the phone. In addition to family, I really am most thankful for music, that it is both my vocation and my avocation, something I would do passionately even if it were just a hobby.
I was reminded on Thanksgiving how much music is central to my family, both now and as I was growing up. What triggered the thought was putting on “The Sound of Music” LP (yes, a record!) during the last hour of dinner preparation and everybody singing along. It was awesome! Sylvia got out her marionette horse puppet during the lonely goatherd song, and even little 16-month-old James got in on the action. He went around all night and the next day singing the opening pitches of “Do, a Deer” in perfect intervals. A budding singer?
I might not have grown up in a “classical music” house, but I was surrounded by music. Simon & Garfunkel, Anne Murray, ABBA, John Denver, the list goes on. Lots of church music, of course, with a few chestnuts like the Brandenburg concerti and Amahl and the Night Visitors thrown in for good measure. The overarching theme to my musical upbringing, I suppose, is that music is for communicating; I credit my folk music background for my love of singing in English (and my good English diction! No supertitles at coffee shop openmikes..). Music is something to share, and it is joyful!
And for that, I am Thankful.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Surprises
A good surprise: Opening my letter from the Sullivan Foundation to discover that the amount of my encouragement award is almost twice what I was expecting! Hallelujah. A voice lesson and a few rep coachings are on the horizon (remember that Czech stuff? Yeah, me too…), plus paying for my recording and accompanists for all my auditions. I may not be paying application fees this year, but I’m taking my pianist with me whenever possible. At $35 a pop, it adds up – but it is worth it! I will also use some of the money for new headshots, probably in January. Rent just went up, so this will help smooth that transition, as well as refill the savings account a bit.
A bad surprise: I also learned this week that now two very important people in my life, Friends and Mentors (each are both to me) are facing breast cancer. There is nothing that makes one feel more helpless than knowing that your loved ones are suffering in a way that you can do nothing to alleviate. Not much more to say about this... Well, not anything that I would want printed in a public forum…
The trip to Boston (actually the South Shore; I never made it into the city…) was wonderful – oh, to live by the ocean again – and included another surprise, of sorts. The groundwork is being laid for some potentially awesome work. Something completely different, but fun and challenging. Details to come…
This week’s auditions: Opera Company of Philadelphia (I’m making a day trip to Philly for this one), Canadian Opera Company, and Bard Summerscape Festival.
A bad surprise: I also learned this week that now two very important people in my life, Friends and Mentors (each are both to me) are facing breast cancer. There is nothing that makes one feel more helpless than knowing that your loved ones are suffering in a way that you can do nothing to alleviate. Not much more to say about this... Well, not anything that I would want printed in a public forum…
The trip to Boston (actually the South Shore; I never made it into the city…) was wonderful – oh, to live by the ocean again – and included another surprise, of sorts. The groundwork is being laid for some potentially awesome work. Something completely different, but fun and challenging. Details to come…
This week’s auditions: Opera Company of Philadelphia (I’m making a day trip to Philly for this one), Canadian Opera Company, and Bard Summerscape Festival.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Yesterday was a good day
Lots of good things on my mind and in my life yesterday, the gorgeous weather not the least of them. A surprise talk with a couple of friends I’d been missing, an upcoming weekend in Boston, ending therapy and feeling wonderful about my life, career, and relationships. I talked to my mom for a while last night, and we must have talked for half an hour before the fact that I was awarded an Encouragement Award from the Sullivan Foundation came up! It was nearly eclipsed by all the other good things.
(I like this fact, because it shows that I am succeeding in my attempt to find all the other things I am, all the other ways to define myself, aside from singing. Time was, if I’d won an award, that would be the first thing on my mind. It’s still there, but it is surrounded by the rest of my life. Yet another good thing.)
But, back to the award for now! I am very happy with the outcome, especially considering that I didn’t feel I was at 100%. Sure, it would have been nice to win the big grant, but the Encouragement Awards have a nice cash prize attached, and as we know, every little bit helps. Money was starting to get tight, but now I’ll have enough to get the coachings I need to make sure I’m ready to go in January. And pay rent, and eat, and maybe even buy that adorable red dress…
The Encouragement Award is not like a consolation prize; far from it. The email I received sums it up nicely: “Congratulations! The Sullivan judges have decided to give you an Encouragement Award for 2006-07, with the hope that you will return in a future year to sing for us again.” So, they liked what I had to offer, and want to hear more. That’s really all you can hope from auditions of any kind, so I am pleased. Not to mention that even winning the Encouragement Award is another way to get my name and people’s radars. “Oh, I’ve heard about her. Didn’t she just win a Sullivan?” Get them talking, keep your name in their minds. Part of the business.
Oh, and something else good this week: I finally recorded some arias! I was still a bit sick, so my voice got tired really quickly and all the things that are usually easy were very strained, especially my floaty notes. So I don’t think I’ll use much from the session. It was kind of an experiment, anyway, the recording setup. A very successful experiment, though, so I think we’ll do it again (“we” being the recording “engineer,” also a singer, and my pianist, JD).
What I was happy with from the session, however, was the recording of Regnava. It needs to be edited a bit; I did one full take and two takes of the ending. But as soon as I can, I’ll get it up on the web. I’m really, really happy with it, although I still can’t quite believe it’s me…
Off for the weekend! Have a good one where ever you are, and tell your loved ones you love them.
(I like this fact, because it shows that I am succeeding in my attempt to find all the other things I am, all the other ways to define myself, aside from singing. Time was, if I’d won an award, that would be the first thing on my mind. It’s still there, but it is surrounded by the rest of my life. Yet another good thing.)
But, back to the award for now! I am very happy with the outcome, especially considering that I didn’t feel I was at 100%. Sure, it would have been nice to win the big grant, but the Encouragement Awards have a nice cash prize attached, and as we know, every little bit helps. Money was starting to get tight, but now I’ll have enough to get the coachings I need to make sure I’m ready to go in January. And pay rent, and eat, and maybe even buy that adorable red dress…
The Encouragement Award is not like a consolation prize; far from it. The email I received sums it up nicely: “Congratulations! The Sullivan judges have decided to give you an Encouragement Award for 2006-07, with the hope that you will return in a future year to sing for us again.” So, they liked what I had to offer, and want to hear more. That’s really all you can hope from auditions of any kind, so I am pleased. Not to mention that even winning the Encouragement Award is another way to get my name and people’s radars. “Oh, I’ve heard about her. Didn’t she just win a Sullivan?” Get them talking, keep your name in their minds. Part of the business.
Oh, and something else good this week: I finally recorded some arias! I was still a bit sick, so my voice got tired really quickly and all the things that are usually easy were very strained, especially my floaty notes. So I don’t think I’ll use much from the session. It was kind of an experiment, anyway, the recording setup. A very successful experiment, though, so I think we’ll do it again (“we” being the recording “engineer,” also a singer, and my pianist, JD).
What I was happy with from the session, however, was the recording of Regnava. It needs to be edited a bit; I did one full take and two takes of the ending. But as soon as I can, I’ll get it up on the web. I’m really, really happy with it, although I still can’t quite believe it’s me…
Off for the weekend! Have a good one where ever you are, and tell your loved ones you love them.
One more blog for the roll - make that two
I thought about including this in the list of new blogs on the Blogroll a few days ago, but left it off because I wasn’t sure how “public” the writer wanted to be. So when he wrote to me yesterday saying “I’ll link to you if you’ll link to me,” I figured it was ok!
Welcome, Nick at grecchinois! I have appreciated his honest emotional writing, and hope to follow in his example. I’m gaining the courage these days to talk about the harder things as they come up, and as the blogging world gains more and more singers who are willing to do the same, like Nick, I think the job gets easier for all of us. Group therapy!
And speaking of therapy, I’ve mentioned a few times here that it’s been a part of my life for a while now. (I’ll defer from making the point, again, about how I want to help take the stigma off of therapy and those who use it…) Today, after four years, I had my last session.
My therapist agreed with my assessment that I’ve reached the goal I set out for myself: living my life in truth and with control. Acting, not reacting. Being honest even when it’s hard, even with myself. It felt a bit like graduation, our last session. But bigger. I’ve graduated into my Life.
** Edited to add another blog I've been reading for a while: Coloratur…aaah. Almost daily posting from a major YAP (young artist program). All of these new blogs are listed in the short blogroll on the sidebar.
Welcome, Nick at grecchinois! I have appreciated his honest emotional writing, and hope to follow in his example. I’m gaining the courage these days to talk about the harder things as they come up, and as the blogging world gains more and more singers who are willing to do the same, like Nick, I think the job gets easier for all of us. Group therapy!
And speaking of therapy, I’ve mentioned a few times here that it’s been a part of my life for a while now. (I’ll defer from making the point, again, about how I want to help take the stigma off of therapy and those who use it…) Today, after four years, I had my last session.
My therapist agreed with my assessment that I’ve reached the goal I set out for myself: living my life in truth and with control. Acting, not reacting. Being honest even when it’s hard, even with myself. It felt a bit like graduation, our last session. But bigger. I’ve graduated into my Life.
** Edited to add another blog I've been reading for a while: Coloratur…aaah. Almost daily posting from a major YAP (young artist program). All of these new blogs are listed in the short blogroll on the sidebar.
Another thought on Les Mis
At one point, while Valjean was speeding through one of his many emotional high points that totally fell flat, I had this thought:
“It can’t be easy, singing this role that so many people know and that so many people have sung before him.”
Then I realized that we do that, too, we opera singers. And violinists and pianists and anyone whose job it is to re-create something, rather than create. It is up to us to find a way to make it new, thrilling, even for the third or fiftieth or thousandth time. Not an easy task, but it can be done.
“It can’t be easy, singing this role that so many people know and that so many people have sung before him.”
Then I realized that we do that, too, we opera singers. And violinists and pianists and anyone whose job it is to re-create something, rather than create. It is up to us to find a way to make it new, thrilling, even for the third or fiftieth or thousandth time. Not an easy task, but it can be done.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Well, that was disappointing
The scene: Intermission at the Broadhurst Theatre
MP: (wearing his coat, pulling his bag up onto his shoulder, obviously ready to leave) So, what do you think?
ACB: Well, ok, here’s what I think. While I think Eponine will have some lovely moments in the second half, and Marius and students most certainly will, and Javert and Valjean might, the rest of it seems awfully like a high school musical. And, well, since my dream of Broadway has pretty much been shattered…”
MP: (bursts into sad laughter) So... drinks?
Ok, so it didn’t quite go down like that, but it wasn’t far off. What a disappointment. The “new orchestrations?” Obviously a money-saving venture, as the pit was thin and far too electronic to have any of the power of the original version. The tempi were so strict, and so fast, obviously in an attempt to keep the running time under three hours and avoid union overtime fees. No flexibility, no room for any feeling, just rushing from one line to the next. I felt like I was listening to a highlights version on cd. Except with some really shameful singing.
I was amazed at the lack of support, breath control, and intonation. Even with mikes, the lack of vocal technique was incredible. It was like American Idol Does Broadway. And I know it wasn’t just my nostalgia talking. I know enough to let go of my aural impressions of the Original London Cast Recording that I listened to over and over again in junior high and try to make room for a new experience. Just not this one. And that doesn’t mean that I’m not currently downloading said Original London Cast Recording (with Patti LuPone! and Colm Wilkinson! And Rebecca Caine!) off iTunes. I imagine I’ll give it a good listen or five in order to restore this work in my mind’s ear.
Sigh. Maybe a better revival will show up in a few years?
(MP and his boyfriend assure me that there is better Broadway to be seen out there. I’m going to see how many shows I can get them to take me to to make up for this…)
MP: (wearing his coat, pulling his bag up onto his shoulder, obviously ready to leave) So, what do you think?
ACB: Well, ok, here’s what I think. While I think Eponine will have some lovely moments in the second half, and Marius and students most certainly will, and Javert and Valjean might, the rest of it seems awfully like a high school musical. And, well, since my dream of Broadway has pretty much been shattered…”
MP: (bursts into sad laughter) So... drinks?
Ok, so it didn’t quite go down like that, but it wasn’t far off. What a disappointment. The “new orchestrations?” Obviously a money-saving venture, as the pit was thin and far too electronic to have any of the power of the original version. The tempi were so strict, and so fast, obviously in an attempt to keep the running time under three hours and avoid union overtime fees. No flexibility, no room for any feeling, just rushing from one line to the next. I felt like I was listening to a highlights version on cd. Except with some really shameful singing.
I was amazed at the lack of support, breath control, and intonation. Even with mikes, the lack of vocal technique was incredible. It was like American Idol Does Broadway. And I know it wasn’t just my nostalgia talking. I know enough to let go of my aural impressions of the Original London Cast Recording that I listened to over and over again in junior high and try to make room for a new experience. Just not this one. And that doesn’t mean that I’m not currently downloading said Original London Cast Recording (with Patti LuPone! and Colm Wilkinson! And Rebecca Caine!) off iTunes. I imagine I’ll give it a good listen or five in order to restore this work in my mind’s ear.
Sigh. Maybe a better revival will show up in a few years?
(MP and his boyfriend assure me that there is better Broadway to be seen out there. I’m going to see how many shows I can get them to take me to to make up for this…)
Even more random
Creative funding idea in Seattle. I’ve met Mr. & Mrs. Raisbeck, and they are wonderful patrons of the arts in Seattle. I think this new idea is a great one, and could easily be scaled down to fit companies of all sizes. Everyone loves to chat with “the star,” whether you’re singing at the Met or with a small regional orchestra. We sometimes forget that what we do, as singers, is quite out of the ordinary! People love a bit of a glimpse behind the scenes.
Check out “This Week’s Guests,” in a box on the left of the page on the Late Show with David Letterman site. See anything interesting? That’s right, the entire CAST of the Met’s Barber of Seville is going to the musical guest tomorrow night! I’ve read that there will be the six principals, a small chorus, and 22 orchestra musicians. Fantastic!! This new regime? I’m liking it.
I’ll be taking in two shows this week (neither of which is Barber). Tonight I’ll be seeing my first theatre love, Les Miserables! I admit that I’m a bit excited; hope I can resist the urge to sing along with every single lyric!! I’ll have my earplugs along, too; Broadway is loud! And tomorrow, a bit more uptown, Helene Grimaud’s recital debut at Carnegie Hall. I’m looking forward to the Rachmaninoff, no matter what Charles says…
Happy Birthday (yesterday), Dame Joan!! (Happy birthday yesterday, too, to JD, and today to EB and PM, and Thursday to CT the DT! Love you, ladies! You, too, Joan.)
And a few new blogs:
Desparate Operawife - an college classmate, now married to an opera singer and living in Germany.
notes from the kelp - composer (and lover of the sea) Alex Shapiro
Sieglinde’s Diaries - I’ve been reading for ages! How have I not gotten this on the blogroll yet? Currently rather quiet, a NY-based operagoer’s blog
Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society - “music, politics, life in New York” and shiny baubles
Check out “This Week’s Guests,” in a box on the left of the page on the Late Show with David Letterman site. See anything interesting? That’s right, the entire CAST of the Met’s Barber of Seville is going to the musical guest tomorrow night! I’ve read that there will be the six principals, a small chorus, and 22 orchestra musicians. Fantastic!! This new regime? I’m liking it.
I’ll be taking in two shows this week (neither of which is Barber). Tonight I’ll be seeing my first theatre love, Les Miserables! I admit that I’m a bit excited; hope I can resist the urge to sing along with every single lyric!! I’ll have my earplugs along, too; Broadway is loud! And tomorrow, a bit more uptown, Helene Grimaud’s recital debut at Carnegie Hall. I’m looking forward to the Rachmaninoff, no matter what Charles says…
Happy Birthday (yesterday), Dame Joan!! (Happy birthday yesterday, too, to JD, and today to EB and PM, and Thursday to CT the DT! Love you, ladies! You, too, Joan.)
And a few new blogs:
Desparate Operawife - an college classmate, now married to an opera singer and living in Germany.
notes from the kelp - composer (and lover of the sea) Alex Shapiro
Sieglinde’s Diaries - I’ve been reading for ages! How have I not gotten this on the blogroll yet? Currently rather quiet, a NY-based operagoer’s blog
Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society - “music, politics, life in New York” and shiny baubles
Don’t forget to vote!
