Tea at Valhalla

E non ho amato mai tanto la vita...

2009-08-12T06:17:00.000-07:00

I've made the long journey back home after what may have been the most wonderful 5 weeks of my life. But I'll get to my feeling about that in a moment. First on the list is the events and happenings of my last week in Urbania.

Our last week of rehearsals was spent in the Teatro Bramante, where the performance also was. Its built like many European theaters, which a raked stage and circular box seating. The ceiling is painted with images of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. It's an adorable theater, and I felt like I stepped into a music box when I walked onstage. Teatro Bramante isn't big by any standards, but it has much personality and charm, and I loved exploring around the many different corridors and hidden areas.

To be honest, our first few rehearsals in the theater did not go well. Many of the students were still insecure in the music, which was a huge disappointment and problem. Our conductor was not pleased, but I knew the music and was not worried about being on the wrong side of the line. However, after some "tough love", so to speak, we felt prepared and made it work. L'Elisir D'Amore is a beautiful story, and probably one of the first operas that shows the nerd wins and gets the girl. Nemorino, a shy, nerdy, poor, and generally awkward guy, is in love with Adina, who is beautiful, rich, and flirty, and thinks Nemorino is sweet, but a waste of time. So Nemorino gets desperate, and buys a "love potion" from Dr. Duclamara, a quack doctor. But between some more desperate acts on Nemorino's part, the death of his rich uncle, and some attention from the chorus girls, Nemorino gets Adina in the end, much to the displeasure of the baritone.

Tuesday was Cate's birthday, and I spent some time looking around Urbania trying to find poppies for her. Poppies are the birthday flower for August, but since its winter at this time in New Zealand, where she's from, she's never had them on her birthday. I thought this would be a good idea, and started going to floral shops. My first stop was at Lady Man, which I think used to be a men's/women's clothing store, and the name didn't change when it became a flower shop. Still, its a funny name, and run by a guy that looks like Mafia material. I went into the shop and started asking about poppies, and of course, couldn't remember the word for "poppy" in Italian. I must have been talking very fast, because I was promptly told "Piano, piano" by the Lady Man guy. In the end it didn't really matter, because all Lady Man had were fake flowers, and I ended up buying Cate an orchid plant at another shop. But the Lady Man experience was worth it. There's probably guns in backroom.

All of the host family went out for dinner with Cate on Wednesday. And when I say the whole family, I mean it: Francesco, Leonarda, Hans, Giulia, Carlotta, Tobbia, Agatha, Gretta, Walter, Viola, and Cate's Australian friends Stewart, Natalie, and their children Emannuelle, Maya, and Noah. That's a lot of people and a lot of small children. Nota bene: it took me all 5 weeks to figure out how to spell Hans's name. Since "h" is always silent in Italian, so I heard "Antz", but thought, "That can't be spelled like that". So no, his name doesn't resemble that of an insect, but Hans. This means that he and his sister are Hansel and Gretel. Cute, no? But I realized when we were all together just how much I was going to miss them, and that I really didn't want to come back to the U.S.

Thursday afternoon I sang for Lanfranco, our maestro. There had been some confusion about me singing or not, but in the end I did. There were some nerves involved, of course, because he has connections with the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro and the Academia in Pesaro, something I'm very much interested in. I sang "Parto ma tu ben mio" and "Priva son", and got some very good advice. He told me to not take too many professional engagements too soon, and to not sing roles that were too big at the moment. He told me to start learning the roles of Rosina and Cenerentola, and suggested the Adacemia in 2 or 3 years, which made me quite happy.

Our performance of L'Elisir D'Amore was Friday evening, and everyone was pleased with the results. John, our tenor who sang Nemorino, was definitely a stand-out. The role of Nemorino fits his voice perfectly, and his acting was dead on for the role. The theater is just so much fun to sing in, and there's always more energy with an audience. It was a late night, however; the opera was scheduled to begin at 9, but this it Italy, and we began at about 9.20, and with both acts and an intermission, we finished close to midnight. After the performance most of the students went to Bruno's, one of the local watering holes. I had really never been there before, and definitely not at that hour, which made for an interesting experience. Cate came with me, and after a few glasses of wine, a fun conversation with Stephanie (during which I think she may have been trying to find a guy for me?), and saying ciao to other students, we headed home at 2.30.

By this time I was in denial about leaving Italy, as was Cate, since she was moving into her own apartment on Sunday. I just could not bring myself to think about leaving Italy, Francesco, Leonarda, Cate, and all of the other wonderful people I'd gotten to know. 5 weeks is just the right amount of time to develop relationships with people, and leaving after that amount of time made me feel like I was simply abandoning everyone in Urbania.

But my last day in Italy was wonderful. Cate and I went to Pesaro in the morning, and stayed until the shops closed for la pausa. I got some great deals in the shops, and probably spent more money than I should have. On the way back to Urbania, we stoped at a friend's country house, where some English tourists were staying and Cate was cleaning. The view of the hills from this house was enough to take your breath away, and I about burst into tears when I thought that I had to leave. After Cate finished cleaning at the house, we drove back into Urbania for a gelato with the Australian family, ran into Francesco, and then drove to Peglio. Peglio is a town of about 400 people 5k from Urbania on top of a hill. There's really nothing in Peglio except for the clock tower and the view which lends itself to great photography. We went to the top of the tower, and I could see Urbania and the other surrounding towns. When one stands on a place like that, or the Duomo of Firenze, you sense just how wide the world is, and all of the different places and people to see, and how small we are in the midst of this spectacular existence.

After returning home, the host family and I went out for one final dinner together. And while the pumpkin ravioli and steak were wonderful, Leonarda's cooking really is better than any restaurant food I've ever had. When I expressed my nerves about flying the next day, Francesco told me to drink some wine to relax. We later had Limoncello with the guy who ran the restaurant in his winter room, and I was indeed relaxed. We walked around the piazza for a while after dinner talking to friends, and also saw Hans and Giulia and the grandchildren. Carlotta chased Cate around the statue of Sant Cristoforo, and Tobbia began a game of catch with me, which mostly involved me running all over the piazza after his plastic ball. Before leaving to go home, Francesco asked me if I was sad to leave Urbania, and when I said yes, he patted my head and told me it would be OK. Even though I knew he was right, I still was not looking forward to packing and returning home.

Because my bus for Roma was leaving at 2.30 in the morning, I decided to just not go to bed that night. I still had most of my packing to do, and it seemed simpler. Leonarda said good-night and good-bye to me when we came back home from the piazza. The reality that I was leaving began to set in, and a few tears rolled down my face. Leonarda gave me a very motherly hug and told me not to cry, that I am a kind and generous girl that will be missed, and to give her best to my parents. Francesco also said good-bye and seconded Leonarda's words. Leonarda went to bed, and Francesco stayed up for a bit; I don't know if he intended to stay up until I left, because he fell asleep on the couch with the TV on. But I packed up my things, and left the apartment with Cate at 2.00. Leaving at that hour, I felt like I was running away, or simply vanishing into the dark night sky. And just like that, I was gone.

I feel like I was in Italy long enough to make some observations about the country, the people, and the culture in general. Here we go:

1. Italy really is as beautiful as books, film, and travel guides and shows lead you to believe. Being surrounded by such magnificent beauty, it isn't hard to see how some of the world's greatest achievements in art and music came from this country. When surrounded by such spectacular scenery, inspiration almost comes naturally.

2. The food. Oh, the food. The food is even better than I thought. In America, we tend to overcook our pasta and then drown it in sauce. But Italian cooking is much more simple and subtle than we would like to think. Everything Leonarda made was beyond words, but I do have some favorites: rice salad (rice, grape tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, corn, olive oil, tuna, basil, and capers), her meat sauce which she made every weekend and took hours to cook. It had sweet undertones and she cooked sausage links in it. Risotto alla Milanese (risotto with saffron), and the roasted tomatoes topped with bread crumbs, oil and vinegar. I've tried making some of these dishes here, but its just not the same.

Speaking of food, Italy is the only place where I have ever been peer pressured into eating. Leonarda would always give me a huge bowl of pasta followed by meat, salad, or something similar. When I finished, she would offer me more, and if I said I was full, she'd give me more food anyways. One Saturday the entire family came over for lunch, and after having a bowl of ravioli, Hans, Francesco, and Leonarda insisted I have some tortellini, because I needed it. I learned that I just can't win, and dig in.

3. Italians do most things slowly, except for drive and drink coffee. In America, when you go out for coffee, a 3-hour conversation is usually a part of the deal. In Italy, going out for coffee means you get your espresso, drink it in under a minute and go.
Traffic laws are sometimes just a suggestion, especially when turn signals are concerned. Why use a turn signal when you can just go? I also saw a few people drive on the sidewalk when the mood hit them, and driving at speeds over 80 mph on the highway is perfectly normal.

4. The stereotype about Italian men and their mothers is true. Enough said.

5. Italian culture, at least in a small town, is very open and welcoming. Whenever I would talk with people and say how much I love Italy, a huge smile would appear on their faces as if to say "Of course! How could you not love Italy?". I met so many people during my 5 weeks simply by walking into a store and asking questions, or by saying hello to the lady down the street. Italian culture is easy to slide into, mostly because they want you to be a part of it too.
And while gender roles in Italy are very traditional, I never felt that the culture was sexist, but that women are very much appreciated and respected. The men constantly compliment women on their looks, but usually it was with sincere intentions. When one of the older men told me I looked like a Botticelli painting, it wasn't because he was a creeper, but because he thought I looked like a Botticelli painting. There are the people you know to avoid, however, and I did so, sometimes by pretending I was Russian and didn't understand Italian or English. Its all part of the learning experience.

The rest of my journey was fairly uneventful: arriving at Fiumicimo and saying good-bye to the other students, flying from Roma to London with a group of middle-aged Italians from Bari set for a week in Scotland, trying to stay awake in Heathrow, and the 8-hour plane ride to Chicago, followed by 4 hours in a car home. I arrived in the USA at about 9.30 Sunday night, and we made it back to Indiana by 2.30 Monday morning. I was happy to see my family, of course, but after having been up since 8.00 am Saturday morning (2.00 am US time…so that makes a total of 48 hours with really no sleep?), I was exhausted and ready to sleep.

And so my Italian adventure was over, and now I’m back. I’m still slightly jet-lagged and experiencing culture shock, but I’m here. I miss Italy, and all of the people and places I left there. You may ask how is it that me, someone who always has struggled with homesickness, can miss a place half-way across the world? It’s because after years of looking for my place in the world and somewhere that I feel like myself, and after failing many times, I found what I was looking for. Never before have I felt so free and so comfortable with myself, and I never knew that life could be so beautiful, or that a culture could be so welcoming. Cate and I had a talk about this very topic, and the welcoming atmosphere is the very reason she decided to move here, and despite the not-so-wonderful things we’ve seen of life while there (deaths, friends having housing troubles at the expense of others…), we still haven’t felt happier. For the first time in my life, everything felt right.

I’m going back to Italy. I don’t know how, or when, but I’m going back.

Ci vediamo presto!

Firenze è come un albero fiorito...

2009-07-29T04:45:00.000-07:00

The Italian sun has been hot the last few weeks, reaching 35 degrees Celcius nearly every day. But I'm learning how to keep cool; hand fans, closing the windows in the morning to keep the cool air inside, walking slowly, and drinking lots of water. But the sun here is not as brutal as in the states, and for the frist time in my life, I have something that resembles a suntan. You may ask, "What?! Pale Nordic Lydia has a tan?" Oh yes. You won't recognize me.

You wouldn't have recognized me on Monday night either. During Italian class, Corinna, one of the teachers, came into our class and told us about a variety show that night. She needed 4 or 5 people to be models for traditional international clothing. I knew Francesco was involved with this variety show, so I thought "Why not?", and volunteered. Corinna's mother was in charge of the show, and told us where to go for trying on the costumes. I thought I would remember where to go, or that someone else would have remembered, but I was wrong. We all had the general area (By the tourist office, Sunrise Cafe, La Loggia, and that area)...but no one knew where to acutally go. We wandered around for a while looking for Corinna's mother, but didn't find her. I finally went to the cafe and asked the barista if he knew Corinna's mother, and said that we had a reahearsal, but didn't know where it was. An old man happened to be there, and knew exactly where to go.
This is a photo of Francesco and I before the show.

I ended up wearing a Spanish costume (think Carmen). The other blonde took Holland, the only thing either of us would have looked "authentic" in. So I took Spain. I had a good time, though, hanging out with Italians, and listening to Francesco's sketch. I think it was funny, but there was a lot I couldn't understand. But he's a great comic actor, and I anjoyed it. But the fashion show was fun, even if I got ordered around by Italian children.

Wednesday was our other program of opera scenes. In this program I sang Dame Quickly in the Letter Scene from Falstaff. Quickly is very low, and the whole scene is quite demanding. The two measures of laughter (chromatic pitches, yes!) was very hard to put together, but after finally getting a consistant tempo, I belive it worked. After the program, Judy told me, "You know, I'm going to have to change my mind about you. I don't think you're a soprano anymore, you might be a contralto!". So there's that discussion again...chi sa?

The biggest event of the week, however, was out Thursday trip to Firenze (Florence. I like to use the names of cities in their language.). We left Urbania at 8.00 am for the 3 hour bus ride. Since driving anywhere in Italy is a beautiful drive, I wanted to look out the window on the way. However, this was difficult, as we drove through Umbria, which is right in the middle of the mountains, and the motion sickness kicked in. And I wasn't alone. But once we arrived in Toscana, and the ground once again became flat, I was fine.

Because there is a high fee for buses to come downtown Firenze, out bus dropped us off in the suburbs, and we took public transit into town. There was slight panic as our Italian teachers figured out the bus schedule, and they finally just asked a lady in her apartment for help. After we arrived downtown, people went their separate ways to enjoy the day. I stuck with Andrew, Rachel, Amanda, and the two Lucias, as we all wanted to see some of the same things. After getting some lunch and a gelato (omg gelato in Firenze...)we went across the road to the Duomo (cathedral). What struck me first about the Duomo is how colorful it is on the outside, the stone decorated with different shades of green and red. The Duomo began construction in 1296 and was consecrated in 1436, and is simply stunning. Next to the Duomo is the Baptistry, where Dante himself was baptized. I didn't go into the Baptistry, but I did see the beautiful doors on the outside, called "The Gates of Paradise" because of what Michelangelo thought of them.

The Duomo is as beautiful inside as outside. Services aren't really conducted here anymore, so there are no pews to sit in, leaving the interior open to walk about in. The most splended and beautiful part though, in my opinion, is the inside of the dome, which is a painting depicting Judgement Day. Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven are all shown in the painting, with those in Hell being eaten by monesters or being beaten over the head by a frog-man (what the frog-man is, I don't know), Purgatory being a small place where people aren't haveing a great time, but there's also no frog-man, and Heaven being a great place. The beauty of the Duomo was almost overwhelming, and I could hardly belive I was there.

After we left the Duomo, we decided to climb to the top of the cupola. Normally, I'm terrified of heights, but I couldn't miss this opportunity to have this view of Firenze. There are about 463 steps to the top of the cupola, and many are small spiral staircases with little air. This is what actually made me the most nervous, and the spirals made me a little dizzy. Lucia counted all the steps, and she and Amanda cheered me on as I tried not to overheat. But once we reached the top and I saw Firenze in all of its splendor, all dizzyness melted away in the heat, and I was stunned by what I saw. Firenze is, as Rinuccio says in Gianni Schicchi, a flowering tree, and there may be nothing that can compete with it.

After visiting the Duomo and having a leg work out, we went to the Piazza della Signorina, which is a sculpture paradise. Most in the piazza are copies of the originals and have been put there for some reason or another. For example, the copy of Michelangelo's David is in this Piazza (And no, I didn't have time to see the original). However, that is where Michelangelo actually wanted the original to stand. One of the sculptures that is an original, however, is Benvenuto Cellini's bronze sculpture of Perseus holding the head of Medusa. It's a bit grusome, but at the same time fascinating, especially when I think about that this sculpture is about 500 years old.

We walked about town for a bit before deciding to have a go at the Uffizi Gallery. The Uffizi has some of the world's most important paintings, and certainly there is no better place to see Italian Renaisance art. The Gallery is famous for its long lines, and waiting two or three hours is the norm, but there was no way I wasn't going to spend a day in Firenze without seeing art. However, we were extremely fortunate, and only waited for about 20 minutes to get in. From what I hear, this never happens, espeically without a reservation. Inside the Uffizi, I saw some of the world's most famous paintings: Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" and "La Primavera", Raffaello's Self-Portrait and Madonna of the Sparrow, Michelangelo's painting of the Holy Family, Da Vinci's unfinished Adoration of the Magi, Caravaggio's Medusa and "The Sacrifice of Issac", and Artemisia's "Judith Slaying Holofernes". In my opinon, the two most captivating were the unfinished Da Vinci and the Caravaggio Issac. The Da Vini is a hauntig piece, as the Madonna is content, while those around her have tormented faces and are climing up to see her. No one knows why these people look like this, or what Da Vinci's intention was. Caravaggio's Issac is powerful, and you can see the panic, fear, and sense of betrayal in Issac's face as his father prepares to kill him. The feelings of Issac in this story are often ignored, and seeing them displayed in such an open and naked way was more powerful than any words.

Sadly, we had to rush through the Uffizi because of time, but I'm more than glad that I was able to see it. As I felt when walking through Urbino's Palazzo Ducale, part of me finds it hard to believe I'm here, and that my eyes have seen these priceless pieces of history (because no matter what anyone says, art is history). Some of the pieces have been in the Uffizi for over 400 years, and when I see these paintings and think out their history, and the history of those who created them, and the history of the city where they are, I realize just how little I am in this world, but at the same time how one person can leave a legacy that can last for hundreds of years. It was humbling and uplifting.

After the Uffizi, we sped to Ponte Vecchio, where there are many jewelry shops, selling some of the worlds msot beautiful gold and silver. Ponte Vecchio is famous for many reasons, and is even mentioned by Puccini in Gianni Schicchi: "Andrai sul Ponte Vecchio, e per buttar mi in Arno." After a admiring the jewelry and taking a few photos, we ran to Santa Croce, even though it was closed for the day. But I got one photo! Soon after we baorded the bus for the journey back to Urbania. Needless to say, I was exhausted when I came back to the apartment; Francesco was still awake and doing some work, and we talked for a bit, although I didn't understand a word he said. I was that tired.

The rest of the week was fairly relaxed. Saturday afternoon Francesco and Leonarda's kids and grandkids came over for lunch, and I had a good time entertaining 2-year-old Tobbia, who might just be the most adorable child on the planet. That evening, Cate and I went to the Orotorio (school) play, where her English students were performing. The play was about the life of Saint Francis, and had music and break dancing. Yes I said break dancing. Her English students asked me how to say their names in English; Marco, Alice, Frederico, and Elena, and they laughed when I told them.

I went to Mass on Sunday morning, mostly because I wanted to see what it was like. I found that I could understand parts of what was going on, and maybe got the general idea of the sermon. As I was walking home, I heard a car horn sound and someone called my name. It was Cate; she had rented a car for the day and had been looking for me to take a day trip. So, we went to the beach town of Fano for the afternoon. It was a very hot day, and the Adriatic felt wonderful. I ended up with a huge sunburn covering my entire back, but that's what happens when you're pale like me.

This is my last week in Italy, and I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. I'm exhausted, but in no way ready to come back. There's something about this country that has captivated me in a way that no other place has. My next post will probably be after I come back to the States, so look next week!

I concerti, le prove, e gli altri cosi.

2009-07-26T04:18:00.000-07:00

This week has been the most busy so far, and I'm slightly exhausted, although very happy. Monday evening was our Laude concert in the church of Sant Cristoforo. Donna, with whom I worked with at Interlochen, coached us on these 14th century pieces and also accompanied us on the organ. These pieces were written by common people in Toscana because they were not allowed to sing in church. But they're beautiful songs, and I love singing them. Most of the voice faculty here hadn't heard me sing since sending in the audition CD this winter, so I was a little nervous, like taking the frist test from a new professor. To top it off, I'd had a sore throad and a slight cough for a few days. But everything turned out fine, and I got some very good feedback from the faculty, which, of course, made me happy.

Tuesday was our first opera scenes prgram. For this, I sang a duet from Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte, playing Dorabella to Stephanie K's Fiordiligi. Our voices work very well together, and we look like we could possibly be sisters. She's working on Strauss's Presentation of the Rose and gave me an extra copy to learn Octavian's part. Again, I was nervous because of my health, but we were first on the program, and I kenw I'd be fine. Working with Stephanie was great fun, and I felt we did a good job with Mozart's beautiful music. After the concert, Cate and I went to a cafe for a bit. Now, everyone has warned me about the "dangers" of being a blonde in Italy, and I really haven't had much trouble. However, Tuesday night I had the experience of being followed to the bathroom by an Italian who claimed to be 20. Like I believed that for 1 second. The guys he was with are definetly sketchy, so I knew to turn him down. Yes, the attention is a bit flattering, but following a girl to the bathroom and then leering at her all night is not the way to win her over. So there. Cate and I have gotten to know quite a few of the older men in Urbania, who are far from the scetchy "20" year old discussed previously. That same Tuesday, we met another friend of Benvenuto's, Agusto. From him I learned something about my name; apperently, although my name is of Greek origin, it was also a common name among Roman nobility. So I have a Roman name, but look like a nothern Italian, kind of. Another friend of Benvenuto's (I think he knows everyone) was talking to us about music, and mentioned the singer Fred Buscolglione, and gave us a CD the following evening. I actually really like the music!

