Singing for my supper

I'm losing track of whether I'm living a double, triple, quadruple or other -ple life these days!  It's been pretty crazy - in a good way, I hasten to add, but crazy! Last weekend was singing what may be my favorite work in the entire world: the Verdi Requiem .  I'm a fan of most of what Mr Joe Green gave us, but the Requiem is extra special (and especially for the mezzo).  The schedule this time out was very compressed and singing a massive work like this (the equivalent of a full opera, and then some!) four times in three days definitely demanded every ounce of stamina I posess,  but so worth every single moment. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. This is the third time I've been privileged to sing this extraordinary piece, and each time I've discovered new things not only in the music, but in my own singing. I've found reserves of strength, stamina, colour and nuance I didn't know I had - could anything be more satisfying than that?  I only wish...

Hard at work  in rehearsals for my next show at the moment, but still found a few moments to pull out the little s95 point-and-shoot camera that I always have with me.  One of my cast-mates is also a photographer and has been doing a great job of documenting our rehearsal period more formally, but I couldn't resist taking a few quick snaps myself; it's a side of  the process that people don't always get to see even though to those of us who work in the theater it's simply a normal work environment. One of the best things about this rehearsal space is NATURAL LIGHT.  Many rehearsal rooms are in cinder-block basements and bunkers, so to see daylight every day is a real treat. There are a lot more people in the rehearsal room than you might think:  in addition to the cast, there's the director, conductor, assistant conductor, pianist, stage manager, two assistant stage managers and, in this shot, our artistic director had also stopped ...

Some more photos from "The Daily Coop" (as my buddy over at The Next 100 Pounds has dubbed my tendency to post pictures of the little guy on Facebook): I promise that he isn't really a stuffed toy even if he looks like one! Baby Beardies are unspeakably cute - puppies for this breed (which of course look nothing AT ALL like their adult selves) are hard to ignore. This is, in fact, one of the reasons the breed society is so outspoken about the demands and challenges of this breed once they reach adulthood, so that people aren't seduced by The Adorableness and wind up with an adult Beardie who they can't handle. While they are indeed wonderful family dogs and beyond friendly, they do not stay fuzzy little fluffballs for long and grow into big, high-energy, long-coated dogs who need a lot of time and energy to be happy! Since this is our third Beardie, we knew exactly what we were getting into, even though it's been a while and it's only now I'm rememb...

5 auditions, three photoshoots (that I took, rather than was in!), two headcolds, and a full production of Figar o. Talk about "feast or famine" (and that's before we include my husband's concert commitments, as well as our daughter's school play and charity dance performances.) It's been insane! It's also been fantastic. Figaro , as always, was such a joy to work on (Mozart's music never seems to pall, even after 11 productions!) - and it was rewarding that it was so warmly received by the full houses we garnered. With my lovely Figaro colleagues Olivia Vote, Zulimar Lopez-Hernandez, and Troy Cook at the closing party I love my job(s), but all that said after another audition and 350 miles of driving today, I can't deny that I'm very glad for a day off tomorrow without any set commitments!

I had such high hopes for regular blogging while I was away. I figured I'd have enough spare time on my hands that I could write a little more than I do at home, and really consider some thoughts that have banging around my head for a while now. Well, to say that the gig was intense is an understatement. Absolutely wonderful, inspiring, stimulating, challenging (in all senses of the word) and happy, but more all-encompassing than anything I've done in many years. Most days I was simply too tired to write by the time I finished rehearsals, and with few breaks in the performance schedule (in Operaland, when things usually slow down a bit if only because there are often days between performances) I just never had the energy. It would be impossible to overstate what a phenomenal experience the 6 weeks were, in all ways. The cast was one of the most collegial with which it has ever been my pleasure to work; given that we were all housed on campus (some of us sharing apartments) an...

...where I'm hard at work on my next performances . I'm blessed with talented and delightful colleagues, staying with lovely people in a warm "college town" community which has me entirely charmed, and we've even had beautiful weather! Life is good. It's funny that my last post was about preparation... because sometimes all of that goes right out the window and you just have to roll with the unexpected instead! I arrived here to discover that the translation was getting some last-minute tweaking which, in the case of my role, resulted in a LOT of changes (probably about 75% of the entire part). The changes themselves are very much for the better and in and of themselves small and seemingly minor, but having spent quite a lot of time practicing a completely different set of words, both my memory and my voice are confused! As our supportive (and, in the case of the text, apologetic) director said, "It changes the process". It sure does! That said...