I happened to walk home from the subway past my polling location, so rather than going home to change first, I just stopped in. I figured if the line was too long (ha!), I’d go around the corner, change out of my audition clothes and come back in flats. But, of course, no line. Efficiency on the part of the vote organizers or apathy on the part of the voters? Regardless, I was in and out in less than five minutes. I was never asked to show my ID, just to sign the book (directly below the scanned copy of my “motor-voter” signature). This didn’t even register with me until I’d left the building. How easy is it to vote for someone else?! Quite, I would think.
Don’t let anybody else steal your vote. Get out there and do it yourself. And bring your ID, just in case…
Oh, and the audition? Went fine, I think. I had a few weird memory slips, getting a few entrances and cutoffs wrong. I very, very rarely do that kind of thing, so I’m thinking it was just fuzzy-headed cold-medicine stuff. The pianist was wonderful, though, and was right there with me for everything.
Unlike auditions for companies, who are generally casting two or threes years out, competition auditions usually get results back to you within a matter of days. So I imagine I’ll hear something this week. Last year, they gave seven prizes of $7500 and three Encouragement Awards of $2000. They’ll hear about eighty singers this year, so that’s a one-in-eight chance of winning a prize. Here’s to hoping that the odds fall in my favor!
Don’t let anybody else steal your vote. Get out there and do it yourself. And bring your ID, just in case…
Oh, and the audition? Went fine, I think. I had a few weird memory slips, getting a few entrances and cutoffs wrong. I very, very rarely do that kind of thing, so I’m thinking it was just fuzzy-headed cold-medicine stuff. The pianist was wonderful, though, and was right there with me for everything.
Unlike auditions for companies, who are generally casting two or threes years out, competition auditions usually get results back to you within a matter of days. So I imagine I’ll hear something this week. Last year, they gave seven prizes of $7500 and three Encouragement Awards of $2000. They’ll hear about eighty singers this year, so that’s a one-in-eight chance of winning a prize. Here’s to hoping that the odds fall in my favor!
Monday, November 06, 2006
Random, Nov. 6
(I think this might be a new entry format, a la my highlights entries and vilaine fille’s “Pensee d'[insert date here].” I have stuff to say, but can’t put it in any real cohesive “paragraph form.” So here you go. Snipits and sentence fragments and non sequiters...)
My box of gowns, winter coats, and boots arrived today. Good thing, too, because winter is coming! Everyone keeps telling me that winters in NY aren’t as harsh as winters in Boston, and I hope that’s true. I might have survived two (relatively mild) Boston winters, but I’ve been in Seattle for four winters, so I’ve kind of forgotten how to deal with the “wintry mix” and slush and bitter, bitter wind. At least I’ve given up trying to tame my hair these days, so I don’t have to worry about trying to keep it straight and sleek. Bring on the hats and scarves and wind and snow! (Well, maybe not just yet…)
Where does one keep her gowns in an apartment with one short closet? **Edited to answer: folded in a duffel bag on the top shelf. I have two hanging that can be used in a pinch; I’ll have to plan ahead and send any other gown I want to wear to the cleaners.
Another strange blog/real world conundrum: dates who discover the blog before the actual first date! (He was very kind and chose not to read much of it, or listen to sound clips, before we met… but it still made me think about my online profile. It’s pretty high…)
I’ve been battling my second cold of the season for about ten days now. I sang two auditions through it last week, and they both were fine. But this morning things shifted a bit and my voice wasn’t working as well as it has been, so I had to cancel, or rather, reschedule, an audition. I’ll sing tomorrow for the Sullivan Awards, rather than today, assuming, of course, that my voice is back. It wasn’t totally gone, just unwieldy. I always say that this is why we have technique, to help us through times like this. But when I had to focus entirely on my technique in order to get a decent sound, rather than muscle memory taking care of the actual singing while I acted and tried to “make music,” I knew it was a no-go. We’ll see how tomorrow goes...
I didn’t do this. But I know who did…
I’ve also been meaning to plug my MySpace Music site. I have a personal site there, but I think it might go the way of all things soon. I’ll focus on the music networking aspects of the site, rather than the personal (See above comment about online profile…). So come on over, if you’re a MySpacer; I'll be cross-posting entries from this blog to the MySpace blog system, too.
Another site to plug: ohmyrockness.com If you live in NY or Chicago and are an indie rock fan (and read my blog – guess that’s probably a pretty small cross section…), this is the site for you. My brother is the lead developer (which I think mean he deals with all the tech stuff), and it is quickly becoming the source for indie rock info in NYC and Chicago.
Guess that’s it for now. Time for more steam, Nyquil, cough drops and sleep.
My box of gowns, winter coats, and boots arrived today. Good thing, too, because winter is coming! Everyone keeps telling me that winters in NY aren’t as harsh as winters in Boston, and I hope that’s true. I might have survived two (relatively mild) Boston winters, but I’ve been in Seattle for four winters, so I’ve kind of forgotten how to deal with the “wintry mix” and slush and bitter, bitter wind. At least I’ve given up trying to tame my hair these days, so I don’t have to worry about trying to keep it straight and sleek. Bring on the hats and scarves and wind and snow! (Well, maybe not just yet…)
Where does one keep her gowns in an apartment with one short closet? **Edited to answer: folded in a duffel bag on the top shelf. I have two hanging that can be used in a pinch; I’ll have to plan ahead and send any other gown I want to wear to the cleaners.
Another strange blog/real world conundrum: dates who discover the blog before the actual first date! (He was very kind and chose not to read much of it, or listen to sound clips, before we met… but it still made me think about my online profile. It’s pretty high…)
I’ve been battling my second cold of the season for about ten days now. I sang two auditions through it last week, and they both were fine. But this morning things shifted a bit and my voice wasn’t working as well as it has been, so I had to cancel, or rather, reschedule, an audition. I’ll sing tomorrow for the Sullivan Awards, rather than today, assuming, of course, that my voice is back. It wasn’t totally gone, just unwieldy. I always say that this is why we have technique, to help us through times like this. But when I had to focus entirely on my technique in order to get a decent sound, rather than muscle memory taking care of the actual singing while I acted and tried to “make music,” I knew it was a no-go. We’ll see how tomorrow goes...
I didn’t do this. But I know who did…
I’ve also been meaning to plug my MySpace Music site. I have a personal site there, but I think it might go the way of all things soon. I’ll focus on the music networking aspects of the site, rather than the personal (See above comment about online profile…). So come on over, if you’re a MySpacer; I'll be cross-posting entries from this blog to the MySpace blog system, too.
Another site to plug: ohmyrockness.com If you live in NY or Chicago and are an indie rock fan (and read my blog – guess that’s probably a pretty small cross section…), this is the site for you. My brother is the lead developer (which I think mean he deals with all the tech stuff), and it is quickly becoming the source for indie rock info in NYC and Chicago.
Guess that’s it for now. Time for more steam, Nyquil, cough drops and sleep.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Music Geek Fun
Via Red Black Window, here is a fun break-down of Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy." All of the parts are on separate tracks, and you can select one or several or all and follow along with the score. For all of us who sang along with the various harmony lines back in 1980-whatever, this is a lot of fun!
When I showed it to my roommate, he then passed along an even cooler music geek site: John Whitney's music algorithms. I don't pretend to understand the math behind the music, but these are very, very cool. Hypnotic and visually beautiful, they demonstrate the fine line between math and music. How much like the Ligeti Etudes do these sound?!
AP and I then talked about Reich's Clapping Music, which also makes an appearance over at TSR today. I was unfamiliar with the algorithmic nature of that piece, so AP explained it to me: two performers clap a pattern, starting together, for 12 (?) repetitions, then one of them shifts the pattern back a beat.
Which made me think of one of my favorite party tricks: singing "Take me out to the Ballgame" shifted back a word. (I told you, geek!)
Start the music in the same place, but start on the second word. "Me out to the ballgame, take..." etc. It is maddening to figure it out for the first time, but once you get it? Very cool. My favorite part is ending on the leading tone... And, of course, there are endless variations. Start on the second word, which is a bit easier, actually. "Out to the ballgame, take me..." And on and on.
Happy geekery!
When I showed it to my roommate, he then passed along an even cooler music geek site: John Whitney's music algorithms. I don't pretend to understand the math behind the music, but these are very, very cool. Hypnotic and visually beautiful, they demonstrate the fine line between math and music. How much like the Ligeti Etudes do these sound?!
AP and I then talked about Reich's Clapping Music, which also makes an appearance over at TSR today. I was unfamiliar with the algorithmic nature of that piece, so AP explained it to me: two performers clap a pattern, starting together, for 12 (?) repetitions, then one of them shifts the pattern back a beat.
Which made me think of one of my favorite party tricks: singing "Take me out to the Ballgame" shifted back a word. (I told you, geek!)
Start the music in the same place, but start on the second word. "Me out to the ballgame, take..." etc. It is maddening to figure it out for the first time, but once you get it? Very cool. My favorite part is ending on the leading tone... And, of course, there are endless variations. Start on the second word, which is a bit easier, actually. "Out to the ballgame, take me..." And on and on.
Happy geekery!
Monday, October 30, 2006
A nest
As I said a few posts ago, I’ve definitely settled into Life here in NY. My room has taken a real turn from the almost-uninhabitable to the very cozy and welcoming. All it took was a trip to Ikea to put the finishing touches on the place. I’ve even offered it up to a fellow singer who’ll be here for auditions while I’m on a gig, and I would only let someone stay here if I knew they would be comfortable. So, that’s saying something!
Here’s a picture. I love my little desk, which now has my laptop on the pullout shelf underneath and my electric keyboard on the top. Currently there are also some red and yellow roses, two Netflix movies ready to be returned, and a bunch of other clutter. At the top of the photo, you can see my brown comforter hanging down from the loft bed, which has a wonderful light in it now. I’ll post a picture of that, too. I still have some art to frame and hang, but that will be the last touch. It’s my little nest, and I love it.
I had a strange experience at an audition last week, one that will probably occur from time to time if I keep blogging. The audition was for Chicago Opera Theater, whose General Director, Brian Dickie, keeps his own blog here, chronicling the ins and outs of his General-Director-ship. Mr. Dickie and I met briefly this summer at Santa Fe, and when I was introduced to him, he said, “Oh, yes, the blogger!” This was my first encounter with a GD who reads The Concert (or who admits to reading it), and we talked briefly of blogging and singing and parted ways.
At the audition last week, when my manager introduced me, there was the usual “Hello, good to see you again, yes, I know you, we met last summer, etc.” But then he mentioned the blog again and said, “Yes, I know you; I know you intimately.” Gulp. I’ve had few moments through this blogging trip when I wondered if I’d ever said too much, and this was one of them! (And it’s funny writing about this now, knowing he’ll read it…Hi, Mr. Dickie!) Did he read about my insecurities (and conquering them) in regards to Regnava? Did he wonder why I didn’t sing it for him?! Probably not, but I did wonder. Only momentarily, of course, and then it was on to the task at hand: singing a bang-up audition!
This week’s auditions: MidAmerica Productions and Des Moines Metro Opera.
Here’s a picture. I love my little desk, which now has my laptop on the pullout shelf underneath and my electric keyboard on the top. Currently there are also some red and yellow roses, two Netflix movies ready to be returned, and a bunch of other clutter. At the top of the photo, you can see my brown comforter hanging down from the loft bed, which has a wonderful light in it now. I’ll post a picture of that, too. I still have some art to frame and hang, but that will be the last touch. It’s my little nest, and I love it.
I had a strange experience at an audition last week, one that will probably occur from time to time if I keep blogging. The audition was for Chicago Opera Theater, whose General Director, Brian Dickie, keeps his own blog here, chronicling the ins and outs of his General-Director-ship. Mr. Dickie and I met briefly this summer at Santa Fe, and when I was introduced to him, he said, “Oh, yes, the blogger!” This was my first encounter with a GD who reads The Concert (or who admits to reading it), and we talked briefly of blogging and singing and parted ways. At the audition last week, when my manager introduced me, there was the usual “Hello, good to see you again, yes, I know you, we met last summer, etc.” But then he mentioned the blog again and said, “Yes, I know you; I know you intimately.” Gulp. I’ve had few moments through this blogging trip when I wondered if I’d ever said too much, and this was one of them! (And it’s funny writing about this now, knowing he’ll read it…Hi, Mr. Dickie!) Did he read about my insecurities (and conquering them) in regards to Regnava? Did he wonder why I didn’t sing it for him?! Probably not, but I did wonder. Only momentarily, of course, and then it was on to the task at hand: singing a bang-up audition!
This week’s auditions: MidAmerica Productions and Des Moines Metro Opera.
uh-oh
Charles over at ionarts has called me out! "Conspicuously silent." I'll take that as a compliment! Sorry for a quiet week; I have no good reason, really.
I'm off to an audition now, but I'll try to fill in some gaps this afternoon. Maybe a picture of my little hobit hole is finally in order!
I'm off to an audition now, but I'll try to fill in some gaps this afternoon. Maybe a picture of my little hobit hole is finally in order!
Monday, October 23, 2006
Take that
Not only did I sing Regnava at the audition today, I started with it.
Take that, Fear!
Somebody ate their Wheaties this morning. (Actually, it was granola with vanilla yogurt and blueberries.) And my manager’s response? “Well, I expect to hear a lot more of that aria this fall!”
Yes, ma’am.
Take that, Fear!
Somebody ate their Wheaties this morning. (Actually, it was granola with vanilla yogurt and blueberries.) And my manager’s response? “Well, I expect to hear a lot more of that aria this fall!”
Yes, ma’am.
Opera and Football
This guy gets it!
There are moments watching both that make my spine tingle. Todd Heap's touchdown catch to beat the Chargers and Diana Soviero's gripping solo last March in Dead Man Walking come to mind.
I would add that last week's Monday Night Football game probably aroused passions not unlike those in a fiesty La Scala audience. If you saw it, you know what I mean. If you didn't, well, time to start watching football! Talk about a catharsis. Wow.
I love it!! Go Broncos!! (And Bears, too, of course... everyone's rooting for the Bears.)
There are moments watching both that make my spine tingle. Todd Heap's touchdown catch to beat the Chargers and Diana Soviero's gripping solo last March in Dead Man Walking come to mind.
I would add that last week's Monday Night Football game probably aroused passions not unlike those in a fiesty La Scala audience. If you saw it, you know what I mean. If you didn't, well, time to start watching football! Talk about a catharsis. Wow.
I love it!! Go Broncos!! (And Bears, too, of course... everyone's rooting for the Bears.)
Saturday, October 21, 2006
I live here now.
A few weeks ago, when I was in the middle of life-transition blues, my mom shared something that really helped me through it. She told me that she felt the same way after every move, and she’s been through many as an adult. (She was a military kid, as I was, but how easily we transition when we’re kids!) After the house was unpacked, and we kids were off to school, she said she asked herself every time: Ok, where do I fit in this picture? Then she assured me that while the feeling may stick around for a while, one day she’d just wake up and it would be gone. She lived there.
Well, as moms often are, she was right. One day last week, I realized that the feeling of anxiety and fear that had been hanging around me since I arrived in NYC was gone. I live here, and my patterns are starting to show that. I’ve been more social, getting out to know the different parts of the city, going on some dates and spending time with friends and the Brooklyn Birds (brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew). An art exhibit, a concert, a friend’s recital (his first Winterreisse!), a cabaret show (where I saw Liza Minnelli!! Me: Look, there’s a Liza impersonator. MP: Um, no, that’s really Liza!), and yoga classes and workshops at my new yoga home. Lessons with Mark, of course, and audition and recital prep with JD.
I live here now.
But there is still fear. It’s just a different kind of fear, one that’s been with me for a long time and one that I’ve let dictate my actions for too long. Maybe writing about it here will help me conquer it. It is the fear of success.
Why I’m afraid of it, what exactly I’m afraid of, I can’t tell you. But I can see how this fear is starting to get in my way. I know that “Regnava nel silenzio” (from Lucia di Lammermoor) is going to be my aria, the one that says to anyone who heard me sing last year or the year before “Check this out: I’ve grown up.” The aria that is the difference between “We like her; let’s keep an eye on her.” and “We like her; let’s hire her.” My goal was to have it ready for my NY City Opera audition, which is on Monday. But have I done it? No. It’s stuck at the 90% level, all the notes learned, memorized, all the cadences settled, etc., but I just haven’t taken the time to really get it into my body and voice. I’m pretty mad about it, too, and I know I’m the only one to blame. I have so much time these days, a true luxury, and I’m wasting it. WHY?? Fear.