Wednesday, my Italian teacher, Lucia, invited a few of the students to go to Sant Angelo in Vado, her hometown, for the evening. Wednesdays in Sant Angelo are like Thursdays in Urbania, and she wanted us to see. So, 4 of us climbed into her cream and purple car and went. Sant Angelo is about 9k from Urbania, and has a very style. The roads in Sant Angelo are more winding, and everything is a little closer together. Sant Angelo has an interesting history; Pope Clement XIV was from there, and the words of Mussolini are painted on the inside of the city gates, although they are now covered in red paint to resemble blood. But we had a great time; real Italian pizza (freaking awesome), walking around town, and just hanging out. We got back a little later than I would have liked, but it was most definetly worth it.

This weekend marked the festival of Sant Cristoforo, the patron saint of Urbania. Friday, there was a special mass, and music by John, our Nemorino. Saturday was another mass, which I sang at with the choir, and a very long sermon. Very long. After Mass there was a procession through the town. About 6 men picked up the large statue of Sant Cristoforo, and with the clergy, musicians, and townspeople, we walked through the streets. Children were dressed up as angels, but I wasn't able to see them. Cate and I saw Francesco, Leonarda, their daughter Gretta, son-in-law Walter, and granddaughter Viola and joined them. I think I was supposed to go back to the church after the processional, but I didn't, and instead joined my host family for some coffee and conversation. I think this was the better choice.

I sang in the Performance Class Saturday morning. Since we didn't have great amounts of time, I had to make some cuts in my aria, "Parto, ma tu ben mio", which is my favorite aria. Judy, one of our teachers, gave me some wonderful feedback, and also some things to work on, especially with coloratura. After the class, I nearly ran to the bus station to catch the bus to Urbino, where I was meeting Cate. I got there in time, but met a young man from another music program here who had slept through his alarm and had been left in Urbania. He was more calm than I would have been in the situation, but he was still nervous about getting to Rome by himself with no contact information or anything. I hope he got there.

While in Urbino, I saw the Palazzo Ducale, which was the home of Frederico di Montefeltro and Battista Sforza (yes, of THOSE Sforzas), and is now the Galleria Nazionale Delle Marche. It was most definetly worth the 2 Euros to get in. Sadly, the furnishings of the Palazzo are no longer housed there, but are in Paris (I think). But there are paintings by Raffaello, his father, and other important artists. Since Cate and been through the Palazzo 4 or 5 times, I went through by myself. There wern't many people there, and at times I had whole rooms to myself. Just me, the history, and the art. It was overwhelming to think of the history of this place, and how important Urbino, and il duca Frederico are. Frederico di Montefeltro baisicly brought the Renaissance to this region on his own will, and is a very important figure in the history of this part of Italy. And I walked on the same floors, looked out the same windows, and touched the same doors he did. I noticed many painting of Sant Francesco as well; Assisi really isn't that far from here, and between him, Frederico di Montefeltro, and Raffaello, you realize how important this region has been to history.

In Urbania, the Sunday after Sant Cristoforo Day is the Blessing of the Cars (Cristoforo is the patron saint of travelers and cars). So, at 6.00, the statue of S. Cristoforo was again brought out of the church and taken to the piazza. A large group of clergymen also brought the relics of S. Cristoforo, a piece of his shoulder, supposedly. But after a prayer was said, the priests took turns holding up the relics as anyone in a car or motorcycle drove by. And there were hundreds of poeple. First a group of motorcycles went by (because every man in this region with a motorcycle imagines himself to be Valentino Rossi)
I saw people I knew drive by, including Donna, Carlo the choir director, and Cate's friends from Wales. Small towns in Italy take their patron saints very seriously, and it showed in the numbers of people who had their cars blessed; you even saw some go through twice, and sometimes in the same car. I enjoyed watching, because I'd never seen anything like it in the States.

I only have two more weeks left in Italy, and I'm shocked at how quickly the time has gone by. I was told many times that after a few weeks I would be sick of living in a different culture and trying to communicate every day in a different language, but that has proven to be anything but true. Sliding into Italian culture was a fairly simple process, and I'm picking up more of the language every day. There are new adventures in abundance, from eating something new to talking with the 92-year-old lady down the road to discovering that I've been saying "hooker" instead of "market" for two weeks ("marcato" meaning "hooker" and "mercato" meaning "market"...say that three times fast). But its worth it. Every single day.

Italy 3: Urbania, Pesaro, La Chiesa dei Morti, e La Storia di Urbania

2009-07-14T04:33:00.000-07:00

Part of me finds it hard to believe that I've only been in Italy for 2 weeks, and yet much is still so new that I feel like I arrived at Fuimicino an hour ago. My language is improving every day, and my adventures in understanding this culture continue.

One of these cross cultural ideas that is all over the world is...the man cave. The man cave meaning a room, building, shed, whatever, that is full of guy stuff. Monday afternoon I did a load of laundry, and the washer is located in the garage, below the apartment building. There are about three types of things in this garage: the washer, dead computer parts, and Francesco's beloved motorcycle. Merlino even has a water bowl there. And that's about it. It's not important, I know, but it made me laugh.

Another cultural idea is the Sunday afternoon game or event. In America, this is football. In Italy, at least during the summer, it's Formula 1 racing. I think every male in Italy follows it. Francesco watched it at the apartment. Every cafe or bar you walked past had the race on, and there was a huge crowd around the TV. They love it. The cafe I'm sitting in just turned on a large projector screen with the race, actually. I guess I'll watch while I write? I can honstly say this is the first motorcycle race I've ever watched.

Suprises abound here everyday. Tuesday night, Cate and I walked down to the piazza after dinner. This is called "la passegiatta", meaning a walk with no particular purpose. When we arrived in the piazza, we found that a bunch of children's games had been set up, and that many families were there. Cate teaches English to small children, so we hung around and wached what was going on. We saw a few of her students and their families and talked with them. We also ran into Giovanni and Benvenuto, two older men we talk to often. If you go to the piazza almost anytime of the day, you're bound to find the older men of Urbania just sitting around and talking. They love to talk, and that's how we got to know these two. They're very nice and interesting to talk to. Benvenuto is especially funny, and enjoys picking on Cate and I, but also helping us with our Italian.

For some reason my laptop won't pick up the internet signal in the apartment, so I come down to the cafe to work. In Italy, cafes are called bars, but they are more like coffee shops that sell some alcohol. Anyways, what amuses me the most about the bars the choice of music played. Sure, I've heard some Italian pop music, but I've also heard things like Michael Jackson, ABBA, the Ghostbusters theme, "I'm too sexy". Believe me, sitting down to sip some Italian coffee to the unmistakable chords of Thriller is a slightly out-of-body experience.

Wednesday afternoon I had some free time and decided to go the Chiesa dei Morti (Churtch of the Dead). Back in the 1500s, when Urbania was still called Casteldurante, people who couldn't afford a proper burrial were burried under the church. In about 1804, some of these bodies were discovered in a perfectly mummified condition. This was due to a certain mushroom that dehydrated the bodies, slowing decomposition. About 15 of these bodies are on display at the church. I arrived just after a tour group had left, so it was just me, Giovanni the tour guide, and the mummies. It took about 10 seconds for me to get over the initial creepyness of being in a room with a bunch of corpses, which are all in a room close to the entrance of the church. Giovanni explained (in Italian, which is why I'm a little fuzzy on some of the exact names, dates, and other details)how the bodies were discovered, how the mummification process with the mushrooms works, and how each of the people died. This, in my opiion, was the most interesting part. There was a woman who had died of polio, another from a C-section gone wrong, a theif who had been hanged, a young man who had been stabbed in a fight (and Giovanni showed me the dehydrated heart. You can see where he was stabbed and all of the blood vessels), a young woman who suffered from Down syndrom, and a priest who had died from bad cholestoral. The most morbid of the corpses, though, was that of a man who had been burried alive. This man had gone into a coma; he felt cold, his heartbeat could not be heard, and he didn't respond. Thinking he was dead, he was burried. However, he woke up and suffocated. You can see from his expanded and uplifted ribcage that he was trying to get air, and the capularies all over his body burst.
I wondered as I looked at each body what these people were like during their lives, how they lived, what their personalities were, and that I am walking on the same streets they did, seeing the same hills, and speaking (or attempting) to speak the same language. I often think the same thing when practicing at the old school or rehearsing at the museo. The old school seems to be an old house, and I wonder who lived there, what it looked like 200 or more years ago, and what they were like. Its strange to think I'm practicing in a room where someone may have died, or where that same person might have been born. Did a child learn to walk in this room? Did a young man talk to the neighbors from the window? Did a married couple fight here? And its the same in the Grand Bishop Room where we rehearse in the Museo. What the did the Bishop think when he looked into the fireplace? Who came to visit him in this room?

I had two more lessons with Gary this week, and each time I work with him, we make more progress. I'm starting to see just how much excess tension I have in my body, and trying to get rid of it. The biggest problem with my body tension is that it isn't obvious; most of the time I can't feel it, and its hard to see. He also suggested some new repertoire for me, and roles that I should learn. Two that he suggested that really excited me were Der Komponist and Octavian, especially Octavian. The soprano I'm singing with in the Cosi scene is working on the Presentation of the Rose, and Gary suggested I learn it too, because our voices go so well together. Oh man do I want to sing Octavian! My second lesson this week was almost entirly devoted to one passage in my aria from Idomeneo, trying to figure out why it just wasn't working. We worked for a good 20 minutes on the different places the vowels are, and finally got it together.

Friday evening I went to la centra for a gelato (Nutella gelato might just be the most wonderful thing I've ever had. omg) and ran into Amanda, one of the other mezzos in the program. We talked for a bit with Benvenuto, who was sitting with Luciano, a friend of his. After Benvenuto left, we continued talking with Luciano, who told us some of the history of Urbania. We went on a short architechtural tour of Urbania, and he showed us where the moat used to be, which buildings were destoryed in the WWII bombing of Urbania, the houses of the nobility, and where the city gates used to be. He pointed to one of the streets in Urbania and said (in Italian), "See that street? It's older than your country." This town has been around since around 1050, and has gone through many changes; from a summer home for the Duke of Urbino to a functioning town, from Casteldurante to Urbania, from the capital of ceramics to the capital of jeans (All the jeans in Italy are made here, including those for Armani and Dolce e Gabbana). It made me appreciate the history of Urbania much more and made me more interested in the history.

On Saturday, the students from our program took a day trip to Pesaro, which is about 50K from Urbania. Pesaro is the birthplace of Rossini, and even though he moved away when he was 4, it's the Rossini capital. Rossini died a very rich man, and dontaed much of his money for a oepra house and conservatory in Pesao. In fact, his money is still running the conservatory. Alberto Zedda, who is perhaps THE Rossini expert of this age, started a summer Rossini opera festival in 1980. He also started a 2-week intensive Rossini program for young singers. Lonfranco, our conductor for L'Elisir D'Amore, is Zedda's assistant, and invited us to observe a masterclass Zedda was giving, hence the trip to Pesaro.

The young singers in this program prepare as many arias and roles in a single Rossini opera as is possible; for example, if Il Barbiere di Siviglia was being studied, a baritone in the program would learn all of the baritone roles. In these masterclasses, Zedda will point to any given singer and say, "You. Sing such-and-such an aria", and the singer just does it. He's not a man you mess with, and you never want him to tell you something 3 times. At one point, he hit the table he was sitting at and shouted "Piu leggere! Piu leggere!" to an Italian bass-baritone named Marcello. The 15 or so singers in this program were from all over the world; many from Italy, 1 Russian, 2 Armenians, 1 American, 1 French and so on. I loved listening to the different singers, hearing how each sang a given aria differently, and the peculiarities of each voice. One of the Armenians, a bass-baritone, told me during the break that he could tell I was a mezzo because of my cheecks. I actually have no idea what that is supposed to mean.

After the masterclass we were free to do as we pleased in Pesaro. Amanda, Eric, Andrew, and I had dinner at a restaurant by the beach; it was pausa time and nothing was open. But it was a fabulous dinner; eggplant ravioli with a mozzarella, basil, and tomato sause, some red wine, and chocolate mousse (I splurged). Most of us had brought swimsuits, but it was a little chilly to swim (which was fine with us since it we had had scalding weather in Urbania all week). Instead, we walked in the surf of the Adriatic and waved across the water to Croatia.

We also took a tour through Rossini's birthplace in Pesaro. Most of the museum is pictures and drawings of important Rossini singers of ages past. These included Patti, Melibran, and Falcon (for whom the fach Falcon soprano is named). But I stood in the room where Rossini was born, which was exciting and at the same time slightly odd. The only bizzare thing in the house was the photo of Rossini's friends standing around his coffin, holding handkercheifs over their noses because of the smell. Poverino. :(

As I mentioned before, Pesaro is Rossini-land, and every major Rossini singer has been there. Tenor Juan Diego Florez has a house in Pesaro, and Lonfranco told us he's there now rehearsing fo the opera festival. Of course we all had a freak-out when he told us this, especially our tenors. But there were no sightings of Florez by anyone in our group. Our tenors were very dissapointed.

The bus did not take us directly from Pesaro to Urbania, and we had to switch buses in Urbino. We had an hour inbetween buses and decided to walk around. Urbino is basicly a college town, but also the home of Raffaello (Raphael). It's very hilly but quite beautiful, and I wish we had more time there. Going up the first hilly street we saw, we came across the Catheral. A wedding must have taken place that day, because crushed flower petals and rice littered the steps. The cathedral is huge and very white. This is a town I definetly want to come back to, especially to see the different Raffaello art exhibits there. Because where else can I see such things?

I took this photo in Urbino at the top of a street overlooking the hills outside of town. Perhaps this alone can tell you why I'm so in love with this country.

Italy 2: La Luce del Sole

2009-07-08T04:51:00.000-07:00

I can honestly say that I have fallen in love with this beautiful country in the week I've been here. The culteral differences fascinate me, and I just can't get over how beautiful Urbania is!

Italian classes and music lessons began this week. Most of our rehearsals are in a museum, which was formally the Bishop's Palace. Our rehearsal room is covered with paintings of preists, bishops, cardinals, and popes. In the center of the palace is a small giardino, and a breeze is usually passing through, which is good, because it is quite hot here. On Tuesday, one of the other students and I were waiting in the giardino for our staging rehearsal, and two older ladies came in to have a look around. They began speaking to me and asking where I was from, and what I was doing in Urbania. I said that we were both music students from America. As soon as I menionted opera, the Italian lady picked up her videocamera and asked us to sing. We politly turned her down, but she recorded us speaking. She then told us she is from Verona, where there is a large outdoor opera arena, and gave me her phone number, telling me to call her if I'm ever there.

But these spontanious conversations with Italians are not unusual. As I was walking back to the apartment on Sunday evening, a woman, probaly in her late 70s, began talking to me out of her window. I wasn't able to understand most of what she said, but I did pick up something along the lines of "Oh, you poor girl walking all by yourself! Do you live far from here? Have you had dinner?". I told her I don't understand much Italian, and that this is my first time in Italy. She smiled, and then proceeded to talk some more. Like I said before, I didn't understand most of what she said, but I loved talking with her.

This is my room in Francesco and Leonarda's apartment.

One of my favorite things to do in Urbania is walk around the downtown area, or la centra. This is the oldest part of the city, with narrow winding cobblestone streets, open windows, and ceramic rooftops. Because most people don't have air conditioning, the windows are always open, and you can hear families and friends taking. If you go during la pausa (siesta), you can hear people cleaning up the plates and dishes from lunch. In the evening, half of Urbania is in the piazza just enjoying life. Of course, old men are always in the piazza doing whatever old men do. And you can usually spot a father taking a bike ride with his child. Italian children are simply adorable; they're spirited and curious, and talk non-stop.

Few of the students in my program are living with Italian families, and I'm very glad I'm one of them. Francesco and Leonarda only speak Italian, and it has helped me start to learn the language very quickly. For the majority, I can understand them, and they understand me. And they know I haven't studied Italian before, and that I've never been here before. They're very kind, especially when I can't figure out the door; it's hard to unlock, and I've only been able to do it about twice. On Monday I had to ask the neighbor to help me out. I knocked on the door. "Che e?" ("Who is it?"). Not exactly sure what to say, I waited until he came to the door. "Buon giorno. Io sono studenta, e io vivo con Francesco e Leonarda. Ho bisogno auito con la porta." (Hello, I'm a student, and I live with Francesco and Leonarda. I need help with the door.) But I think I've finally figured it out. =)

While in Urbania, I'm studying voice with Gary Ledet. We get two 45 minute lessons each week with our teacher, in addition to other coachings. We're focusing on my coloratura, as well as addressing body tension issues. We discovered that I carry a huge amount of tension in my neck, which I couldn't feel, but may be a big factor in issues I have with placement, intonation, and ease in my higher register. Issues with tension and trying ton control everything in my voice are not something new, and anyone who has worked with me knows this. I tened to have trouble letting go, not only with my voice, but with emotions and other things. I need to learn to trust myself, and this isn't something that will come overnight. I sang "Parto, me tu ben mio", perhaps my favorite aria, during my first lesson, and he liked what I did with the piece.

About 7 of the students in my program are singing with the choir of St. Cristophoro for a conert they're doing late in the month. John, one of our tenors and our Nemorino, will be the soloist, and any of the students were invited to sing with the choir. St. Cristophoro is a gorgeous cathedral, and the sound just hovers inside the dome. Carlo, the director, speaks only Italian, which makes rehearsals interesting, but fun at the same time. But I'm learning to overcome the language barrier with hand signs, intonation, and lots of "Mi scusi". This is the Catterdale.

Wednesday was Francesco's birthday. I never thought that finding a birthday card would be difficult, but it was. To begin with, I forgot the word for birthday. I could remember it in German, Russian, and French, but non in italiano. I went to the local grocery store, pharmacy, and Smoll (kind of like CVS without the pharmacy), but none there. I also looked downtown, and finally asked a clerk where I could find one. When I found the store she told me to go to, none of the cards seemed fit. But I finaly settled for one with flowers. But what do you get a man you're father's age you harldy know in a new country for his birthday? What do Italian men do or like? No idea. So I finally settled on some little baked goods from the shop down the street. He was happy, so I guess I wasn't an epic fail at gift shopping.

On Thursday Leonarda recieved the sad news that her 102-year-old aunt passed away. She was talking about it with a friend (or relative?) yesterday, but I wasn't able to understand a lot of what was said. I was able to understand that her aunt had passed away, and how old she was, but that was about it. However, that night she said, "Non piango. Sono contenta per lei. A desso lei reste in pace." ("I'm not crying. I'm happy for her. Now she's resting in peace." She seems to be doing well though, but said her cousin is having a difficult time. Cate told me on Friday that while at 102 it isn't exactly sad, it reminds you of the other people you have lost, and that's what makes it a stressful and sad time. But now, Leonarda and her family seem to be at peace and are happy.

Thursday nights in Urbania mean "Giovediamoci", which is sort of like a city-wide festa. There are bands playing, shops are open, restaurants serve discounted drinks, and everyone, and I mean everyone, is there. You see young couples, groups of friends, families, the old men that have been in the piazza since morning (I'm not kidding. They only go home to eat and sleep), students, teenagers, and everyone else you can imagine. It goes late into the night, but it isn't a wild or out-of-controll event. Italians, though they love their wine, don't seem to drink to excess very often. It isn't a part of their culture, and it makes me sad to see that many of the other students in my program don't understand that, and act as if they were in America. I'm trying to blend in with the locals (although as a blonde with my figure in Italy, that's difficult), and I hope that my actions prove me to be a good ambassador for my homeland. Italians think Americans are loud, wild, drunken, party animals. I hope to prove them wrong.

But the idea of Giovediamoci, that everyone of all ages comes together to simply have a good time in the fresh air, is something that wouldn't fly in the States. Since coming to Italy, I've noticed that there is a definate generational divide in the States, and a weak sense of a community, be it a family, ethnicity, religion, city, or nation, that involved all ages. Of course there are differences in generations everywhere, but I think Americans tend to overcategorize our people, placing the generations into strict molds that determine what we should think, and how we should behave.

And now I'll get off my soap box.

And this is Merlino, Francesco and Leonarda's dog. He likes to go out on the balcony and growl at things, and also barks if the doorbell rings. But his one and only love is Francesco. Merlino greets no one at the door but him, and usually jumps in circles and runs around. He follows Francesco all over the house and sit under the table by his chair at dinner. Merlino is also a fan of lounging on the tile floor when it's hot, and likes to chase his tail. When I came back to the apartment on Friday afternoon, I caught him on the couch. I'm not sure if he's really allowed to sleep on the couch, but he jumped off soon after I snapped this photo of him.

And finally...the food. Oh. My. God. The food. I thought I was a good cook until I came here. My housing deal gives me breakfast and either lunch or dinner everyday. My breakfast usually is some good coffee and cereal with yogurt. For dinner, Leonarda usually makes some sort of a pasta dish; vermicelli with pesto, spaghetti with seafood, penne with shrimp and zucchini. That in itself would be more than enough, but then she brings out some sort of meat and a veggie for fruit. I go to rehearsal every night feeling extremely full. And I'm totally OK with that.

More next week!

Italy 1: La Prima

2009-07-05T02:38:00.000-07:00

I'm currently sitting in my host family's living room, watching a Norwegian film dubbed in Italian.

