hot off the press

A word about reviews.
I think for unknown singers, those who are just starting out, those that need as much press and pr as possible for future visibility, reviews are important.
That said, they are not the end all and be all, and they won't make or break a career.

THAT said, four papers have spoken and they have all spoken extremely favorably about my performances.

So what do I gather from the similarly positive wording about the energy that I brought? the clear coloratura? the spark and youthfulness?
I gather that I understood the character, I sang it darn well, AND I had fun and it showed!
Really.
I thought this role and I would not be the best of friends. It's not anything out of the ordinary for me vocally. Not high, not hard--kind of like a walk in the park where I can not worry about warming up for it until about 20 minutes to showtime, and still know that it will be sung just as well if not better as if I had been coaching all day and was really in the zone.

But what extra did the critics pick up on? That edge that made my performance stick out?
Well, I'm not quite sure, but I'm going to chalk it up to fun mixed with preparation.
And by fun I mean I worked hard on the character, I know what I'm doing each time, but I also leave room to play with it onstage each night and see what happens.
By fun I mean a planned attack of what works, what reads, what I need to do to make THEM think that this is easy for me (whether or not it is on any particular night, or depending on what I ate that day, or what time I finally fell asleep the night before).

This role and I are almost bff now. I'd love to do it again, I'd love to think of new ways that I can play with the character and interact with the rest of the characters on stage. I'd love to give new meaning to this accent, that eighth rest, and that dance sequence.

Aw, shucks. I've blubbered about it before, but this "job" is fun.