qotn # ... a lot

Last night (Easter Sunday) I had yet another performance of Queen...at the first theater that I was hired to sing it...in 2009.
It's kind of cool to be able to say that I've been Guesting somewhere for that long. Even though it hasn't been so many performances, it's definitely the most performances of one production that I've ever sung (ie, the same production). Obviously Koenigin wins for most performed role as well.

Last night we had an einspringer Pamina, 3 lady, new Tamino to the role (he had sung it twice before), einspringer 2nd lady who had done it with us before a few times, and a papagena who took over the role in November (and was new to me).

And everything worked like clockwork. The einspringers were working off of a dvd and about one hour of a stage-walkthrough of their blocking (which is NOT 'normal' Zauberfloete staging), the asked a few questions in the dressing room about when I say this, when we go out there and that happens, and then...we were off.

I do have to say, yet again, that working on one continuous show really takes any and all pressure off, and I am just free to be the artist I WANT to be onstage.
It's not about the review, about impressing the theater for next season, about impressing the conductor since this is one of four times that I'll work with him live onstage (as in the US), not about whether my agents are there, whether OTHER people's agents are there, whether OTHER general directors are there to check out the production for a possible future rental (and therefore a possible future hiring of certain members of the cast), not about making sure I 'earn' my nightly paycheck for my four performances, it's not really about ANYTHING except for the ART.
And that feels amazing.

I sang my two arias, the quintet, bowed (too many times..this house REALLY liked to send us out on curtain calls)...but throughout the ovations I received perhaps some of my strongest applause yet-- and that just goes to show, when you can do your JOB and not have to worry about all of the other BS (and by bs I mean both BS AND "business of singing"...which, yes, I'm great at, but no, I don't want to be thinking about while in a performance), I feel more connected to the art that is music-making.