People outside the singing world often wonder exactly how one goes about preparing an operatic role. Many think that it all happens in rehearsals, yet nothing could be further from the truth! The preparation process may sometimes have begun YEARS before a role is even performed - most of us have "core repertoire" that we learn and work on even without any kind of offer in sight, the idea being to have them learned and ready to go in case somebody wants to hear them, or an oppportunity to "jump in" to a gig at the last minute emerges. A lot of time and energy goes into deciding repertoire both for auditions and "roles in preparation"; most singers have one list of "wishlist roles" (the roles they really want to sing and feel are best suited for their voices and temperament, usually the leads in operas from where their audition repertoire is drawn), and another comprised of roles they "should" know (usually easily-marketable repertoire t...

It's been a fascinating month. My daughter was asked to join the chorus of a local light opera company, and watching her find her way through her first semi-professional appearance has been interesting and enlightening indeed. One curious thing is that everybody(myself and my husband included, I'm sorry to say!) has made an assumption of prior knowledge simply because she's our daughter: she already osmotically knows all those complicated staging processes, scheduling conventions and company protocols, right? Not necessarily....! For sure, she's had experience onstage in her childrens' groups and a great deal more exposure than many her age, but the specific nuts-and-bolts of mounting a full production in professional adult theatre.... she's never needed to know that before; in many ways, it's been a brand new situation and she has had to learn a lot. We've all had to remind ourselves that, like any other young person, she's needed certai...

Which means (pretty much by definition), "Tired and preoccupied"! While my role in this show isn't that long as it suffered pretty substantial cuts (before I was hired - nothing to do with me or my performance, I'm relieved to note!), it's turned out to be highly physical, so my body is plain worn out! But, after feeling like I was struggling earlier in the week, at last night's piano dress (a rehearsal onstage and in costume, but with piano rather than orchestra) I finally found the "shape" that I want for the character, and it went much, much, MUCH better. Clearly Wednesday night was "That Rehearsal" and, as is always the case, the frustration and self-dissatisfaction ultimately led to finding what I need to do the job the way I want. Never a dull moment, eh?!

I love to dance. Onstage. In public. The funny thing is that, like many singers, for years I dreaded the idea that I might have to dance onstage. I'd never been afraid of being athletic in a swimming pool or when I was horseback riding, but on dry land on my own two legs? In my mind's eye, all I could envision as a dancer was the most elegant of pencil-slim, infinitely flexible ballerinas - a sort of cross between Margo Fonteyn , Iman and Elastigirl - which just made my efforts at graceful movement feel more like one of the dancing hippos from Fantasia than anything recognisable as dance. I just did my best to get through the movement and dance classes in my training; I didn't mind the movement part as such, but always felt slow at learning the actual dance steps, and not really sure what I LOOKED like which made me self-conscious. I did it, but as more of an obligation than a pleasure, often making the excuses born of insecurity to wriggle out of it at times. B...

After a month of connection troubles we will be switching providers. We’ll see how quickly they can get us up and running, but in the meantime access is still somewhat limited (hence the sporadic posting). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- A shout out to all the wonderful costumers, stitchers, tailors and wardrobe mistresses out there! My latest show involves a lot of falling down onstage and, while I’m happy to do this for the director, it was getting a little, how shall we say…. PAINFUL. I was particularly worried about the costume since I was pretty sure they would be using a dress I had worn previously which had a (very period-correct!) steel-cage petticoat to create the period look (either 17th or 18th century depending on how you want to interpret it!). (a similar shape to this drawing, but made with more narrowly-spaced and continuous rigid steel hoops - no gap at the front as drawn, but complete rings - hinged so they can move a little bit ...

"I never could get the hang of Thursdays", says Arthur Dent in Douglas Adams's Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. This past Thursday was a perfect example. While working on this production is a complete, utter and absolute thrill and joy, Thursday was THAT rehearsal (hereafter known as TR). I have noticed over the years that EVERY production seems to have one rehearsal where nothing feels right: it can be something vocal, it can be memory, it can be a piece of staging that won't work the way it needs to, or perhaps some kind of tension on the set (not even necessarily involving me) that makes the day uncomfortable. While this is never fun, I find I'm always slightly relieved when TR hits, because I've learned over the years it's an invevitable part of the process and is actually a very positive thing in the long run. TR almost always prompts everybody to go home and think about how things can work better; I know for me personally it's usually the...

in rehearsal for my next performances, thus not much time to write. But I can say I'm a very lucky person indeed to be able to sing in a great house with artists of the highest calibre AND come home - to my own home and family - every night. This week is pretty much as good as it gets on the "having it all" front!