Today I went to a yoga workshop focusing on headstand. Many people talked about the fear that was holding them back from mastering the pose, and I realized that I’ve never been afraid of it. (My issues are balance and holding the pose, two things that are getting easier as my body gains strength and my mind gains clarity.) The teacher said that we too easily stereotype ourselves and psych ourselves out of an action; she called them “personal chauvinisms.” “I don’t do headstand.” If we say that, we’ll have a hard time ever getting our feet up there! It works the other way, too, and I think I’ve always seen myself as someone who does headstand. Sure, why not? So I do it.
After the workshop I went to coach with JD, and I realized that while I can do a headstand (I even held it for ten seconds by the end of the workshop!), I’m psyching myself out of a lot of other beneficial actions because of my fear. Singing the right rep is only one, but it’s a big one.
So tonight and tomorrow night and Monday morning, I’m living with Regnava. It’s time to stop being afraid of it and get it out there. Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead! Right? Eek.
Well, as moms often are, she was right. One day last week, I realized that the feeling of anxiety and fear that had been hanging around me since I arrived in NYC was gone. I live here, and my patterns are starting to show that. I’ve been more social, getting out to know the different parts of the city, going on some dates and spending time with friends and the Brooklyn Birds (brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew). An art exhibit, a concert, a friend’s recital (his first Winterreisse!), a cabaret show (where I saw Liza Minnelli!! Me: Look, there’s a Liza impersonator. MP: Um, no, that’s really Liza!), and yoga classes and workshops at my new yoga home. Lessons with Mark, of course, and audition and recital prep with JD.
I live here now.
But there is still fear. It’s just a different kind of fear, one that’s been with me for a long time and one that I’ve let dictate my actions for too long. Maybe writing about it here will help me conquer it. It is the fear of success.
Why I’m afraid of it, what exactly I’m afraid of, I can’t tell you. But I can see how this fear is starting to get in my way. I know that “Regnava nel silenzio” (from Lucia di Lammermoor) is going to be my aria, the one that says to anyone who heard me sing last year or the year before “Check this out: I’ve grown up.” The aria that is the difference between “We like her; let’s keep an eye on her.” and “We like her; let’s hire her.” My goal was to have it ready for my NY City Opera audition, which is on Monday. But have I done it? No. It’s stuck at the 90% level, all the notes learned, memorized, all the cadences settled, etc., but I just haven’t taken the time to really get it into my body and voice. I’m pretty mad about it, too, and I know I’m the only one to blame. I have so much time these days, a true luxury, and I’m wasting it. WHY?? Fear.
Today I went to a yoga workshop focusing on headstand. Many people talked about the fear that was holding them back from mastering the pose, and I realized that I’ve never been afraid of it. (My issues are balance and holding the pose, two things that are getting easier as my body gains strength and my mind gains clarity.) The teacher said that we too easily stereotype ourselves and psych ourselves out of an action; she called them “personal chauvinisms.” “I don’t do headstand.” If we say that, we’ll have a hard time ever getting our feet up there! It works the other way, too, and I think I’ve always seen myself as someone who does headstand. Sure, why not? So I do it.
After the workshop I went to coach with JD, and I realized that while I can do a headstand (I even held it for ten seconds by the end of the workshop!), I’m psyching myself out of a lot of other beneficial actions because of my fear. Singing the right rep is only one, but it’s a big one.
So tonight and tomorrow night and Monday morning, I’m living with Regnava. It’s time to stop being afraid of it and get it out there. Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead! Right? Eek.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Healthy body, healthy voice
There was a conversation recently on the New Forum for Classical Singers, an online community and bulletin board, about vegetarian singers. More to the point, the opera director at a school told a student that if the student wanted a career, he was going to have to start eating meat. He stated that “no professional singer of any stature ever made it as a vegetarian,” a statement I find hilarious for the syntax, if nothing else. What, singers don’t have the discipline to be vegetarians? heehee
What I think he meant, erroneously, was that no vegetarian has made it to any level of “stature” as a singer. And, well, that’s ridiculous. I know many vegetarian singers, many of whom have fine careers and are on paths to have even finer careers. But it got me thinking about health, or, rather, added to my on-going thoughts of health. I’m a vegetarian, but not eating meat isn’t my problem. In fact, I recently started tracking my diet with an online diet tool, not to lose weight, but to see how much protein, fiber, etc., I was eating on average. Turns out it is really easy to get the recommended 50g of protein a day. Whole grains, legumes, some cheese, and done! Add 25g of fiber (blueberries, Kashi cereal, some kale, an apple, done!), aim for 2000 calories, and that’s a darn good diet.
My problem is remembering or taking the time to eat at all. I was having a blue day earlier this week, and as soon as I ate some lunch (ok, technically it was breakfast, too), I felt better! Practically blissful. Hmm, maybe there’s something to that... I told my roommate that the next time I was talking about being sad or bored or lonely, that he should ask if I’ve eaten anything. (Oh, my mom’s going to love this post!) Coffee doesn’t count…
So, yes, you can be a vegetarian singer. Just make sure you eat.
I’ve also been thinking a lot about breath and breathing. I think that I mentioned that in September I conducted a one-day workshop for the choir at my parents’ church. One of the topics we covered, naturally, was breathing. Most people only breath with a portion of their lungs, mostly the top third. When you sing, it’s good to know how to take in a full breath and support it on the way out, but it’s just as important to breath well everyday.
Now that my dear Granddaddy has had to start using oxygen**, I’ve come to believe that the maxim “use it or lose it” applies to our lungs as well. I don’t have any scientific evidence for this, just anecdotal, but it makes sense. Ever notice how singers (and brass and wind players, too) have large ribcages? That’s not fat, that’s capacity built by use. I know that I have gained about two inches on that measurement over the years as I have developed my lung capacity. (I gain almost three inches when I inhale, as well.) So, when I visited with Mamma & Granddaddy in September, I taught him several of the exercises I taught the choir, and I think we were both surprised when he couldn’t do them.
So here they are, and I encourage everyone to start breathing with all of your lungs, even if only for five minutes a day. Next time you’re stuck in traffic, give these a go. (Just don’t hyperventilate!)
First, (and, well, this part is not a traffic exercise), the next time you lie down, spend some time actively breathing with your diaphragm. Lightly rest one hand on your belly, with your thumb on your solar plexus. As you draw air into your lungs, notice how the diaphragm rises into your hand. (It’s easier to do this lying down because it helps you avoid the tendency to try and take in a deep breath by lifting your shoulders.) Then try this exercise standing up. You might find that your body rebels, that your muscles have gotten used to breathing in a more shallow way and they will fight against this “new” activity. They’ll come around; they just need to be reminded of what they knew how to do perfectly when you were a child.
Once you feel that you can breath smoothly from your abdomen, try a three-part breath. In this exercise, you breath into the three sections of the lungs from bottom to top: expand the abdomen, the ribs, and then the top section of the lungs, under the collarbone. (Phyllis Curtin can breath so well in that top section that I swear her sternum is made of cartilage! It really seems to flex.) Exhale in the same order, bottom to top: abdomen, ribcage, clavicle.
Cool, huh? Now, singer or other, use it or lose it.
**Granddaddy is doing very well, thank you, and is as active as ever; he just has a 40-ft “tail” for the tank at home, and a smaller tank for the road.)
What I think he meant, erroneously, was that no vegetarian has made it to any level of “stature” as a singer. And, well, that’s ridiculous. I know many vegetarian singers, many of whom have fine careers and are on paths to have even finer careers. But it got me thinking about health, or, rather, added to my on-going thoughts of health. I’m a vegetarian, but not eating meat isn’t my problem. In fact, I recently started tracking my diet with an online diet tool, not to lose weight, but to see how much protein, fiber, etc., I was eating on average. Turns out it is really easy to get the recommended 50g of protein a day. Whole grains, legumes, some cheese, and done! Add 25g of fiber (blueberries, Kashi cereal, some kale, an apple, done!), aim for 2000 calories, and that’s a darn good diet.
My problem is remembering or taking the time to eat at all. I was having a blue day earlier this week, and as soon as I ate some lunch (ok, technically it was breakfast, too), I felt better! Practically blissful. Hmm, maybe there’s something to that... I told my roommate that the next time I was talking about being sad or bored or lonely, that he should ask if I’ve eaten anything. (Oh, my mom’s going to love this post!) Coffee doesn’t count…
So, yes, you can be a vegetarian singer. Just make sure you eat.
I’ve also been thinking a lot about breath and breathing. I think that I mentioned that in September I conducted a one-day workshop for the choir at my parents’ church. One of the topics we covered, naturally, was breathing. Most people only breath with a portion of their lungs, mostly the top third. When you sing, it’s good to know how to take in a full breath and support it on the way out, but it’s just as important to breath well everyday.
Now that my dear Granddaddy has had to start using oxygen**, I’ve come to believe that the maxim “use it or lose it” applies to our lungs as well. I don’t have any scientific evidence for this, just anecdotal, but it makes sense. Ever notice how singers (and brass and wind players, too) have large ribcages? That’s not fat, that’s capacity built by use. I know that I have gained about two inches on that measurement over the years as I have developed my lung capacity. (I gain almost three inches when I inhale, as well.) So, when I visited with Mamma & Granddaddy in September, I taught him several of the exercises I taught the choir, and I think we were both surprised when he couldn’t do them.
So here they are, and I encourage everyone to start breathing with all of your lungs, even if only for five minutes a day. Next time you’re stuck in traffic, give these a go. (Just don’t hyperventilate!)
First, (and, well, this part is not a traffic exercise), the next time you lie down, spend some time actively breathing with your diaphragm. Lightly rest one hand on your belly, with your thumb on your solar plexus. As you draw air into your lungs, notice how the diaphragm rises into your hand. (It’s easier to do this lying down because it helps you avoid the tendency to try and take in a deep breath by lifting your shoulders.) Then try this exercise standing up. You might find that your body rebels, that your muscles have gotten used to breathing in a more shallow way and they will fight against this “new” activity. They’ll come around; they just need to be reminded of what they knew how to do perfectly when you were a child.
Once you feel that you can breath smoothly from your abdomen, try a three-part breath. In this exercise, you breath into the three sections of the lungs from bottom to top: expand the abdomen, the ribs, and then the top section of the lungs, under the collarbone. (Phyllis Curtin can breath so well in that top section that I swear her sternum is made of cartilage! It really seems to flex.) Exhale in the same order, bottom to top: abdomen, ribcage, clavicle.
Cool, huh? Now, singer or other, use it or lose it.
**Granddaddy is doing very well, thank you, and is as active as ever; he just has a 40-ft “tail” for the tank at home, and a smaller tank for the road.)
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Sting crosses over
Now this I like: Sting’s latest album is a collection of Dowland songs, performed in collaboration with lutist Edin Karamazov. Sting joins in on a few numbers on the archlute, as well. Hot.
I have a lot of respect for Sting as a musician, and I think this album could be quite good. The clips on the DG site and on iTunes (where I will likely purchase it) make it clear that Sting is singing these songs with his voice and not trying to sound all “early music” and period (whatever that means…). Probably best, don’t you think? Besides, what was Dowland if not a singer-songwriter? Makes perfect sense to me to have someone like Sting sing them.
I’ll be curious to hear what others think about it…
I have a lot of respect for Sting as a musician, and I think this album could be quite good. The clips on the DG site and on iTunes (where I will likely purchase it) make it clear that Sting is singing these songs with his voice and not trying to sound all “early music” and period (whatever that means…). Probably best, don’t you think? Besides, what was Dowland if not a singer-songwriter? Makes perfect sense to me to have someone like Sting sing them.
I’ll be curious to hear what others think about it…
Monday, October 09, 2006
It's here
The cold I've been expecting to hit me since I arrived in NYC is finally here. Nothing major, just a cloudy head, stuffy yet runny nose... You know the drill. Boo.
Fortunately I don't have any auditions this week.
Guess I'll take a nap while my files are transferring / backing up onto my new external hard drive...
Fortunately I don't have any auditions this week.
Guess I'll take a nap while my files are transferring / backing up onto my new external hard drive...
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Dreams
I had what I guess you would call an anxiety dream last night, probably fueled by the martini I had after posting that last post…
I was about to go onstage to sing Gilda (guess I won the audition yesterday!) when I realized something. I turned to my Rigoletto with panic in my eyes and said: “I forgot to learn the rest of the role!!”
Oh, and I just remembered another dream! JB, a soprano who is in the Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Program and will be singing a role in Suor Angelica with me, came to pick me up (in a car, no less, even though I’m 15 blocks from Lincoln Center) for the first rehearsal. It was like I had never done anything like it before, because I said: “So, is this a staging rehearsal? Should I be memorized?” Um, yes. JB looked a little suprised, a little worried, a little like she wouldn't be sitting with me on the breaks... :)
Not only was I not memorized, I had planned on sight-reading at the rehearsal! It’s a “small part,” after all. I was frantically flipping through my score, looking for my part. I laughed and said, “I can’t even find my part in here; that’s not a good sign!”
Wow. Think I’m nervous about all the music I have to learn this year?
I was about to go onstage to sing Gilda (guess I won the audition yesterday!) when I realized something. I turned to my Rigoletto with panic in my eyes and said: “I forgot to learn the rest of the role!!”
Oh, and I just remembered another dream! JB, a soprano who is in the Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Program and will be singing a role in Suor Angelica with me, came to pick me up (in a car, no less, even though I’m 15 blocks from Lincoln Center) for the first rehearsal. It was like I had never done anything like it before, because I said: “So, is this a staging rehearsal? Should I be memorized?” Um, yes. JB looked a little suprised, a little worried, a little like she wouldn't be sitting with me on the breaks... :)
Not only was I not memorized, I had planned on sight-reading at the rehearsal! It’s a “small part,” after all. I was frantically flipping through my score, looking for my part. I laughed and said, “I can’t even find my part in here; that’s not a good sign!”
Wow. Think I’m nervous about all the music I have to learn this year?
Friday, October 06, 2006
Nice and Tough
Nice: Coming home to find my roommate scrubbing the kitchen floor. On his hands and knees, even! Our ancient tiles are now substantially less dingy, and the kitchen smells delightfully of Mop-n-Glo.
Tough: Haven’t seen any for a few days, but we have pests. Yes, “life in the big city” and all that, but… yuck. If the little four-legged one shows its face again, we’re borrowing a cat.
Nice: Stopping by the Post Office to pick up a mysterious package, only to get home and find it contains FIVE Kronos Quartet cds! I confessed to a friend recently (someone in “the business”) that I had never listened to any of their work, and he said he would get me started. Current listening: Osvaldo’s Dreams & Prayers of Isaac the Blind. Thank you, friend.
Tough: Running out of disc space on my computer. Time for an external hard drive! (I'd rather spend the money on that fabulous purple dress in the window of Neda, but I suppose that can wait...)
Nice: A good audition (“Caro nome” and Baby Doe’s Silver Aria are actually a great audition pairing…) with hair that cooperated (mostly), and an afternoon spent delving through music for the spring recital project that I keep saying I’m going to write about but never do. Someday. It’s almost time to announce it in the concert series, so I might as well fill you all in on the program explorations.
Tough: Hearing that Erik, my ex-husband, fell off of a climbing wall Tuesday night. Fell 15-ft, onto his straight legs, which jammed up his back something fierce. He is recovering well, thanks to drug cocktails and days off of work, and friends rallying to care for him with dinners and taking care of the dog. He’ll be with his girlfriend this weekend, too, so I know he’s in good hands… But I still worry.
Nice: A weekend full of plans for drinks with friends, seeing my roommate’s concert, and brunch with more friends. Hopefully some yoga and some practicing to round it all out. I might even cook, finally.
Tough: Understanding what people mean when they say that NYC is the loneliest city in the world. I know I’ve only been here a month, but right now it stinks. Literally. I miss my dog, I miss having space around me, I miss nights with collaborative dinners and board games, I miss the fireplace.
I love my new city and my new life, but this time of transition is hard. I’m starting over with a clean slate, and sometimes I don’t know what to make of it. It all feels very “personal,” and I don’t write about that much here, but I thought I would a little. If only to refute the people who think my life is a rose-filled parade all the time (and I know you’re out there). You can know no one’s life but your own, and even that is harder than it seems. Remember what happens when we assume?
