Singing for my supper

(sorry folks - I just can't resist posting lots of these! We had so much fun with this shoot, and this costume is one she's designed all for herself so I promised I'd post lots of them. On Friday she plans to add sparkly false eyelashes and gold glitter spray to the mix so there will likely be more to come...!)

So, it would appear that I have managed to get through the last week. Three roundtrip daytrips to NYC in 6 days (the first two only 48hrs apart). Life was complicated by my daughter acquiring Some Kind of Chest Thing and having to stay home from school(we're still not sure if it's allergic asthma or an incipient bronchitis, but she's been thoroughly miserable) , but Grandma stepped up to the plate (for which I am profoundly grateful - thanks again, Mom!) and made it possible for me to continue with scheduled travel plans and the assorted auditions without a hitch. (Now I just have to hope I don't catch.... !) Well-meaning friends and family outside The Biz always wish me luck with a "I hope you get it!" or ask "Did you get the part?" when they hear I've been auditioning. If only it were that simple!! While many auditions are role-specific and result in an immediate answer, it very seldom works like that in my experience (I can only think of ...

(Btw, this photo isn't blurred, but was processed using a Photoshop technique called The Orton Effect - it's more effective in a larger image than the one blogger posts, and I just love the painted, dreamy quality it gives the image)

In Operaland in the US, "audition season" has historically peaked in the weeks immediately before and after Thanksgiving, with a big surge in the first two weeks of December. I guess 2008 missed the memo, because it appears I have 3 auditions before the end of this month. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining - far from it!! - but (since I already had a lesson booked in this period) what this means is 4 trips up to NYC in the next 10 days. Auditions are, as anybody who has ever done one knows, a curious thing. This year I've been so busy with gigs that it all feels a bit remote, and I need to see about finding that "audition mentality" after a year which has been far more about performing (in large spaces, over several hours in front of an audience primed to react) than auditioning (in a small room, for maybe 10 minutes, for people who almost have to stifle a reaction lest it be overinterpreted). One of my favorite quotes is from Noel Streatfi...

There was something very special for me about last weekend's performances. I've sung Beethoven's 9th symphony several times now and, of course, known the piece for years as An Icon of Western Music. But (true confession) I've never liked it. Even the most die-hard fan of Ludwig will usually concede that the vocal writing is ungainly, but my detachment from it has been more complex than that: I have genuinely never quite understood quite why it has such a profound impact on people, because it has always - ALWAYS - left me stone cold. I enjoy other Beethoven, but the effect of the 9th has always been a mystery to me. Until Sunday afternoon. This was different than the excitement usually generated by the sheer volume, speed and frenzy of the work (particularly at the end): perhaps it's the uncertainy of the times and the underlying emotional tension that doesn't seem too far beneath the surface that made the sentiment more meaningful. Perhaps it was the ca...

The good: BEEEYOOOOTIFUL weather pleasant colleagues enthusiastic conductor despite having been to something like 35 of the lower 48 states, I had never before seen the Mississippi river, something I have now remedied. The hotel is practically IN the river, and I am completely seduced! I'm very sad that I didn't bring the big camera (oh, how sad!), but I'm having fun with the little point-and-shoot: The not-so-good: the hotel is comfortable, and in an area which is extremely convenient for the venue (literally yards away), but there's nothing ELSE around except some pricey restaurants. Nice for holiday-ers, but tricky when you need safety pins or a quick snack! Said hotel also does a "Sunday Jazz Brunch". In the atrium around which all rooms are situated. Which started at 10am..... Not so good for those of us who stayed up late after the concert... Still, beautiful weather, beautiful landscape to photograph and the opportunity to make good music are a lo...