Here's the low-down of my journey so far:

Atto 1: Chicago to Heathrow: Cracked Glass and Socks
To my suprise, O'Hare Airport was not the center of chaos that I thought it would be. Still, I was a bit of a mess as I got ready to say good-bye to my parents and go through security. Anyone that knows me knows that homesickness has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks of my life, and that at times it has nearly undone me. Given my past with homesickness, traveling half-way across the world scared me, especially travelling alone and flying for the first time. But it proved to be an adventure.
Security at O'Hare was slightly paniced, but painless. Lucky for me, I had a nice American couple and a kind gentleman from India to help me out. I had already put my shoes, laptop, and carry-on bag on the conveyer belt when the gaurd told me to remove my jacket and money belt. Seeing the freaked-out look on my face, the Indian man let me put them with his shoes; I could have gotten another bin, but I had no idea that was an option. But once I got through security with no other problems, I went on to my gate. It was too early to board, so I had a little time to read and get ready. But my nerves prevented me from being able to concentrate on Tolstoy, so I resorted to the USA Today special publication on Michael Jackson I bought. Don't judge me. It was totally worth it.
My flight from Chicago to Heathrow was about 8 hours. I had a window seat, but I kept the window shade down during take-off so I wouldn't fall ill. I sat next to a young English man and another man; I don't know where he was from, but his passport was in a language I couldn't recognize. Maybe the Baltics? He didn't say a word the whole flight, so I ended up listening to the radiologist from North Dakota sitting behind me talk to the people sitting next to him. He was wearing American flag pants and talked about how he likes to wear them and make the Brits he golfs with nervous. And we wonder why people think Americans are obnoxious.
My friend Lisa was right about British Airways food; it's quite good. I have no other airline food to compare it too, but it seemed fine to me. Since I had forgotten to take any medication that would help me sleep, I had a little wine. Of course, my plastic glass was cracked, and half of the Bordeaux eneded up on me. My book got most of it though, and my mother's blazer that I was wearing didn't get stained.
I was going to listen to music while I tried to sleep, but the opera station was playing some 20th Century English opera. Britten? I'm not sure, but it's not good for falling asleep. I didn't sleep well, but who does on an airplane? But I woke up as the sun was rising above Ireland. By then my body was beginning to feel tense and I was ready to get out of that plane. It was then that I discovered that in the pack with the sleep mast, there were a pair of Birtih Airway socks.
We landed at Heathrow about an hour later and took a shuttle from the plane to Terminal 5. Heathrow is a center of insanity. I stood for a few mintues in one of the hallways, not really knowing where to go, but finally just followed the crowd up to security.
Heathrow security was a near disaster. It's proceedures are slightly different than those at O'Hare; you can leave your sheos on, but they want your carry-on liquids taken out of the bag. The security person was beginning to be a little impatient with me as I pulled out the items, but I managed. As I was about ready to walk off, I noticed my laptop bag was feeling unusually light. Just then, I heard a notice on the PA system "We have a laptop at security". I picked up my things and went back, hoping that no one had taken it. It took a while to get anyone's attention, but I got my laptop back. yay!
Heathrow Airport, as I said before, is crazy. It feels more like a shopping mall with an airport thrown into it. The signs obvisously are a wonderful help, but if I could change one thing about the place it would be this; tell passangers from which gate they are departing sooner. Some flights from Terminal 5 require a short shuttle ride to the gates, but you don't find this out until a certain time (I don't remember exactly how long before the flight). Since I had a short layover, I was concerned about time. But then again, I'm freakishly paranoid about being late, so this is no suprise, and I was there in pleanty of time.

Atto 2: London to Rome: Mrs. Atticson and Jules
My flight to Rome was bout 2 hours and on a smaller plane. This plane actually might have been comfortable to sleep in. Oh well.
I was extremely fortunate to share this ride with two very interesting ladies. Mrs. Atticson (spelling?) is probably in her late 70s and was travelling with her companion, Jules, who is probably 40-50. Mrs. Atticson is a widow, and spoke a few times of her late husband, Percy. I don't know how she met Jules, or how they began travelling together. They were going to the Vatican, because Mrs. Atticson's sight is failing, and she watned to be able to see it while she still can. Because of her poor eyesight, I helped her with a few things like buckling her seatbelt and descirbing the scenery outside the plane window. She asked me about my travels, where I was from, and how I enjoyed flying so far. And she offered me great adive as well, telling me to hang on to my faith because it will carry me though tough times when I'm older. She also warned me about British coffee, "Oh, it's horrific!"
I was able to enjoy a wonderful view on this ride. We flew south of out the UK and into France, flying over Paris and into Italy. I was able to pick out Paris from 30,000 feet because of the Arc de Triumph and the roads going towards it, which, if I might add, looks amazing from above. Viewing landscape from above is fascinating, and each country has its own distince features. The Midwest, for example, is very square. England, on the other hand, is any shape it wants to be. Yes, there are squares, but I also noticed feilds shaped like triangles, and little towns that amophously grew out of one center. France is somewhere in the middle.
Fiumicino Airport is also chaos, but in a much different way than Heathrow. Again, I wasn't sure where to go, so I just followed everyone else and hoped they were going the same place I wanted to be. This turned out to work. But My freaking out began when my luggage appeared to not have come through. Altmost the entirety of my flight was waiting by the conveyer belt, but at first only about half of the luggage came. I had also tried to call home at this point to say I got there, but my phone wouldn't let the call go through. So there I was, standing in the stuffy airport with no luggage and no way to contact my parents, with no idea what to do. But eventualy the conveyer belt started up again, and the rest of the bags appeared. The phone stil didn't work.
When I came out of the terimal, about 50 people were standing there waiting for passangers. Many had signs, and I looked for my name or the name of my program, but neither were there. An Italian airport worker approached me and asked if I wanted a taxi, and I said, "No, grazie. Someone is supposed to pick me up, but I can't find her." "Che?" I was confused and flustered, he was confused, so I walked away when he started talking with someone else. I wandered around like this for about 45 minutes, called the program director, and still couldn't find my group. Finally, I started heading for another terminal, and someone stopped me. "Italian Operatic Experience?" they asked. My director had called the person meeting us. So, I finally was able to sit down and relax a little before the bus ride to Urbania.

Atto 3: Italia by Bus
The bus ride from Rome to Urbania lasted about 4 and 1/2 hours. I tend to enjoy raod trips, and this was by far one of the most interesting. Italy is a very green country; I noticed this first from my view from the plane, and even more so driving through the country. Trees are everywhere. We stopped at a truck stop about half-way to Urbania. Italian truck stops may be one of the most interesting things I've ever seen. This one sold pasta and fresh meat and cheese. There's something you'd never see in the States. But we continued on, and the motion sickness kicked in once we went through the mountains. I kept my eyes close from getting ill, but that meant I had to miss out on the beautiful scenery.

Atto 4: At home with Italians
Once we arrived at the bus stop, Roberto, one of the Scuola Italia instructors, was waiting for us with our housing assignments. We had the choice of either staying in an apartment with other students or living with a family. Suprisingly, only 2 students are staying with a family, and I am one of them. My host family is Franc esco and Leonarda, an Italian couple about my parents age. Cate, a student from New Zealand who has been here for about 3 months, is also living here. They also have a small and cute dog that adores Francesco, is fairly indifferent to Leonarda and Cate, and doens't know what to do about me. Francesco picked me up from the bus stop and drove me back to the apartment, which is about a block from Scuola Italia (which is wonderfu, because they told us that those living with families would probably have to walk 2 miles!). I had hardly put my things in my room when Leonarda brought me something to eat. While getting to know my Italian family, I realized that I know more Italian than I thought I did. Cate doesn't speak in English to me except for a few times, but it is nice to have someone in the apartment who knows English and can help me out. Cate and I took a passegiatta after I ate and walked around town. And, as my awkwardness is, the gelato I had melted all over the place. Great first impression, Lydia. But it was still a wonderful evening, and seeing people of all ages in the piazza is simply delightful.
I was happy to finally be able to sleep in a bed! This morning I had my first Italain coffee, which excelled my expectations. Coffee in America is very bitter, which is why I don't drink it all that often. But Italian coffee is very smooth and slightly creamy.
After unpacking and lunch, I took a walk around town. I found that my memory card didn't work in my camera, but found some American students taking a walk and we fixed the problem by me taking a memory card with smaller storage and the student paying me the difference. Shortly after that I had my first experience with Italian guys. There were 3 of them, Marco, Massimo, and Francesco. They asked me if I wanted to take their picture. I thought it was a slightly unusual question, but I said why not? I know I'm not the most worldly person, but I could see what was going on, so I went with it for a while. Marco asked me where I was going, and I said, the best that I could in Italian, nowhere in particular. He asked if they could accompany me, and I let them. Marco then asked after a bit if I wanted to go to the bar with them. Although it would have been interesting, I said no. I wasn't in the mood to have a drink, and the bar they were heading towards looked a little questionable. So they said ciao and went on their way. I came back to the apartment, put the key in the door, and it promply broke. Crap. So now I'm locked out, and I can't tell if Francesco and Leonarda are at home, and I don't want to shout to them from the ground. Eventually, I thought, somone has to come out of the building, and a teenager finally did. I showed him the key and said that I was livng with Francesco and Leonarda, and he let me in. They wern't upset with me, and said the keys are very old and it happens all the time.

That's all for now! I'll post photos when I have more than 2. Class starts tomorrow at 9:00 am.

Of Packing and Other Demons

2009-06-29T04:51:00.000-07:00

One of the things few people know about me is that I detest packing. Really, I do. I never know what to take, what I will or won't need, and how to efficiently get it all in a suitcase. And I always forget something- my glasses, contact solution, extra batteries, or some other thing that has to be sent in the mail. I'm trying to pack fairly light for this trip, taking the clothes I'll need for my Elixer of Love chorus costumes (sun dress and a cocktail dress), the opera scenes and St. Christopher concert clothes, and of course, what I need to wear every day (uh, doiyey!) I'm bringing Tolstoy's Resurrection with me too, and my laptop and camera. And lots of batteries, because my camera uses them up like no one's business.

This morning I did get information about my host family from the Scuola. I don't know who they are, but was told that they will be waiting for me at the bus station in Urbania. I'm very glad I chose to live with a host family instead of sharing an apartment with other students. My Italian is next to nonexistent, so trying to convey questions such as, "When do you want me to come home at night?" and "Do you have Internet?" might be a challenge. But a good one. :)

I still can't believe I'll be in Italy this week!

1 week!

2009-06-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

At this time next Saturday, my 4-hour bus ride from Rome to Urbania should be on its way.

Excitement? Yes.
Nerves? Yes again.
What still needs to be done?
1. PACK!
2. Make copies of the "Cosi fan Tutte" and "Falstaff" scenes
3. Makes copies of my arias
4. Refine "L'Elisir D'Amore" chorus music
5. Call a few people here and there

Another reason I love Dostoevsky

2009-06-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

Despite the darkness of tension of his novel "The Devils", Dostoevsky still manages to throw in some humor:

"Only Lyamshin had been there before, and he was telling everybody that the saint had ordered him to be driven out with a broom and had thrown two large boiled potatoes after him with his own hand."

Das Rheingold; the low-down

2009-05-18T12:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Lisa, her sister, and I went to the Indianapolis Opera to see their semi-staged performance of Wagner's Das Rheingold, the first opera of his Ring Cycle. I'd never been to Indy Opera before, and had no idea who was singing in the cast. And I wasn't sure what to expect from this performance.

And, as Wagner always does, I was blown away.

By far the most memorable singer of the opera was Greer Grimsley, who sang Wotan. Previous to seeing Rheingold yesterday, James Morris had been my only Wotan in live performance. And he set the bar extremely high. How high? Check it out here. You almost don't want to hear anyone else sing the role. So whenever I heard of anyone else singing Wotan, I was always a little skeptical, measuring the singer up to Morris.
I had heard wonderful things about Grimsley's voice, especially from his performances of Wotan in Seattle, so I was excited to get to hear him. And he blew me away! His voice cut easily over the orchestra, which was behind the singers. His performance was commanding, and his performance was magnetic. It's good to know that once Morris no longer sings Wotan, there's someone out there who can more than fill his shoes.

The performance was called a semi-staged concert version, but it didn't have that feeling. The "set" was various levels of scaffolding on the orchestra pit that were raised and lowered at the beginning and end of each scene. A screen was almost entirely lowered over the orchestra, showing images conveying each scene's setting; water for the Rhein, a mountain with a fortress for Valhalla, and a descent into a mine for Niebelheim. The only really cheesy moment with the screen was when Fafner killed his brother. A large metal pole-thing twirled across the screen, "hitting" Fasholt, and causing blood to appear on the screen. But the way in which the giants were depicted was very interesting; on either side of the stage were higher sets of scaffolding. Each bass stood on either scaffolding with a light projected on them, casting a large shadow on the screen. It was interesting and it worked well.

The singers were also semi-costumed. The Rheinmaidens wore flowing sparkly dresses, all different colors and teased Alberich (Richard Paul Fink, dressed in jeans, tennis shoes, a tuxedo shirt and vest) with transparent shawls. The gods were all in traditional "concert" attire, although Loge (Adam Klein, who sang wonderfully and acted delightfully) was dressed in a black suit with a bright orange shirt. And there were props too, which gave it more of a "fully-staged" feeling than anything; Wotan's Spear, the Rheingold, the Tarnhelm, and even the Ring itself.

And of course, that feeling of Wagner's music physically overwhelming you is unparalleled. You can't help but be taken in when you hear the giant's Leitmotiv the gods entrance into Valhalla at the end of the opera. One helluva show!

Beginning of summer

2009-05-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

One week of summer has gone by, and so far I'm enjoying myself. So far, I have

-helped children learn to use a drop-spindle at a fiber arts festival
-seen my brother graduate from college. =)
-been to a spinning guild meeting
-finished reading The Count of Monte Cristo
-planned to go see Das Rheingold in Indy on Sunday with Lisa, her sister Laura, and Dan!

Monte Cristo took me all semester to read, and now I'm searching for something else to read. Dostoevsky?

And...done

2009-05-07T12:38:00.000-07:00

After one heck of a semester, I'm back at home and bouncing back from Bloomington. I've realized how much I've learned and grown in this semester, and when I look back on what I started with in January and what I've learned and accomplished in these 4 months, I'm a bit shocked. This semester, I...

-Made my operatic debut
-Covered another role
-Had a few "social" firsts
-Discovered that I'm a music theory nerd
-Started learning some "big girl" music (arias from The Rape of Lucretia, Semiramide, and Idomeneo, and my teacher gave me the okay to look at Mahler's Kindertotenlieder)
-Planned to go to Italy!!!
-Officially became an upper classman at IU
-Started planning my junior recital
-Had "the grad school talk" with my teacher, which sort of developed into...
-"The career talk"
-Decided to do an independent music theory study for the spring semester, studying the vocal works of Sergei Rachmaninoff

And of course there are many other experiences that have really changed me this semester, and while it was sometimes unpleasant, it's made me a better person. It's been a whilrwind of a semester, and it went by so fast.

Confusion

2009-04-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

In theory, I should have all of my classes scheduled by now. But...there are always problems. This may involve me pleading with the Russian department about letting me be late to a class twice a week. This class conflicts for 10 minutes twice a week, and while my theory professor is ok with it, I have no word yet from the Russian department. In the words of my professor, "Well, you can go and beg on your knees and see what happens." But he said to not cry, because then he'd feel bad.

But in the spring semester next year (if it works out), I'll be working one-on-one with this same theory professor in an independent study course. For my topic, I've chosen to look at Rachmaninoff's songs and see how the poets he chose to set influenced his style. Of course, his later works are hugely different from his earlier ones, and I'm looking to see what the trends of poetry, or the styles of the poets he chose, had to do with that change. This professor is a Rachmaninoff specialist and only here for two years, so I want to take advantage of the opportunity to work with him. I met with him on Tuesday to discuss my topic, and we should be finalizing everything before the end of the semester.

The last weekend of The Most Happy Fella is coming tomorrow, and on Saturday are auditions for the first two operas of the season here! Then two weeks of class, three days of finals, and I'm done!

Easter 2009

2009-04-13T05:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked my second Easter away from home. Normally, I would go home, since it's so close, but I'm currently in the chorus for The Most Happy Fella here, and this past weekend was our opening. So, I was in Bloomington and away from my family, something that has never been easy. But I think the show went very well, and the chorus had lots of fun in the green room with Catchphrase and card games. And I really like my vineyard worker dress.

But, like the Easter I spent at Interlochen, the holiday turned out to be very nice. I go to church here with some wonderful people who really care about the students here, and two of them were kind enough to invite me to their Easter dinner. Alison is a fantastic cook, and makes some of the most wonderful dishes I've ever had. The dinner party was make up of Alison and her husband Helmut, our choir director Jon, his friend Laura, Brandon (a tenor friend of mine and fellow church chorister), and myself. And as usual, Alison's cuisine was just to die for. We had an appetizer of puff pastry filled with a mixture of sauteed mushrooms, feta, basil, onion, and artichoke. The main course consisted of roasted broccoli, a grain called quinoa (the only grain that is by itself a complete protein!), a cucumber dish, and roasted lamb. For dessert, she made a tiramisu-like dish that was just wonderful; I think what made it different was that it was made with brandy, but I'm not sure. But it was so good! And of course, conversation at the Kaisers is always interesting. We talked about everything from Helmut's job at the cyclotron, where he splits atoms and does experiments with neutrons to the piracy in Somalia to our traffic mishaps. As I've said before, I'm so happy that I've found such wonderful, interesting, and caring people here in Bloomington, especially outside of the university.

The second half of my Easter consisted of going to recitals. Jerome, a baritone in my studio, had his senior recital in the evening. He's made so much progress in the past year, and I'm very proud of him. His Schubert set in particular was very good. He's a very good actor as well, and you can tell how much he enjoys performing. The most beautiful point was the pianissimo high note in "Silent Noon", which just blew me away! Unfortunately, I had to leave his recital a bit early to catch another one. Thomas, a bass-baritone that I go to church with, and who sang both Figaro and Nicolai's Falstaff here, gave his master's recital. I can honestly say it was one of the best recitals I've been to here. My favorite pieces were two songs from the cycle A Broken Arch, which tells the story of a man who has been betrayed by his wife, and kills her lover, his best friend, in a duel. The words of these songs were painfully beautiful, and he sang them beautifully. The highlight of the recital, however, was Claggart's aria from Billy Budd. This aria is fairly creepy, but, like most of Britten's music, psychological and insightful. Congrats to Jerome and Thomas!

But my Easter ended with another happy note. I'm participating in a program this summer called The Italian Operatic Experience, in Urbania, Italy. Yesterday, I received word on what I'll be singing during my 5 weeks there. I'll be in the chorus of L'Elisir d'Amore (no mezzo roles), and I will also be participating in the opera scenes program, singing Dorabella in Cosi fan Tutte, and Mistress Quickly in Falstaff! Quickly is actually a contralto role, and between that, Cornelia, and the bits of Carmen I've done, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm a pants mezzo, or more of a young dramatic mezzo. Hmm...we'll have to see what happens. =)

Three weeks remain in the semester, and finals week can't come soon enough. This semester has really wiped me out in many ways. I'm very much looking forward to being at home again and having some quiet time to myself. Not much longer!

Updates updates updates

2009-03-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

Spring break has finally come! And now for some updates on what's been going on.

1. Closing night of Giulio Cesare came off with great success! All of the feedback I heard about the production as a whole, and my own performance, was very positive and gracious. As mentioned before, this was a bit overwhelming, but in a very good sense. I'm proud of my work in this show, and can't believe I as a part of this experience!
Some photos:

What I looked like as Nireno before they got rid of my wig. They said because I had the hat the entire show that there was no need for the wig.

With director Tom Diamond. He's brilliant, just amazingly brilliant, and I loved loved loved working with him. His methods really opened my mind to new ways of approaching acting, and I hope I have the opportunity to work with him again.

Backstage fun: Jacquie as Cleopatra and Dominic as Tolomeo. Dominic has worked in all sorts of art forms, from ballet, to musical theater, a role on All My Children, and now opera, and he's so so so so so good. And his high G is better than mine. Congratulations should go out to Jacquie not only for her beautiful performances, but also for her wedding yesterday!

With Cody, who sang Achilla in my cast. I've known Cody since my first semester at IU, and he's one of the nicest people I've met at this school. It was really a thrill and honor to be in a show with him. And you can now all see how short I am.

2. I'm going to Italy this summer! I'll be paricipating in The Italian Operatic Experience in Urbania, Italy during the month of July. I requested to live with an Italian family during my stay, and should find out at the end of the month what exactly I'll be singing there. I'm going to Italy!!!!

3. Driving back home was fun!

4. Friday's plans; Cavalleria Rusicana/Pagliacci at the Lyric Opera of Chicago! Mom and I are taking yet another trip up to Chicago for a girl's weekend complete with opera, shopping, good food, and everything else.

Soon to come...

2009-03-13T06:20:00.001-07:00

Now that Giulio Cesare has finished, I'll have a little more free time. I'm coming home for spring break today, and will post some of the details of closing weekend and such when I get home. That is, if the Internet at home will be nice and not slow.

I'm actually doing the driving back home this time, which is strange. The girl that was supposed to give me a ride broke her ankle and can't drive, so I'm driving her car back to Fort Wayne. I've never driven for this amount of time put together, so things could be interesting. Coffee will probably be needed.