I’m going to post this. I might take it down or edit it tomorrow morning, after a good night’s sleep. But for now I’ll post it. Smudge the image a little bit…
Tough: Haven’t seen any for a few days, but we have pests. Yes, “life in the big city” and all that, but… yuck. If the little four-legged one shows its face again, we’re borrowing a cat.
Nice: Stopping by the Post Office to pick up a mysterious package, only to get home and find it contains FIVE Kronos Quartet cds! I confessed to a friend recently (someone in “the business”) that I had never listened to any of their work, and he said he would get me started. Current listening: Osvaldo’s Dreams & Prayers of Isaac the Blind. Thank you, friend.Tough: Running out of disc space on my computer. Time for an external hard drive! (I'd rather spend the money on that fabulous purple dress in the window of Neda, but I suppose that can wait...)
Nice: A good audition (“Caro nome” and Baby Doe’s Silver Aria are actually a great audition pairing…) with hair that cooperated (mostly), and an afternoon spent delving through music for the spring recital project that I keep saying I’m going to write about but never do. Someday. It’s almost time to announce it in the concert series, so I might as well fill you all in on the program explorations.Tough: Hearing that Erik, my ex-husband, fell off of a climbing wall Tuesday night. Fell 15-ft, onto his straight legs, which jammed up his back something fierce. He is recovering well, thanks to drug cocktails and days off of work, and friends rallying to care for him with dinners and taking care of the dog. He’ll be with his girlfriend this weekend, too, so I know he’s in good hands… But I still worry.
Nice: A weekend full of plans for drinks with friends, seeing my roommate’s concert, and brunch with more friends. Hopefully some yoga and some practicing to round it all out. I might even cook, finally.
Tough: Understanding what people mean when they say that NYC is the loneliest city in the world. I know I’ve only been here a month, but right now it stinks. Literally. I miss my dog, I miss having space around me, I miss nights with collaborative dinners and board games, I miss the fireplace.
I love my new city and my new life, but this time of transition is hard. I’m starting over with a clean slate, and sometimes I don’t know what to make of it. It all feels very “personal,” and I don’t write about that much here, but I thought I would a little. If only to refute the people who think my life is a rose-filled parade all the time (and I know you’re out there). You can know no one’s life but your own, and even that is harder than it seems. Remember what happens when we assume?
I’m going to post this. I might take it down or edit it tomorrow morning, after a good night’s sleep. But for now I’ll post it. Smudge the image a little bit…
AAAARRRRGH
Ok. First audition with the new haircut.
HELP! This is a great rock-n-roll, city haircut, but I have no idea how to pretty it up for an audition. I have bangs now, so to speak, and having them in my face is fun and sexy for walking down the street (I’m apparently the kind of woman who gets asked out by strangers on the street now… true story.), but it’s not good for an audition. No hair in the face.
Sigh. Maybe half-up with some strategically placed hair pins? And a lot of hairspray.
At least La Voce is working…
HELP! This is a great rock-n-roll, city haircut, but I have no idea how to pretty it up for an audition. I have bangs now, so to speak, and having them in my face is fun and sexy for walking down the street (I’m apparently the kind of woman who gets asked out by strangers on the street now… true story.), but it’s not good for an audition. No hair in the face.
Sigh. Maybe half-up with some strategically placed hair pins? And a lot of hairspray.
At least La Voce is working…
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
300th Post!
So, that technique-heavy pitch chart post was my 300th post on the concert. Cool!
I thought I would celebrate by switching over to the new Blogger format. The thing I'm most excited about is labels: I'll be adding subject-related labels to all (or most) posts now. This way, those of you who really like my tech talk can go back and read it all with one simple click!!
Ideas for other label categories?
Update: Ok, where'd my little picture and blog description go? Any Beta-Bloggers have any hints? ("Beta-bloggers." Sounds like a drug.)
I thought I would celebrate by switching over to the new Blogger format. The thing I'm most excited about is labels: I'll be adding subject-related labels to all (or most) posts now. This way, those of you who really like my tech talk can go back and read it all with one simple click!!
Ideas for other label categories?
Update: Ok, where'd my little picture and blog description go? Any Beta-Bloggers have any hints? ("Beta-bloggers." Sounds like a drug.)
Finally - Pitch Charts!
I know you all have been waiting with bated breath for this post! Ok, maybe only boston_soprano has been waiting, but hopefully the rest of you will get something from it as well. It gets pretty technical; bear with me!
What follows is the “patented” Lucy Shelton Pitch Chart Method for learning nonharmonic, 12-tone, or just plain hard vocal music. I learned the system in 2003 at Tanglewood while working on Dallapiccola’s 12-tone Four Lyrics of Antonio Machado. (For my non-musician readers: “12-tone” music is based on a pattern, or a “row,” of notes that uses all 12 tones of the scale before repeating pitches. This pattern can be presented in many permutations: chopped up, backwards, turned around, etc..) When I was learning the music, at home before getting to Tanglewood, I really sweated over the score. How was I supposed to get these “melodies” to stick in my head?! Especially when my line often clashed in unexpected ways with the piano. I was really nervous. Was this going to be the first impression I made at Tanglewood, not knowing my notes?!
At my first coaching with Lucy, she put all my fears to rest. There was something almost mystic about the way this system takes the “impossible” and makes it not only accessible, but a delight to learn. Here’s how it works.
The basic idea is to separate the notes completely from the rhythm and text. In order to do this, get some blank manuscript paper (paper with music staves on it). Taking one phrase at a time, write each note of your vocal line as a whole note. If there is a key signature, keep it in mind as you write, adding the appropriate accidental to each note. (So, there will be no key signature on the staff itself.) When the melody line gets extreme, high or low, write the note in two octaves so you can practice the line with octave displacement. (This saves vocal resources in those early days of learning the notes.)
Now, choose one pitch to serve as a pedal tone. This should be the note, if there is one, that is something of a tonal center, a pitch you return to or center around throughout the piece. (For 12-tone, Lucy suggests simply starting with C.) Play this pedal tone in several octaves, sustaining it while you sing or whistle or hum through the vocal line. Pay attention to each notes relationship to the pedal; this is the key. For example, in the photo above, you’ll see the first few phrases of the first Machado song. Using C as my pedal tone, I would find the F# by hearing the tri-tone relationship to the C, find the A in relationship to the F# and the C, etc.. My favorite moments in this process are when you sing a half-step below or above the pedal tone and then resolve, as the Machado does in that first phrase (B to C). For music like this that has no “home” pitch, like tonal music does, this feeling of arrival is beautiful.
After you have worked through the vocal line a few times with one pedal tone, choose a new one. Find the second-most predominant tone, or use G for 12-tone. Go through the process again, hearing how the “melody” changes in this new context. Honestly, I find it beautiful.
As you’re working through the piece, also look for relationships within the line itself. Where are the major 4ths and 5ths? (You can see them indicated above by the triangular or bracketed lines.) Where are the traditionally scalar passages? Half-steps?
Work with the pitch chart exclusively for as long as possible!! Things like rhythm and language are much easier to incorporate, generally, than these unfamiliar melodic structures. Keep the manuscript paper with you and study whenever you have a moment, in the waiting room of the Social Security Office, for example. When working like this, without a piano for pedal tones, it basically becomes an exercise in sight-reading, focusing on the relationships of each note to the next. But always remember the pedal, and see if you can “hear” it as you work, coming “home” to it in your mind’s ear. An easy way to study like this, when out in public, is to plug one ear closed with your finger and lightly “whistle.” This works especially well on an airplane: you’re able to hear yourself clearly and not annoy your neighbors. And, again, it’s a good vocal resources conserver! No need to drill these notes at full voice for hours on end.
I think that’s it. Clear as mud? Please leave a comment if you have any questions, and I’ll try to clarify. Writing this all out makes me wish I had some atonal music to learn!!
Happy studying.
What follows is the “patented” Lucy Shelton Pitch Chart Method for learning nonharmonic, 12-tone, or just plain hard vocal music. I learned the system in 2003 at Tanglewood while working on Dallapiccola’s 12-tone Four Lyrics of Antonio Machado. (For my non-musician readers: “12-tone” music is based on a pattern, or a “row,” of notes that uses all 12 tones of the scale before repeating pitches. This pattern can be presented in many permutations: chopped up, backwards, turned around, etc..) When I was learning the music, at home before getting to Tanglewood, I really sweated over the score. How was I supposed to get these “melodies” to stick in my head?! Especially when my line often clashed in unexpected ways with the piano. I was really nervous. Was this going to be the first impression I made at Tanglewood, not knowing my notes?!
At my first coaching with Lucy, she put all my fears to rest. There was something almost mystic about the way this system takes the “impossible” and makes it not only accessible, but a delight to learn. Here’s how it works.
The basic idea is to separate the notes completely from the rhythm and text. In order to do this, get some blank manuscript paper (paper with music staves on it). Taking one phrase at a time, write each note of your vocal line as a whole note. If there is a key signature, keep it in mind as you write, adding the appropriate accidental to each note. (So, there will be no key signature on the staff itself.) When the melody line gets extreme, high or low, write the note in two octaves so you can practice the line with octave displacement. (This saves vocal resources in those early days of learning the notes.) Now, choose one pitch to serve as a pedal tone. This should be the note, if there is one, that is something of a tonal center, a pitch you return to or center around throughout the piece. (For 12-tone, Lucy suggests simply starting with C.) Play this pedal tone in several octaves, sustaining it while you sing or whistle or hum through the vocal line. Pay attention to each notes relationship to the pedal; this is the key. For example, in the photo above, you’ll see the first few phrases of the first Machado song. Using C as my pedal tone, I would find the F# by hearing the tri-tone relationship to the C, find the A in relationship to the F# and the C, etc.. My favorite moments in this process are when you sing a half-step below or above the pedal tone and then resolve, as the Machado does in that first phrase (B to C). For music like this that has no “home” pitch, like tonal music does, this feeling of arrival is beautiful.
After you have worked through the vocal line a few times with one pedal tone, choose a new one. Find the second-most predominant tone, or use G for 12-tone. Go through the process again, hearing how the “melody” changes in this new context. Honestly, I find it beautiful.
As you’re working through the piece, also look for relationships within the line itself. Where are the major 4ths and 5ths? (You can see them indicated above by the triangular or bracketed lines.) Where are the traditionally scalar passages? Half-steps?
Work with the pitch chart exclusively for as long as possible!! Things like rhythm and language are much easier to incorporate, generally, than these unfamiliar melodic structures. Keep the manuscript paper with you and study whenever you have a moment, in the waiting room of the Social Security Office, for example. When working like this, without a piano for pedal tones, it basically becomes an exercise in sight-reading, focusing on the relationships of each note to the next. But always remember the pedal, and see if you can “hear” it as you work, coming “home” to it in your mind’s ear. An easy way to study like this, when out in public, is to plug one ear closed with your finger and lightly “whistle.” This works especially well on an airplane: you’re able to hear yourself clearly and not annoy your neighbors. And, again, it’s a good vocal resources conserver! No need to drill these notes at full voice for hours on end.
I think that’s it. Clear as mud? Please leave a comment if you have any questions, and I’ll try to clarify. Writing this all out makes me wish I had some atonal music to learn!!
Happy studying.
Felicitations!
Well, if ever there was a reason to drop of the blogging radar for a while, getting married is certainly it!
Congratulations to Tomness and his lovely bride. Once you’re back from Hawai’i, we’ll have to finally meet up for that coffee. Maybe over a photo album?
Congratulations to Tomness and his lovely bride. Once you’re back from Hawai’i, we’ll have to finally meet up for that coffee. Maybe over a photo album?
Friday, September 29, 2006
Technique in Action
Like I said, I’m going to leave reviews of the three operas I saw this week to other folks. I have opinions, of course, but I realized that these singers are, essentially, my peers. Sure, most of them are a few steps above me on the ladder, but regardless, it’s probably best not to critique my colleagues.
That said… (You knew I wasn’t going to leave it at that, didn’t you?!) The one thing I’ll say is this. Every one of the voices that moved me this week had one thing in common: They were seamless. From top to bottom and all the notes in between, there wasn’t a hitch in the voice. I think this is a real mark of a top professional, finding the ways to make the weaker parts of your voice (and we all have them) blend in with your “money notes.” I can't think of a role that stays on the money notes all the time, not even the trick-pony role of the Queen of the Night. We have to sing all the notess!
I was struck by how rangy almost all of the lead roles were this week. Mezzos and baritones had high notes, sopranos and tenors had low ones. And in my opinion, a strong, well-produced low note coming out of a soprano, be she a spinto or a light coloratura, is pretty darned impressive. (Same goes for the other voices, natch.) We assume, rightly or wrongly, that the soprano will have killer high notes; it should be a given. But if you really want to wow them? Get your low notes and all those pesky passaggio notes (the ones between registers) solid and smooth and lined up.
One other thought. At one of the operas, I was sitting close enough to see the singers’ technique in more detail, rather than just hearing it. Again, the thing in common: they really opened up and let ‘er rip. Their throats were so open and free of tension and the voices just soared out. I told my voice students (and the folks in the choir at my parents’ church) to imagine that their throats were as wide as their shoulders as a way to get them to free up any neck tension. Watching these singers, I felt as if their necks really were as wide as their shoulders! And the sound was wonderful…
Next week I’ll see Boheme at City Opera and hopefully I’ll make it to Idomeneo at the Met in the next couple of weeks. I’m also dying to see The Fantasticks and A Chorus Line and Wicked and …
But for now: sleep.
That said… (You knew I wasn’t going to leave it at that, didn’t you?!) The one thing I’ll say is this. Every one of the voices that moved me this week had one thing in common: They were seamless. From top to bottom and all the notes in between, there wasn’t a hitch in the voice. I think this is a real mark of a top professional, finding the ways to make the weaker parts of your voice (and we all have them) blend in with your “money notes.” I can't think of a role that stays on the money notes all the time, not even the trick-pony role of the Queen of the Night. We have to sing all the notess!
I was struck by how rangy almost all of the lead roles were this week. Mezzos and baritones had high notes, sopranos and tenors had low ones. And in my opinion, a strong, well-produced low note coming out of a soprano, be she a spinto or a light coloratura, is pretty darned impressive. (Same goes for the other voices, natch.) We assume, rightly or wrongly, that the soprano will have killer high notes; it should be a given. But if you really want to wow them? Get your low notes and all those pesky passaggio notes (the ones between registers) solid and smooth and lined up.
One other thought. At one of the operas, I was sitting close enough to see the singers’ technique in more detail, rather than just hearing it. Again, the thing in common: they really opened up and let ‘er rip. Their throats were so open and free of tension and the voices just soared out. I told my voice students (and the folks in the choir at my parents’ church) to imagine that their throats were as wide as their shoulders as a way to get them to free up any neck tension. Watching these singers, I felt as if their necks really were as wide as their shoulders! And the sound was wonderful…
Next week I’ll see Boheme at City Opera and hopefully I’ll make it to Idomeneo at the Met in the next couple of weeks. I’m also dying to see The Fantasticks and A Chorus Line and Wicked and …
But for now: sleep.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
This fall is different.
For the first time in about four years, I’m not up to my larynx in summer program applications and all the letters of recommendation, resumes, bios, headshots, etc., that go along with them. Two reasons for this, the most obvious of which is that I have management this year, so I’m not the one doing the hustling. Every so often, I’ll get an email from the office, telling me that I have an audition with Company X, that I’m maybe under consideration for a role, and when and where to show up. I confirm, and then call JD to see if she can play for me. Easy as pie, and I don’t miss the stress of audition hunting one bit. Most of these auditions are for mainstage roles for the 07-08 season or a few years farther out.
Another reason I’m not hustling for a summer program is that I have a hold on my schedule for next summer!** You know the drill: I can’t say more than that until an official offer has been made. But needless to say, I’m excited. It’s a great opportunity and would definitely be a fun gig. Details as they are made available!
(My friend AC told me last week that she hates it when I do this! Sorry! Consider it part of the mystery and suspense of a developing career. I’m certainly on pins and needles on a regular basis, and maybe this is my way of sharing that element of things with you. If nothing else, it’ll keep you coming back to find out the details! “Tune in next time, when our heroine gets a gig with an A-level house!”)
