remember that one time...

Remember that one time when I didn't blog for like a month and I wasn't sharing tons of information because I was happily awaiting the arrival of our first CHILD?
Yea, I remember that too.

Happy to report that after going to 'sleep' at 2am, waking up from 4am-5am, 7am-8am and 11am again to 'begin' the day, I have found that I've somehow GAINED more high notes. Breastfeeding? Weirdo hormones?
This is never a bad thing, but also kind of a useless thing- since nothing is written that high!!
Time for more interpolated high notes in Olympia I guess.
Oh, and I'm back, I suppose. :)

oh, hai again..

There is news...but not for the interwebs...
sorriez!

For now lets just say that for my next feat of amazing-ness, I will MAGICALLY learn 120 pages of extremely modern music that I don't particularly (currently) care for (THIS COULD CHANGE ONCE I 'get' IT...but right now, I don't understand you, Mr. contemporary composer), and it will get into my head before I have my first rehearsal in March...
Right now I know 20 out of 120 ... and by 'know', I mean... I have PERUSED the notes, TRIED to figure out whether they have any relationship to each other, attempted to mark the correct rhythms...which, of course, as it is modern, is mostly in 4/4 but then is all tripelet'ed' and dotted tripelets and other such nonsense.

OK. I am PUTTING ON HEADPHONES NOW, and going to attempt to 'learn'/peruse TEN pages tonight.
YOU HEARD IT INTERWEBS. Make it so.

Counting Down

Home sweet home feels wonderful so far.
I still haven't gotten over weird jet lag issues- for the first 4 days I woke up at 4am, stayed awake and activity-filled until about noon, then crashed for the afternoon, and then, of course, couldn't fall asleep well at night, -- so I woke up at 4am again.
But last night I KIND of slept from 12:30am - 7:30am...
Kind of.

I have to report to my next 'first' rehearsal in March.
Learning the music for next-opera is just going to be a challenge.
There, I said it.
I already put my tabs in, marked the score (even though I have no real 'words'), translated the few words that I DO have, and have TRIED to even circle leading clues as to what note I come in on before most of my entrances.
Have I mentioned that this is a totally modern piece that I don't even know how to categorize? There are a FEW patterns that I can recognize and work off of in terms of my part, but, they are few and far between.
And sometimes modulated by one 'major' or 'minor'- which really means...there are NO patterns.

Umm, maybe I should stop blogging about it and actually try to LEARN it.

Thing is, for the audition last year the house already sent me the 'hardest' parts, so I know that about 10 minutes of music is already done and done. And I don't recall it taking me SO LONG to figure it out for the audition! I mean, I just 'got on the ball' and did my thing.
Which is precisely what I have to do now...
Oh motivation, can you please come knocking down my door in the next 3 weeks?

kthxbye

day of the final show, y'all!

Matinee. Today.
Packing. Tonight.
Airplane. Tomorrow.

That is all.
It's been a really really amazing experience here. Making my debut in this 'important' theater...can't say enough about how much fun my colleagues have been, how nice all of the staff have been, and how much I've really enjoyed my time.

And now- on to the next BIG project.

One more to go- and I've had insomnia since about 3am.
Yes.

4 down, 2 to go!

It's my last week here!
So far our performances have gone really really well. Last night's Friday audience was the most into it since opening (to be expected of a weekend crowd, I suppose?), and this weekend my parents AND cousins are in from out of town to visit ME!
Can't complain when the majority of my day today will consist of eating a great brunch, walking it off by window shopping, and eating a great dinner.
NINE more days until I'm on an airplane HOME.
TWO more shows to kick some booty on.
Bring it.

day of the show, y'all

Ok, so it was last night, but I still need that title, every time...obviously.

How I spent my day- woke up around 10, at 1 had a HUGE brunch with my 3 amazing friends (one who flew in from NYC to see me and see the show!), felt full for the ENTIRE day and proceeded to chill out for a few hours. Around 4pm, got in the shower, lip trills, slowwww warming up....5pm had everything packed, hair dry, coat on (soo cooold!) and my 10 pound bag which included a curling iron, nice clothes, high heels, 18 full size chocolate bars and various cards, banana, apple, protein bar, water,...you know the drill.
Oh, and the score.

