Singing for my supper

True confession: I finally started following Twitter. I made an account a while back but didn't quite catch on to how it worked, and it's only now that I've been making a point of checking it regularly. (You can find me @MezzoMG if you're interested in following.) After two weeks of active participation, while I can see how it could be a potential time drain - especially since so many of the accounts I follow are linked out to articles, news stories and blogs - it has also drawn my attention to some really interesting things I might have missed otherwise. So with that in mind, in no particular order, a blogroll of some sites which have recently caught my interest: A Hit, a Very Palpable Hit (@vlavla). I found this linked off an article about the Hamlet, John Simm, but the blog itself is a wonderful account of what we all go through as performers as we put together a significant show. Excellent stuff. I Value the Arts (@ivaluethearts) Widely circulated through soci...

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...