Some thoughts after opening night

2009-03-01T17:45:00.000-08:00

Opening night was all that I could have ever wanted and more. I always forget from show to show how much an audience gives you an extra burst of energy and often inspires a degree of spontaneity in performance. And I could feel that it was there, not only in me, but in my fellow cast members. The arias were sung especially well; I've never heard Andy (Cesare) sing "Va taccito" as well as he did last night, and the same goes for Cody (Achilla) in his aria, and Jacquie (Cleopatra) in her "Da Tempeste". Andy even threw in a low D at the end of "Quel torrente" just for kicks, and it was thrilling to be onstage with him; "Quel torrente" is meant to inspire Sesto and Nireno, and it wasn't hard to feel that way. I'm so proud of everyone not only in my cast, but in the other cast. I'm truly blessed to share the stage with such talented and wonderful people!

Another word about the whole team of Giulio Cesare. They've been so kind during the whole process, from the first meeting we had as a cast back in October to opening night. Their graciousness, generosity, and support have been well beyond what I could have asked for in a group of colleagues, and it means the world to me. I've known a few of them since my first days at IU, and it's been an honor to finally work with them in such detail. It's been a wonderful experience.

And really, this has been a full circle adventure for me. I remember when I was 13 and seeing my first live opera, Don Giovanni, at IU and thinking to myself, "I want to sing here someday." The thrill from that performance is something I remember even today, and it was matched by the happiness I felt last night. And I honestly never thought that I'd get here, but I'm happy that I was wrong.
The photo is of Maestro Wedow and myself after the performance. He's one of the most brilliant and creative people I've ever worked with, and has given me the chance to test my limits and open myself to new ideas.

Covering and Hovering

2009-02-26T12:27:00.000-08:00

Opening night of "Giulio Cesare" is tonight! Consequently, we've been in dress rehearsals all week. And of course, half the cast wasn't feeling well. Everything seems to be fine now. But Wednesday was totally different. The Cornelia in that cast (tonight's cast) wasn't planning to sing any of her arias on Wednesday to save her voice. My cast had to be in the Green Room at 6 for notes from our director and were free to go after that. After I got my notes (one of which included lifting Achilla higher in his death scene so that he's in the light...basically putting his whole torso on my legs and chest)I found Maestro and asked he if wanted me to stay for anything. I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to ask if I could sing the arias, so I tried to be sneaky about it. At first he said he didn't need me for anything, but I must have given him a look or something, because then the lights in his eyes went on and he said, "Actually, do you want to sing the arias? That would be wonderful!"

And I did.

I think this was the biggest adrenaline rush of my life. I'd never sung totally solo with an orchestra before; I'd done two SATB quartets with orchestra before, but nothing this large or this intense. I hadn't rehearsed with them, and had only worked with Maestro once. So, when it came time for one of Cornelia's arias, I walked to the side of the stage and sang while the actual singer did the acting. I think for the most part it went well; I know for the first 5 or so measures of "Priva son" that I was behind, but I had trouble hearing the orchestra at first, and didn't realize how behind I was until Maestro and Marcello started motioning for me to speed it up. And for those of you who don't know the aria, the introduction is...one beat. Downbeat, sing. This is scary. But after I got in sync with the orchestra, I felt that it went very well. I won't lie, it was a bit awkward to walk onstage in my jeans, tennis shoes, and sweater and sing an aria from the side of the stage while everyone else was in full costume and makeup. But several of the people in attendance that evening complimented me on how I sang. And while the chances of me actually singing Cornelia in this run are extremely slim, I'm so glad I had this experience, especially because much of her music is very exposed and scary if you've never done it before. But now I know I can indeed do it!

For those of you interested in watching the performance but can't make it to Bloomington, here is the link to live streaming.
Streaming begins at 7:45 Eastern Time. I will be singing in the February 28th and March 6th casts.
And here is the link to the official website for the production.

The photo was taken on one of the dress rehearsals. I don't know who took it, but thank you whoever you are! This is my first scene in the opera. On a side note, the label inside my headdress says it's from the Met, from a production of "Aida". This may be the closest to the Met I ever get, but it still makes me feel cool.

Cesare Top 10, Week 2 of Staging

2009-02-14T09:45:00.000-08:00

What's new with Cesare:

1. I have Cornelia memorized!
2. My Nireno costume was made for a man, so I'm sort of swimming in it. But it makes me look cool. And they're adjusting it.
3. Supporting a 6'4'' bass-baritone during his death scene isn't easy.
4. If I would end up singing a performance of Cornelia, I would get felt up by 4 different guys.
5. Tolomeo's death scene is going to rock, hardcore.
6. My Italian, according to our coach, is getting better each time!!
7. Being slap happy with previously bass-baritone, diction coach, and another mezzo is quite fun.
8. I'm performing in the inside cast (the "Remus", as in Romulus and Remus, cast), which performs on February 28 and March 6. If you can't see it live, catch it on the live streaming over the Internet. More details to come.
9. Maestro is one of the most amazing people I've ever worked with. Actually, this whole cast and production team is just brilliant!
10. I can't wait for this show!

What's keeping Lydia busy?

2009-02-04T15:19:00.000-08:00

As of Sunday, I am officially the cover for the role of Cornelia in Giulio Cesare in addition to singing the role of Nireno.
This will be the least amount of time I've ever had to learn something of this magnitude, but I am thrilled that I was asked to do this, and want to prove that it wasn't a mistake to pick a sophomore to learn this role in less than a month.
In other words, I'm thrilled beyond belief, but I have more work to do than I ever have before.

What I did on my snow day.

2009-01-31T15:19:00.000-08:00

We were smart enough to create photographic proff of our snow day. So here you go.

Snow!

2009-01-28T18:43:00.001-08:00

Monday marked the first "official" rehearsal for Giulio Cesare with the entire cast and Maestro. As of today, we have a month until opening night.
The rehearsal itself, in my opinion, went quite well. We had an hour break in the middle, and instead of being a good student and practicing (I hadn't had a chance all day, seeing as I was busy from 9 a.m. until right then), I went to dinner with some of the other cast members. This was fun, because I made $5 in rehearsal that day after answering a question Maestro posed. Does this mean I'm a paid opera singer? ;)

The dinner crowd consisted of myself and my double, 4 countertenors, and a baritone. That's right, 4 countertenors. Before this show I didn't even know 4 countertenors. But we had a good time, and I enjoyed getting to know them a little better. Somehow we ended up talking about our dating lives and such, and after they talked about theirs, one of them asked me if I was seeing anyone. I said I wasn't (which is true), but that I'm working on it (which is also true). He looked me in the eye and said, "Oh don't worry, there are many fish in the pond, and the pond is a big place." I can honestly say I've never been asked about my love life before, especially in a group of people I don't know that well. But it made me laugh and I had a good time.

And to make this week even more interesting, the university closed today due to snow. There was already a few inches on the ground, but by noon we had a foot of snow. So, after watching a Disney movie with the housemates, we went out and played in the snow. I haven't played in the snow for years, so this was quite interesting. And, as many many many college students have done, we went tray sledding. That's all I'm saying about that. But now my body's a little worn out. We rounded out the snow day by watching The Fellowship of the Ring, the extended version. But I got work done afterwords in preparation for tomorrow's opera rehearsal. But the snow day was very much needed, and I had a blast!

Happy Birthday Mozart!

2009-01-27T17:48:00.000-08:00

If Mozart were still alive, he'd be 253 today.

One of my first encounters with opera was with this duet, and I've been in love with it ever since.

This was one of the first arias I ever learned. It still is one of my favorites.

In my opinion, this is the most seductive piece of music ever composed.

Enjoy! =)

Signor del mondo...

2009-01-22T17:49:00.000-08:00

I had my first coaching with Maestro Wedow today, and was very happy with how it all went. Again, my role isn't very big, but it is important. Nireno is, as Mo. Wedow put it, "Like James Levine, Vince Liotta, and David Effron all rolled into one." Cleopatra trusts him, and really lets him boss her around a bit. I keep forgetting that Cesare is, well, Julius Caesar (ahhh!!!), a larger-than-life character. King of the world. He's more than a general, and Cleopatra knows it. If she wins his love, she wins power. What she doesn't plan on, however, is falling in love with him.
And this is where Nireno helps.
He's proud of Cleopatra. She's "his honor student" as Mo. Wedow said. But he's still a servant. A servant, as he put it, in the way that Hilary Clinton is working with President Obama. And he's on the right team; after all, it is Nireno that begins the coronation scene, declaring Curio to be the victor, and Cesare to be kind of the world. In the back of his mind, though, he's saying, "See, I told you my girl Cleopatra would win. And now all those suckers who supported Tolomeo are being beheaded. Guess I was right!"
But there was still time left after we were finished working through the role, so we worked a little on my aria from Ariadne auf Naxos. I haven't been working on it that long, so it's still pretty rough in a lot of places. But Maestro gave me some very good suggestions, especially on how I learn the aria. He said I should take it in chunks, and that while Struass sounds like it's floating, you have to watch the conductor at all times. In retrospect, I should have sung Mozart for him, but he mentioned that he'd like to hear me sing my aria from Le Clemenza di Tito eventually. But I don't think I made a fool of myself in the least, and learned a great deal.
I'm just so thrilled to be singing in this opera, and to be working with my amazing cast members and artistic team! =)

New Semester

2009-01-14T12:50:00.000-08:00

It's only 3 days into the semester, but I'm already very busy. My semester started at 9:00 am on Monday morning with a coaching for Giulio Cesare. It went well, but I still need to do a lot of work as far as bringing Nireno to life, something Daniela is helping me accomplish. I worked with Marcello on Tuesday, and he was very pleased with my diction, telling me how much I had improved over the break. This made me very happy, seeing my work amount to something!

Of course, whenever I come back to school from a long break, some homesickness lingers for the first week or so. It makes me frustrated, seeing as I really haven't found a way to rid myself of it. One of the things I miss most when I'm at school is having my cats around. Yes, I'm one of those cat people. ;) There's a Petsmart not far from campus that has cats up for adoption, and on Monday, I discovered that you can hold them for as long as you want. Which I did. And I'm going back today. It's really too bad I can't adopt one, although the cats at home would freak out if I did.

The other big news is that I'll be moving again next fall. While I like the location of the house I'm at now, there's just too many people and too much noise. Part of this comes from being on a very busy street corner and me not being used to traffic noise, having grown up in the middle of nowhere. But some of it also stems from there just being 11 of us, and the majority of the housemates being very extroverted, which sometimes clashes with my introverted personality. So, I'll be living with 3 or 4 friends in a townhouse a little farther from campus. But it's about half the price I'm paying now, in a much quieter environment, and closer to things like the grocery store. But it's still close enough to campus that I won't need a car. I'm excited for this change and think it will be the best for me.

Baritone therapy

2009-01-08T16:58:00.001-08:00

I'm getting a little stressed about next semester, with my rediculously busy schedule, Giulio Cesare, and upper divisionals. But you know what the best kind of therapy is? Good-looking baitones. Just watch.

I know it's in Russian, but it's good to know that headphones are an international pain in the butt.

Some Mozart to cure the winter blah

2009

2009-01-01T06:56:00.000-08:00

Hello 2009!

Winter break has been wonderful so far, except for the having a cold when I came home and the power outages. Those were not so great. But the ice melted, the power came back on, and my voice has mostly come back. It better, because I have an audition recording to make tomorrow and 5 pieces to sing. At some point I'll post photos of the insane amount of ice we had, but right now there's a cat on my lap and I can't get my camera.
I've also spent much of my break reading, which is something I really don't have much time for when I'm at school. Mansfeild Park by Jane Austen is what I'm currently reading. Yes, I'm a Jane Austen fan and am not ashamed to admit it. But I also got my hands on copies of Dostoevsky's The Devils (which is also translated as Demons) and The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas. I was going to find some smutty romance novel to read over break just for the heck of it, but I don't think that's going to happen.
2008 was definitely a freak-out year for me; opera workshop, meeting Dmitri Hvorostovsky, my "special" summer job and class, dealing with insecurities, the cattle call freak out, singing for Virginia Zeani, the callback for Giulio Cesare, getting cast in the same opera, and learning a lot of "big girl" music.

May the freak-outs continue.

Can I just move to Europe?

2008-12-15T14:33:00.000-08:00

The concert yesterday went very well, in my opinion. The Bach really pulled itself together, and all of the soloists really sounded wonderful. And of course, the children's choir was just as adorable as is possible. As I said before, I could go on about the musicians, but I won't.
After the concert, I went to dinner with one of the other altos in choir, Alison. Her husband, Helmuth, is from Austria, and besides the three of us there was our choir director, Jon, another member of the choir, Kelly, a graduate piano student who sings with us, Alice, Heidi-Marie, Alison and Helmuth's daughter, and two Italian astrophysicists, Massimo and Claudia. I was definitely the youngest person there, but I didn't mind in the least; I've always gotten along better with adults then people my own age.
So, the first course is brought out. Yes, course. Sorry, I may get a little carried away. The first course was individual quiches and a mixed greens salad. I love quiche. A lot. So after we were finished, the main course is set out. We had almond-encrusted salmon accompanied by a sweet salsa. Along with this were sauteed zucchini, tomatoes, garlic, and basil, peas with shrimp, and a citrus rice dish with basil and maybe saffron. It was, in a word, amazing.
So I thought this might be the end. But no! There's more! After that came the bread and cheese. And really good European cheese. After the cheese came desserts. Homemade puff pastries and a coffee-chocolate mouse. And on top of all of this, when Alison invited me on Tuesday, and I mentioned that I was very excited to come, she said, "Oh, don't be. It's not going to be much."
omg.
But besides the wonderful food (this is honestly the best I've eaten in months), the company was great! Alison and Helmuth are very sweet and interesting people, and well rounded in many subjects. Discussion at the table covered everything from politics (both American and Italian) to things at church to literature to the stupid things undergraduates do (but I was informed that I do not fall into that category) to how Jon met Chelsea Clinton when he was at Yale. Part of the flavor of the conversation came from everyone's varied backgrounds. Jon grew up outside of New York City, Massimo and Claudia are from Rome (and moving to Paris by January), and here I am from Lake WobeDecatur. I didn't get back to my house until midnight, and was beyond tired; I'd been up since 7 that morning so that I get some studying done before Thomas picked me up for church at 10. But it was entirely worth the exhaustion.
And I'm thankful that I can have opportunities and experiences like this. Although it may sound odd, this is the sort of experience one doesn't expect to have when growing up in a place like Lake WobeDecatur. Being cast in an opera, learning Russian, and working with world-class artists also fall into this category. It blows my mind sometimes.

Almost done

2008-12-14T11:11:00.000-08:00

My last coaching with Marcello before the break was on Friday. He told me that I've improved, and even sounded good on some parts. We had time after we were finished with the diction part, and went on to actually singing. As I've said before, he's on the pickiest coaches I've worked with, but brilliant. I've never really done recitative before this, and he's been a great help making it sound good.
In about 45 minutes I'll be getting picked up for the choir concert at my church down here in Bloomington. We're performing a bunch of different Christmas and Advent selections, including Bach's cantata "Hertz und Mund und That und Leben". Even though this is a volunteer choir, we've actually got a voice major on each part plus quite a few people who know what they're doing. Jon, our director, got a few members of the Early Music Institute (EMI) to be our orchestra, plus some outside soloists (he told me and the tenor in our choir that he would have picked us for those solos, but I came in kind of late and the tenor had his junior recital to prepare). Our soprano soloist was in opera workshop with me last year, singing Maria to my Anita in "A Boy Like That", and is actually the one who introduced me to this church down here. The bass soloist sang Figaro here last year and Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor this fall. His voice sounds slightly like Nathan Gunn's, only with more "bass" qualities. He's also one of the funniest people I've ever met, and Jeff and Kelli's (our pastors) kids just love him. I could go on but I'll stop.
My first two finals are tomorrow; Russian at 8:00 am (honestly, Russian is a language that really shouldn't be spoken before 10:00 am. It's unhealthy) and French at 12:30. Then nothing until my music theory final Friday at 12:30. I have no idea what the heck I'm going to do for three days, and really wish I could take it earlier (already tried, won't work sadly) and get home sooner.

Italain Diction Boot Camp Part 2

2008-12-05T14:05:00.000-08:00

My second coaching with Marcello was today. I've worked on my text, but there's still a lot of work to be done. However, he did tell me that I've improved, and some of it sounds very good. But, as he was telling me that my mouth was working too much to enunciate, he said, "You look like you're under pressure. You just need to relax. I know you want to do a good job, but just relax a little. If you work too hard, it's counterproductive." Of course, once I did, it improved! This isn't the first time I've been told by a music person or anyone, that I'm tense and need to loosen up. Do I work too hard sometimes? Yes. Do I need to loosen up? Probably. Of course, part of the nervousness comes from having a native speaker (who happens to be gorgeous) coach you in his native language. I'm very glad he's being extremely picky though, because this will help tremendously in the longrun.
Yesterday I had my first musical coaching. I've never done recitative before, and it is much harder than one might think. But I'm getting the hang of it, and very much enjoying it. It's better to learn to do recitative now than a few years from now. But my musical coach asked me if I was a grad student. I'm not, but this question has come up several times since I started college. I think part of people thinking I'm tense and nervous is because I am; I'm 19 and doing my first role at a major voice school. Of course I'm nervous! It's scary!
And, as a fellow opera-blogger and facebook friend Susan pointed out, "You know... if you relax, the Italian will just come. :) So go have a glass of chianti."
Chianti...mmmmm. =)

All fached up

2008-12-02T14:49:00.000-08:00

Today I sang for the first and last time an aria from Britten's Billy Budd. This opera is based on the novella of the same name by Herman Melville, and has an all male cast. There's not even a pants role, sadly. Therefore, I'll never be in this opera. But in English diction, I got a chance to sing one of the arias as part of an "all fached up" day.
Surprisingly, very few people sang, especially given the excitement that had gone into setting this up. There were three of us who sang something we'll never sing again. A tenor sang "My man's gone now" from Porgy and Bess in his falsetto, and blew everyone away. Seriously, his high C is better than most women's. He might consider a career as a countertenor. One of the other women in the class sang "Joey" from The Most Happy Fella, which nearly every baritone sang this year at cattle calls. In fact, between that and the many people who sang it in her studio, that's how she learned it. And I sang "And farewell to ye, old Rights o Man" from Billy Budd. It's a very beautiful piece, and surprisingly tonal by Britten's standards. Billy sings this only minutes before he's hanged for killing Claggart, and in these final moments he explains that he's at peace, and that all of the horrible things that are about to happen to him don't matter now. I felt like I sang it well, but after I was done, Ms. McNair said to me, "Didn't you just feel the energy in the room that you created? It was wonderful!" And then went on to explain that no matter what you're singing, if you take it seriously, so will the audience. She then said to me, "You go and be Billy Budd!"
Later in the class, she herself sang "The Devil went down to Georgia" and played the violin part. It was, to say the least, freaking amazing.

What?

2008-12-01T15:08:00.000-08:00

My week:
Russian exam
"All fached up" day in English diction
French listening exam
English diction exam
Theory homework
Italian diction coaching for Giulio Cesare
Musical coaching for Giulio Cesare
Voice lesson
Work on theory project
Church choir rehearsal
Dinner with Stephanie in celebration of her engagement

Oranges, shoes, and pancakes

2008-11-22T09:19:00.000-08:00

Since it's closing night tonight, I'll post some photos from The Love for Three Oranges.

These are the infamous blue shoes I wear in the opera. Fabulous, no?

Members from my studio in the opera. From left; Jessica as a Romanic, Jerome as an Eccentric, Ariel as a Tragical. Leah as Fata Morgana, me as a Comical, Charlotte as a Romanic, and Kelly as Princess Ninetta.
Towards the end of the opera, the King sings that Leander, Clarissa, and Smeraldina are sentenced to "death by hanging." After one of the dress rehearsals, David (in the photo, another chorus member), being his usual funny self, declared, "death by pancakes". Now it's hard to keep a straight face during that part of the opera. Thanks.

Also, we're having an "all fached up" day in my English diction class. Before I continue; "fach" is a German word that is used to talk about voice types. It's not a curse word. Anyway, for this "all fached up" class, we can sing something we'd never sing in real life. For example, one of the tenors is going to sing "Glitter and be Gay" from Candide. And me? "And farewell to ye, old Rights o Man" from Billy Budd, which is a baritone aria; I'll sing it in my octave though. And be channeling Nathan Gunn the whole time.

Giulio Cesare Dicton Boot Camp

2008-11-21T14:45:00.001-08:00

My first diction coaching for Giulio Cesare was on Wednesday. We're fortunate to have an Italian, Marcello, as one of our vocal coaches/accompanists, and he's also helping us out with the Italian diction. I haven't taken Italian yet, but I did have some diction coachings back at Interlochen with Donna, and I feel like I've got a good ear for languages. So, I thought my Italian would be in at least decent shape.
So, after my lesson, I wnet up one more flight of stairs to Marcello's office, and we begin the coaching. I read the text aloud, and he corrected me. I didn't realize just how many small intricacies there were in Italian diction, like the implied double consonants. I didn't seem to be screwing up on too many ideas, but the ones I did were huge; consonants and vowels. Marcello told me often, "No, you're using too much consonants, and your vowels aren't pure." I actually didn't realize I was putting diphthongs in some of these words, and its harder than heck to not say them. But Marcello was really a huge help. I was able to mention that I hadn't taken Italian yet, and he said, "Oh! Well you're doing well then." And whenever I would come close to saying something correctly, he would sort of jump in his chair and say, "This is best one." So now I have a lot of work to do between now and our next coaching, which will probably be after the Thanksgiving break.
Speaking of Thanksgiving...
It can't come soon enough. End of story. This semester has been my roughest yet in more ways than one, and it has left me totally exhausted. My white noise machine has helped me sleep, but I still haven't felt rested in about a month. So this break and a chance to have some quiet will be greatly appreciated.

"You'll see a performance, a special kind of opera, striking and original..."

