Much has been written that is more eloquent.
These aren't my 2 cents. This is my '35 weeks pregnant with #2 and STILL performing as of last week and final audition 2 days ago' hormonal ramble. (oh yea, surprise!)
I'd love to invite/force those
insensitive critics to try get get through one 'day in the life' of an
opera-singer mom in their OWN jobs (ie, horrible night's sleep, wake up
and attach a machine to your boobs to milk yourself at 5am, try to get
ready with screaming in the background and interrupted to hold a baby
every 5 minutes, get to work on time, nope, no coffee break, have to
pump, child-minder just called, the baby threw up everywhere and has a fever can you come home, nope have an important meeting that you have to cancel that might have led to a promotion or a book deal, try to get home by 6 or you'll pay overtime at daycare, oh yea MAKE DINNER for your partner and then attempt to 'relax' at bedtime, which actually means: screaming from 8pm-8:30, sleep for 45 minutes, screaming from 9:15-9:30, a little more sleep, and so on and so forth until about 3am. Wash, Rinse, Repeat-- for approximately 16-20 months...)- and see how much 'work' they get done and
how they feel about themselves at the end of the day-- also, how do your EDITORS feel about you at the end of that day. To
assume that even IF their work suffered and their editor trashed some
piece they wrote it can be blamed on 'recent motherhood'- really?!!
That plus get some top designer on the line and make them all go into a
costume fitting and stand almost naked in front of three mirrors with
assistants noting how much material has to be taken OUT, and directors,
asst. directors of both genders coming in and out of a flimsy cloth flap
meant for 'privacy' to try and fit them into a 'regietheater' costume
that fit a certain slimmer singer in the premiere 2 yrs ago and now has
to fit the new cast.
Pass the chocolate muesli.