** I think I’ve explained before, but a “hold” pretty much means that a company has expressed interest in booking me but isn’t ready to make a firm offer. They have told my manager the potential dates, and they are essentially “penciled in” on my schedule. So the company has rights of first refusal on my time for that period. If another offer for the same time period comes along, my manager will go back to company A and ask them to “fish or cut bait,” so to speak. So, in this case, a hold is a good thing!
Another reason I’m not hustling for a summer program is that I have a hold on my schedule for next summer!** You know the drill: I can’t say more than that until an official offer has been made. But needless to say, I’m excited. It’s a great opportunity and would definitely be a fun gig. Details as they are made available!
(My friend AC told me last week that she hates it when I do this! Sorry! Consider it part of the mystery and suspense of a developing career. I’m certainly on pins and needles on a regular basis, and maybe this is my way of sharing that element of things with you. If nothing else, it’ll keep you coming back to find out the details! “Tune in next time, when our heroine gets a gig with an A-level house!”)
** I think I’ve explained before, but a “hold” pretty much means that a company has expressed interest in booking me but isn’t ready to make a firm offer. They have told my manager the potential dates, and they are essentially “penciled in” on my schedule. So the company has rights of first refusal on my time for that period. If another offer for the same time period comes along, my manager will go back to company A and ask them to “fish or cut bait,” so to speak. So, in this case, a hold is a good thing!
Updated
I’ve updated the full Blogroll, so go check it out. Here are the newest additions:
Juggling with one hand - Weston Hurt, baritone
OperaDaddy – often hysterical writings on singing, parenting, living
singin’rin - Rinat Shaham, mezzo
twang twang - Heather Radice, harpist. Heather wrote a beautiful post a few weeks ago about “amateurs.” A quote: Get on with it. Live. Do your best. Make others happy. Is that amateurish? Supremely professional? What's the difference? Now go read the rest.
Vissi d’amore - Finding her voice
Happy reading!
Juggling with one hand - Weston Hurt, baritone
OperaDaddy – often hysterical writings on singing, parenting, living
singin’rin - Rinat Shaham, mezzo
twang twang - Heather Radice, harpist. Heather wrote a beautiful post a few weeks ago about “amateurs.” A quote: Get on with it. Live. Do your best. Make others happy. Is that amateurish? Supremely professional? What's the difference? Now go read the rest.
Vissi d’amore - Finding her voice
Happy reading!
Fans
Tonight’s strangest moment was not seeing my friend onstage at the Met, or running into several colleagues of varying levels, or walking around backstage knowing that in a few months I’ll know that maze inside and out.
The strangest moment came at the very end of the night. I said goodnight to RL (who sang wonderfully, totally exposed and very poised), who was off to the opening night party, and left via the Artists’ Entrance in the basement. I had a smile on my face, as I often do these days, and I’ve found that people often smile back; this was no exception. I passed a few folks and we exchanged smiles, but then I walked past three people and one of them said, “Are you Ms. So-and-so?”
“No,” I replied, “I’m not. Sorry.” Smiled, and continued walking.
Then he said, “No, wait: you’re Ms. Bird.”
And I stopped in my tracks!
“Yes, you’re Ms. Bird. I saw your picture in here. You’ll be making your debut in Trittico, right?”
Holy cow!! Recognized from a headshot in a season program on a night when I’m not even singing and when my new haircut is tousled and unkempt, far from the sleek look in my headshot. That’s a good memory, and obviously someone for whom opera is a passion. Maybe he reads The Concert! (If so, hello, and thanks for a great, if slightly unexpected, encounter!)
One of his friends had a camera and asked to take my picture. “We’ll have it with us opening night of Trittico, so you can sign it.” Wow. I can’t imagine how dazed I must look in that photo!!
More on Gioconda tomorrow (how often am I going to say that?), but now to bed. Walking home, recounting the story to CT the DT on the phone, I felt a bit like I had a post-performance high to come down from. Maybe the day will come when being recognized becomes tedious and annoying, but for now, I love it!
OT to boston_soprano: I’ll get right on that post about pitch charts! Ms. Shelton first introduced them to me on a 12-tone piece, so I know they work!
Good night, all.
The strangest moment came at the very end of the night. I said goodnight to RL (who sang wonderfully, totally exposed and very poised), who was off to the opening night party, and left via the Artists’ Entrance in the basement. I had a smile on my face, as I often do these days, and I’ve found that people often smile back; this was no exception. I passed a few folks and we exchanged smiles, but then I walked past three people and one of them said, “Are you Ms. So-and-so?”
“No,” I replied, “I’m not. Sorry.” Smiled, and continued walking.
Then he said, “No, wait: you’re Ms. Bird.”
And I stopped in my tracks!
“Yes, you’re Ms. Bird. I saw your picture in here. You’ll be making your debut in Trittico, right?”
Holy cow!! Recognized from a headshot in a season program on a night when I’m not even singing and when my new haircut is tousled and unkempt, far from the sleek look in my headshot. That’s a good memory, and obviously someone for whom opera is a passion. Maybe he reads The Concert! (If so, hello, and thanks for a great, if slightly unexpected, encounter!)
One of his friends had a camera and asked to take my picture. “We’ll have it with us opening night of Trittico, so you can sign it.” Wow. I can’t imagine how dazed I must look in that photo!!
More on Gioconda tomorrow (how often am I going to say that?), but now to bed. Walking home, recounting the story to CT the DT on the phone, I felt a bit like I had a post-performance high to come down from. Maybe the day will come when being recognized becomes tedious and annoying, but for now, I love it!
OT to boston_soprano: I’ll get right on that post about pitch charts! Ms. Shelton first introduced them to me on a 12-tone piece, so I know they work!
Good night, all.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Gioconda
So, instead of staying home tonight and writing about the weekend and last night's opera extravaganza, I'm going to the Met again! This time I'll be seeing my friend and colleague, RL, in his debut!
Then Thursday I'll see Semele at NYCO. Three operas in one week! I'll leave the reviews to others (mostly); I'll just talk about what people were wearing!
(PS Speaking of clothes, I got a new haircut today that makes me feel like I need a new wardrobe. Ever get one of those? H&M here I come!)
Then Thursday I'll see Semele at NYCO. Three operas in one week! I'll leave the reviews to others (mostly); I'll just talk about what people were wearing!
(PS Speaking of clothes, I got a new haircut today that makes me feel like I need a new wardrobe. Ever get one of those? H&M here I come!)
Monday, September 25, 2006
Spectacle
More thoughts tomorrow, but for now I'll just say that it was awesome. Thousands of people in Times Square, and all of them watching an opera, even if it was only as they walked through. And it was quiet! Well, quiet for Times Square.
Totally cool.
You know what else was cool? Picking up the program and seeing my name - spelled correctly! - on the roster. Yeah, that's cool.
Friday, September 22, 2006
I can taste it…
In my lesson today, MO and I were working through the exercises. (He has a series of seven that I’m working on memorizing, so I can jot shorthand notes: #3, d-flat “ee” round. Translation: In exercise #3 (123453531), key of d-flat, round the “ee” vowel a bit at the end.)
When we got to #7 (1358531, sustaining the top note), my high notes were really cranking. Whatever the exercise, I tend to stop whenever I feel or hear something that I don’t understand or that doesn’t feel as solid as I know it can, and ask him how we fix it. Today, I stopped after running the exercise in a key where I felt the top note was a bit straight-toned. Not completely, it had some spin, but not as much as I knew it could. So I stopped, asked if he heard it to, what caused it, blah blah. Then I said, “So was that the E?” (That pesky E…)
And he replied, “Nope. That was an F.”
YES!!!
The key before I stopped, which would have been the E, was vibrant, spinning, loose. Zerbinetta, here I come!
I haven’t sung since last Friday’s audition, just taking some time to get settled, unpack, decompress from a pretty stressful month. MO says I should take a week off more often, and if this is the result, I agree!
When we got to #7 (1358531, sustaining the top note), my high notes were really cranking. Whatever the exercise, I tend to stop whenever I feel or hear something that I don’t understand or that doesn’t feel as solid as I know it can, and ask him how we fix it. Today, I stopped after running the exercise in a key where I felt the top note was a bit straight-toned. Not completely, it had some spin, but not as much as I knew it could. So I stopped, asked if he heard it to, what caused it, blah blah. Then I said, “So was that the E?” (That pesky E…)
And he replied, “Nope. That was an F.”
YES!!!
The key before I stopped, which would have been the E, was vibrant, spinning, loose. Zerbinetta, here I come!
I haven’t sung since last Friday’s audition, just taking some time to get settled, unpack, decompress from a pretty stressful month. MO says I should take a week off more often, and if this is the result, I agree!
New York Moments
Walking into the Social Security office, getting your form, and borrowing a pen from the security guard. When that one doesn’t work, asking for a different pen. While the security guard is taking care of other folks, hearing a voice from the waiting room chairs: “Anne-Carolyn, do you need a pen?” Turning around to see none other than Lucy Shelton sitting in there and holding up a pen.
We had an hour or to sit together and catch up (she’d been waiting about an hour, I waited about an hour after she left). She is on faculty at Tanglewood, and in 2004 she coached me on two really hard contemporary pieces, sections of Bernard Rands Canti Lunatici and Luigi Dallapiccola’s Four Songs of Antonio Machado, my first foray into 12-tone music. Her gifts extend beyond her musical abilities into the realm of teaching and guiding young singers, and I am still using tools she taught me. I was happy to tell her about my life AT (After Tanglewood), and happy to learn that she lives here and I’ll be sure to bump into her again from time-to-time. (This reminds me of a few other people who live here, teachers and mentors, that I would like to “bump into.” Maybe I’ll make some calls…) Lucy and I will likely see each other again at this concert.
After we’d talked for a while, she reached into her bag and pulled out one of her famous “pitch charts” (they should be famous, if they’re not), and started lightly whistling under her breath as she reviewed some outrageously difficult piece of music for an upcoming concert. (I’ve been planning a post on these charts for almost two years now; maybe I’ll finally get around to it. It is, hands down, the best system I have seen for learning atonal music.) We’re always working, even when waiting at Social Security! (Ok, I wasn’t working. I was reading Dune. But I’m on a break!)
Other moments of note this week:
Seeing KB, a wig & makeup artist from Santa Fe on the corner of the Lincoln Center Plaza. (She is apartment hunting, poor thing.) We exchanged the usual surprised and excited hug, at which one of her friends commented, “How many people do you know in New York City?!” That is the way of this city, isn’t it? I’ve run into four friends or acquaintances on the street in the past week. A true “NY moment,” that unexpected encounter. (I later ran into her boss, who I met in Santa Fe, when we were both out to dinner. This is just one big small town.)
Hearing another singer in my building, or maybe in the building adjacent (we share a common “alley” out our back windows). I don’t think she’s an opera singer, sounds more like a legit music theater voice.
Hearing another woman through the back windows two nights ago scream: “OH MY GOD!!! I JUST SAW A MOUSE!!” Sigh. Yes, we do not live alone in these tiny, old apartments. I chuckled to myself, thinking about what a fact of life in NYC that is, and how even if we don’t see evidence of them, they are still probably around. And then I thought, “You can be logical about it all you want, but you KNOW you’d be screaming and jumping on a chair, too, if you saw one!”
This morning, sitting at my computer, hearing the bustling of street noise. All of a sudden a soft steady pitch joined in with the bustle, and I thought, “Wow, that car needs some attention.” When another pitch joined in with the first, a higher one, I again shrugged it off, assuming it was some cleaner or machine outside. Only when it persisted and started to get louder did I realize what it was: my new teapot!
I’m having my first cup of coffee at home this morning, a real step towards living here and not visiting. A teapot, a French press, freshly ground beans, and a new carton of half-and-half. My morning coffee, in New York.
We had an hour or to sit together and catch up (she’d been waiting about an hour, I waited about an hour after she left). She is on faculty at Tanglewood, and in 2004 she coached me on two really hard contemporary pieces, sections of Bernard Rands Canti Lunatici and Luigi Dallapiccola’s Four Songs of Antonio Machado, my first foray into 12-tone music. Her gifts extend beyond her musical abilities into the realm of teaching and guiding young singers, and I am still using tools she taught me. I was happy to tell her about my life AT (After Tanglewood), and happy to learn that she lives here and I’ll be sure to bump into her again from time-to-time. (This reminds me of a few other people who live here, teachers and mentors, that I would like to “bump into.” Maybe I’ll make some calls…) Lucy and I will likely see each other again at this concert.
After we’d talked for a while, she reached into her bag and pulled out one of her famous “pitch charts” (they should be famous, if they’re not), and started lightly whistling under her breath as she reviewed some outrageously difficult piece of music for an upcoming concert. (I’ve been planning a post on these charts for almost two years now; maybe I’ll finally get around to it. It is, hands down, the best system I have seen for learning atonal music.) We’re always working, even when waiting at Social Security! (Ok, I wasn’t working. I was reading Dune. But I’m on a break!)
Other moments of note this week:
Seeing KB, a wig & makeup artist from Santa Fe on the corner of the Lincoln Center Plaza. (She is apartment hunting, poor thing.) We exchanged the usual surprised and excited hug, at which one of her friends commented, “How many people do you know in New York City?!” That is the way of this city, isn’t it? I’ve run into four friends or acquaintances on the street in the past week. A true “NY moment,” that unexpected encounter. (I later ran into her boss, who I met in Santa Fe, when we were both out to dinner. This is just one big small town.)
Hearing another singer in my building, or maybe in the building adjacent (we share a common “alley” out our back windows). I don’t think she’s an opera singer, sounds more like a legit music theater voice.
Hearing another woman through the back windows two nights ago scream: “OH MY GOD!!! I JUST SAW A MOUSE!!” Sigh. Yes, we do not live alone in these tiny, old apartments. I chuckled to myself, thinking about what a fact of life in NYC that is, and how even if we don’t see evidence of them, they are still probably around. And then I thought, “You can be logical about it all you want, but you KNOW you’d be screaming and jumping on a chair, too, if you saw one!”
This morning, sitting at my computer, hearing the bustling of street noise. All of a sudden a soft steady pitch joined in with the bustle, and I thought, “Wow, that car needs some attention.” When another pitch joined in with the first, a higher one, I again shrugged it off, assuming it was some cleaner or machine outside. Only when it persisted and started to get louder did I realize what it was: my new teapot!
I’m having my first cup of coffee at home this morning, a real step towards living here and not visiting. A teapot, a French press, freshly ground beans, and a new carton of half-and-half. My morning coffee, in New York.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
On the job
I'm writing from my two-day-a-week "job" - babysitting my 15-month old nephew while my sister-in-law does an internship (finishing up a degree in urban development and planning). James is napping, so I thought I'd write a quick post.
The WNO audition went very well. It wasn't on the stage afterall (and, no, Domingo wasn't there!), but in a rehearsal room. The stage was covered with set pieces for Bluebeard's Castle and Gianni Schicchi, which opened this weekend. I sang Nanetta and then they asked for Tornami, and I was happy with both. Tornami has given me dramatic fits for a while now, as is often the case (for me, and I'm sure I'm not alone) with da capo arias [ABA' form]. But I did some work on it this summer, and intensified the B section (also slowed it down), which makes going back to A a lot easier. Some new gestures came out, as they often do for me in performance, which can help make an aria fresher and more "in the moment." Not sure where they come from, but I'm always happy when they show up.
With that audition out of the way, I'm finally getting settled into my apartment. I'm picking up that bookcase I wanted this evening (found one on Craigslist - thanks for the tip!), and getting a chair and desk this weekend. I've been cleaning like a madwoman. It's not at all a reflection of AP's housekeeping skills; he is very good, but whenever I move into a new place I pretty much scour it from top to bottom. Then, whatever messes I make I know are mine! Tonight I'll get all my clothes put away and most of my books unpacked, which will clear up some physical space which will in turn clear up some mental space...
Music to learn, auditions to prep. You know the drill!
The WNO audition went very well. It wasn't on the stage afterall (and, no, Domingo wasn't there!), but in a rehearsal room. The stage was covered with set pieces for Bluebeard's Castle and Gianni Schicchi, which opened this weekend. I sang Nanetta and then they asked for Tornami, and I was happy with both. Tornami has given me dramatic fits for a while now, as is often the case (for me, and I'm sure I'm not alone) with da capo arias [ABA' form]. But I did some work on it this summer, and intensified the B section (also slowed it down), which makes going back to A a lot easier. Some new gestures came out, as they often do for me in performance, which can help make an aria fresher and more "in the moment." Not sure where they come from, but I'm always happy when they show up.