SO- arrive at the opera house, drop the cards and chocolates off, into makeup, into costume, LAST MINUTE STAGING CHANGE so three of us were required to meet with the dir. and asst. dir. to go over what they wanted us to change at 30 minutes before curtain.

And then... it began!

I had fun! :)
I think we all did really well, the energy was good, the audience was laughing AND moved (I could see the first row on the monitor), and that is how it should be!

After the show we got all dolled up for the opening night party- and we had like a 'red carpet' of paparazzi pics to take with donors and other board members. Then a HUGE dinner at 11pm, and then introductions and thank you's from the general director.

Even in this smaller role, we got much admiration, lovely feedback and comments, and I got genuine positive commentary from our maestro and director, which to me, is what matters most- that their vision of the drama and music was achieved through my acting and singing. So, there you have it.

Now, to repeat 5 times with the same success and get home safely :)

final dress and 2 days off

Hurray! Two days off before the opening on Saturday night.
Final dress in the afternoon was a bit strange just because we have NEVER performed the opera at night~ And all of our performances besides the last matinee are- at night!

So the energy may be different, since we're all used to showing up at 11:30 for our makeup and hair calls...
and now that gets moved to 5:30/6.

I'm feeling good about it.
Let me just reference that old theater saying about no small parts, only small actors, etc. etc...
I think my small part in this show is totally cute! There is a reason for me to be out on stage, I make pretty music for a very short amount of time, but I'm TOTALLY ok with that. I have seriously just about zero pressure, and I can just have a nice time singing and enjoying the music.

In some ways, doing things like Oscar, Olympia and other 'supporting' but possibly scene-stealing roles (I would put Queen in here since it actually IS a short time onstage and you can steal the show easily)...is very much enjoyable for me at certain times.
I can just relax into it and not feel like I need to carry the whole show.
Of course singing Marie or Zerbinetta or Lucia is just as exhilarating, but that's a whole different KIND of pressure (good nervousness) than doing these smaller parts.

So for now, I'm happy that I have 2 days off. I'm excited for opening. I'm excited for the days off I have BETWEEN shows (this stretches over the next 2.5 weeks!), and I'm looking forward to spending some more time with friends and family in the city before returning to Dland.

tech week and career stuff

Today we had our piano tech...called at 12:30 for hair and makeup (1.5 hours before the show), ran the show/teched the show from....2 until SEVEN.
Yyyyeaaaa.... it was a LONG day.
People were having slight breakdowns all around because it's pretty frustrating to think that you're going into a 'run' but then being stopped in the middle. Numerous times. For whatever reason. Also, when your 30 minute break (which is actually during the intermission of the show) has a makeup and wig change...you don't EAT all day...
so, yea, I had THAT going for me.

By the end of the day those that hadn't either burst into tears, inappropriate sarcastic laughter and back-talking onstage, or silent raging in a corner, had also had just about enough when the staging of the BOWS was going to take us past 7pm.
We had 2 minutes left in rehearsal and luckily the stage manager was noticing everyone's... just... exhaustion from the day- and we were released.

(For the next 30 minutes of getting out of hair/makeup/costume).

The GOOD thing is at the end of this LONG day, I went to dinner with two of my colleagues and just LAUGHED for three hours straight.

These girls are lucky and talented enough to be at a place in their careers where they don't really have to 'audition' anymore for much of the work that they have (and might I mention they have offers through, oh, 2017ish!). They've made a name for themselves as young and reputable singers from two very notable young artist programs which they were involved with in the past few years...and added to that are managed by two of the 'big name' people in the business.
They are in a place in their lives where things are pretty set for them for the next few years. They're not scrambling to try and find regional auditions or sing for mainstage roles in summer programs where just a few years ago they would have been considered young artists or go to Europe for an audition tour...they are pretty much learning whatever rep. is coming up next and packing for the next gig- which takes them through the next few years.
And besides being some of the funniest AND nicest people I've hung out with on gigs, they have the PIPES to back it up.

