Putting it all into perspective...

I have a friend, a singer colleague and a person I admire very much as an artist and a human being, who's father was in a motorcycle accident on Nov. 10th. Since then she's been at her day job as well as her musical performances with a smiling face, going back home to visit her father who's in a coma whenever she can. She also has a blog... but it's about her father's progress in his physical and mental capacities. Needless to say, reading about their family's struggles makes all of the trials and tribulations of being a "starving artist" seem utterly trivial.

The holiday isn't much of a holiday this year, since I have five opera scenes and three opera chorus to have memorized for Sarasota. But I am so grateful to have the work. As young singers it's difficult to find consistent work, with even the most talented people taking temp jobs to pay for rent and groceries between gigs. Sometimes (heck, MOST of the time) I find myself really frustrated with this fact, seeing friend of mine from high school settling into lucrative careers, getting married and having babies. But I get to make music and get paid for it... AND move to sunny places during the worst of the Chicago winter. Believe me, I'm not complaining.

Opera singers live something of a double life... one night being glamorously dressed in satin and pearls and singing for high society, the next day the same person is serving you coffee at Starbucks. It's a bizarre dicotamy, and sometimes depressing dealing with the crazy ups and downs. The only real consistency is the music. Mozart's music has always been musically perfect and will remain so after all the singers of today are gone. Puccini and Massenet will always tug on audience's heart strings. The music remains and if we can just enjoy it and be grateful for every time it puts food on the table, then that is enough. I write this because, after finishing my degree, I'm feeling a little lost... so I'm speaking to my own subconscious. The music provides the answers... the journey of being able to sing it perfectly is an endless one, but can always be rewarding every step of the way. "Success" by typical standards... money, fame, "bling"... fades. I am grateful to spend Christmas was my family (which will include playing some rock 'n' roll with my dad and brothers) as well as Verdi, Mascagni, Rossini, Ponchielli and Mozart.


I had a lovely customer service representative with GoDaddy.com finally help me figure out why my website wasn't working. So now, feel free to visit www.caitlinmckechney.com and enjoy the new look!

revisiting

I have not written at all over the summer and this past fall semester, but I felt like it might be time to revisit this blog... Ok, and I also just watched "Julie and Julia" and loved it, and, like Julie Potter, am feeling a bit lost. Will blogging help me to reconnect with my sense of self and purpose? Probably not directly, but it couldn't hurt.

The past months have been both successful and difficult. I loaded my plate too full (over compensating for a springtime of unemployment and a leisurely summer) and took on a full course load, my masters recital and two (yes, eins... zwei...) atonal operas (which, in technical terms, aren't actually "atonal", but I'll explain that at another point... or maybe I won't... needless to say, they weren't in C Major).

No Exit by Andy Vores, based on the famous existential play by Sartre, was a great success and an intensely fruitful learning experience for me as an actress. The opera is very true to the play itself, and therefore we all felt the need to be true to the characters and dive in head first. I was blessed to have three beautiful (inside and out) castmates--Susan Nelson as Estelle, Matt Newlin as Garcin and Peter Weathers (also acting as the producer and impetus for the mounting of the piece) as the Valet--who made it a safe experience on stage with their dramatic integrity and fiercely passionate and accurate musicianship. Directed by George Cederquist and conducted and music directed by Emmanuele Andrizzi, the show ended up being something we were all extremely proud of. Here is the review from the Chicago Classical Review:

http://chicagoclassicalreview.com/2009/10/andy-vores-riveting-no-exit-a-combustible-winner-for-chicago-opera-vanguard/

Eric Reda and the rest of the Chicago Opera Vanguard team have a really great company on their hands, and I'm so honored to have been a part of their first seasons. April 16th will be our production of Trouble in Tahiti, the one-act opera by Bernstein, as a part of COV's "Modern Marriage" concert at The Center on Halsted. With another cast and crew that makes me excited to go to rehearsals every day, I can't wait for this show to be put up in Chicago.

I was fortunate enough to sing the National Anthem on the Auditorium Theater stage with CCPA's wind ensemble, getting a taste of those beautiful lights and singing up to multiple balconies of people. It was supposed to be my graduation, but a couple of loose ends need to be tied up before I get that significant piece of paper. My final performance for my George Crumb seminar will have to happen after Christmas as the bass player from my ensemble burnt his hands so badly that he was unable to play for a number of weeks. Thank God he will recover fully. I will post our performance of Madrigals Book 1 on YouTube for all to see, as it promises to be VERY cool! This year has expanded my ears tremendously, where the tri-tone has begun to, in certain contexts, sound consonant and eerily beautiful.