I love rehearsing. Performing is wonderful too, of course, with its different kind of energy and buzz and that genuine excitement of being in front of an audience. And practicing of course has its place and satisfactions: when it's on track and going well it can be an almost meditative experience but, when things get frustrating, it can also lead to near-penitential acts of self-obsession, self-analysis and self-criticism! Kidding aside, that process is important since the analysis and critical faculty are vital to continued improvement and just plain "problem-solving" when working out the kinks in particular passages, but it's so solitary that it can sometimes lead to tunnel vision.... But rehearsal combines the best of both worlds: the "roll up your sleeves and get to work" aspect of practicing combined with the same kind of stimulation from other singers and musicians as performance, made even better by both the opportunity and encouragement to e...

Not much to write today, but some pictures to keep the continuity going... The theater, a 900-seat jewelbox, recently renovated What, in black? Now THERE'S a surprise (I think something like 8 out of my last 10 costumes have been a black dress in one form or another!) And yes, that IS a wig! And finally, The Horror... the HORROR... Here is our poor tree, blighted by Gypsy Moth. All I can say is... EWWWW!

Today was our first day in the theater - a little jewelbox of a house - so it was an afternoon of "tech". For my non-theatrical readers, that basically boils down to "working out all the problems of scenery, props, spacing, traffic-patterns, lighting and non-artistic stuff". A lot of singers HATE tech rehearsals; I personally don't mind them and just enjoy being in the space and adding more and more elements to the performance, but they're not really "artistic" events as much as practical ones. Still some kinks to work out, but we have another 3hrs onstage tomorrow night and thus ample time to solve the various problems and get things running smoothly before we're in costume on Tuesday evening. In the meantime, however, I have learned that we have trouble at home in the form of a gypsy moth infestation. I had never even HEARD of gypsy moths before yesterday, but apparently they have defoliated at least one of our (many) trees and are stil...

So, a big day for us in the show as we get to our first orchestra rehearsal! This is always one of my favorite moments in "the process" - after working with a piano (both on our own in preparing a role and in the rehearsal room), it's always a real lift to finally sing the music as it will be performed. Singing with an orchestra is a very different experience: there's the difference of sonorities in the form of overtones and the much larger sound 50 instruments can produce than 1 piano, and also the different energy of that many musicians all focused on the same music, even though we all have our own distinct part in the fabric of the whole. No matter how many times I do it, whether the rehearsal is good or bad (and I'm happy to say this one was good!), this moment is always magical for me, kind of like watching a static picture coming to life right in front of me. I get an incredible buzz from the sounds, the group dynamic and just the sheer FUN of that ki...

Just a brief update today - long day including 2 runs with the principals this afternoon, and 2 further runs with the chorus tonight. But a much-needed day off tomorrow - we've been enjoying ourselves, but I think we can all use the brief respite to clear our minds and come back to it fresh on Thursday, which will be our final "room run" before we move into the theatre. In the meantime, some random pictures: Because this group does almost NOTHING except laugh (I was - quite literally - weeping with laughter when this was snapped).... A perk to being in the Heartland: A REAL greengrocer! This amazing fruit and vegetable shop has the most FABULOUS produce at about half what I'd be paying at home! For those not familiar with how it works in Operaland, here're some rehearsal room pictures (one seldom has the luxury of rehearsing in the theatre itself): no glamour, no pomp, no circumstance, just a largeish warehouse room with a piano, a production table (where the st...

Rehearsals here continue apace, and we met with the chorus for the first time yesterday evening (at the end of a long day which included a morning photo shoot - in costume - for the local papers). We've got plenty of time to work out the kinks in the show, but essentially we've now sketched the entire thing, and it will be all about discovering fluency and adding details from here on. Business as usual. We're all getting a little tired which leads to diminished concentration, but part of the job is staying on your game no matter WHAT, and I have no doubt that everybody will find the mental resources to refocus and pull things together. The home front, however, is a bit more complicated this weekend. Apparently my daughter needs an Electric Eel costume by Monday. Thank goodness Grandma likes to do that stuff, and has already come up with a few different options for the occasion! Phew. However, add to that a weekend which includes rehearsal for her Children's Ch...

I sometimes think international travel is easier – at least you know to expect it to be complicated! The trip west was… complicated. And long. Very, very, VERY long. Door to door, it was almost 12 hours to travel 500 mile… by PLANE (I could, quite literally, have driven the distance in approximately the same amount of time). Baggage restrictions on the small “puddle-jumper” planes meant all my careful packing was for naught and I STILL wound up rearranging everything at the check-in desk, and then the first leg of the trip was delayed and I missed the connection, resulting in a 5hr layover until I could get on the next flight. Fun, fun, fun! (By the way, a note for travellers: as of May 1st, several airlines will be charging for a 2nd checked bag - check your airline and plan accordingly!) But, the important thing is… here I am. Arrived. In one piece, with all bags intact. Thankfully, I have a fridge and a microwave in my room – this really cuts down on e...