What I see around me with where they have come from and the opportunities they now have makes me wonder if I should have stayed in the young artist/resident artist game just a bit longer.
I'm not sure if it was the opportunity to sing small roles and cover big roles in big houses, or the visibility of them having the chance to sing for EVERY manager, EVERY artistic director that came through to see the productions, or the way that their respective programs were really supportive of their 'next' move once they graduated...
But somehow, they landed these top people immediately who backed them 100% and continue to do so--even during dinner the text messages and emails were rolling in about future gigs, calls that were being made on their behalf, and upcoming offers.

I guess I've always thought of myself as a go-getter. I gather as much information as I can about upcoming opportunities or seasons, and if I can do anything about it or find any previous connections or current connection, I'll try to use that information. Whether it's an inquiry email, an 'update' email, or an email passing along the information to the people who are 'more' in the know and can make calls on my behalf. But I do wonder what it would be like just to be on the receiving end of such transactions/calls without having to dig and 'go-get'...and perhaps be on that receiving end precisely because of a certain residency or young artist program that had enough of a 'name' to get the ball rolling.

I can't obviously pinpoint whether it was their residencies, competitions, their voice types, or their current managers who are the main reason that so much work is rolling in. OBVIOUSLY if they didn't have the talent to back it up, none of this would be happening.
But there are MANY talented singers ... some of whom this type of thing happens for, some of whom it does not. And I'm wondering if there is one major factor that contributes to the phenomenon or .. whether it's just - who you know/who the managers know/ timing/ relationships with GD's, etc...

I also can see that I'm starting to make a name for myself across the pond- in a not-so-unknown house at that...and I really wonder whether or when that may lead to a time where, simply based on the level of house and role that I've sung, that would be 'enough' for a 'call to be made'-- and that I could possibly get offers from US houses and houses abroad-- to just 'do' a role..in, say 2014/15 or something like that.

I mean, of course I'm never just going to rest on my laurels. I always WANT to know what future seasons are, whether there is anything for me to sing OR cover, whether I can just do an 'informational' audition or 'reminder' audition and get my voice known out there in opera-land both in the US and abroad.

I'm feeling pretty comfortable with the rest of the work I have through next December, but after that is a big ole' question mark. And of course, being in a gig in November/December this year pretty much cuts out any chances of auditioning for companies that are heading to NYC during that time.

Kind of the same situation as last year. Work is GREAT, but, at some point I also have to be available to get MORE work through auditions, right?
And how much time is TOO much time that has passed without 'reminding' people that I'm still around, and hey, I have some really good work both in Europe AND the US!

I certainly don't have the answers. What I do have is a set of pipes that I believe in, that the companies that have hired me believe in, and the will and want to make this art form and this passion into a hopefully ever-evolving and ever-satisfying career.

moving to the stage

We haven't had an entire room run yet, mostly splitting up detail work on Act I and Act II over the past 4 days or so, but tomorrow we move Act I onto the stage.
I only have a few entrances with minimal stage business, but I'm assuming we shall go forth and 'tweak' until it looks perfect, and then do the same thing with Act II on Wednesday.

it's all in the details

Left hand a little higher, this look comes later, baroque gestures with specificity... I do like getting a more and more detailed and refined look after general staging is complete, and that is exactly what's happening this week.
I'll take it- AND my unexpected day off tomorrow.

staged!

6 days and the entire show is staged!
We still have a week and a day or two in the room and then we move ON stage- PLENTY of time to explore and expand and really get comfortable.
It seems like this is super fast, but I'm glad to know what I need to be doing this early on so that now only little tweaking and detailing will be done...so for the most part- feeling good about all that!
I EVEN have another day off on Monday- whatever SHALL I do with myself?

Oh and ONE more thing...

BRIEFLY, I want to write about age-ism in the business.
The wunderkinds who somehow get hand picked between the ages of 20-23 for major young artist programs-- who knows where their careers will go. They are guaranteed good summer gigs or residencies for about 4 years.
I've seen it go nowhere from there and I've also seen it lead to national roles in A level companies across the US.

The doldrums of age 25-28 when it seems like everyone is JUST a bit older than you and more experienced than you and getting the jobs you want and the summer programs you want-- and realistically, who would hire a 25 year old Lucia when there is clearly enough choice to hire an established (read, most likely over 30 year old) who has experience in the part- so as not to 'take a chance' on someone young and untested in a regional house whose job it is to get the audience coming back to see a 'favorite' and keep on giving money and support to their city.