2008-11-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

Last night was la prima of The Love for Three Oranges at IU. My parents came down to Bloomington for the performance, which I thought went very well. I never cease to be amazed at how much energy is gained from having an audience. The house was fairly well filled up too, which was nice. The group of the chorus I'm in, the Comicals, actually start out in the house, sitting with everyone else. And because of our costumes, we all got some bizarre looks, like "Doesn't that girl realize that dress went out of style 15 years ago?"

If anyone is interested, all performances will be streamed live via the IU website, starting at 7:45 in the evening (central time). You can access it here. =)

But my costume. Oh my the costume. Well, here's a photo.

One of the baritones in the cast told me at intermission "Girl, whenever I see your floral dress, I just want to puke." It made me laugh. Too bad you can't see the cobalt blue shoes in this photo.

Tag!!

2008-10-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

Susan, a fellow opera-blogger, has tagged me in this blog game. Here's what you do:

The rules
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog. Susan tagged me =)
2. Share 7 facts about yourself - some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
5. If you don't have 7 blog friends, or if one of them has already been tagged, find a random blog.

My bizarre facts:

1. I'm very particular about my socks. I hardly ever walk around the house in stocking feet because I don't like the sock bottoms getting dirty.

2. When I first became involved in theater, I seemed to get cast as boys. I'm a mezzo-soprano now, which means...I get cast as boys. Maybe someday I'll get to play a woman under the age of 50.

3. Green beans are one of a very few foods that I do not like.

4. I've been twice attacked by dogs, which may explain why I'm such a big cat person.

5. I own and can use a spinning wheel. I've spun quite a bit of yarn (the most recent product being a blend of angora mohair and merino wool), and and still learning how to knit.

6. Due to close-up double vision, I now have reading glasses. They're more than just magnifiers, and they help my eyes to focus.

7. I prefer cold temperatures over hot.

And now I'm going to change the rules. I don't know seven people with a blog, and I feel a bit odd about randomly tagging people, so I'll just leave it here. Which means you now know seven bizarre things about me. =) If you want to begin this on your blog, however, go right ahead!

Rehearsals

2008-10-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

The Love for Three Oranges
Yesterday three other chorus members and myself wiped out while running across the stage. In front of everyone. Thank God people thought it was funny. As one of the tenors told me, "People thought it was funny, or they were worried." Apparently one of the other people running with me slipped on a newspaper, fell, and brought the rest down with us. I was also told it looked like it was in slow motion. Actually, it was kind of cool.
Today, as part of a scene in which we try to make the Prince laugh, I was beat up with giant inflatable swords. While wearing a mask.

Giulio Cesare
At our cast meeting, the director (freaking brilliant man, by the way) told us that as actors we have to believe we can do anything. He turns to me and asked, "Like you, do you think you could ever kill anybody?" I had no idea what kind of a response he was looking for, so, "Sure...no?...I don't know!", which brought on some laughs. He then asks, "Do you ever plan on having a child?" I said yes and he continued, "Suppose some creep tries to hurt or kill your child. Would you kill him?" I said I definitely would. "See, you can kill. Whenever I do this exercise, I try to find a woman who looks like she wants to have a child and ask her." This once again proves my awkwardness. But I am excited to start coachings in about three weeks, first on diction, then adding the music. =)

Now I can actually talk about this.

2008-10-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

It's official! The lists are posted!

I bought my score early this week and am busy learning my role. Nireno does have an aira, but it is often cut, as it will be in this production. Obviously, there are going to be lots of cuts, because Giulio Cesare uncut is almost Wagnerian in length. Since the aria is cut (I actually haven't seen it in any editions of the score), my entire role is recitative, plus the small ensemble at the very end. I've really never done recitative before, so this will be extremely good for me, and will really push me as far as memorization. Nireno is actually a very interesting character; he's an instigator, telling many of the characters, especially Cleopatra, "No, don't do that. Why don't you do this instead?" and working behind the scenes for his favorable outcome. This namely involves getting Cleopatra and Ceasar to hook up and for someone to take down Tolomeo. And these both happen.

Thursday the entire cast met with our conductor. The opera isn't until next semester (last weekend in March, first weekend in February), but learning the stylistic elements and preparation needs to begin as soon as possible. I only knew a few of the other singers going into the production, and a few others I had seen but really never met. I dashed to the basement of the MAC (Musical Arts Center) as soon as our first staging rehearsal for The Love for Three Oranges, of which I am in the chorus, was over. In the basement where all the dressing rooms and such are, I saw two or three guys who appear to be looking for something. I was right in assuming that they were also looking for the same room I was. One of them says to me, "Oh, are you in the cast? How wonderful!" and introduced himself. We finally found the room, which turned out to be the women's chorus dressing room, all ready for The Merry Wives of Windsor, which opens next weekend. My first impression on meeting the entire cast is that I'm very young. When I say young, I mean I'm the only person under 20 in the entire cast. Consequently, I feel like a small child. But I'm excited to learn this role and be a part of this wonderful and beautiful opera!

Here's a closer look at the cast list. I still can't believe my name is actually on it.

Breaking News

2008-10-06T11:43:00.001-07:00

I found out only a few hours ago that I've been cast as Nireno in IU Opera Theater's production of Giulio Cesare! I'm absolutely beside myself with happiness and cannot believe this has happened!! More updates to come.

More freak-outs

2008-10-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

Here's what my last week or so has been like:

Monday, 22 September: I receive an e-mail that golden age soprano and former Jacobs School Distinguished Professor of Voice Virginia Zeani (who sang with everybody; think Corelli, Simionato, Domingo, Pavarotti, del Monaco...you get the idea) will be giving two masterclasses here in honor of her 60th anniversary of her operatic debut as Violetta, which coincides with IU Opera Theater's 60th anniversary. And we opened this season with La Traviata. I sign up for the Wednesday masterclass, prepared to sing "Parto, ma tu ben mio". This is big stuff, guys.

Wednesday, 24 September: I sing for Miss Zeani in the masterclass. I was very pleased with how I sang, one of those few circumstances where I walk away from a performance feeling very happy. Miss Zeani turns to me and asks, "Tell me, have you ever considered that you might be a soprano?" I told her that I had, but that I feel more comfortable as a mezzo. She said, "Very good. You have a very beautiful voice, very lyric. Your legato is very beautiful, and your diction is excellent. I just thought, 'She has such a beautiful voice, maybe she could sing Mimi, or "Senza Mama" or other Puccini.' But if you feel more comfortable as a mezzo, then stay there. Sing what you love. You can do Mozart, and someday Werther."
Alice, my teacher, who was a student of Miss Zeani and lived with her for 12 years, talked to her afterwords about the soprano/mezzo debate, since this has been an ongoing thing with my voice. They both agreed that I should stay a mezzo for now, but later on I may move into soprano repertoire. Like, 15 years from now.

Thursday, 25 September: Miss Zeani gives a closed masterclass for students of three specific studios, one of which was the one I'm in. I soaked up every word she said in these masterclasses. She's done so much, sung with so many people, and knows so much that its impossible not to. And on top of that, she's a very fun and sweet person, full of stories about everyone you can think of, and has a great sense of humor. Basically, I want to be Virginia Zeani. My parents considered naming me Virginia, you know, but obviously didn't pick it. Zeani's first teacher's name was Lydia though. So there you go.

Friday, 26 September: I see that I have a new voicemail on my phone, and I listen to it. It's a message from Alice; "Hi Lydia, this is Alice. Please call me back as soon as you can. Bye." Of course, my first thought is that someone has died. I don't know why, but that's what I thought. But then I thought, "Why would she be calling me?" So, I called her back promptly. She tole me, "I got a call from the opera casting committee, and they want to you to do a callback for Julius Caesar next Thursday, singing Cornelia's 'Priva son'." I have never been more stunned and surprised in my entire life, and never never never imagined this would or could happen. I kept saying "ohmygod ohmygod" over and over and feeling absolutely and genuinely shocked.

Saturday, 27 September through Wednesday, 1 October: Prepare for callback. Insert embellishments to A section in the da capo. The aria is memorized.

Thursday, 2 October: I skipped my morning classes to get physically and mentally warmed up and prepared for the callback. When I get to the MAC (Musical Arts Center, where we perform all of our operas), I'm, of course, early. But once everyone shows up, I realized that there have been 4 mezzos called back for this role. That's right, 4. Three graduate students and myself. And since everything is double-cast, this means I have a 50% chance of being cast. I'm not hopeful that this will happen, since I'm only a sophomore, but I'm still thrilled I got called back. I was the first to sing, and despite a less-than-perfect beginning few measures, I believe I sang well. I was very nervous for many reasons, but overall I am happy with how I sang. The casting committee is made up of about a third of the voice faculty (it changes every two years, I think), plus conductors and directors. My teacher isn't on the casting committee this year, but I told her to keep my posted if she hears anything about how I sang. So....we'll have to see what happens. As I said before, I don't anticipate being cast, as much as I would love to be.

The Joshua Bell Experience: Take 2

2008-09-21T19:25:00.000-07:00

Now the words to explain the photo.
Violin virtuoso and Indiana native Joshua Bell is officially on faculty here at IU this semester, and everyone has an opinion about it. His appointment isn't full time, but during his week here he was able to give a concert, some lessons and coachings, and dominate the IU campus.
Plus, I had a major meltdown totally unrelated to Joshua Bell beginning Monday night, but that's a story for another blog post. Let's just say I looked like hell the next day and half the music faculty has now seen an impression of it. My life is so bizzare.

Moving on.

So I'm walking down the hallway in the Music Annex (the MA, the Round Building) in search of a practice room, and as I approach Clouse's Lounge, I see the virtuoso himself talking with another student. I continue on my way, but am closely followed as he exits the building. Of course, people saw him walking through, and stopped and started, but me being in front of him, I felt like a celebrity.

Wednesday, the day of the concert, rolls around. He played Corigliano's "The Red Violin Concerto" based on music he wrote for the film The Red Violin, in which Bell played the solo violin part. Amazing movie, go and see it. Two of my housemates were in the orchestra for this concert, giving the inside scoop of what was going on with the music, the other players, and Bell himself. Although I won't disclose many details here, there are some very interesting happenings. However, I was told he really earned the respect of the orchestra and the other musicians. There's quite a few people who aren't big Bell fans for the reason, in my personal opinion, that he's a celebrity and has a "flashy" style of playing that is unique to him. I, for one, don't agree with this, and now neither do many IU students.

The performance was beautiful. I have Bell's recording of the concerto, but hearing it live was another experience. As with any live performance versus a recording, there are always things you hear in one that you don't in the other, and this wasn't an exception. In addition to this, seeing the concerto performed live made the piece all the more interesting and more beautiful. I've actually never seen Bell get that drawn into the music, and it was thrilling to watch. My seats weren't as good as last year, when I was in the second row. This time, I was in the second balcony. As an encore, he played one of the most challenging pieces of the movie score that isn't in the concerto; Pope's Concert, which makes Paganini look like nothing. Find the clip from the movie on YouTube (because I don't know how to post videos), and you'll see what I mean.

Afterwords, being the big dork that I am, I waited in the autograph-meet-and-greet line, which was surprisingly short, considering the 3000 people that attended the concert. This experience was much different than the last one, and if you wish to know details, please send me a message. Sound good? OK.

I ran into Bell a few more times during the week as I was going to class or practicing. My grandmother sent me an article about him that arrived the day of the concert that greatly improved my mood from my "meltdown" state. This quote particularly inspired me: "Don't worry about the occasional risk. You must be willing to take risks if you really want to live. 'Go for it', and the music will be much more meaningful."

I'm going to go for it.

Deja vu?

2008-09-18T05:17:00.000-07:00

Hmmm....haven't we seen this before?

More details later.

College, Take 2

2008-08-29T09:21:00.001-07:00

I'm finally all moved into the house here in Bloomington and am beginning to feel settled in. The first few days were a little rough, missing home, my parents, and my cats, and just feeling emotionally lost. But I'm adjusting to college life again, and I'm glad I made this choice. There are, of course, some aspects of the dorm that are still appealing; not having to go across campus to hang out with friends, the food that's just there, and having the staff looking out for you a bit. But living off campus is much better. I have my own room, and the house is fairly quiet. Nobody runs down the halls screaming at 3:00 a.m. Plus, my room is good-sized, and I have lots of storage space (two closets!!). And we're only a block off campus, which is almost closer than my dorm was last year. So even though its a little scary having to do my own grocery shopping, I'm glad I'm here.

My desk.

My bed and dresser. The big yellow cat poster I got on sale last year, and the other four small posters are parts of old Met calanders.
I'm hoping to put a chair in the nook so that I'll have some reading space, but right now, it's just there. But I love having two closets.

Bottle Shock

2008-08-23T16:35:00.001-07:00

Since this is my last weekend home before the semester begins, Mom and I decided to see a movie. The last thing I'd seen in a theater was Sweeney Todd back in January, so why not go on a little spree? We saw Bottle Shock, and I believe I was the youngest person in the theater. I didn't mind though, because Alan Rickman was in the movie, which is mostly why we saw this particular film. Yes, we're Rickman fans, and find him particularly attractive despite his age. My friends think I'm nuts...but they're the nuts. In fact, for my birthday this year, Kelly (my roommate), Kristin (her best friend, who also lived on our floor) and Stephanie (our lovely dancer friend) made me a card that said "On your birthday, you should get all of your favorite things" and inside were pictures of Alan Rickman, Joshua Bell, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky. They just don't get it...oh well.
OK, back to the movie.
Mom felt a little queasy because of some of the handheld camera shots, but otherwise, it was a very good movie. It's based on the Napa Valley victory over the French wines in a blind taste-test in France in 1976. I won't bore you with a long description of the cast's good characterization, the beautiful on location scenery, yadda, yadda, yadda. But Dennis Farina and Rickman were very entertaining. Wouldn't mind hanging out at their wine shop in Paris. Not at all.

Less than one week

2008-08-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

Packing is still going slowly, although I managed to fill one more plastic bin with mostly books. When I went to Interlochen, I made sure I brought along some of my favorite books to help alleviate the homesickness. That pile got bigger when I went to IU last fall, and now I'm bringing even more, making the bin very heavy. War and Peace is the major addition, and being the bookworm that I am, I'm bringing two translations of Eugene Onegin.

This is probably the last Cat Pic Friday for a while, since I'll be at school and away from my cats.

Salem lounging the the hallway.

Tacy sleeping on my bed.

One week

2008-08-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

By this time next week, I'll be in Bloomington again, preparing for yet another semester or college. I'm ready to go back and see my friends, work with Alice, and begin classes (because I'm a nerd and I actually like classes. I know.). However, the nerves are also kicking in (auditions, new beginnings, all of those things), making me not excited about going back to school. I'm looking forward to living off campus and not having to deal with all of the dorm junk; people yelling in the halls at ungodly hours, the boring floor meetings about nothing, having my own room, and no more bunk beds. So, have I been packing?...not really. It'll get done. =)

But I am nervous about living off campus. Even though I know this is a good step for me, I still question myself, wondering if this is the right thing, or if I should have waited a year. At the end of first semester, I reapplied for housing, which is recommended to all students, even those who plan on living off campus. I requested a single room and was told that I probably would not get one, due to the many requests for single rooms and a larger than usual incoming freshman class. But with the house, I'll have my own room (yay!!!!). But the many "I just don't see how this is going to work" comments really have increased the nervousness about this, especially from a certain person, who constantly asks who is going to clean the house (that would be us, duh), if we have a maid service (heck freaking no), if this is a co-op (no, we're renters, just like an apartment), that I can't possibly manage living with 10 people (um, I lived with 50 people on my dorm floor last year, and 1200 people in the dorm, so I think 10 is fine) and that I won't be able to manage it. Yeah, that makes me feel soooo much better.

OK, how about some non-college-freak-out?

Finally finished War and Peace. The ending was, well, slightly boring, as Part 1 of the Epilogue was really the end of the storyline. Part 2 basically consists of Tolstoy's opinion of historians, the definition of power, and what true greatness is. It was interesting, but it was a bit of a letdown after the powerful and fulfilling last pages of Part 1. My friend Mary told me that reading War and Peace this summer would be "freaking awesome", and of course, she was right. Although I still like Dostoevsky overall, I can't say I've disliked anything I've read of Tolstoy. Dostoevsky's philosophical, political, and social ideas are embedded directly into the plot (i.e. Ivan Karamazov's "The Grand Inquisitor", or the Extraordinary Man discussion in Crime and Punishment), something Tolstoy does some of the time. He does this perfectly in The Death of Ivan Ilych, Anna Karenina's Levin, Prince Andrey's death scene, and Anna Karenina herself. However, like Part 2 of War and Peace, he many times could simply write "insert my idea" and verge away from the plot, often proving to be distracting. But I love them both, and War and Peace just blew my mind.

Random Post

2008-08-08T07:40:00.000-07:00

I'm nearly finished with War and Peace with about 20 pages left. It's amazing. Go and read this book now. Right now. Part 1 of the Epilogue is very satisfying, a good mix of humor and sadness. Too bad Tolstoy didn't write even a sliver of a sequel, just so we can see what happens to Nikolay Bolkonsky, Prince Andrey's son. He's a character that's in the background for most of the novel, but his 15-year-old self becomes more important towards the end, being inspired by Pierre and his late father.

Due to the muscles in my eyes not liking to focus close-up and leading to some double-vision, I need reading glasses. Groovy.

Early this week, I found the trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and I can hardly wait until November! Yes, I am that big of a Harry Potter fan. Proud of it. =)

Cat Pic Friday. This is one of the few times Tacy actually looked at the camera.

RE: Alexandr Solzhenitsyn

2008-08-04T05:20:00.000-07:00

As I said before, my exposure to Solzhenitsyn's works are limited. At Interlochen I read the speech he gave at Harvard, ironically, in my Political Philosophy class. This was my first experience with Solzhenitsyn, and I remember being stunned by him, especially by his deep spirituality. At the end of our final exam, there were a series of questions that didn't count for anything asking our opinion of the philosophers we read, wondering which we found the most interesting, who we agreed with, disagreed with, would like to speak to in person, and so on. I believe I wrote Solzhenitsyn's name several times, since I found him the one of the most interesting, and found myself agreeing with him the most.
I came across Solzhenitsyn again in my Russian lit class at IU with One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. I knew some of his life, but not in the detail that I dove into it at IU, learning of how he came to writing, of the horrors he experienced under Stalin's cruelty, and of his unique political and literary place in the world. And I'm amazed by him, of how anyone can endure the things he did and so many did, and how he held to what he believed in despite the political and social pressure and persecution. That kind of strength is to be admired and sought after.

And I thought I had interesting roommates...

2008-08-03T18:24:00.000-07:00

As I was checking out msn.com, I noticed a news story reporting the death of Nobel winner and Russian author Alexandr Solzhenitsyn. My exposure to Solzhenitsyn is mostly limited to One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, one of the most interesting and insightful books I have ever read. My Russian lit teacher at Interlochen didn't have us read any of his works, mostly because there was not room in the schedule for it. On an interesting note, one of her former students ended up being the college roommate of Solzhenitsyn's son Ignat, an acclaimed pianist and conductor. Can you even imagine move-in day?

I know this is late...

2008-08-01T05:53:00.000-07:00

As promised, I've got the low-down from Sunday's recital. I know it's a bit late, but my final English comp paper has consumed my life this week. And it's done!

To my happiness, the recital went very well! The majority of our audience didn't belong in the classical music devotee category, so they enjoyed the wide variety of music we performed, getting a taste of what music from all of the major eras sounds like. Caleb and I really didn't intend for our program to fall into place like that, but it did, and it worked very well.

Caleb, of course, played beautifully. Having played the violin a little myself (I'm not a good player at all) I can understand and appreciate all of the coordination and flexibility that goes into good violin playing. As I mentioned before, the Bach Ciaconna sounded amazing in the church, but the "Gypsy Airs" by Sarasate got the audience into a frenzy; they just went nuts.

I was especially pleased with the way I sang my English-language pieces. The audience really seemed to like "The trees on the mountains" from Susannah, which was one of my favorites on the program. I was very happy with how I sang "Parto, ma tu ben mio", and felt that the coloratura was smooth and in place. I can't wait to sing this aria again, and I hope to sing the whole role someday.

I had great fun working with Dale, our accompanist, a very talented and hysterically funny man who can sight-read Rachmaninoff like it's nothing. The church was fairly well filled up, both with familiar faces and new ones. Caleb mentioned that we should make a summer recital an annual event, an idea that I agree with. We might be repeating this program later in Indianapolis, but that's still in the works and not a for-sure happening.

However, I consider this recital a success. I was happy with how I sang and pleased with my accomplishments this summer, especially "Parto, ma tu ben mio", one of the hardest arias I've learned so far. I've vocally taken a few days off, getting my mind back into learning mode for what I need to prepare for this fall.

Tomorrow...

2008-07-26T14:08:00.001-07:00

Last night was the final rehearsal for the recital. This was the first time I'd actually heard Caleb (the violinist) play by himself, having only heard him in ensemble situations, and since I'll be hanging out "backstage" while he's playing tomorrow, this was really my only chance to hear him. His first piece is from one of the Bach unaccompanied Partitas, and it very well suited for the church we're performing in. The building itself is wonderful for music and especially for voices, and the Bach and "The trees on the mountains" sound really nice in there. Yesterday was also the first time we had rehearsed "Si mantiene il mio amor" with any of the strings. Caleb's sister, who is playing the second violin part in it, wasn't there, so tomorrow will be the first time we'll have run it with everyone. I'm sure it will be fine though. I'll be sure to post how it all goes, and if I can get some video or sound clips, I might post those as well, only if I can figure out how to do that.