On January 3rd I will hop in my Grandma Walsh's old '95 Buick and start my drive down to Sarasota, FL, where I will be an apprentice artist for their '10 winter season. I am thrilled to be making money as a singer... and to skip the Chicago winter. I guess part of my reason to start up this blog again is to keep people up to date on what I'm doing. If anyone reads this. Part of me still thinks it's pretty narcissistic to put your ramblings up on the internet... but then again, in this community of musicians, it's nice to know that others go through the same struggles and joys that you do. I read Joyce DiDonato's blog regularly because her perspective is refreshing. Also, for those who aren't a part of this musical world, they can get the inside scoop. Art is nothing if there isn't an audience to appreciate and care about it.

But really, I just totally identified with Amy Adams this afternoon. If I could have her journey over the course of the year, I would be satisfied. Go see the movie... perhaps not oscar worthy, but certainly inspirational.

Greek!!!

Eddy's a "Mother-Fucker"... literally and figuratively. ;-)

Come and see Chicago Opera Vanguard's production of GREEK, an 80's punk retelling of the Oedipus Rex story by Mark-Anthony Turnage, resident composer of the CSO.



http://www.chicagovanguard.org/www/index.htm

the weight of unmade art

There's something both exhilarating and intimidating about free time and a mild inspiration. I found myself at home tonight, alone except for the dogs... with hours of time to do things. I retrieved my easel from my old apartment, which will enable me to paint again... but it is daunting to paint again after not doing it for months. "What if it's bad and I forgot how?," says my subconscious, my "censor" as Julia Cameron would say. So instead I drew... harmless and easy. Perhaps tomorrow I will put water in my tin can with the brushes in it, put a little paint on some cardboard and wait for the brush to move itself as it sometimes does when you forget to try.

The same goes for singing... if I only have an hour sandwiched between class and a rehearsal to practice, I practice. But with hours and hours and hours at my disposal, somehow I avoid it? Realizing what I was doing, I forced myself to sing... and it was productive. But, damn, was it hard to get myself to do it! That's why God invented practice rooms... to eliminate the distraction of DVR. ;-)

I've read some other people's blogs in my class, and I'm worried that mine is extremely narcissistic (and poorly written). I think I've been musing too much on Virginia Woolf's diary entries... Still, I must remember that she did not write in that journal intending for the world to read her words. Saving my uncensored thoughts for my uncensored journal...

Ceremonies

Saturday was crazily long... emotional (both celebratory and remorseful) and full of so many faces that have been so familiar to me for so long. The two halves of my life, really.

The morning was spent at my Grandfather's funeral, where the priest was 15 minutes late for the service because of traffic on the Edens. I take issue with church services because, as a musician who is part of the "production", you see the nuts and bolts behind what is for many their most spiritual experience. For me, it has always made it seem less spiritual in this revelation, seeing the business side of the music and its preparation, how the priests (this is a very general statement and does not apply to all spiritual officients) sometimes just go through the motions while their congregation relies of them for spiritual guidance (the congregation is often guilty of the same disassociation from the spiritual, but that is a WHOLE other tangent...). So my experience on Saturday was unique, because even though this was MY Grandfather's funeral, I had to be "working" and part of that aspect of "ceremony"... and I really dislike it.

Ok, and not all of this has to do with the church, but also my own inner turmoil and the ego surrounding being a singer. After finally finishing my last piece, just before the "rememberences", I just broke down. Partly because I was watching my uncles and father talk about Grandpa, and that's emotional, but really it was a release because I hadn't been able to feel anything yet... my mind and heart was surrounding my own "performance". This fact makes me feel extremely guilty. Honestly, I'm not an experienced Cantor and so definitely made a number of mistakes throughout the service, and this made me feel bad because it happened in front of my whole family. And really, my ego wants everyone to think I'm really great. And that I'm worried about what others think about me at my Grandfather's FUNERAL... ugh. I was disgusted with myself. But that's what the embarassment was... not being perfect in front of all these people I knew. Anyway... for those not involved as I was, it was a beautiful tribute. My Grandfather served very valiently in the Navy during WWII, even having his ship sunk, and there was a flag ceremony after the service. In the end, no one really cared about my slip ups or when my larynx was higher than I would have liked. And someday I hope to disassociate from that ego-centered nature of singing... particularly in these situations.