The 28-30 'do all the competitions'/have to get a manager/am I too old for young artist programs phase-...
Answer- no, you're not too old because they STILL take SOME 35 year olds, SOME of whom are managed, who are clearly there singing at a level 'beneath' their normal mainstage role work during the YEAR for the 'name' the 'connection', and the mainstage auditions at the end of the summer.

OK, now to lying about your age. For whatever reason.
Some managers don't care. Some houses don't SEEM to care since SO SO SO many people are doing it (after they turn 30 they somehow stay 30 for about 2 years)...competitions DO care and often require birth certificates and copies of passports to make sure you are eligible...

But here's a little tip, to the liars in this age of savvy google ninjas:
Do not lie about your age to my face, or online anywhere where I can clearly see it!!!
It takes me just ONE little google search to see the previous competition you did that lists your age in JULY of 2009. It takes me another little google search to find out when your bday is (actually, I know that from facebook anyway). And it takes me about .5 seconds to do the MATH, and know that you are older than a 'certain' age that you are claiming to be.

If anyone else cares to find this info. out as well- they can.

Of course, I'm not going to do anything about it except wonder why you're feeling the need to lie in the first place. Does it make people feel better to not be 33 years old? To just be 30 for a while so everyone is 'extra' impressed at the success that they've had so far and they're 'ONLY' 30?

I mean, we've all worked at this for at LEAST 10 years. At least since freshman year of college, if not way way earlier...
Shouldn't we be at a level of professionalism ten years later where we are proud of all of the myriad programs and preparations that have gotten us to a certain point?

Just sayin'.
Oh and Pls.Dont.Lie.About.Your.Age it's just way too easy to find it out for realz.

day off....

Rehearsal canceled via phone at 8pm last night.

Why not buy some shoes downtown today?

Done and done.

right place, right time

I know this will come out all mysterious sounding as well...so just consider it a post for myself if you don't get it.

Had circumstances been different, I would currently be where I am, but not in the same capacity.
HAD I been here in that 'other' capacity, would this recent news and change be relevant to me?

I can't think about the would-have-maybe-been's at this point.
I am so much happier with what is coming up for me.

I can't imagine life any other way than what it is right now, and what it will be in the future.

It IS a bit zen of me, but everything does just happen- (and I won't say 'for a reason', because...I'm not LOOKING for a reason in the future to justify the present).

SO. Let's just say that I know it's a change. I know it MAY have affected me, had things been different. But they aren't. They are what they are. And so far I'm taking everything in stride.

Staying happy, walking every day, did yoga a few times (actually, I think I'll do it right now again!), and feeling great singing and staging.

the travel post and first day of rehearsal

Ok, 8.5 hour plane ride that began with one of the longest 'check luggage line' that I've ever been in. Amazingly, due to "German efficiency", said line which wrapped around 5 times PLUS had people hanging off the end after the red tape ended, I only waited for 16 minutes (yes, I timed it) before my suitcase was tagged and on its way to the final destination in the US of A.

The plane was sold out and so I was thankful for my aisle seat. HOWEVER- Lufthansa, you have totally failed in entertainment choices on this flight.
FIRST off we didn't have individual tv's. Really? That's something I expected from old United airplanes that fly across the country, but, on an international flight? No tvs in the seats? Really? Come now.
Even if I DON"T get have a touch screen and have to wait every 2 hours for a movie to start on one of the 8 channels available, I've almost ALWAYS have tv in the seat on international flights. Thing is, it's not that I'm a movie junkie or anything..half of the time I've already seen them already, but it makes the time pass SO much more quickly!

Ok, so no tv Lufthansa, PLUS- you decided that for the first TWO hours of the flight the entertainment option on that tiny flip down tv every 10 rows was: FORMULA ONE RACING and a program on SOCCER GOALS.
Really?
I KNOW it's Germany and everyone is all hot and heavy over Sebastian Vettel and their soccer teams...but..realllllly? There ARE women on this flight, you know this, right? I'm PRETTY sure women even outnumber men in the world population. Who thought it was a good idea to have the first two hours be an interspersed map of us flying over the UK and Iceland with our ground speed and temperature, and then man sports?!
Boring.