Edu-world madness

2008-07-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

Rehearsal today with Dale (my accompanist) went very well. We're all doing a dress rehearsal on Friday, which means...I get to get out of class early! Only two more sessions of this class remain, and I couldn't be happier. My last paper for this class is one of the most ridiculous projects I've ever had to do in my life, involving 5 genres of writing...basically making a research project a creative writing assignment. I could go into the details of the insanity of this assignment, but it's just too frustrating. Let's just say it all involves bad scholarship, or no scholarship at all, all because my hippie prof thinks people need to stick it to The Man.

Can't think of a title

2008-07-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

8 days until the recital...

Nearly everything is ready. Next week everyone involved will have a "dress rehearsal" of sorts so that we know where we'll be entering from, where the piano will be, and matters along those lines. There's only one piece that everyone is involved in, and I don't anticipate that many problems will arise with that (I hope not, as we haven't had the time to rehearse it!). The piece, "Si mantiene il mio amor" is really a bizarre piece to end a recital with. The text translates to "My love is nourished by grief, anxiety, and pain, so much that I cannot think about my beloved without being unhappy. I love, even thought I do not hope." Kind of a downer, you know? But it's a beautiful piece, and it will sound very nice with the two violins. I still need to finish the program notes and the actual program. Except for the English pieces, I printed all the texts and translations. Not being computer savvy, I had a heck of a time figuring out how to line up the original text and the translation, and finally came up with a method that isn't great, but worked. However, the Rachmaninoff text isn't side-by-side with the translation. Just couldn't pull that off.

This week, it's Cat Pic Saturday

On the vocal highwire

2008-07-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, my voice surprises me.

After Alice made the comment that I might be a coloratura Rossini mezzo, I decided to take a closer look at Rosina's aria "Una voce poco fa" from The Barber of Seville. And, as anyone who has ever heard the aria knows, the repeated sections of the aria often include variations and ornaments. None of these are "officially" written in, but most singers who sing this aria put them in. I FINALLY got my hands on these variations and tried them out. Although some of the specific variations seemed to be aimed for sopranos (don't get me started on the topic of sopranos singing Rosina and other Rossini heroines. They just shouldn't and that's that. Maria Callas could, but she could have sung Figaro, Rosina, and Almaviva at the same time if she wanted to), but surprisingly, they fit in my voice. I won't be doing the high D# however; it's there, but it really doesn't like to be. Obviously, it's nowhere near being polished yet, but I know it can be. And that makes me happy.

My Russian education is continuing this summer, with a great deal of help. About a month ago, my dad had to do a funeral at a neighboring church because their pastor was in Germany visiting his daughter. The funeral was for a local farmer that many people knew, but no one had ever mentioned (to me at least) that his wife was Russian. During the preparations for the funeral, my dad talked to her several times, and mentioned that I was taking Russian and also that I'm a musician. So she told him to have me call her, saying that she would be happy to help me with my Russian. I've gone over to her house twice and have learned quite a bit! Who would have thought that in little Adams County, with our 30,000 people (lordy more people go to my university than live in my county), that there would be someone within 10 miles of me who speaks Russian! Funny story; she saw Dmitri Hvorostovsky sing in Moscow about 20 years ago before he really was anybody, and said that he was the only good singer in the whole show and that the chorus was especially bad. She also asked me where I work, and when I told her I work at a pizza place she shuddered and said, "No. No, don't work there. You protect voice, work on that." But I've enjoyed having someone to speak the language with and learn more of it myself. Fluency is my eventual goal, but if that ever happens, it won't be for years. But I've gained some new vocabulary and know some more complicated grammar structures.

Cat Pic Friday. Tacy's newest bad habit. Now we have to make sure the lids are down.

Cat Pic Friday!

2008-07-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

Salem and Tacy on the kitchen stool.

Mozart is my man.

2008-07-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

It's always good to know that my education is worth it. Mom and I drove down to Bloomington yesterday. My teacher spends most of her summers in Florida taking care of her elderly mother, but is usually in Bloomington for a week or so. Three of her students have recitals this week, so this was her week to come back to Indiana. I had the day off, so Mom and I took a mini-roadtrip to Bloomington to see my teacher. I wanted her to hear a few of the pieces I'm doing on my recital at the end of this month, especially some of the new pieces I'm working on. My main focus was "Parto, ma tu ben mio" from Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, a mezzo showpiece aria. Being the dork that I am, I've wanted to sing this aria since I heard a recording of Cecilia Bartoli singing it when I was 14. Mr. Norris, my teacher at Interlochen, and Donna (the diction coach who had worked at the Lyric Opera of Chicago) both recommended that I work on this aria, saying that it would fit well in my voice. I looked at it here and there, but the coloratura always scared me off a little. But, at my last lesson this past semester, I asked Alice, my current teacher, if I could work on it, and got the ok.

So, I've been working my butt of this summer getting it learned and conquering the coloratura. It's one of the most difficult pieces I've done, perhaps with the exception of "The trees on the mountains" from Susannah (yeah I know that's a soprano aria and I'm not a soprano, but I can sing it-- so there), but I felt satisfied with my work.

I sang "Parto" for Alice, and I was very pleased with the result. The coloratura, to my surprise, fell into place; the bass of the accompaniment helped keep the momentum going. The whole aria felt free and natural, making it one of the best times I've sung it. Alice was also very pleased with my hard work in learning this aria, commenting that the coloratura was very good and that I might be a coloratura Rossini mezzo. Insert good freak out. Coloratura mezzo? omg what? I've been told over the years that I may end up being a Verdi or Wagner mezzo, or even a dramatic soprano, but I never really considered Rossini and his pals as much. This is a bit nutty on my part, since Mr. Norris and Alice both recommended "Una voce poco fa" from The Barber of Seville for me. You bet your life I'm going to be looking at it a lot more now.

Besides the Mozart, we also looked at a few of the other pieces I'm doing on the recital: "Somewhere" from West Side Story, Rachmaninoff's "In the silence of the secret night", and Cesti's "Si mantiene il mio amor", which I'm performing with the violinist that's sharing my recital.

Afterwords, Mom and I had dinner with my friend Loralee. She's staying in Bloomington for the summer due to her parents moving from Virginia to Oregon. There were a few living complications with the apartment she's subletting, namely, her roommate going to Spain and having a guy unknown to both of them living in her place. So, Loralee's living on a friend's couch until this girl comes back from Spain and the guy moves out. Apparently he turned out to be a nice enough guy, but she's uncomfortable living with him, especially if there's only her and him. If I was in this situation, I'd be furious and showing it, but Loralee has the ability to be calm and collected. I have no idea how she does it.

But now I feel more comfortable singing the Mozart aria for the recital, knowing that I've successfully learned it. Naturally there's still a lot of work to be done on it, but it feels ready. =)

Sometimes, my hair color speaks for itself...

2008-06-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I was looking through my desk drawers and came across a program from the Stars of the Lyric Opera Millennium Park concert from 2005. This would have been at the beginning of my junior year of high school. Flipping through the pages, I remembered a lot from the concert; being in the open air with my mom and aunt Jan, the blisters on my feet, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo's beautiful voice, hair, and his music nearly flying away in the wind while singing the crap out of "Suoni la tromba" with Quinn Kelsey, Matthew Polenzani stopping in the middle of "Salut, demeure" because of the fireworks from the Rolling Stones concert at Soldier Feild, and Denyce Graves singing one of the most beautiful renditions of "Mon coeur s'ouvere a ta voix" I've ever heard. Oh yeah, and Nathan Gunn singing the first Figaro/Almaviva duet and the Hamlet Drinking Song. But this had somehow slipped my memory momentarily:

Les pecheurs de perles
Act One, Duet: "Au fond du temple saint"
Matthew Polenzani (Nadir)
Nathan Gunn (Zurga)

Obviously I remember it, and yes, it was basically gorgeous. This duet, as with many pieces, really needs to be experienced live to appreciate its total beauty. The Lyric Opera of Chicago is presenting this opera next season, with Gunn in the cast. This is giving me roadtrip ideas...

Cat Pic Friday!

2008-06-27T18:50:00.001-07:00

Salem is almost back to normal. He wants to go outside and is back to his old habits, like lounging on his back on the kitchen floor. Here he proudly displays his stitches.

Vocal Poetry

2008-06-26T11:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a pleasant surprise arrived in the mail; a belated birthday gift, in the form of Dmitri Hvorostovsky's Sviridov album (thank you Mom!). Georgi Sviridov, who died in 1998, finished the song cycle Petersburg, a vocal poem for Hvorostovsky in 1995, using poems by Russian poet Alexandr Blok. I read some Blok in my Russian lit class last semester, including his bizarre short play The Puppet Booth. His poetry does not employ many words, but those he chooses are powerful, even if the poetry is obscure and difficult to understand. Blok was at the beginning of what is known as The Silver Age of Russian poetry (the Golden Age being that of Pushkin and friends), which produced many of the early Soviet poets. I can't believe it took me until this past year to discover these poets, and I wish more people would read them. In my class, many of the poems we read also included the original Russian text, which was a big plus for me. Sviridov makes platinum out of these already golden words, and Hvorostovsky's dark-chocolate voice brings them to life with pianist Mikhail Arkadiev.

Also on this disc are Sviridov's Six Romances to words by Alexandr Pushkin, written in 1935. Of course, Pushkin is a totally different poet than Blok, and his style reflects that. Pushkin belonged to the Romantic age and uses more flowery and beautiful language than Blok. This is the man, after all, who wrote Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades. "To Nanny" is especially beautiful.

My advice? Go out and buy this album. Now. Right now. Honestly, this album is so good it makes everything else he's done look like crap. It's that good.

Another cat update

2008-06-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

Salem is back at home! He isn't quite out of the woods yet, but he's on the road to recovery. At the moment, he's being very sluggish and seems a little confused, but that's to be expected; he had surgery yesterday and is on pain killers related to morphine. So now we have a druggie cat. His diet has also been changed to moist food, since it has more water in it. However, he seems to be happy to be home. The vet staff seemed to glad to be rid of Salem, because he is very angry when at the vet. At home, he's very sweet and affectionate, but once he gets in that office, he turns into a terror. Swatting is one of his favorite ways to irritate the staff; they had to put a towel over him a few times. You'd never know that seeing him at home.

This is my cat...

This is my cat on drugs.

Cat update

2008-06-23T11:10:00.000-07:00

Just got a call from the vet's office. All of Salem's kidney stones were removed, and we'll be able to pick him up tomorrow or Wednesday! We're going to have to adjust his diet so that this doesn't happen again, and I'm sure there are going to be some other changes as well. But I'm just glad he's coming home!

Cat Pic Sunday?

2008-06-22T15:50:00.000-07:00

This is Salem, our tabby. He's currently at the vet for kidney stones, and we're unsure of what exactly is going to happen to him. Salem and Tacy are my first pets, so I'm not taking this as well as I should be. More updates later.

Cat Pic Friday!

2008-06-20T05:35:00.000-07:00

I'm also joining in on Cat Pic Friday. This is Tacy, my calico cat. It isn't a great picture, but it shows what she does all day.

Another reason not to like small towns...

2008-06-18T11:18:00.000-07:00

We all know college is expensive. The logical solution, therefore, would be to get good grades, do a good job in your studies, and apply for scholarships to reward your good work. Makes sense, right? Apparently in Adams County, this is most definitely not the case.

Last year I was not able to apply for any of the scholarships available from the Adams County Community Foundation, even though I graduated from high school with honors and was accepted to the Jacobs School of Music. Why? Because Interlochen Arts Academy is not in Adams County (well duh!), and to be eligible for these scholarships, graduation from an Adams County high school was required. It doesn't matter that Interlochen turns down 2/3 of the applicants and is regarded as one of the nation's finest fine arts schools, it isn't in Adams County. OK fine. I knew I could apply for at least one scholarship this year, which required the applicant to have either graduated from an Adams County high school or have been a resident in the county for at least 5 years; I'm 19 and have lived here all my life, so I assumed everything would be ok. Wrong again.

I filled out the application in May, explaining why I wanted to go to college, what classes I had taken, why I deserved to receive this scholarship, yadda, yadda, yadda. I took 19 credit hours both semesters, got close to a 4.00 gpa, and took very difficult classes, so I figured that I could get at least $500 out of these people. After all, I've known others who have less fatiguing schedules and worse grades who have gotten more.

Yesterday, however, I received a letter saying that I got...nothing. Not a dime. My first thought was, "What the #%$*?!" I remained calm enough to call the Foundation and ask why I had not received anything. The reason basically was this; I had never applied before. Priority for the scholarship was given in this order: 1. students commuting state school students (basically, a local public college, of which we have the IU and Purdue local campus and some community colleges who take basically everybody), commuting private school students (only about two of those in the area), state school students (my category), and private school students (usually harder to get into and cost more money).

Now for the actual students: the "non-traditional" students also get first priority. These are people who have been out of high school for 5 years without going to college. Then they look at students who have gotten the scholarship before, and finally, the newbies. The person I talked to said that most of the students going to local schools often did because of a lack of money, which I think is only partly true. I have known so many kids who go to the local colleges because they simply lack the courage or desire to see life beyond what they know, or challenge themselves to a school like IU. Many have little ambition or motivation, and some in this category did not have the grades to get into a challenging university. So, these students are rewarded for their lack of achievement. Of course, there are those who do stay at home because of lack of money, but generally this is not the case. I remember that during the three years I spent at the local high school, going away to school was generally not encouraged, and the local schools, which offer often less-then-great programs.

So by the time my pile is reached, most of the money is gone. My brother got some money, but he is a returning applicant. I would be, but the Interlochen issue kind of screwed me over.

This is what is wrong with this community; there is no reward from the community for trying to better yourself academically. I did some theater with a girl some years ago who went to a college prep high school not in the county and went on to Harvard. Her mother was disabled and her step-father's job didn't have a huge income. But, since she chose to go to a good high school and then one of the world's most prestigious universities, she was ineligible for any scholarship from the community. This community does not encourage this level of achievement, and often doesn't really talk about people who do great things outside of the county, such as Don Neuen, who is from Bern and currently the choir director of the Crystal Cathedral and formerly taught at the Eastman School of Music, or David Anspaugh of Decatur, director of such movies as Rudy and Hoosiers. But are these people ever spoken of as role modals for reaching your dreams. Instead, high school football players from thirty years ago are still on a pedestal. This backwards thinking is ruining this county.

In other words, if I had messed up in high school, or if I chose a lesser music program and stayed at home, I would have a better chance of getting scholarship from this county. Some programs, such as architecture, are only offered at one university, in this case Ball State University. What, then, is the reward for wanting to pursue architecture if the community doesn't support going away? It would seem sensible to promote going away to college as a way to promote the county and show the rest of the state, or the country, what we're made of. But this is Adams County, Indiana, where most things make little or no sense...

Decatur has hit the blogosphere...

2008-06-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

Opera blogger Susan has found Decatur...all 8000 of us. =)

Little known Indiana fact; baritone Nathan Gunn is an Indiana native. As is violinist Joshua Bell. Indiana rocks.

Mariinsky fever!

2008-06-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

I just found the website of St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theater, formerly called the Kirov, where the amazing and slightly creepy Valery Gergiev is artistic director. The Mariinsky is also the host of the famous Stars of the White Nights Festival of Music, which runs from May through July, this year celebrating 225 years of the Mariinsky. Here are just some highlights of this year's Festival:

May 12 (obviously already happened): Olga Borodina in concert

June 12 and 14: Great ballerinas of the Mariinsky ballet gala

June 17: Les Noces. Le Sacre du printemps. The Firebird

June 24: Bryn Terfel in concert

June 29: Dmitri Hvorostovksy in concert

July 12: Marking 225 Years of the Mariinsky Theatre La forza del destino

July 17: pianist Olga Kern

July 23 and 24: World premiere The Brothers Karamazov

As well as performances of Eugene Onegin, The Queen of Spades, Tristan und Isolde, Tosca, Don Giovanni, Carmen, The Love for Three Oranges, and all four operas of Wagner's Ring.

Seventy-nine days of pure bliss. The very thought of The Brothers Karamazov as an opera makes me want to scream with giddy excitement.

2008; the year of Russian hawtness

2008-05-28T13:44:00.000-07:00

In addition to beginning my study of the Russian language in 2008, singing in Russian, meeting our favorite Russian baritone, and possibly preparing to study in Russia next year, I'm also reading Tolstoy's War and Peace, on highest recommendation by my friend Mary. My reaction so far?
oh. my. lord.
I'm not sure what I was expecting out of this novel, but I've been blown away. I was familiar with the story, having read the synopsis of the Prokofiev opera, but I'm more than glad I'm taking the time to read the whole novel. I actually have three copies of it; the Maud translation, which unfortunately anglicizes some of the names, changing Andrey to Andrew and things like that. Idiots. I have another from my great-grandmother's house, which is abridged, so I bought a third, the good old Constance Garnett translation. Mary is proud of me. And we both have an extremely nerdy crush on Prince Andrey Bolkonsky. He's about as hawt as a literary character can be. If you don't believe me, read the book. If you do believe me, read the book. If you don't care about the attractiveness of a fictional person, read the book. It's well worth your time.

I wish I was in Europe...

2008-05-26T06:16:00.000-07:00

The title of this post really has nothing to do with the actual post. I just really wish I was in Europe right now, as part of an ongoing battle of figuring out my place in the music world...

I was up at Interlochen last weekend for graduation. While it was wonderful to see my friends and teachers again, but it also felt very strange to be back. Mostly everything was the same; the Concourse and Rotundas still had gritty sandy floors, TJ House still had that aweful disgusting smell that I lived with for a year, the lake was still beautiful, and you still saw a lot of blue. Lots of blue. It didn't seem true that I could have been away from the pines for a year, as if everything had stayed exactly the same until that day.

While at Interlochen, I was able to reconnect with some friends and teachers from my year there. I briefly went to the bonfire Andrew set up across the street at the state park campsite (word to the wise; flashlights in a dark woods are a good idea, and cell phones just don't do the same thing). I finally met Pei-Ting's mom and sister who came all the way from Taiwan for her graduation. Her mom speaks no English, and I speak no Chinese, but I feel like we could still understand each other, proving one again that language is not necessarily needed to communicate with another person. I talked with Mr. Norris, my voice teacher at IAA, as well as my IAA accompanist, Mr. Larson, who found out about the Facebook fanclub I created for him.

After our excursion to the American Siberia, mom and I went to Chicago for annual Girl's Weekend. We explored the downtown area just north of Michigan Avenue we hadn't seen much of before. We came across a delightful tea shop called TeaGeschwender, a German-based tea merchant that sold every imaginable sort of tea. Our cute clerk showed us several sorts of teas from the over 70 selections, and we finally settled on a Darjeeling and a Russian Samovar tea. Both taste wonderful. We also walked past several of the beautiful (and freaking expensive) houses in that area, and of course I'd like to live in one of them. But....well, that probably won't happen. Oh, but we can dream, can't we?

I want a samovar.

The war on dough and my bizzare dreams

2008-05-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

Last night's dream: I'm at a gas station on highway 37 near Bloomington filling up my car (which I don't have at school), and I'm surprised, yet not, to see gas at $4.50 a gallon. I then realize that it's Sunday and that Filippa will be picking me up any minute, and I'm nowhere near my dorm. Did I mention I'm still in my pajamas? So I start freaking out, thinking she'll be waiting to pick me up and I won't be there. I look at my car clock and see that its 6:30 a.m., an hour before she'll be there...but then I realize that I didn't switch my clock when Daylight Savings Time kicked in! And then I woke up.

The night before's dream: I'm hanging out with baritone Nathan Gunn and his family. I think we're at one of his kid's birthday parties, or I might be their nanny or something. But the whole time I'm thinking, "Oh lordy I'm hanging out with Nathan Gunn!!" And I freak out, but in a good way. So when I come back home (but all my college friends are there), I'm talking about how fun it was, and that Nathan Gunn is good-looking. And none of my friends agree with me in regards to his looks, and think I'm a nutter. Some people...Then I'm driving down Bloomington's Kirkwood Avenue, but it doesn't look quite like Kirkwood. I'm amazed at how many pizza places there are in B-town...

Lessons I learned while making palmeni today:
1. It's 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup water, not 2 cups of each. It makes for very gooey, unkneedable dough.
2. That gooey unkneedable dough is hard to get out of your hair.
3. Let the meat defrost longer. Its much easier to work with when its mostly unfrozen.
4. I can rip frozen meat apart with my hands. Arggg!!
5. I'm a palmeni champion!

Semester Wrap-up

2008-05-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

Finally the semester has ended. Finally. Despite the fact that it was one heck of a semester, I'm very glad its finished. 19 credit hours keep a person busy, and can drive that same person insane. Do I still have my sanity....I have no idea. So, we'll wrap up my second semester at the Jacobs School of Music in this way. Photos!! Bloomington in winter. I think I took this photo in February... Pei-Ting, my roommate from Interlochen, came to Bloomington in February to audition for IU.Joshua Bell and I after his recital with Jeremy Denk at IU on February 10. Yeah, he's awesome. And dang...I'm short. And I was wearing heels.Dmitri Hvorostovsky and I after a performance of Eugene Onegin at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, March 14. He's also awesome. And I'm still short. And still wearing heels.

omg eye contact!!Soprano Mary Cloud, myself, and soprano Jessica Skiba after our recitals in April. I'm a mezzo-soprano, although I sang "The trees on the mountains" from Susannah, a soprano aria, on my program. We're staying in mezzo territory for now, and I'm so glad. Opera Workshop!! Picnics during finals week.
Bloomington in the spring...