With that audition out of the way, I'm finally getting settled into my apartment. I'm picking up that bookcase I wanted this evening (found one on Craigslist - thanks for the tip!), and getting a chair and desk this weekend. I've been cleaning like a madwoman. It's not at all a reflection of AP's housekeeping skills; he is very good, but whenever I move into a new place I pretty much scour it from top to bottom. Then, whatever messes I make I know are mine! Tonight I'll get all my clothes put away and most of my books unpacked, which will clear up some physical space which will in turn clear up some mental space...
Music to learn, auditions to prep. You know the drill!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Home
I made it! I sent out an email to my family last night with a quick over-view of my first few days here in NYC. Rather than rewrite it all, I present a slightly edited version for The Concert:
I made it to NY on Sunday afternoon, as expected, after only getting "detoured" once through New Jersey. I drove by the apartment, and then took another huge detour across the island, trying to turn around and get back! Broadway had a huge outdoor show that afternoon, so all kinds of roads were closed. But when I got back to my neighborhood, I found a parking place right in front of the building! Perfect.
My roommate, AP, and his friend, D, helped me unload a bit, and then the Brooklyn Birds showed up to help, too. It was so nice to see their faces! It is such a blessing to have family here. AP & D went off to a music festival in the park, and the Birds went home, leaving me to gather my wits about me in this new place.
My room is small, but I think it will be very livable. Once I get some storage - shelves or a dresser - and a small desk, it will be comfortable. The kitchen and bathroom are both nice, with room for all my things. AP didn't have many dishes, so he was happy to have me put out the china! Something nice for everyday.
I had lunch with Mark (my brother) on Monday, then dinner with my friend MP. After dinner we went out to Brooklyn to watch the football game with Mark, which I think might become a regular Monday night event! (I watched the Giants-Colts game on Sunday night as I unpacked. AP commented that he had never had a roommate who watched sports, and he assumed that with a woman, he was safe! Ha!)
On the way home from Brooklyn, MP and I could see the blue lights from the WTC memorial shining up so high into the clear night. (Seriously, how far into the atmosphere did they shine?) It was pretty amazing to arrive in the city the day before this anniversary. It is still here, still alive and kicking! And it is now my home.
Yesterday I walked around the neighborhood some more - so many restaurants!! I'm going to try not to repeat any for a while, in order to avoid getting into a rut too soon. Then I practiced, in preparation for Friday's audition in DC. Singing in here is very much like singing in a grad school practice room! I introduced myself to my nearest neighbors in the building, warning them about the "noise," and they seemed more than fine with it.
And so begins my life in the city! I have another dinner planned for tomorrow night, a voice lesson tomorrow afternoon, a meeting with my pianist on Thursday to sing through my arias, Friday I'll be in DC, and Saturday night I'm having drinks with some Santa Fe friends. It's a whirl! Next week I'll start babysitting my nephew on Tuesdays and Thursdays (my “job” for the fall, a perfect arrangement for all involved), and I think having a bit of framework to my routine will be good.
**end of email**
As I work on this update, AP, a conductor, is working in his room/office with JF, a composer & violinist from our Tanglewood days. AP is about to head over to London for some concerts (a new Steve Reich piece!), and JF is helping him prepare by working through the string parts, playing through passages as AP gives the instructions/style comments/phrasing ideas that he will present to the orchestra. By doing this, AP gets to see in advance how well he can get his ideas across to the players. I think it’s fantastic, and a perfect picture of my life here, surrounded by musicians who are working and creating on a very high level. Inspiring.
This afternoon I have a short lesson with Mark Oswald, just touching base and making sure “la voce” is lined up before my audition for Washington National on Friday. (eek!) Lessons at Lincoln Center, coachings in Queens, football in Brooklyn and at the bar across the street, a manicure at the shop a block over, shopping at the green grocer around the corner… these are the things that, slowly but surely, will make this city my home.
I made it to NY on Sunday afternoon, as expected, after only getting "detoured" once through New Jersey. I drove by the apartment, and then took another huge detour across the island, trying to turn around and get back! Broadway had a huge outdoor show that afternoon, so all kinds of roads were closed. But when I got back to my neighborhood, I found a parking place right in front of the building! Perfect.
My roommate, AP, and his friend, D, helped me unload a bit, and then the Brooklyn Birds showed up to help, too. It was so nice to see their faces! It is such a blessing to have family here. AP & D went off to a music festival in the park, and the Birds went home, leaving me to gather my wits about me in this new place.
My room is small, but I think it will be very livable. Once I get some storage - shelves or a dresser - and a small desk, it will be comfortable. The kitchen and bathroom are both nice, with room for all my things. AP didn't have many dishes, so he was happy to have me put out the china! Something nice for everyday.
I had lunch with Mark (my brother) on Monday, then dinner with my friend MP. After dinner we went out to Brooklyn to watch the football game with Mark, which I think might become a regular Monday night event! (I watched the Giants-Colts game on Sunday night as I unpacked. AP commented that he had never had a roommate who watched sports, and he assumed that with a woman, he was safe! Ha!)
On the way home from Brooklyn, MP and I could see the blue lights from the WTC memorial shining up so high into the clear night. (Seriously, how far into the atmosphere did they shine?) It was pretty amazing to arrive in the city the day before this anniversary. It is still here, still alive and kicking! And it is now my home.
Yesterday I walked around the neighborhood some more - so many restaurants!! I'm going to try not to repeat any for a while, in order to avoid getting into a rut too soon. Then I practiced, in preparation for Friday's audition in DC. Singing in here is very much like singing in a grad school practice room! I introduced myself to my nearest neighbors in the building, warning them about the "noise," and they seemed more than fine with it.
And so begins my life in the city! I have another dinner planned for tomorrow night, a voice lesson tomorrow afternoon, a meeting with my pianist on Thursday to sing through my arias, Friday I'll be in DC, and Saturday night I'm having drinks with some Santa Fe friends. It's a whirl! Next week I'll start babysitting my nephew on Tuesdays and Thursdays (my “job” for the fall, a perfect arrangement for all involved), and I think having a bit of framework to my routine will be good.
**end of email**
As I work on this update, AP, a conductor, is working in his room/office with JF, a composer & violinist from our Tanglewood days. AP is about to head over to London for some concerts (a new Steve Reich piece!), and JF is helping him prepare by working through the string parts, playing through passages as AP gives the instructions/style comments/phrasing ideas that he will present to the orchestra. By doing this, AP gets to see in advance how well he can get his ideas across to the players. I think it’s fantastic, and a perfect picture of my life here, surrounded by musicians who are working and creating on a very high level. Inspiring.
This afternoon I have a short lesson with Mark Oswald, just touching base and making sure “la voce” is lined up before my audition for Washington National on Friday. (eek!) Lessons at Lincoln Center, coachings in Queens, football in Brooklyn and at the bar across the street, a manicure at the shop a block over, shopping at the green grocer around the corner… these are the things that, slowly but surely, will make this city my home.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Il Trittico - coming soon to a theater near you
I was thrilled to hear yesterday that the Met will be presenting live video simulcasts of six of the Saturday matinee performances this season. I think this is just the kind of thing opera needs to infuse it with some new blood! Use the technology, by all means, I say.
I first heard this general news from my sister-in-law, so I went to find more information. Did I go to the source, the Met, or to the secondary source, the New York Times? No, I went to parterre.com! And it was there that I learned that Il Trittico, the opera (or evening of operas, rather) in which I have two small roles (don't blink!), will be one of the operas simulcast!
Oh. My. God.
To think that my family and friends around the country could go to a movie theater and watch me onstage at the Met... well, now, those are two things I never thought would happen! Opera live in movie theaters, and me at the Met.
What a world.
I first heard this general news from my sister-in-law, so I went to find more information. Did I go to the source, the Met, or to the secondary source, the New York Times? No, I went to parterre.com! And it was there that I learned that Il Trittico, the opera (or evening of operas, rather) in which I have two small roles (don't blink!), will be one of the operas simulcast!
Oh. My. God.
To think that my family and friends around the country could go to a movie theater and watch me onstage at the Met... well, now, those are two things I never thought would happen! Opera live in movie theaters, and me at the Met.
What a world.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Next leg – Boulder to NYC via Athens, GA
Another hurdle cleared in preparation for life in New York City!
I sold my car, or, rather, made an agreement to sell my car upon my arrival in the city. I got my full asking price, which was a bit unexpected; maybe I could have asked for more! With the money from the sale, I think I’ll be able to live this fall without having to get temporary office work. That means I’ll be able to take my time adapting to the city, focus on prepping for (and giving) auditions, and start work on my roles for next year. I am very grateful for this luxury!
Tomorrow morning I hit the road, heading east. My goal for tomorrow is to make it at least as far as Kansas City, farther if possible. KC is ten hours from here, which is probably all I can handle driving alone, diverse listening material or otherwise! My car is extremely well-packed, and with room to spare. Good thing, ‘cuz I don’t have a lot of room for extra stuff in my apartment!
Have a talked about my apartment yet? I have a room with a colleague (and friend of a fellow blogger!) in a great apartment in Hell’s Kitchen. My room is teeny tiny: 8x8! Fortunately, there is a built-in loft bed, and the ceiling is 9-ft, so the space under the loft is almost 6ft. Tall enough for me to stand up straight underneath when getting dressed! That counts for something. I have the perfect storage solution in mind for books and clothes, which I will acquire on a trip to IKEA in Elizabeth, NJ, next Monday. Hopefully I’ll find something that resembles a small desk and a comfy chair as well.
I think that’s it for moving news right now. Now it’s bedtime.
Oh, but before I go, here’s an indicator that I have moved up to a new level, career-wise. When I sing for companies now, sometimes the auditions will be on their stages. Just me, a piano (and pianist), a few adjudicators, and a lot of empty seats. Gulp!
I sold my car, or, rather, made an agreement to sell my car upon my arrival in the city. I got my full asking price, which was a bit unexpected; maybe I could have asked for more! With the money from the sale, I think I’ll be able to live this fall without having to get temporary office work. That means I’ll be able to take my time adapting to the city, focus on prepping for (and giving) auditions, and start work on my roles for next year. I am very grateful for this luxury!
Tomorrow morning I hit the road, heading east. My goal for tomorrow is to make it at least as far as Kansas City, farther if possible. KC is ten hours from here, which is probably all I can handle driving alone, diverse listening material or otherwise! My car is extremely well-packed, and with room to spare. Good thing, ‘cuz I don’t have a lot of room for extra stuff in my apartment!
Have a talked about my apartment yet? I have a room with a colleague (and friend of a fellow blogger!) in a great apartment in Hell’s Kitchen. My room is teeny tiny: 8x8! Fortunately, there is a built-in loft bed, and the ceiling is 9-ft, so the space under the loft is almost 6ft. Tall enough for me to stand up straight underneath when getting dressed! That counts for something. I have the perfect storage solution in mind for books and clothes, which I will acquire on a trip to IKEA in Elizabeth, NJ, next Monday. Hopefully I’ll find something that resembles a small desk and a comfy chair as well.
I think that’s it for moving news right now. Now it’s bedtime.
Oh, but before I go, here’s an indicator that I have moved up to a new level, career-wise. When I sing for companies now, sometimes the auditions will be on their stages. Just me, a piano (and pianist), a few adjudicators, and a lot of empty seats. Gulp!
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Variety is the Spice of a Road Trip
I thought the playlist from today’s leg of my road trip was notable:
Metallica, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the Dixie Chicks, the original cast recording of Wicked, Christina Aguilera, part of The Cloud Atlas, and All Things Considered.
I covered heavy metal, indie rock, country, musical theatre, R&B, books, and NPR. Not bad! And not exactly what your average "guy on the street" would imagine an opera singers listens to, huh?!
Metallica, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the Dixie Chicks, the original cast recording of Wicked, Christina Aguilera, part of The Cloud Atlas, and All Things Considered.
I covered heavy metal, indie rock, country, musical theatre, R&B, books, and NPR. Not bad! And not exactly what your average "guy on the street" would imagine an opera singers listens to, huh?!
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Packing up
I’m spending this last day in Santa Fe wrapping up some applications, getting packed, and clearing various viruses off of my computer. Grrr…
So, until I have the time and compunction to sit and write in more detail about the end of the summer, here’s another tidbits entry.
• There was a great “thought for the day” at vilaine fille yesterday. I count myself among the lucky few.
• Another thought, imbedded in an article about Santa Fe Opera in The Villager this week: “The summer season is the time when young singers gain experience while experienced singers stretch.” I think I’m somewhere in the middle, gaining experience and stretching. A good place to be.
• A high school classmate of mine, Dorian Missick, is going to be a featured actor on a new series on ABC, Six Degrees. He played my father in our production of Tartuffe, way back in 1994. Go watch it, and keep Dorian in a job!!
• One of the applications I’m working on is for health insurance through the Freelancers’ Union. As far as I know, this is a NYC-only organization, but if you’re a freelancer or contract worker in the city, it’s a great place to get insurance. Very affordable, and they seem to have good coverage and good doctors.
(Finding insurance... One of the many hurdles I will face in the coming months in New York. I’ve been trying to figure out how to write about this aspect of my life, the hurdles old and new, because I think my experiences could be insightful. There are hurdles, believe me!! Just because I don’t write about them doesn’t mean they haven’t been around until now. But with a change in my living situation, maybe I can also change what I write about. Don’t worry, I’m not going to turn this blog into a “Debbie Downer” brain-drain page! Maybe just a slight shift in coverage. Stay tuned.)
• A good friend and trusted colleague had this to say upon hearing me sing this summer: “I can hear the growth from last year, but it’s interesting: you’re not a coloratura, but you’re not a soubrette, and you’re not really a lyric, either.” Hearing that from him was almost the last little bit of validation that I needed, or non-validation, maybe, to embrace my Fach-less-ness. I’ll sing what I sing best, regardless of the descriptives usually attached to the role.
I think that’s all for now. I can no longer avoid putting my clothes in a suitcase. But, as always, it’s easier to pack up when leaving than when going: no major decisions to make, ‘cuz everything has to go!!
More from Boulder in a few days.
So, until I have the time and compunction to sit and write in more detail about the end of the summer, here’s another tidbits entry.
• There was a great “thought for the day” at vilaine fille yesterday. I count myself among the lucky few.
• Another thought, imbedded in an article about Santa Fe Opera in The Villager this week: “The summer season is the time when young singers gain experience while experienced singers stretch.” I think I’m somewhere in the middle, gaining experience and stretching. A good place to be.
• A high school classmate of mine, Dorian Missick, is going to be a featured actor on a new series on ABC, Six Degrees. He played my father in our production of Tartuffe, way back in 1994. Go watch it, and keep Dorian in a job!!
• One of the applications I’m working on is for health insurance through the Freelancers’ Union. As far as I know, this is a NYC-only organization, but if you’re a freelancer or contract worker in the city, it’s a great place to get insurance. Very affordable, and they seem to have good coverage and good doctors.
(Finding insurance... One of the many hurdles I will face in the coming months in New York. I’ve been trying to figure out how to write about this aspect of my life, the hurdles old and new, because I think my experiences could be insightful. There are hurdles, believe me!! Just because I don’t write about them doesn’t mean they haven’t been around until now. But with a change in my living situation, maybe I can also change what I write about. Don’t worry, I’m not going to turn this blog into a “Debbie Downer” brain-drain page! Maybe just a slight shift in coverage. Stay tuned.)
• A good friend and trusted colleague had this to say upon hearing me sing this summer: “I can hear the growth from last year, but it’s interesting: you’re not a coloratura, but you’re not a soubrette, and you’re not really a lyric, either.” Hearing that from him was almost the last little bit of validation that I needed, or non-validation, maybe, to embrace my Fach-less-ness. I’ll sing what I sing best, regardless of the descriptives usually attached to the role.
I think that’s all for now. I can no longer avoid putting my clothes in a suitcase. But, as always, it’s easier to pack up when leaving than when going: no major decisions to make, ‘cuz everything has to go!!
More from Boulder in a few days.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Last week
Just a quick note to say that my folks are in town, along with my grandmother, for a few days. They didn't get to see the Scenes Program on Sunday, but they saw Cendrillon last night and loved it. I believe my grandmother might have said something along the lines of "I didn't know opera could be so much fun!" Only when we're lucky!