So THEN the captain came on and announced that our two inflight movies (TWO? It's almost 9 hours in the air! What about the other 6.5 hours?!) would be: Mr. Popper's Penguins and Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Really.
I'm sure ALLLLL of the multitudes of 8-12 year olds on the flight (read: NONE since it was not a holiday weekend or school vacation) enjoyed those!

Ok, bottom line, NOT entertained means I literally watched the minutes ticking by for 8.5 hours.

Secondly, man sitting in the middle seat next to me from Morocco- it's NOT ok to put your pillow, jacket, LEG and half of your SELF onto MY seat when I happen to go use the restroom or get some water from the galley!
I know you cleared it every time I came back, but really?
In addition, you could pay a bit more attention to your personal space generally, since you fell asleep with your head just a bit too close for comfort to both myself and the poor guy sitting in the window, changing your position about every hour and breathing VERY heavily.

Thirdly- Lufthansa airplane food is usually decent. But, your late afternoon snack was a puff pastry filled with paneer and curried vegetables- yea, INDIAN FOOD- spicy, gas-causing Indian food- which made for some interesting final hours around the lavatory areas.

Oh also, but I can't really complain about this because it was too cute- there was a couple with an 11 month old baby 2 rows behind me. If they were sitting, the baby was screaming. So they had to stand up with the baby in a sling the ENTIRE flight and thus we all learned that the baby (Natalya) was just adopted from Russia three days ago and the parents were still 'getting to know her' so didn't know how to really soothe her yet..hence the uncontrollable crying while sitting down. At any rate, it was sweet and a lovely story that had a good ending for the life of a child (we hope!), so I didn't mind it. Plus, babies really aren't THAT loud when compared to the roaring engine of a 747...or whatever kind of NON-TV-BUSTED airbus or Boeing I was on!

OK, fast forward to landing, being picked up by two best friends with balloon that said 'welcome home' and a flag of the US on the background, unpacking, Italian dinner, trying to stay up as late as I could and finally falling asleep at 10pm.

FIRST DAY OF REHEARSAL!
What I was expecting: First call- intro. to the production and first music rehearsal. Second call of the day- start staging- that maybe I wouldn't be called to since my character only sings in Act II and is 'part of the staging' in Act I.

What actually happened: First call- intro. to the production and oh, wait- two of our leads and the director are still not in town, so we will begin STAGING Act II.
Allllrightythen.
So we staged the first scene I'm in!
Then had a break for lunch, and in the afternoon was called to the musical rehearsal with our conductor.
Everything went really smoothly, but it's just odd that we're starting with Act II since that means I'll work very hard for these first few days, and then basically be blocked into the whole show and be doing 'run throughs' from a very early point in the show.

How I'm feeling- um, exhausted.
It's 9:24. If I can make it to 10pm again and then zonk out in bed without waking up at 4am I THINK I'll be over jet lag tomorrow.

First days are always more draining than usual too- it feels like you're singing for your bosses who hired you over one year ago- and you're hoping they still see and hear in you today what they saw and heard in you last year or whenever the audition was.

Ok, enough musings for this evening.
Where are my PJs?

yoga and packing, continued

Remember when I thought all those clothes lying on the bed could easily fit into one checked bag?
Riight- turns out sweaters take up more room than I thought even after you squish them to the max. I don't have the luxury of vacuum sealed bags here!

So I downsized a bit, but I'm still pretty happy with everything that I've managed to fit in my ONE bag under 23 kg that I'll be checking.

It's winter people- think of the scarves and boots that I'm leaving behind!

Also, I've done some nice yoga for just a bit in the past 2 days...no class, not the video either, just me, quietly practicing for about 25-30 minutes.

I feel very relaxed after it and DO have to remember that this makes me feel good, even though my first instincts for relaxation are staying exactly where I am, on my comfy chair, under a blanket, with my computer open to the endless world of the interwebs.

I haven't closed the suitcase yet because there is always that last minute outfit that I will most likely need to wear tonight or tomorrow night 'on the town' that I'll also want to include on Sunday morning.
In addition to the laundry that is still on the drying rack waiting to get toasty from me cranking up the heat.
Yes, we have a dryer, but it's in the basement-- too cold this morning (2degrees) to walk down there and put the clothes inside.