Cara speme...

2008-04-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

A reality check is always a good idea...

The past few weeks were great as far as my vocal progress; my recital seemed to have been a success, opera workshop was moving along splendidly, audition music was good to go, the arias and songs I'm newly looking at started off great. And then...that feeling of "What am I doing here?" comes back...again. In the middle of finals week. Yesterday ended in me feeling rather down about my progress here in comparison to others, in my abilities as a singer, an artist, a performer, in my potential in general. These are unhealthy for a singer, and often begin an emotional roller coaster that has no real clear finish.

The good side though, before you think I'm some emo college kid...

I become more balanced in the end. I work harder to prove to others (and myself) that there is something there. Even though yesterday's practicing wasn't good, I know where I need to improve and what needs to be fixed. It makes my goals for this summer much clearer. I also happened upon a recent issue of Opera News featuring an article about mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and her struggles starting out, even in college. A competition judge once told her she had "nothing to offer as an artist", and she also had many vocal issues as she saw her collegiate colleagues praised and awarded. Few thought she would become much of a singer, and often regarded her as unrefined silver. And now she's one of the top lyric mezzos around. I checked out her website, and the caption of a photo of her and bass-baritone Samuel Ramey talked of how much he inspired her; they're both from Kansas and attended the same university (not at the same time, obviously), and both made it. It is from singers like these that I take inspiration; Birgit Nilsson, Sherrill Milnes, and Bryn Terfel grew up on farms, Samuel Ramey's hometown is smaller than mine, Michelle DeYoung is the daughter of a Michigan minister. People like these singer have to work twice as hard as some others, but because of them, I know that hard work pays in the end...

Juan Diego Florez: Der Supertanker

2008-04-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

I was finally able to see one of the Met's HD Broadcasts in movie theaters, today's being Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment, starring Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Florez. This was the conclusion to Mary's and my birthday spree. I'm not as familiar with Donizetti as I should be (shame on you Lydia!), but I knew Marie's Act I aria and of course, the famous "Ah, mes amis!" and its 9 (count 'em!) high Cs for the tenor.

Natalie Dessay is a crazy actress, but brilliant. Some actors, like Dmitri Hvorostovsky, draw the audience to them by stillness, but Dessay does the same thing by constantly being in motion. She sang the crap out of tomboy Marie's crazy music, making jokes with the coloratura and making her legato smooth.

Now to Florez...he's adorable. You just want to take him home and feed him a very large meal and then have him sing to you out on a balcony. Maybe comb his hair. He looked cute in the lederhosen in Act I. Yes, lederhosen, you read me correctly. His voice has an incredible ring to it that I haven't heard before, and his high notes are sound ridiculously effortless. I'm generally a baritone girl (Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Thomas Hampson, Nathan Gunn, Sherrill Milnes...) but Florez is one of my few tenor exceptions. I've rarely heard something as thrilling as him singing "Ah mes amis"; sadly he didn't encore it this time. Silly tenor. During the first intermission he and Dessay were interviewed by Renee Fleming, and he really is that adorable. He said a send-out to those in Peru, but then said, "But its not being shown there, but hello!" and then scampered off camera. His Act II aria contained a high D-flat, which Florez said isn't written in the music, but he sings it anyways. And his last entrance in Act II was on an army tank. Why? Because he's that awesome.

idk my bff Riff?

2008-04-23T16:19:00.000-07:00

Its "Dead Week". Here's a little known fact about dead week; it isn't dead at all. In fact, its one of the busiest weeks of the semester, with exams, papers, presentations, juries and upper divisionals, performances, and preparation for finals week. Not dead at all. However, my time of insanity hit a few weeks ago, and I'm surprised that I have a little more time on my hands than I thought. Either that, or I'm forgetting something terribly important.

Yesterday marked the end of my favorite class this semester, Opera Workshop, taught by none other than Sylvia McNair, a woman whom I respect and admire tremendously. Our work this semester concentrated on singing and staging seven scenes from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story, which is done by opera companies as much as it is by musical theatre companies; Bernstein himself conducted a recording of the masterpiece with opera singers Kiri Te Kanawa, Jose Carerras, and Tatiana Troyanos. Ms. McNair is perfect to instruct us in this music, having sung everything from Mozart to Cole Porter, and Bernstein himself was able to bridge the gap between the opera stage and the Broadway venue. Brilliant man. Just brilliant.

I sang mostly in "I Feel Pretty" (as Rosalia) and "A Boy Like That" (as Anita), two scenes which can't be more different. One of the reasons I enjoyed doing these scenes is because I'll probably never get to actually do this show; who would ever cast a blond-haired, blue-eyed girl in West Side Story, especially as one of the Shark girls? I was especially glad to sing "A Boy Like That"; I've never had to sing music like that before. Anita's part sits especially low, and I quickly learned that I couldn't sing it beautifully. But Anita's music at that point shouldn't be beautiful; her thoughts are, to quote Ms. McNair "Your man killed my man, and that isn't enough for you to stop loving him." The music is angry, and more than angry. I sang almost the whole piece in total chest voice, and screamed more than I sang. We also had a wonderful director for this scene (all were staged by graduate students of Vince Liotta). Our first rehearsal, he told us to just go on instinct and to see what happened. I was very surprised at the results of that first run-through; I shook the soprano playing Maria, and felt an rush of emotion that I've never felt onstage before. The dialogue preceding the duet also had an emotional intensity I've never felt before; the anger I felt when I shouted "And you still don't know; Tony is one of them!" was real to me. I hope the audience felt it. But the biggest trill of all was Ms. McNair telling me that she was proud of me, proud of how far I've come this semester. She nearly had me crying.

Finally, its spring in Bloomington! The flowering trees are in full bloom, and its even been hot for a few days (ahh!). And while the weather makes me feel somewhat lazy, I still have lots of work to do; a presentation in Russian, four finals next week, an audition, and packing up to go home!! And my birthday is tomorrow...

Infida! - Qual voce! ... - Di geloso amor sprezzato

2008-04-18T09:14:00.001-07:00

And people wonder why I love opera...

Insanity

2008-04-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

Reasons why I belong in a madhouse:

1. The T 132 Transcription Project. We get about half the music and a recording. The task? Listen to the recording and write the missing notes in a different key. This project ate my soul.

2. Freshman recital. I had a wonderful time preparing for it and performing it, but it still required a lot of work. However, the result was well worth it.

3. Next semester. I miscalculated the amount of classes I wanted to take next semester and nearly signed up for 22 credit hours. This will not happen, and I'm saying good-bye to algebra for the time being. The schedule includes; French, Russian, Music Theory, English Diction, Choir, Lessons.

4. Rehearsals. My last choir concert is on Tuesday, but that's the least of my worries. I was a soloist in the University Chorale's presentation of Schumann's Szenen aus Geothes Faust, which got me positive feedback from Ms. McNair! We're still in the staging process of the West Side Story scenes, which involves me shaking the soprano playing Maria, throwing furniture, and collapsing to the floor. Intense? Yes, and I'm loving every minute of it. There's also a student composition project I'm involved in that's a collaboration with the music and modern dance departments. The music, however, is some of the most challenging I've ever sung, making Vaughn Williams look easy. It is making me a better musician, which is my goal every day, to be better than the day before.

5. The Church Job. I get up earlier on Sundays than during the week. But they pay me!

6. Russian. I love the language, one of the most beautiful, in my opinion, but sometimes I forget that I read Cyrillic. Other times I'm writing be writing in English and find myself writing a word in Russian. холодильник is my parent's favorite word.

7. Finals that are approaching.

Who says its cold in Russia? Its hawt!

2008-03-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

After nearly 14 months of planning, waiting for tickets and then the performance, I finally saw Tchaikovsky's masterpiece Eugene Onegin, presented by the Lyric Opera of Chicago, with baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky in the title role. Early in the season, Hvorostovsky pulled out of half the performances, causing a bit of anxiety on this part, seeing as there was really only one performance that I could attend. Thankfully, he was singing that night. In fact, this was the last night he performed the role in Chicago, and supposedly for the rest of his career, according to Opera News in September 2006. The production by Robert Carson (presented at the Metropolitan Opera last season, and telecast across the world February 07) also featured Dina Kuznestova as Tatyana and Frank Lopardo as Lensky. Kuznestova's Tatyana was heartfelt and beautiful, with liquid high notes and a perfect Letter Scene. In the final scene of the opera, her face clearly showed Tatyana's anxiety as she struggles with the choice in front of her, and we knew that her final rejection of Onegin was concrete.

I wasn't sure how I felt about Lopardo's Lensky; his was a sound I wasn't used to in the role, but by the end of his first scene, he had won the audience over. His interpretation of "Kuda, kuda", sung just before the duel, was wrenching and heartbreaking. His Lensky almost seems to know that he'll die, making the aria all the more tragic.

But of course, Eugene Onegin cannot succeed without a strong baritone in the title role. And we had Dmitri Hvorostovsky, a singer who's name has become synonymous with Eugene Onegin. I had seen the telecast of the opera from the Met last year, with Hvorostovsky and Renee Fleming as Onegin and Tatyana, and his Onegin was cold and unsympathetic towards Tatyana. However, his present Onegin was much warmer and his rejection was easier to take, although it still breaks that heart to see. Instead of simply rejecting her in the traditional "Its not you, its me" fashion, which is how Hvorostovsky played it at the Met, he was much more paternal in turning from her affection, wanting to protect her. Only his last line in that scene was as heartbreaking as always "Learn to control yourself in the future. Not every man will be as understanding as me." (loosely translated) The rejection is always painful, and nothing Onegin could have said would have been easy on Tatyana. His flirtation with Olga in the party scene would have worked on anyone in the audience, and he dances well too. =) He played with cards and talked with Olga during Triqiet's song, and ignored Lensky's despair at Onegin's flirting with Olga. The duel scene had no scenery, with only the singers and the drama onstage. Most of the scene occurred in darkness, with the sun only appearing after Lensky was shot. Instead of taking a break in between the duel scene and the Polonaise, the time was used rather well. Hvorostovsky stepped away from Lensky's body and proceeded to change his costume with the help of several footmen. Needless to say, shirtless Dmitri was worth the price of admission. =) But perhaps the most passionate and emotionally intense moment in the opera occurred after Tatyana's exit, when Onegin, alone on stage, cries out in his despair. Hvorostovsky could not have expressed that very despair with any more perfection; it ripped your heart to shreds, although it was much deeper than that.

We waited by the stage door after the performance hoping to get a chance to see some of the singers. Some annoying (and reasonably untalented) saxophonist whom had been hanging around after Orfeo two seasons ago was again playing on the sidewalk. We saw a small crowd in the entryway by the stage door, and, assuming they also wanted to meet and greet, we went it. It was a good choice. We saw a few singers leave, but we either weren't sure who they were or how to pronounce their names, as in the case of the spectacular Ukrainian bass Vitalij Kowaljow, who sang Prince Gremin. But after about 10 minutes, there was a collective "Ahh!" as Dmitri Hvorostovsky and his white hair were spotted.

To answer the obvious question; yes, Hvorostovsky really is that good-looking, to the point of being overwhelming. He knows how to work a crowd and signed programs and answered questions, from the normal to the obscure. I was about 5th in line to talk to him, which I did. I worked with a former Italian diction coach of his while I was Interlochen, so I made sure to mention her. He seemed pleased and asked me to send her his love. Will gladly do. He also was kind enough to let me grab a photo.

Of course, I could post much more about the whole experience, but I'll spare you. I will say that Eugene Onegin is an underrated opera, and I wish that more people knew it. Anyone can relate to it, because everyone has experienced disappointment and regret, not to mention that Tchaikovsky knows how to express human emotion in a way that no one else has been able to. I adore this opera.

One Week!

2008-03-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

One more week until Eugene Onegin!

Photo from www.lyricopera.org

More Countdowns...

2008-03-03T14:34:00.000-08:00

11 days until Eugene Onegin in Chicago!

The Joshua Bell Experience: Footnotes

2008-02-11T07:33:00.000-08:00

So here are a few things I forgot to mention about the Joshua Bell recital of awesome yesterday.

For one thing, Kelly, Stephanie, Joanna, and I were in the second row. The second freaking row. About twenty feet from the man himself. We could see the sweat and hear him breathe. From our angle, we could mostly see the side and back of him (not exactly a bad view, mind you), but we could also see his music. As soon has he pulled out the last movement of the Saint-Saens piece, I knew it was going to be wild; there were so many notes it looked like one big blurr.

Also, while we were getting Jeremy Denk's autograph, the manager of the MAC (dont' remember his name) inquired him about the reception at Mimi's (that would be Mimi Zweig, current IU faculty member, and Bell's first teacher). Denk said that he didn't have a ride, to which the manager said he could drive him there, and added, "I think Josh's mom is taking some people there." And yes, that would be Bell's mom he's talking about, for she still lives in Bloomington, to my knowledge.

Here are some photos of my autographs:

The Recital Program; this one isn't autographed, but I thought I'd include a photo

Jeremy Denk's autograph on my Red Violin Concerto CD

Joshua Bell's autophrah on the same CD. It is harder to see in a photograph.

Joshua Bell's autograph on my The Romantic Violin CD.

The Joshua Bell Experience

2008-02-10T18:30:00.000-08:00

So, the day finally came, after much anticipation...the Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk recital. The tickets sold out in a matter of hours, suprising no one. Not to mention is was a free concert, when tickets to see him other places go for hundreds of dollars. So...this was something to be excited for.

I'm not going to lie, I was way more than excited...or ecstatic...or overjoyed. He's a great violinist (obviously), but he's also an Indiana native (from B-town) and an IU School of Music graduate. So, he's won a place in the hearts of many Hoosiers just because of that.

But on to the actual program!

The first selection was Tartini's Sonata in G Minor, the "Devil's Trill" sonata. After hearing the piece, the title is obvious; there's more trills in it than I think I've heard in a piece. The next selection was Prokofiev's Sonata in F Minor, a beautiful and still piece. One of the reasons I love Russian music is because it has so much passion and soul in it, and Bell is especially good at bringing out those qualities in whatever he plays. But a few bars into the second movement (Allegro brusco), he turned around to the people who were seated on stage and said, "Excuse me, but what is that noise? Is somebody unwrapping something?" Indeed, a noise could be heard. He continued, "This movement needs special atmosphere. Please excuse me." I know in writing it sounds very jerk-ish, but believe me, as a wittness, it wasn't. He began again and played through the movement. And indeed, you really do need a totally still atmophere for it, and I think his concentration had been broken, which could have ruined the piece. He played it beautifully.

The first piece after intermission was Dvorak's Four Romantic Pieces, which were all short, sweet and pretty tunes with, in great Bell tradition, a lot of passion. Its obvious why they're called "Romantic" (do I even need to explain?) In everything he played, you could hear him breathe between the phrases. The last piece was Saint-Saens's Sonata in D Minor. Of course the whole thing was beautiful, but the last movement was the most impressive. Let's just say he played so fast you couldn't even count the notes. Your pulse literally sped up to the tempo of the music. When he finished, everyone in the MAC got to their feet within 3 seconds.

He played 2 encores; the first, his own transcription of Faure's vocal song "Apres un reve" (After a dream). The second, the march from the opera The Love for Three Oranges, a very trippy opera. But it was thrilling, absolutely and totally thrilling.

Right after the performance, Kelly, Stephanie, and I went downstairs to the Green room of the MAC to get some autographs (Stephanie and I knew the back way). The only thing was that we weren't sure if we were allowed to be back there. We saw Jeremy Denk wander back from the stage area and got his autograph; he's a very nice guy. =) The page turner walked by and knocked on the door of the conductor's dressing room, and from within we heard Bell say "I'll be out in just a minute." Mental freak out begins. We wait there as a line forms, with us at the beginning (yes we're that awesome), and a few minutes later, Bell came out of the room, Stradivarius with him (in the case of course). Stephanie was the first of us brave ones to ask for an autograph, and then it was my turn...freak out continues. So I ask him to please sign both (yes I brought two) CDs and if I might have a photo...more freaking out. Apparently, my hands were shaking as I turned on the camera...but I got the photo. Right after Kelly took the photo, Bell patted my back between the shoulder blades and smiled at me. Freak out concludes.

Baisically, I've been giddy ever since.

Counting down...

2008-02-08T07:24:00.000-08:00

Approximately 53 hours until Joshua Bell!

2008-01-18T07:35:00.000-08:00

What?: Joshua Bell in recital
Where? The Musical Arts Center, Bloomington, Indiana
When?: Sunday, February 10, 4:00 p.m.
Why?: Because he's that awesome

And where will I be during this recital?

Sitting in the second row...

First Semester Overview

2007-12-20T16:30:00.000-08:00

I won't lie; this post is woefully overdue. I have several drafts of other posts saved on my account with Blogger, but I had very little time to complete most of them. So instead, I'll give an overview of my first semester at IU.

So far, IU has been a wonderful experience. I received my grades yesterday and was more than pleased with the fruits of my hard work. I believe I have enough credits at present to be considered a sophomore, resulting from AP credit I earned in high school and a heavy first semester. And of course I'm now laughing at those who said I studied to much. Laugh on. I believe I've worked harder in this semester than I ever have before, and I know I've made progress. I was not especially surprised at the difficulty of the classes nor the amount of work involved; Interlochen prepared me for that in a way no other high school could. My German class was by far the most challenging course I've taken, mostly because it was two semesters of German (the 100 and 150 levels) crammed into one semester. It was by no means a class for the weak, it bringing some graduate students to their knees. But my German requirement is out of the way by a large margin.

As to IU itself, I'm very satisfied with it. Looking back on my college choices from last year, I'm so glad that I ended up at IU. Many large universities get something of a bad reputation in high school, with counselors, teachers, and other students that probably don't know what they're talking about saying that no one will pay attention to you or care about you, or that mentioning alcohol will turn you into a drunk. Not true. I can see how it's possible to get lost in a student body of 37,000, but it's also far from difficult to make your presence known. The Jacobs School of Music in itself is large, but it doesn't feel that way. Because it is such a big school, it gives more of an outlook of what the competition in "the real world" will be, and therefore being a little more realistic than a smaller school. I've had many opportunities to perform, being at "cattle calls" or holding my own with grad students, and show what I can do, and so far, the feedback has been positive. Besides, I'd much rather make an impact on faculty by actually accomplishing something rather than being noticed because I'm one of a small group. It makes successes much more rewarding than if I was at, as some call it, "a glorified high school" smaller than my dormitory.

This semester has also brought on new and exciting things. I signed my first lease a few weeks before Christmas break for the house I'll be living in next semester. Finally I'll be rid of dorm food and creepy cleaning people. After two years in a dormitory, I'm ready to have a single room again and no more half plastic food.

Over break I'm not planning on doing much; learning a lot of music, finishing reading Anna Karenina, and preparing for next semester. And as always, its so nice to be home again. =)

My second semester as a freshman (or I guess my first semester as a sophomore) is something I'm really looking forward to. Since I'm done with German and I'm waiting to tackle my next required language (those being French and Italian) until next fall, I'm taking Russian, something I've wanted to do for a long time. I'm also getting a Russian lit class in, as well as the usual music theory. I'll also be taking the undergraduate opera workshop class with two-time Grammy winner Sylvia McNair, one of the industry's most talented and courageous women.

Also, it was just announced that the Lilly Endowment is giving $44 million to the Jacobs School of Music for the funding of the North Studio Building, which is hoped to be completed by about 2010. Just in time for the JSoM to return to the Metropolitan Opera in 2011, as its rumored to be. Also, to walk in the same halls that people such as Leonard Bernstein, Virginia Zeani, and Joshua Bell once did is quite amazing, if not overwhelming (in a good sense) at times. I also had a slight freak out when I saw Andre Watts crossing Jordan Avenue on my way to the Music Annex to practice. IU's great.

Fern Hill

2007-10-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

Dylan Thomas's poem Fern Hill was yet another work that I was unfamiliar with until recently. Composer John Corigliano set the poem to music for chorus and orchestra in 1961, making an already beautiful text become even more powerful. Not only do I enjoy this poem (and the music) for their artistic value, but they also describe nearly everything that I've felt in the past year or so. It makes me nostalgic, but at the same time churn up hope and a sense of newness in me.

Once again, I am simply posting a website link, because I was unable to get the format of the poem the way I wanted on the post.

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15378

Random Poetry

2007-10-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

I've only recently come across the poems of Wilhelm Muller, mostly because of Schubert's settings to his work. This however, is one of my favorites: "Des Bachens Wiegenlied", which is the last movement of Die Schone Mullerin, one of Schuber's greatest song cycles, and certainly one of my favorites.

For some reason, I'm not having much luck with copy and paste, so I'll post the link to the text and translation.

http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=11917

The Countdown Begins...

2007-09-18T04:29:00.000-07:00

March 14, 2008. Eugene Onegin at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth...

2007-09-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

...I'm just at college. Week three of classes is almost done and over with, and I survived the deluge. But back before classes began. It was hot. And I mean hot. Over 100 degrees for a few days, and my dorm room has no air conditioning. My parents and I felt disgusting after moving all my stuff in, and rightly so. At least everyone else was equally as horrid, which *sort 0f* made the situation feel better.

The rooms here are much bigger than the dorm room at Interlochen. Its at least twice the size of the old room (which really, if you ever saw the Interlochen rooms, isn't saying much. A cardboard box is almost bigger), and the storage space is wonderful! The closets are also very large, which isn't something I'm very used to, but I do like it. The girls on my dorm floor seem to be very nice so far. Most of them are biology or chemistry majors (or in the case of my roommate, a double bio and chem major) with hopes of medical school, although there are a few anthropology majors, as well as about five music majors, including a girl I went to Interlochen with. But overall, at least as far as my observations go, the girls are focused students who actually care about their education, which comes as a great relief to myself.