After that was the wedding of my friend Pete Wojtowicz. We've know each other since we were in high school at NHSMI at Northwestern... "band camp", as I like to call it. ;-) It was a beautiful ceremony with William Butler Yeats poetry read instead of convoluted Bible passages, a homily from Ryan Scammell, a friend of the couple, who actually knew them and didn't need to ask questions about their lives and history to create the perfect "homily". I don't mean to bash religion, but I just feel like religions began with ceremonies like this one... where people were doing what felt right and natural... and then they became dogma. Never to be changed or questioned.

I spent the day surrounded by amazing people. My family, my cousins, aunts and uncles, my brothers, my parents... and then I left them to jump in a strech SUV limo (which I usually distain and criticize, but at that moment realized why so many people find them fun on occassion) with my older "brothers", these college friends I've now known for at least a decade, who I can see after a year apart and pick up like we had just hung out yesterday. I danced away the stress of the morning and laughed at my great fortune to have met so many wonderful people during this lifetime.

I seem to have deterred from the title of this blog... Ah well. Living life is, very much, a part of being an opera singer and an artist. Right?

A final entry?

I don't know if I'll continue this blog after grad seminar is over, but I'm not ready to do my "final" entry yet.

The master class for Mary Jane Johnson was very interesting. I was glad to get En vain up and on its feet... I believe it could be a good audition piece in contrast with the Habanera. She didn't have much technically to say to me... which either means that she thought I was good or boring. ;-)

Tomorrow I have to sing at my grandfather's funeral. This will be a difficult task. I will sing the Durufle Requiem "Pie Jesu", which has historically given me trouble, but it's such a gorgeous piece and I can do it well not that my technique is solid. My father is speaking, and I'm afraid that seeing his emotions will bring mine up into my throat... but I believe I can be strong for this. I want to sing well so to honor the great man that my grandfather, William L. McKechney, was. I am glad to be able to do this to help out my family, relieve a little stress, and to honor his memory in the best way I know how. I'm glad to have my brothers home, even if just for a couple of days and for a sad reason... because they make me laugh.

Rehearsal for Greek was wonderful tonight. I am so excited about this piece both dramatically and musically. I will get involved in the advertisement so lots of people come. Still a TON of musical work to do, but it's coming along...

Difficulties... and goodbyes...

Well, I felt like I got my ass kicked by Turnage today, even though I've never met the man.

I spent a great deal of time learning the Greek score, but I focused primarily on my arias and duets and much of the ensembles fell to the wayside. I will do much more work on those horrid trouble areas tomorrow. I'm about to make excuses, which would include the reasons why I wasn't good today, not well prepared. But I won't... because, in the end, it doesn't matter. Get it done. I'm good enough to get by, but I can't rely on myself just absorbing music anymore. My professionalism as a musician must begin to match my professionalism as a performer. Gosh darn it.

Contrarily, I sang with my friend Charlie Williams's band Mira Mira, which combines classical piano and cello with bass and drums and some singing and beautiful poetry. I like rock music, because you can stop thinking so much about technique. It's not so demanding vocally, so the poetry and JUST MAKING MUSIC is all that matters. I needed that after today... and perhaps I need it more often, even once in awhile. The "Sara Salon" with Mark Bilyue and Dr. Brown was like that... just making music because it was fun. Art for the sake of art.

I feel weird, as my class is wrapping itself up with a bow and everyone feels nostalgic... I feel distant and not a part of it. I have missed many recitals because I've been in rehearsals or am just unable to make it from the suburbs. I miss the closeness I had felt with my friends in my class before, and so writing a letter to them was difficult in class yesterday... but I'd like to give it another go.

Dear friends and colleagues,

When I came to Roosevelt nearly 2 years ago, I was very lonely and scared. I had been away from music, from study, for a number of years and had lost myself as a singer. I also felt a void of friendship in Chicago, a place that I had always considered home. I was jetlagged from visiting a boyfriend in Paris who had made me cry non-stop the day before I left to come home. And I came here, scared of being bad, of being judged, of failing. And in this class I found some of the most amazing friends, and even those who I didn't get to know as well I learned from as both human beings and performers. We are all human... And I'm grateful for that, because the imperfections are what make art and music real and expressive and magical. I have experienced magic in so many performances, in words and gestures of kindness, in the support and friendships through breakups and other difficult times. And somewhere, in the midst of all this shit, we've all begun to learn how to be opera singers...

I will miss you all. And I wish I'd gotten to know many of you better than I did. Perhaps there's still time...

Much love,
Caitlin

Auditions: Nashville and Florentine Opera

I think I have figured out the key to life: dresses with POCKETS!