I think that's enough talk about suitcases over the span of this past week.
I'm just 'extra' excited for this whole process this time around...and hope everything goes smoothly.

starting to think about packing

...7 weeks. COLD Winter weather.
Sweaters aren't heavy, per se, they're just bulky. But then there are the boots. And the 'winter' coat and the peacoat. And the other items needed to keep me warm such as layers and did I mention sweaters?

I took everything out today, tried some stuff on again, and put the 'first cut' of clothing on the bed. I can probably fit it all in, but I really don't feel like over-packing to the max, plus I'm going to the US which inevitably means that I will shop because it's cheaper than Deutschland.

So, I need the 'first day' outfit, the 'if there's a party/donor event' outfit, and then mostly just my normal rehearsal outfits- plus a lot of sweaters. I HOPE they don't crank the heat up because that would mean that in addition to wearing a sweater that matches whatever pants skirt or boot the occasion calls for, I have to wear something UNDER it that's still appropriate to take off.

I know, life is tough, right?

Will probably start putting stuff in the suitcase tomorrow.

THIS time I'm ONLY bringing current-score and next score, and I'm not even sure they'll make the cut into the airplane carry-on...maybe just check it all. I'm going to watch movies the whole plane ride anyway, right?
Gadgets: kindle/ipod/iphone/mac and chargers.

I'm going to see how LITTLE I can pack for this gig, even though it's on the longer side. And I'm fully aware that the odds of coming back with a SECOND suitcase are very...very high.

duh.

WHY have I been slacking on yoga for the past 2 months? I got my walks and my other forms of 'XorSize' in, but sheesh, I just did a SHORT online video and I feel so-- relaaaaaxed and good! I mean, this is a duh moment, but just - duh.
Noted and noted.

up next.

Had my final performance of the opera this weekend. Everything went very well again- can't complain. No trouble with dialogue, everything went smoothly, etc. etc.
NOW I get to think about NEXT week!
One week from today I'll be reporting to the first rehearsal. Most likely music run-through.
At some point this week I'll think about packing. Doing laundry. But what's great about my stay this time is I'm among friends- good friends at that. So I don't need to worry about there being food in the fridge, or having forks, or toilet paper the first day of my apartment rental.
I just arrive, take a nap, stay up as late as possible, and wake up the next day for my first rehearsal.
I'm excited because this is 'big', but I don't feel the usual pressure since I'm not singing the leading soprano role. I'm actually looking forward to just making a good impression with what I have to offer, and then just taking it easy. I am lucky that in this location I have many friends who are already here and want to spend time with me, and family that's nearby and flying in to see me this time.
I'm ALSO happy that I won't be spending the entire 7 weeks away...from someone...who WILL be coming to visit me for the last 2.5 weeks of the show. I mean, how awesome is THAT?!
I really just have a 30 day count down and there we're together again!

Things:
eating healthy, not eating late at night, walking 20-30 minutes a day, getting fresh air, feeling positive and good, relaxing, getting good night's sleep.

Will really try for them all-- to remain as positive, calm and happy as possible for the next 'big' job.

motivation

Hey there motivation, what's up?!
I've been the good little singer in the past few days,
reviewing upcoming opera (it's all there), getting a jump on upcoming-modern-craziness for the spring, and ALSO for the first time in a long time submitted a new recording to my manager.
No, not just a bootleg video of audio of an aria I did in performance or at an audition, but this time something for concert work.

It's something I've always been interested in doing and find fun (not to mention the ONLY 2 or 1 day of rehearsal required for most gigs), but I just haven't done that much. Which means I don't have that many contacts/conductors/promoters/organizers who know me by name as the person who can sing this kind of stuff.

Whether it's oratorios for around Christmas-time, or concert works that are by modern composers, lieder or any other kind of small ensemble collaboration, it's definitely a departure from 'opera'. And yes, I do love being onstage in a character, but here I get to make a 'musical' character and still remain myself.

In some ways challenging because it's more 'me' in front of the audience rather than me getting to be NOT myself as a character in an opera which is a great distraction from nerves/audience/whatever else.

I'm always thinking forward, or trying to! And even with some big stuff coming up non-operawise in the next few months, I'm trying to keep being the go-getter that I always am in terms of auditions, opportunities, and hopefully performances in future seasons.