Already I've been introduced to many new things; eating sushi with Jimmy (he taught me how to use chopsticks, therefore making me cool), nearly getting run over by a bus and car at the same time crossing Jordan avenue ("Crossing Jordan" has a whole new meaning after coming to IU), trying to hold my own with grad students (more on that later), and new and interesting people. I found it difficult at first to meet people, given the size of the campus, but IU really is as big or as small as you want it to be. I've made some very good friends already, thanks to things like Facebook, and I know I'll get to know more people as the year goes on.

So, the heat continued for a few more days after moving in. I'll freely admit that those first few days were horrible; I woke up feeling gross and continued to feel gross throughout the entire day, I felt homesick (although not nearly as bad as last year), and I had no clue as to what I was doing. But things began to turn around when I went to the "Spirits and Traditions of IU" event at the Stadium, which is really a clever way to get students to want to come to sporting events. I had thought that buses were taking students to the stadium, but I was very wrong. The walk to the Stadium from my dorm takes about 15 minutes, and it was well above 95 degrees that day. Not a fun walk, and I don't think I'll do it again. But on the way there, I met a very nice girl who reminds me very much of one of my friends from Interlochen, and we've hung out quite a bit ever since. It made me feel quite happy, because as a friend of mine said "Its hard to meet normal people here who aren't losers." meaning that its hard to find people who are normal, but also have a personality.

Classes started on Monday the 27th, bright and early at 8:00 a.m. I freaked out a bit after seeing the week's schedule for my first class; read 40 pages of the textbook the first night. Lovely. My German class was also a bit overwhelming. Its an accelerated class, which means that the first two semesters of German are put into one, and the pace is very quick. The class is fairly small, about 15 people, and most of them are graduate voice students. There's a few undergraduates (about 4), so I feel very much like a little kid in there. But its not a bunch of freshman, which is quite nice. As the Dean of Music said "The best thing about freshman is that they become sophomores."

But perhaps the biggest event of the first week for me, besides the visit of my parents, was the so-called "cattle call" auditions for the Opera Theatre. The first two operas of the season were cast last spring, so for those I wasn't able to audition, obviously. Most freshman are very much discouraged from doing the cattle calls fall semester, because A) freshman hardly ever, and I mean hardly ever get cast B) You sing on the stage of the Musical Arts Center, who's size is second only to the Metropolitan Opera, and it can be very intimidating C) Most freshman just aren't ready. However, my teacher said that it was perfectly fine for me to go ahead and sing. I'm not anticipating getting anything, but I just wanted to do it for the experience and to prove that I could do it. I really had nothing to loose, so why not? I signed up after seeing posters saying that it was the last day to do so (freak out, in other words), and with the help of a nice tenor grad student, figured out where to go the day of.

Despite my nerves, I think I remained quite clam during the whole process. I warmed up a little too early, something that I've always been guilty of, but this time it was more to have time to find a practice room, which I've discovered is nearly impossible. I warmed up slowly, making sure that I didn't overdo anything or blow out my vocal cords and ruin the audition. After taking plenty of time, I went to the MAC and took a deep breath. I could hear several people warming up in the dressing rooms, including one woman (who's name I didn't get and who I didn't hear perform), who has a voice like Jessye Norman (just found out this week she's in my sutdio!). There was another freshman singing that morning besides myself, but otherwise the singers were either graduate students or older undergrads.

Most of the stage was blocked off, and we only sang on a space a little bigger than the orchestra pit. The rest of the stage was the "green room" of sorts, and even though I knew that the stage was more than large, I was still surprised at its size. Some random set pieces from Rigoletto were on the stage behind the curtain as well as stage lights and other construction pieces. I waited for a while before I sang, listening to the other students, feeling some intimidation, but also remembering that there had been some singers who had done rather poorly on Thursday night.

But finally, my time came. The pianist who was playing for me was already on stage when I went out there, and I handed him the music, stated my name, audition number, and piece, and began to sing. Overall, I feel that I sang very well. Of course there were things that I wish had gone better, like not having to swallow at the beginning of some phrases (bugger), but my high notes were in place, and I didn't push. I was also surprised to hear my voice bounce back, which I had not expected. Makes me wonder how loud I am. After I was done being Cherubino (I sang "Non so piu" from Le Nozze di Figaro), I walked backstage to get my bags and go. As I was walking out, the pianist took my arm and said I had sung well, making me feel happy about what I had done. My teacher called me later that afternoon and told me that she felt I had done well, and that the feedback had been very positive. For that, I am very thankful and humbled.

That being out of the way (finally), I waited for my parents to arrive. IU played Indiana State (my brother's university) in the first football game of the season, so the whole family was coming to B-town. For those of you who don't know, IU sports is almost a sacred thing in the Dahling family. Its not just athletics, its a way of life. Well, only for some. But I was more excited to see my family than to go to a football game, much more excited. The game was fairly dull, since IU smothered ISU, but it was fun regardless. Its very nice to be able to see my family this often, and this weekend I'm going home, which I'm more than excited for. Even though I like it here, it will be very nice to be able to get away for a while.

This photos in this post were taken at the first orchestra concert of the year. It was a all Beethoven program; his 5th Symphony and later his 5th Piano Concerto, played by piano faculty member Andre Watts. I wasn't able to see his hands as he played, but I could see his face and all of his talking to himself whilst playing and other interesting quirks. It was beautiful, and the applause lasted for close to five minutes.

More updates, about the operas, dorm life, the buildings that look like the Harry Potter film set (which I think is fantastic!), will come eventually.

Addio...

2007-09-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

1935-2007

Harry Potter....

2007-07-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

I don't see how anyone who has a clue of what's going on in the world could have escaped all of the Harry Potter mania this past weekend with the release of the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I spent the weekend in South Bend with friends Anne and Katherine (Katherine's taking a class at Notre Dame this summer, having sold her soul to the Latin department). After an amazing Potter party (and I've been to quite a few of those), the book was released at 12:01 am, and the mania became ever more intense. There were all sorts of people in line, from children to adults, dorks (like myself), college-aged jocks (surprised me!), and everyone else in between. I more than admit that I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, no guilt there! Yes I know I'm just as much of a Hugo and Dostoevsky person, but Harry Potter is a thing of my generation, and I really have grown up with these books. I was about the same age as Harry when I read the first novel, and in the last one, he's only a year younger than I am now. I'm crazy about it.

So after standing in line for about an hour waiting to get our book (the line ended up being about a quarter of a mile, and we got in fairly early), we got back to Katherine's dorm at about 12:05, started reading at about 12:10, and finished at 9:30. Yes of course there were breaks, I'm not that crazy. But reading a Harry Potter book in one night was something I had never done before, and since it is the very last novel, there seemed to be no reason not to do so this final time.

And it was more than worth it. I am deeply satisfied with how Rowling ended the series, being slightly nervous about half-way through at the direction she was taking with the plot and characters. However, she turned it around in the darkest novel of the series (if you're under 12 years old, please don't read it.) and emerged, in my opinion, victorious. I am more than pleased with it. A great ending to nearly ten years of imagination, the endless questions, magic, and mystery. But I'm satisfied.

2007-07-09T11:50:00.000-07:00

For anyone that wants to know, I am doing a recital here in Decatur. It begins at 2:00 p.m. this Sunday, July 15, at the First United Methodist Church in Decatur. The recital, consisting of songs by Bellini, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, and Elgar, and arias from Le Nozze di Figaro, Rodelinda, and Julius Caesar, should last about half an hour. Please come!

Here's to the great ones

2007-07-08T18:02:00.000-07:00

The world of opera suffered a double blow in the past week with the deaths of two beloved sopranos: Beverly Sills and Regine Crespin, who died within days of each other. Sills, of course, was one of the greatest champion of the arts, and did more in her lifetime than many of us could ever begin to dream about, making the general public more appreciative of the arts. Baritone Sherrill Milnes said it perfectly: "Before the three tenors were making opera more accessible, Beverly was doing it all by herself.” Personally, I had not discovered Crespin until I heard the Solti recording of Wagner's Ring, on which she sang Sieglinde. I admired Crespin's self-security and openness on a variety of topics musical and not, and her willingness to share her opinions.

The deaths of Sills and Crespin made me think of all of the singers from their era who have gone before them, especially in the last four or so years; Franco Corelli, Robert Merrill, Birgit Nilsson, Astrid Varnay, James King, Thomas Stewart, Renata Tebaldi, Anna Moffo, Lorraine Hunt Leiberson...their era is slowly passing away into history, their legacies bearing witness to the work they have done. After all, every tenor who sings "Di quella pira" is compared to Corelli, every Verdi baritone follows in the steps of Merrill, every Violetta put next to Moffo. Its daunting to have had such talented singers pave the way for the next generations, realizing what large and well-worn shoes are to be filled. Still, their voices will be with us for the generations to hear; Tebaldi still changes lives, Nilsson still inspires, Sills still encourages. They are forever singing...

B-town

2007-06-24T18:15:00.000-07:00

Last week I found myself once again in Bloomington, this time for college orientation and to register for classes. In some ways, this visit to B-town was less stressful than others, because this time, I knew I was going to the university and the Jacobs School in the fall. The program was two days long, although I believe everything could have been squeezed into one day.

Thursday I retook the music theory placement test to see if I could get a better score and test out of one of the classes. Afterwords, a large group of incoming freshman Jacobs students were taken from program to program, telling us things from how to use our student id card to how to use our brain and not be attacked. There were more placement tests to be taken as well. Everyone took a math test, which was simple algebra that I couldn't do. Out of the 26 questions, I remembered how to do about 5 of them, and I don't think any of them were correct. The German test was much more doable, but a few minutes into it I felt like I was going to throw up. The base of my skull throbbed and my head was spinning, and I found myself looking at the same question for about three minutes at a time. I left about half-way through and sat in the bathroom, but nothing happened, and I returned and finished the test. Somehow I almost tested out of the first semester of German, so I'll be taking an accelerated German course, which is basically two semesters of German into one.

I spent some time both days with friends of mine that go to IU. Thursday night my parents and I met up with a friend from Youtheatre and walked around B-town. We passed John Mellencamp on Kirkwood smoking a cigarette; he's shorter than me. Friday in between my piano test and registering for classes, I got together with Laura and her friend Marla for a few hours. Speaking of piano, I tested out of all of the piano classes and the proficiency test, taking a huge chunk out of the courses I'm required to take. I've heard tales of horror about amazing musicians who are terrified they won't graduate because they can't pass the piano test. My academic advisor tried to recruit me to be an accompanist, but I'm nowhere near that level.

I also had the chance to see a room in the dorm I'm living in. The room is at least twice the size of the rooms in TJ, with nicer furniture and lights that actually illuminate the room, and the walls looked like they had been painted in the last ten years. In other words, it won't be like living in a jail cell.

So, I'm officially a college student. There are still some things that I need to take care of, but for the most part, I'm ready for IU!

There are some things only a baritone can do...

2007-06-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

Leather pants falls into this category. Proves once again that Dmitri Hvorostovsky is, well, amazing.

Graduation!

2007-06-12T11:58:00.000-07:00

I did it! High school is finished. I graduated from Interlochen last Saturday at the end of a very exciting and busy week. Classes finished up on the Wednesday before graduation, with finals and other tests. Thursday and Friday were what is known as Festival; in other words, as many performances as can be fit into a day, each drawing very good-sized crowds. Opera Workshop on Thursday was totally full, making my entrance and exit a little difficult; thank goodness I didn't trip over anyone running out of the house. But the performance went very well, especially by Festival standards. The choir concert on Friday also went well, giving a final farewell to my days at Interlochen.

But of course, Saturday was the big day; graduation. I was given the Senior Honors cords Friday night at Honors Convocation, which I proudly wore on Saturday. The ceremony was beautiful, with performances from three of our five valedictorians, the other two giving speeches. Yes, we had five valedictorians. Five. President Kimpton's speech to the class was more than thoughtful, encouraging us to remain true to our art, but to also live in the real world. After all, art is meant for the fulfillment of the masses, not exclusively the artists.

After graduation, I said good-bye to my friends and teachers, packed up the remainder of my luggage, and drove the long drive home. I was able to go to my friend Emma's grad party (she's a day student) and say good-bye to her, and Mrs. Gaede (aka God) was also there. I sort of freaked out.

Am I glad that its finally done with? Yes, because it burnt me out from the intensity. But also no, because there is the possibility that I may never see some of those people again, and I miss them. But even after going through the misfortunes of a crazy roommate, extreme homesickness, a pseudo-Siberian winter, letdowns, there ended up being more positive than negative. I am most definitely glad that I chose to spend my last year of high school at Interlochen, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Opera again

2007-05-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

Just don't ask.

The spring program for Interlochen's Opera Workshop class was presented on Saturday night, and an encore performance will occur next Thursday, during Festival. This program was very different from last semester's; we performed in the Chapel instead of Corson, there were few costumes (don't worry, we wore black, no nudity involved. It wasn't Salome), and instead of full chamber operas or acts of full scale operas, we performed scenes, which included everything from Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea to Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella.

Some of Interlochen's finest just "Standing on the corner, watching all the girls go by."

Last semester's program consisted of tear-jerkers; women dying of TB and Irish men drowning. But once again in contrast, this program was gnerally happy or touching, with the occasional touch of the bizarre. The only piece not sung in English was "Bei Mannern wilche Liebe fuhlen" from Mozart's The Magic Flute. Really, its too good to sing in English.

Sarah Powell as Pamina and Garret Rubin as Papagano. This duet was certainly the most adorable piece on the entire program.

Big kudos went to tenor Austin Barret, who stepped in at the last moment as Nanki-Poo in a duet from The Mikado; the tenor originally cast was expelled last week. Lucky for us, Austin is the biggest Gilbert and Sullivan fan around, and already knew the piece by heart. And not only did he learn dialogue and staging in a day, but he performed the role with amazing high notes and humor.

Austin Barret as Nanki-Poo.

I sang in Scene Seven from Britten's The Turn of the Screw. It was perhaps the most bizarre piece on the program, and certainly the most disturbing; the whole opera is more than creepy, but the music is mind-blowing. I sang the role of Miss Jessel, the dead governess who is trying to claim the soul of her former charge, Flora. The music for Jessel sits at the top of the staff most of the time, but it fits my voice perfectly, and I hope I get an opportunity to sing the entire role some day.

Emma Grettenberger as Mrs. Grose, Sarah Powell as Flora, and Erin O'Leary as the Governess. I made my entrance from the back of the Chapel, and put Flora into a trance-like state. So, in this picture, we are maintaining eye contact, which turned out to play out very well.

As Miss Jessel. Heck yes I got to be creepy.

Opera Workshop Crew, 2007.

Recital Fever...

2007-04-24T16:34:00.000-07:00

Recital season is up and running at Interlochen, with about five senior recitals every weekend. I gave a recital last Monday night, the result of months of work. My parents were able to come up here for the recital, driving in the day of and leaving Tuesday morning after a cup of coffee at the Melody Freeze. Overall, I felt that the recital went very well. I was nervous (obviously)at the beginning, but the nerves slowly went away, and I felt more confident as the recital progressed. I felt that my Elgar pieces and the "Seguidilla" were my best performances of the evening. The Elgar pieces are more than difficult, and I had to pace myself so that I didn't run out of vocal resources by the time I got to "The Swimmer". And after that, I was on a vocal high that enabled me to loosen up for the "Seguidilla" and become Carmen for a minute and a half.

I was pleased with the results of all my hard work. After all of my stuggles this past year, I still made progress and survived. Not only have I survived my year at Interlochen, but I thrived. I'm very excited to say that I will be graduating from Interlochen with Honors, something only 55 of us are doing. It's strange to think that I'll be finished with my time at Interlochen in a month. It's a month I never thought would come, but here it is, and I've made it through!

Lydia's going to college!

2007-03-27T17:03:00.000-07:00

I'm going to college! After many days of not getting the mail for fear of getting rejection letters from colleges, I finally got the letter I was looking for. "You have been recommended for admission to the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music." IU has long been my top choice for college, so getting in was very exciting for me. I guess my audition went better than I thought it did. So, next year I will be attending IU, majoring in Vocal Performance. I'm beyond excited! I'll be the fourth generation of Dahlings to go to IU; I think the first time I was on campus I was two years old or close to that. IU's always been part of the family legacy, and I find it difficult to remember a time when I hadn't heard of the University. I'm just so ecstatic that I've been accepted to IU!

Mozart, recital juries,learning Britten, falling down...all in a week's work

2007-03-13T17:25:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have been some of the busiest this year. Choir had our sacred music concert last Friday, which consisted of Mozart's Solemn Vespers, a Swedish piece called Saul (we didn't sing it in Swedish, thank goodness), and three hymn tunes with organ. The Mozart piece was done with a small chamber orchestra. Like most sacred masses and oratorios, there were solo parts, in this case a quartet in most movements and the famous soprano solo "Laudate Dominum", which is nothing but beautiful. I sang the alto solo in the "Confitebur" movement. It was the first time that I had sung solo with orchestra, and I was a bit nervous, but it turned out very well in the end, and I was more than pleased with the outcome of the concert. I'll admit, it was nothing less of exciting to sing with an orchestra. And to be singing Mozart with orchestra...amazing!

Rehearsals for Opera Workshop have begun; this semester's program has more, shorter pieces than before. I'm doing English opera again, this time the lake scene from Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw. I'm singing the role of Miss Jessel, the former governess (former because she's dead) to Miles and Flora, who, with the former manservant (also dead) Peter Quint, are trying to corrupt the children, and the new Governess is trying to prevent it, all the while not sure if it is actually happening, or if it is something of her imagination. Actually, it's one of the creepiest things I've ever come across, but it's wonderful music, and I'm very excited!

The jury for my senior recital was yesterday, and I got it! I had been nervous, mostly because my health seemed to be finally letting down its guard. It started on Saturday when I fell twice on the ice on the way to my first class, causing my head and legs to hurt and to leave me covered in water and a few bruises. Lovely. But after that it seemed that my throat was rather dry. Of course the two had nothing in common, only that they happened around the same time. So, after a trip to health services, I was told that my throat was a little red and that my tonsils were slightly swollen. I took some medication, gargled warm salt water, had some Cold Eeze, and went to bed very early. I had also felt very tired for the whole week, which I think was due more to stress and exhaustion than anything. Good think Spring Break is coming up, and I can sleep...

More Auditions

2007-03-06T05:20:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I found myself in Bloomington for my Indiana University Jacobs School of Music audition. As far as auditions go, this was the one I was looking the most forward to, and also the one that caused me the most nerves.

My parents picked me up from Interlochen Wednesday after classes, and, after a long car ride, I arrived at home. I spent the night at home and after sleeping in on Thursday, my mom and I drove down to Bloomington, a very short drive compared to the drive to Interlochen. We stayed at a very sketchy Eccano Lodge that looked like it should be in "CSI: Bloomington" or "Law and Order: University Inspectors Unit". But it was fine. After wandering around Bloomington for a while, we returned to the hotel and got a good night's sleep.

Friday morning, we arrived at the Musical Arts Center (MAC) a little after 8 in the morning to see what my schedule was for the day. I had a music theory placement test in the morning, which wasn't a big deal. My audition, however, was a big deal (big duh there, let's point out the obvious). The audition was at 5:00 (4:58 if you want to be exact), and after warming up, I arrived at the room, and since I was early, I was able to sing about half an hour before I was supposed to.

This was by far the most nerve-wracking audition. My knees shook the entire time. Walking into that room, and finally doing something that I've been looking forward to for five or so years, was truly scary, but at the same time exciting. I only sang half of my Elgar piece, since it's so long, and after a shaky start, I managed to get control of it. I think the accompanist could sense my freaking-out when I was showing him the cut for the Elgar. "It's OK," or something like that. The high A at the end was good, in my opinion, which made me happy. I also sang my Bellini piece, which also went well, at least I hope so. I couldn't really tell what kind of reaction the faculty had, which didn't help the nerve factor. I've most definitely sung better, but I didn't crash and burn. I'm just dying to know how I did; I'll be in a perpetual state of freak out until I find out.

Friday night, my mom and I went to see Richard Strauss's Arabella at the IU Opera Theatre. It is a beautiful opera, and the performance was lovely. The singers were wonderful, and the production was beautiful; the sets and costumes were breathtaking. During intermission, I talked with an usher that had been a councilor at the DePauw Vocal Arts Camp two summers ago when I went. She graduated from DePauw and now studies at IU, and I was able to get her opinion on both schools.

We returned home Saturday afternoon, after having lunch with Laura and Nicole; it is always good to see familiar faces. We had snow and Simon Boccanegra on the drive home. Thomas Hampson is amazing.

So how do I feel about my IU audition? I don't know. I still can't tell how I did. I don't know how I stacked up compared to the other voice students that auditioned, or how tough it was to actually get from the screening round to the audition. There were parts of the audition I was glad about, like the high A that caused all of the faculty listening to look up, but there were other parts that were not so good, like having the accompanist step on the gas in the Elgar, even though I got back on track, and it seemed to turn out fine, but who knows? Of course I wish I could have a second chance, just to prove I can sing better. If I could know how I did, I think I would feel a lot better about the whole thing. So now I wait for the acceptance or rejection letter. The nerves are on end. Let's just say there's been a lot of praying going on...

Life is good...

2007-02-24T15:42:00.000-08:00

Got to hear the last act of Eugene Onegin...life is good.