And...done

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.

I know this is late...

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.

On the vocal highwire

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.

Mozart is my man.

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. =)

Semester Wrap-up

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...

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...