The scene itself went beautifully. I was very nervous, since even in the dress rehearsal I had missed an entrance or two. Lots of counting going on in that scene! But when the time came, everybody hit their marks, and we presented a great scene. At the end of the duet, Sophie and Octavian sing "Den will ich nie vergessen, bis an meinen Tod." "I will never forget this, not until my death." As the words and beautiful melody left my throat, joining with PM's, I told myself that I really wouldn't. I won't forget that moment. It is a moment for returning to in a rocker on the porch, fifty years from now, for saying "Remember when...?"
I left the stage feeling a bit like I'd been interrupted, though: I wanted to keep going, to do the rest of the opera! Someday, though, and hopefully soon.
Things are winding down here, with everyone getting ready for the next phase of their lives. We run the gammut: returning to school, taking time off to "see what's out there," starting or returning to a year-long young artist program, making the move or returning to the Big City, or simply going home to continue the work of building a career. Nothing simple about that, actually.
I'll be spending this last week organizing and polishing rep for auditions (they are already starting to come in for the fall), doing some writing (lots to catch up on here!), finishing up the yoga classes I already paid for, packing and cleaning, and generally relaxing and enjoying this lovely house before I start the insanity of moving to and living in New York.
The scene itself went beautifully. I was very nervous, since even in the dress rehearsal I had missed an entrance or two. Lots of counting going on in that scene! But when the time came, everybody hit their marks, and we presented a great scene. At the end of the duet, Sophie and Octavian sing "Den will ich nie vergessen, bis an meinen Tod." "I will never forget this, not until my death." As the words and beautiful melody left my throat, joining with PM's, I told myself that I really wouldn't. I won't forget that moment. It is a moment for returning to in a rocker on the porch, fifty years from now, for saying "Remember when...?"
I left the stage feeling a bit like I'd been interrupted, though: I wanted to keep going, to do the rest of the opera! Someday, though, and hopefully soon.
Things are winding down here, with everyone getting ready for the next phase of their lives. We run the gammut: returning to school, taking time off to "see what's out there," starting or returning to a year-long young artist program, making the move or returning to the Big City, or simply going home to continue the work of building a career. Nothing simple about that, actually.
I'll be spending this last week organizing and polishing rep for auditions (they are already starting to come in for the fall), doing some writing (lots to catch up on here!), finishing up the yoga classes I already paid for, packing and cleaning, and generally relaxing and enjoying this lovely house before I start the insanity of moving to and living in New York.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Make it so.
Krissa over at le petit hiboux writes today about getting the perfect job. These lines struck me:
It's difficult for me to believe, but it's what I need, exactly when I need it, just when I was worried I was asking too much. For all my pragmatism (WHAT, it's IN there SOMEWHERE) there's a part of me that still firmly believes that if your goal is worthy, if you have a dream that you deserve and have earned, then what you need will come to you when you need it. The universe will conspire to help you, as Paulo Coehlo would put it.
I have one friend who calls it manifesting and another who calls it “sorcery,” in that it’s not the universe or anything else that brings it to you: it is YOU who brings it, makes it happen, manifests it. Whatever you want to call it, I’m all about it these days. Why not expect the perfect job/apartment/pair of black pants to come along? Make it so. Work hard and expect results. I believe a key to being successful in any area of life or in any career is truly believing that you will be. Easier said than done, however.
I know of so many singers who are afraid to say no to a gig, regardless of whether it is a sideways or even a backwards step. Better to be singing than not singing, right?! Even for free or for insulting pay? Even in unorganized, poorly-planned rehearsal processes? Even surrounded by bitter, unhappy colleagues who will drag you down? No. No way. But as long as singers take those jobs, they will be seen as singers on that level, and will be offered only those jobs.
There comes a (very scary) time when you have to say, “No, this isn’t the right job for me right now.” It might mean going without work for a while, but trust that it will come. That you will manifest the perfect next step, resulting in the perfect job/career/life for you. Why not?
And don’t be afraid to ask for a lot. You might actually get it!
It's difficult for me to believe, but it's what I need, exactly when I need it, just when I was worried I was asking too much. For all my pragmatism (WHAT, it's IN there SOMEWHERE) there's a part of me that still firmly believes that if your goal is worthy, if you have a dream that you deserve and have earned, then what you need will come to you when you need it. The universe will conspire to help you, as Paulo Coehlo would put it.
I have one friend who calls it manifesting and another who calls it “sorcery,” in that it’s not the universe or anything else that brings it to you: it is YOU who brings it, makes it happen, manifests it. Whatever you want to call it, I’m all about it these days. Why not expect the perfect job/apartment/pair of black pants to come along? Make it so. Work hard and expect results. I believe a key to being successful in any area of life or in any career is truly believing that you will be. Easier said than done, however.
I know of so many singers who are afraid to say no to a gig, regardless of whether it is a sideways or even a backwards step. Better to be singing than not singing, right?! Even for free or for insulting pay? Even in unorganized, poorly-planned rehearsal processes? Even surrounded by bitter, unhappy colleagues who will drag you down? No. No way. But as long as singers take those jobs, they will be seen as singers on that level, and will be offered only those jobs.
There comes a (very scary) time when you have to say, “No, this isn’t the right job for me right now.” It might mean going without work for a while, but trust that it will come. That you will manifest the perfect next step, resulting in the perfect job/career/life for you. Why not?
And don’t be afraid to ask for a lot. You might actually get it!
Friday, August 18, 2006
Photo Friday: Friend
This was an easy one. This photo is one of a series that someone (SSR?) took at my 30th birthday party. We were totally unaware of the photos being taken, and so there are some really great moments captured, untainted by posing or self-consciousness. I love them.
CT the DT (the raven-haired beauty in the above photo) won't be traveling with me at the end of the summer like she did last year. Thanks to getting thrown from a horse this past May, she spent a few hours (all day) in the ER this week. With an old fracture on her tailbone now starting to give her trouble (I believe that's putting it nicely), she can't see being able to sit in a car for several days and then help carry boxes and bags into a Hell's Kitchen apartment...
I will miss having her along for the trip, but maybe this leg of the journey is one I need to make alone. Friend that she is, she is always with me, even when I need to step out on my own.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
The Foreseeable Future
Another great singer has removed herself from public performance. According to a statement on the IMG website, Barbara Bonney “will not be performing for the foreseeable future.” (Read more at Playbill Arts.) I have heard that her health is fine, which is a huge relief, but I cannot imagine a personal grief so great that it could remove her from performing completely. I send her what strength and love and hope I can.
She was, along with Dawn Upshaw, a singer who drew me into this art form. If CD’s could wear out, I would have worn out these lieder/chanson CD’s about five years ago. When I sing these songs now, as when I sing certain Debussy songs that Dawn recorded, I have to very careful not to just regurgitate their interpretations! Ms. Bonney was also a Sophie worth studying.
Imagine how thrilled I was to sing for Ms. Bonney in a masterclass at New England Conservatory in 2002.
Somewhere in a box, I have my notes from the class. All I remember without reviewing the notes is that she reprimanded me for touching the piano (“You wouldn’t walk up to Yo-Yo Ma during a duet and place your hand on his cello, would you?”), but praised my German diction. Ha, I found a picture! Ignore the skinny girl with bad posture, and just imagine her joy at singing for one of her idols!
Ms. Bonney was a huge advocate of living in Europe for a while as a young singer, an idea that has recently resurfaced for me. A year or two in Germany, performing twenty performances of roles that will grow to be your “bread and butter” roles, can be an invaluable experience. Who knows if I’d be able to do it now, but I’m looking into it…
I wish Ms. Bonney peace and joy in her time off, and I hope sincerely that it is just that. “Time off,” and not an end.
And on a different note, today we welcome back a diva of a different sort: Trrill is back! Just in time to gear up with all the other opera bloggers for Opening Day of the 206-2007 season. (Is there such a thing? Something like this, perhaps?)
She was, along with Dawn Upshaw, a singer who drew me into this art form. If CD’s could wear out, I would have worn out these lieder/chanson CD’s about five years ago. When I sing these songs now, as when I sing certain Debussy songs that Dawn recorded, I have to very careful not to just regurgitate their interpretations! Ms. Bonney was also a Sophie worth studying.
Imagine how thrilled I was to sing for Ms. Bonney in a masterclass at New England Conservatory in 2002.
Somewhere in a box, I have my notes from the class. All I remember without reviewing the notes is that she reprimanded me for touching the piano (“You wouldn’t walk up to Yo-Yo Ma during a duet and place your hand on his cello, would you?”), but praised my German diction. Ha, I found a picture! Ignore the skinny girl with bad posture, and just imagine her joy at singing for one of her idols!Ms. Bonney was a huge advocate of living in Europe for a while as a young singer, an idea that has recently resurfaced for me. A year or two in Germany, performing twenty performances of roles that will grow to be your “bread and butter” roles, can be an invaluable experience. Who knows if I’d be able to do it now, but I’m looking into it…
I wish Ms. Bonney peace and joy in her time off, and I hope sincerely that it is just that. “Time off,” and not an end.
And on a different note, today we welcome back a diva of a different sort: Trrill is back! Just in time to gear up with all the other opera bloggers for Opening Day of the 206-2007 season. (Is there such a thing? Something like this, perhaps?)
Saturday, August 12, 2006
EEEE!
Today it happened: I felt a good solid vibration on that darned high E! This the note I am waiting for, the note that will finally allow me to consider Zerbinetta truly mine, the note that will make me a Blondchen and not only an Ilia/Susanna. I can taste it!
**Warning!** From here I will digress into a technique post, as I do from time to time. Read on at your own risk. Singers, feel free to ask if something doesn’t make sense. Laymen, please pardon the interruption!
I had my second lesson with Kathy Kaun, another visiting voice teacher here this summer. In our first lesson, she helped me reign in the breath with which I was starting each phrase. I’d taken a common bit of technical advice – “Start each phrase with breath.” – a bit too far and my attack was getting sloppy, especially on phrases starting with vowels. It is just like driving a standard transmission. Too much gas/air at once, the car/phrase lurches to a start. Not enough, and it falters. If you ease into the phrase too slowly, like letting out the clutch overly carefully, the phrase doesn’t take off with enough “pep.” Somewhere in the middle is the balance, and I’m starting to find that.
With just a bit more consciousness, I can engage my support muscles a bit more to help guide the beginning (and middle, and end) of the phrase. I could feel and hear the difference immediately, so much so that with in ten minutes I was the one stopping myself and saying, “Nope, let me start that phrase again.” When I did the recording session on Sunday, I kept this idea in the front of my mind, and only asked to retake two or three phrases in order to get the breath out of the beginning.
In today’s lesson, we worked on “Tornami a vagheggiar,” the Italian aria that I think will replace Oscar on my audition list. It shows more, including Baroque style and ornamentation. As Diane Richardson said, “Anyone hearing you sing this will know that you can sing Oscar.” We worked on getting the middle voice as flexible as the upper voice (keep the vowels bright; don’t sing with as much warmth and heft as I do in that part of my voice in other rep), and then started talking about my highest notes. I go up to an E-flat in one of the ornaments, and she encouraged me to lift my palate a bit more. When I did, I was amazed at how much more “present” the note felt. Even though it is in a fast, passing phrase, there was no doubt that I “had” that note.
When KP, at the piano, started noodling around with Durch Zärtlichkeit, the next song in the book, I said, “Ok, can we try this idea on the E’s at the end of DZ?” We skipped all the lyric, middle-voice stuff at the beginning of the aria and went right for the prize, two ascending phrases, one which peaks on a C# and the second on E. It wasn’t there right away, but when Kathy suggested treating the three repeated E’s as one whole note that I gently “bump,” things got better. Then we took out the “bump” entirely, and just sang it as a whole note, and, darn it if it didn’t just float right out! I still have work to do before it’s consistent, I think, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is “destined to be mine!”
The other major technical addition this summer (my lessons with Mark Oswald notwithstanding) came through a coaching with Craig Rutenberg. (The bio I found isn’t quite up-to-date: This fall, Mr. Rutenberg will be returning to his post as Director of Music Administration at the Met, a position he held several years ago.) We worked on “Qui la voce,” and when I got to the big note at the end (and E-flat), it wasn’t quite as present as I wanted it to be. I couldn’t hold it as long as I knew I should! If I’ve done my job right in the aria, the audience is wanting a big finish; it would be not only disappointing but could almost be viscerally painful if I let them down. (Someone recently compared it to being a good lover, an adult but incredibly apt analogy.)
Craig assured me that I could sing the note, that I could hold it as long as I wanted to, as long as I really got my support going underneath. I won’t use his expression here, but let’s just say he helped me tune in to and turn on the absolutely lowest support. I think of it now as singing from my root chakra, the energy center at the base of the spine that roots us to the ground. From that solid foundation comes the enormous column of air and energy that feeds the highest notes. Talk about using the whole body to sing!
We accessed this support by bending forward over a chair back, feeling the top of the chair pressing into my lower abdominals, inhaling a good deep breath by engaging the muscles of the lower back, and letting ‘er rip! I just about blew the top of my head off.
Craig’s other tip goes hand in hand with Kathy’s advice to keep my middle voice lighter (in certain rep). When singing, put your thumb behind your top front teeth and “sing to it like a microphone.” All this does (all, ha!) is keep your voice focused in the mask, the primary resonance center. It’s also one of Mark’s principals, that the mask should always be involved, so this is another easy technique tip to incorporate into my bag of tricks. Mark is very open with his students about gaining knowledge from other teachers; I imagine I will spend some time with him this fall going over all of this ideas and making sure we’re on the same page. Often, it’s merely a matter of discovering the words and phrases in one teacher’s language that explain the same concept from another teacher.
Ok, all this tech talk has exhausted me! Back to our regularly scheduled program…
**Warning!** From here I will digress into a technique post, as I do from time to time. Read on at your own risk. Singers, feel free to ask if something doesn’t make sense. Laymen, please pardon the interruption!
I had my second lesson with Kathy Kaun, another visiting voice teacher here this summer. In our first lesson, she helped me reign in the breath with which I was starting each phrase. I’d taken a common bit of technical advice – “Start each phrase with breath.” – a bit too far and my attack was getting sloppy, especially on phrases starting with vowels. It is just like driving a standard transmission. Too much gas/air at once, the car/phrase lurches to a start. Not enough, and it falters. If you ease into the phrase too slowly, like letting out the clutch overly carefully, the phrase doesn’t take off with enough “pep.” Somewhere in the middle is the balance, and I’m starting to find that.
With just a bit more consciousness, I can engage my support muscles a bit more to help guide the beginning (and middle, and end) of the phrase. I could feel and hear the difference immediately, so much so that with in ten minutes I was the one stopping myself and saying, “Nope, let me start that phrase again.” When I did the recording session on Sunday, I kept this idea in the front of my mind, and only asked to retake two or three phrases in order to get the breath out of the beginning.
In today’s lesson, we worked on “Tornami a vagheggiar,” the Italian aria that I think will replace Oscar on my audition list. It shows more, including Baroque style and ornamentation. As Diane Richardson said, “Anyone hearing you sing this will know that you can sing Oscar.” We worked on getting the middle voice as flexible as the upper voice (keep the vowels bright; don’t sing with as much warmth and heft as I do in that part of my voice in other rep), and then started talking about my highest notes. I go up to an E-flat in one of the ornaments, and she encouraged me to lift my palate a bit more. When I did, I was amazed at how much more “present” the note felt. Even though it is in a fast, passing phrase, there was no doubt that I “had” that note.
When KP, at the piano, started noodling around with Durch Zärtlichkeit, the next song in the book, I said, “Ok, can we try this idea on the E’s at the end of DZ?” We skipped all the lyric, middle-voice stuff at the beginning of the aria and went right for the prize, two ascending phrases, one which peaks on a C# and the second on E. It wasn’t there right away, but when Kathy suggested treating the three repeated E’s as one whole note that I gently “bump,” things got better. Then we took out the “bump” entirely, and just sang it as a whole note, and, darn it if it didn’t just float right out! I still have work to do before it’s consistent, I think, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is “destined to be mine!”
The other major technical addition this summer (my lessons with Mark Oswald notwithstanding) came through a coaching with Craig Rutenberg. (The bio I found isn’t quite up-to-date: This fall, Mr. Rutenberg will be returning to his post as Director of Music Administration at the Met, a position he held several years ago.) We worked on “Qui la voce,” and when I got to the big note at the end (and E-flat), it wasn’t quite as present as I wanted it to be. I couldn’t hold it as long as I knew I should! If I’ve done my job right in the aria, the audience is wanting a big finish; it would be not only disappointing but could almost be viscerally painful if I let them down. (Someone recently compared it to being a good lover, an adult but incredibly apt analogy.)
