Singing for my supper

Radio interview with WBJC's Dyana Neal here

Preview of "Telltale Hearts and Twilight Fancies" from The Baltimore Sun here

Today: home maintenance as my husband (bless him!) deals with gutters and reapplies the roof-elastomeric glop which (in theory at least) keeps our roof water repellent, kids alternating between playing outside and watching "Glee" upstairs, and I'm working on promotional materials, dates and repertoire for the Poe recital; after the Roof Glopping, we'll squeeze in a quick rehearsal. I think this is what counts for a "normal suburban Sunday" in this household.... (?!?!?!?!) The Poe recital seems to be gathering momentum. We enjoyed our radio interview (recorded last Monday, an edited version to be aired the week before Halloween and the full version to be available here soon) and are gratified that folks seem interested in the concept -we've been excited about it since we started planning it, but it's nice to know we're not alone in finding it an intriguing idea! As we head into the home stretch before the first performances, we find we're fal...

In between rehearsals this week, I also was busy with a couple of photoshoots, including a 40s-style session with a friend. We had a blast! More Poe-recital ruminations coming soon, but in the meantime, a touch of Old Hollywood in the 21st century..........

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...

Let's face it - there's a point in a musician's life (ok, in THIS musician's life) where you start to think you're pretty well-versed in repertoire. You've studied, listened and learned. You've been around the business a while and are a self-confessed repertoire-holic (even as a teenager I used to dig through volumes of song and choral rep just because it interested me). And when you're married to a musical polymath as I am, that tends to put even more repertoire in your path so, once you're familiar with most of what's regularly presented, know what's available as a recording, or know what you (or friends and colleagues) have actually performed, you shouldn''t expect too many surprises, right?? WRONG!! It's a particular delight when a previously unheard-of composer comes to light. Deodat de Severac , in this case. Mr Musical Polymath had heard of his piano works in passing, but was entirely UNfamiliar with his output of delic...

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...