Craig assured me that I could sing the note, that I could hold it as long as I wanted to, as long as I really got my support going underneath. I won’t use his expression here, but let’s just say he helped me tune in to and turn on the absolutely lowest support. I think of it now as singing from my root chakra, the energy center at the base of the spine that roots us to the ground. From that solid foundation comes the enormous column of air and energy that feeds the highest notes. Talk about using the whole body to sing!
We accessed this support by bending forward over a chair back, feeling the top of the chair pressing into my lower abdominals, inhaling a good deep breath by engaging the muscles of the lower back, and letting ‘er rip! I just about blew the top of my head off.
Craig’s other tip goes hand in hand with Kathy’s advice to keep my middle voice lighter (in certain rep). When singing, put your thumb behind your top front teeth and “sing to it like a microphone.” All this does (all, ha!) is keep your voice focused in the mask, the primary resonance center. It’s also one of Mark’s principals, that the mask should always be involved, so this is another easy technique tip to incorporate into my bag of tricks. Mark is very open with his students about gaining knowledge from other teachers; I imagine I will spend some time with him this fall going over all of this ideas and making sure we’re on the same page. Often, it’s merely a matter of discovering the words and phrases in one teacher’s language that explain the same concept from another teacher.
Ok, all this tech talk has exhausted me! Back to our regularly scheduled program…
Friday, August 11, 2006
Tidbits
Here are a few little things that have been tossing around in my head for a while, mostly of a frivilous nature. There are several “serious,” on-topic posts brewing, too, including this summer’s technical lessons, a comparison between a career in opera and in the military, a brief primer on our union, and a very heady “Principle for a Successful Career,” by request from a reader. As always, stay tuned.
But for now:
I’ve been getting at least a dozen hits a week from people around the world searching for quick-change tips! That, together with folks looking for pin-curl how-to’s, makes me feel like this is turning into quite the tech theater blog! Very funny. Welcome, if any of you have stuck around!
A few new links on the Blogroll:
Fugue State: learning to play the cello (Mom, this one’s for you!)
High & Low Notes: Rich Russell
This Fish, Le petit hiboux: I’m starting to enjoy reading blogs by writers
random thoughts II: a beautiful photo blog
There are a few more that I’m keeping an eye on, waiting to see how content develops.
And, just for fun, via KPW at the Wolf Trap Opera blog, I learned that this blog is worth $16,936.20! Awesome. Anybody want to buy it? I could pay off about half of my students loans with that. Or commission some music and take it on tour. Or live in NYC this fall without having to temp. Or just go shopping…
But for now:
I’ve been getting at least a dozen hits a week from people around the world searching for quick-change tips! That, together with folks looking for pin-curl how-to’s, makes me feel like this is turning into quite the tech theater blog! Very funny. Welcome, if any of you have stuck around!
A few new links on the Blogroll:
Fugue State: learning to play the cello (Mom, this one’s for you!)
High & Low Notes: Rich Russell
This Fish, Le petit hiboux: I’m starting to enjoy reading blogs by writers
random thoughts II: a beautiful photo blog
There are a few more that I’m keeping an eye on, waiting to see how content develops.
And, just for fun, via KPW at the Wolf Trap Opera blog, I learned that this blog is worth $16,936.20! Awesome. Anybody want to buy it? I could pay off about half of my students loans with that. Or commission some music and take it on tour. Or live in NYC this fall without having to temp. Or just go shopping…
My blog is worth $16,936.20.
How much is your blog worth?
Happily Ever After
Our Cinderella, Joyce DiDonato, met her Prince Charming three years ago, and, just as in the fairy tale, it was love at first sight. She told me earlier in the summer that it felt like they were “married” from the second day. All that was missing was the official ceremony.
Last week, when a beautiful diamond ring appeared on her hand, we knew it wouldn’t be long before they made it official. Little did we know that they would hit the road on the weekend and get married in Vegas!! They joked about it all summer, and I think the temptation finally became too great to resist.
We had a small “reception” for them after the performance on Wednesday, generously hosted by Joyce’s other Prince Charming, Jennifer. All of the Cendrillon “family” was there, and there was cake and there were toasts and the whole nine-yards. I was so honored to be there!
Read more – and see the wedding photo! – in this article from the local paper. (Ok, can’t quite find the article, but I’ll keep looking.)
Congratulations, Joyce and Leo!
Last week, when a beautiful diamond ring appeared on her hand, we knew it wouldn’t be long before they made it official. Little did we know that they would hit the road on the weekend and get married in Vegas!! They joked about it all summer, and I think the temptation finally became too great to resist.
We had a small “reception” for them after the performance on Wednesday, generously hosted by Joyce’s other Prince Charming, Jennifer. All of the Cendrillon “family” was there, and there was cake and there were toasts and the whole nine-yards. I was so honored to be there!
Read more – and see the wedding photo! – in this article from the local paper. (Ok, can’t quite find the article, but I’ll keep looking.)
Congratulations, Joyce and Leo!
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Czech? Check.
My first duty at the Met next season is probably my most difficult: covering Jano the shepherd boy in Jenufa. Written by Leos Janacek, this will be my first experience with the Czech language. I have taken a look at the score, and, wow, lots of words on lots of little notes… Rather daunting!
Since Nico Castel doesn’t (yet?) have a libretto book for Janacek’s operas, I knew I’d have to suss out another source for my initial help with the language. Fortunately, the woman who will be coaching this opera at the Met was on the SFO staff last summer and stopped by this week for a visit. How convenient! I finally saw her yesterday, and she was ready for me. She had heard through the grapevine that I would be covering, and seemed happy for my success and happy to help out. I asked her what resources I should look for to help me prepare, and she offered her services: for a very reasonable fee, she will speak the text onto a tape, give me a word-for-word translation, and write out the IPA (phonetic alphabet). On another tape, she will “plunk out” my melody lines, while singing or speaking the text, I believe, and then play it again with the orchestral reduction underneath. For the entire role! Fantastic. Granted, this is a smallish role, but Jano is a chatterbox! Lots and lots of words in a language I don’t know… I have a feeling that this will be a worthwhile investment.
I’ll write some more in the fall about covering and what it means, how I’ll prepare for it, etc.. But I thought this language study deserved an early mention. Lots of “armchair work” to be done before I sit down at the keyboard!
Since Nico Castel doesn’t (yet?) have a libretto book for Janacek’s operas, I knew I’d have to suss out another source for my initial help with the language. Fortunately, the woman who will be coaching this opera at the Met was on the SFO staff last summer and stopped by this week for a visit. How convenient! I finally saw her yesterday, and she was ready for me. She had heard through the grapevine that I would be covering, and seemed happy for my success and happy to help out. I asked her what resources I should look for to help me prepare, and she offered her services: for a very reasonable fee, she will speak the text onto a tape, give me a word-for-word translation, and write out the IPA (phonetic alphabet). On another tape, she will “plunk out” my melody lines, while singing or speaking the text, I believe, and then play it again with the orchestral reduction underneath. For the entire role! Fantastic. Granted, this is a smallish role, but Jano is a chatterbox! Lots and lots of words in a language I don’t know… I have a feeling that this will be a worthwhile investment.
I’ll write some more in the fall about covering and what it means, how I’ll prepare for it, etc.. But I thought this language study deserved an early mention. Lots of “armchair work” to be done before I sit down at the keyboard!
Saturday, August 05, 2006
All is well
Things went very well at the house audition yesterday, I am happy to report. The folks I talked with afterwards agreed, so I am content to forget about this audition and move on to the next thing! Sure, it wasn’t the big event that last year’s was, but I didn’t tank. Thanks heavens for small mercies, eh?
The “next thing” as of now (other than working on Rosenkavalier) is the recording project I have alluded to a few times. This weekend I will record Schubert’s “Auf dem Strom,” a gorgeous song for high voice (originally tenor), French horn, and piano, as part of a cd program put together by Bill Barnewitz, the principal horn player of the SFO Orchestra. Bill was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about five years ago, and he came up with the idea of doing a world-class recording to be used as a benefit and fundraiser for Parkinson’s research. I jumped at the chance to be involved with such a project.
Bill has secured donations of time, money, and services from several musicians here this summer. Singers, both Apprentice and Principal, orchestra members, and pianists will be donating our musicianship; the Opera is donating facilities and services; everything from the liner notes to recording and reproduction costs for the final CD will be donated.
It’s funny how easily one will agree to work for free when the project is worthwhile. And, really, I will be rewarded for this work, as we all will, in knowing that we have helped to make a difference. That’s sounds a bit “Pollyannaish,” but it’s true, isn’t it? Read some of Bill’s words from a speech he gave to the Wisconsin Regional Parkinson's Association, and you will see why we are so eager to join him:
… My sister-in-law and I spoke earlier today about this event tonight. She told me to “shake a leg.” I choose to laugh at things like that. …
… The irony is that I require some very fine motor skills to play the horn. Playing the horn is a bit like spitting a 90 mile-per-hour fast ball through a life saver; tremors do nothing to make this any easier. …
… I am not in any way a willing Parkinson’s patient, yet in some strange way, I am more aware of life’s value. I am still Bill Barnewitz, father, husband, friend, musician, and dog lover, among many other things that now include Parkinson’s patient. I love every concert I play, no matter what it is or how it goes. I practice my horn more than ever. I am driven to do this with a passion only surpassed by my love for my family. I see and feel more deeply the love I receive from family and friends. I get strength and support from them in ways I always have but now I attempt to not take that love for granted. … this disease will not define me.
… So when the time comes to put my horn in the case for the last time, I am OK with that. The Chinese have it right: In that language, the symbols are the same for the words “crisis” and “opportunity.”
How's that for inspiring?
Another reward is, quite simply, the opportunity to sing this music. Ah, how refreshing Schubert feels after a summer of opera! The intimacy, the phrasing, the drama, the descriptive writing for all three voices… It is sublime. I’ve tried to find the right analogy to describe how wondrous it feels to sing this. Maybe food: imagine eating only Italian food for two months. Or maybe French is a better cuisine to imagine – rich, heavy, complex. Delicious but almost overwhelming in large doses. Then, one day, you are served something different. It could be anything, really: fresh Mediterranean fare, savory Japanese sushi, or classic American “home cooking.” What matters is that it is so different, it feels so new, so fresh. You still love those French meals, but your palate has been cleansed. It’s fantastic.
And now I’m hungry…
The “next thing” as of now (other than working on Rosenkavalier) is the recording project I have alluded to a few times. This weekend I will record Schubert’s “Auf dem Strom,” a gorgeous song for high voice (originally tenor), French horn, and piano, as part of a cd program put together by Bill Barnewitz, the principal horn player of the SFO Orchestra. Bill was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about five years ago, and he came up with the idea of doing a world-class recording to be used as a benefit and fundraiser for Parkinson’s research. I jumped at the chance to be involved with such a project.
Bill has secured donations of time, money, and services from several musicians here this summer. Singers, both Apprentice and Principal, orchestra members, and pianists will be donating our musicianship; the Opera is donating facilities and services; everything from the liner notes to recording and reproduction costs for the final CD will be donated.
It’s funny how easily one will agree to work for free when the project is worthwhile. And, really, I will be rewarded for this work, as we all will, in knowing that we have helped to make a difference. That’s sounds a bit “Pollyannaish,” but it’s true, isn’t it? Read some of Bill’s words from a speech he gave to the Wisconsin Regional Parkinson's Association, and you will see why we are so eager to join him:
… My sister-in-law and I spoke earlier today about this event tonight. She told me to “shake a leg.” I choose to laugh at things like that. …
… The irony is that I require some very fine motor skills to play the horn. Playing the horn is a bit like spitting a 90 mile-per-hour fast ball through a life saver; tremors do nothing to make this any easier. …
… I am not in any way a willing Parkinson’s patient, yet in some strange way, I am more aware of life’s value. I am still Bill Barnewitz, father, husband, friend, musician, and dog lover, among many other things that now include Parkinson’s patient. I love every concert I play, no matter what it is or how it goes. I practice my horn more than ever. I am driven to do this with a passion only surpassed by my love for my family. I see and feel more deeply the love I receive from family and friends. I get strength and support from them in ways I always have but now I attempt to not take that love for granted. … this disease will not define me.
… So when the time comes to put my horn in the case for the last time, I am OK with that. The Chinese have it right: In that language, the symbols are the same for the words “crisis” and “opportunity.”
How's that for inspiring?
Another reward is, quite simply, the opportunity to sing this music. Ah, how refreshing Schubert feels after a summer of opera! The intimacy, the phrasing, the drama, the descriptive writing for all three voices… It is sublime. I’ve tried to find the right analogy to describe how wondrous it feels to sing this. Maybe food: imagine eating only Italian food for two months. Or maybe French is a better cuisine to imagine – rich, heavy, complex. Delicious but almost overwhelming in large doses. Then, one day, you are served something different. It could be anything, really: fresh Mediterranean fare, savory Japanese sushi, or classic American “home cooking.” What matters is that it is so different, it feels so new, so fresh. You still love those French meals, but your palate has been cleansed. It’s fantastic.
And now I’m hungry…
Friday, August 04, 2006
Tomorrow and tomorrow…
So, tomorrow’s the big audition. (“It’s the day of the show, y’all.”) And tonight was the fourth Cendrillon performance. And I’m singing on a recording this weekend (more on that soon). And yet somehow in the past three days, I developed tonsillitis!
It’s the strangest infection I’ve ever gotten, as I have no other symptoms besides big, Technicolor tonsils. No fever, no body aches, and, most thankfully, no affect on my voice. I saw a doctor yesterday and we mounted a major attack: antibiotics, acupuncture, some yin qiao powder to be drunk in a tea, zinc lozenges, Airborne, lots of water, etc..
I sang a good show tonight, and I feel confident that I will sing well tomorrow. It’s been very strange, this sickness. Just enough to keep me on my toes, I guess, keep me focused. Tomorrow will be fun: I have new shoes! I bought some lovely plum-colored slingbacks with a small heel to wear with my perfect brown dress. It’s a new audition outfit, but it has all the essential elements – simplicity, perfect fit, easy to sing in – and none of the detractors – busy prints, distracting jewelry, sloppy tailoring. It’s not black, which is nice, and the purple shoes will add just a bit of whimsy!
Also tomorrow, dinner and dishing with Charles from Ionarts. I think I’m meeting Mrs. Ionarts, too; hope she isn’t bored by shop talk!
Off to bed! A full report tomorrow.
It’s the strangest infection I’ve ever gotten, as I have no other symptoms besides big, Technicolor tonsils. No fever, no body aches, and, most thankfully, no affect on my voice. I saw a doctor yesterday and we mounted a major attack: antibiotics, acupuncture, some yin qiao powder to be drunk in a tea, zinc lozenges, Airborne, lots of water, etc..
I sang a good show tonight, and I feel confident that I will sing well tomorrow. It’s been very strange, this sickness. Just enough to keep me on my toes, I guess, keep me focused. Tomorrow will be fun: I have new shoes! I bought some lovely plum-colored slingbacks with a small heel to wear with my perfect brown dress. It’s a new audition outfit, but it has all the essential elements – simplicity, perfect fit, easy to sing in – and none of the detractors – busy prints, distracting jewelry, sloppy tailoring. It’s not black, which is nice, and the purple shoes will add just a bit of whimsy!
Also tomorrow, dinner and dishing with Charles from Ionarts. I think I’m meeting Mrs. Ionarts, too; hope she isn’t bored by shop talk!
Off to bed! A full report tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Carol Vaness is the Marschallin
Great article in this past weekend’s Seattle Times about Carol Vaness, who sings her first Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier at Seattle Opera, starting this Saturday.
My favorite quote: "In this role, I can't maintain my slightly childish behavior," she says. "The Marschallin may be the kind of woman who appreciates a young lover, but she is all grown up. I've had to grow up, too."
Ah, the things we can learn from the characters we play…
My favorite quote: "In this role, I can't maintain my slightly childish behavior," she says. "The Marschallin may be the kind of woman who appreciates a young lover, but she is all grown up. I've had to grow up, too."
Ah, the things we can learn from the characters we play…
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