Well, at least it has brought about some help during my audition process. I have found that in the emotional rush of an audition, I tend to not really remember how it went. I'll remember the completely fabulous and the totally awful, but it's difficult to really pick it apart after the fact. But I have been using the recording device on my phone for my voice lessons and tested its recording capabilities through from my pocket prior to my Nashville audition, and decided to give it a try. It recorded really well, and I was able to listen back with a critical ear. I tend to get carried away with the "theatrical" aspect of auditions/performing, so it was good to hear how it went vocally.

Nashville: I sang for the education director, Stuart Holt, who happened to have worked at Sarasota Opera back when I was a young artist there (small world, opera is!). I started with Lucretia, which works well because I just throw out those first notes and abandon all nerves. It shows top to bottom of my range as well as my dramatic "range". I felt like it was successful. Listening back, the only passage that was pretty off was "and time's their theif" which starts off on a pp D on the middle of the staff. It just makes me nervous, and you can hear it in my voice, when the passage should be one of the most expressive, free and tragic of the aria. He asked for the Habanera, which went well and I was happy to have it picked since I'm very comfortable with it after OSB. But I realized that I shouldn't feel nervous AT ALL about any piece I am offering. Beppe's good, but I didn't want him to pick it. What a Movie! is good, but there are always coordination issues. Va! is rusty. I realize that I must be very judicious as I pick my "5" for this coming fall audition season.

Florentine: I drove to Milwaukee thinking that I was going to sing Carmen to start, since I didn't know the accompanist and I figured I should play it safe. But then I got pulled over and given not one, but TWO tickets... one for speeding but 10 miles over the speed limit on the highway (come ON!) and another for expired liscence plates (I haven't made it to the DMV since being back in town... also don't have cash for the sticker... much less these tickets!). Needless to say, I was pissed and upset and in tears over the money, blah blah blah. So I had to do Lucretia. That's what I was feeling... And it went very well. The accompanist handled it beautifully. They must have liked it because they asked for half of the Habanera when they'd been asking for just one piece from most singers. Rockin! Again, I recorded it, and both pieces sounded pretty awesome (I'm not gloating... but just relishing in the fact that I'm no longer choking in auditions!!!). I could hold that last F# a bit longer, milk it. But other than that, it sounded in line and fun. Once I get all of my pieces feeling as comfortable and confident as those two arias, I will be really set to go.

Really... it's been such a journey. For some reason it just feels like it's sort of coming together... the breath support, the acting, the grounding of the sound. But I'm more actively making it happen, taking responsibility. In the end, no one can tell you how to do it, how to sing. You take in what teachers say, but you have to own the information and take responsibility for putting yourself into it, taking the risk. I am lucky to have finally found great guidance. Now I need to match that with the drive to implement all of the information, and make art.

Website!

Welcome to www.caitlinmckechney.com!

Considering I created it myself on iweb, I'm pretty happy with the results! Considering that a "budget" website would be at least $800, I decided to take this into my own hands. Thanks to the customer service reps at GoDaddy.com for helping this technologically inept artsy chick figure out how to take my pretty picture of a website and actually make it work!

"The darkest hour is just before the dawn." PART DEUX

Two beautiful images I found when I googled the proverb/lyric. This is obviously Monet... of all in this series, I love the colors in this one.





This was some random person's photograph. I think it is awesome. That is all.

"The darkest hour is just before the dawn."

... A proverb, I suppose. I know the quote from listening to Crosby, Stills and Nash as a junior high kid. And it actually doesn't make sense, since of course as the sun rises over the horizon gradually, slowly covering the stars with a blanket of light. But, as a saying, it's sometimes heartening.

I write honestly here because, really, I don't think many people read this (hi, James, if you're catching this again... :-)). I wanted to write about the finance class we had on Friday in class, and I started an entry yesterday... but I couldn't write it. I couldn't work through the blaring irony that, more so than any time in my life before, I'm broke. I had these great experiences this "semester", which I am so grateful for, but it's been very hard to find a job that will work with my upcoming rehearsal schedule (I rehearse at basically all times I could work at a restaurant). Lessons and parking and train tickets have depleted my last paycheck from OSB. So all of the fabulous information about savings and chipping away at debt is for naught.

At least for now. I'm having a moment of pointed frustration that will hopefully be a dark time before things get better, easier. I am faced with many issues regarding my "package" as a singer and there are vocal issues I need to iron out while finding and rehearsing the right audition pieces, but everything we do as a singer takes money. So it's a catch 22... and it's just getting me down today.

But I'll be honest, I looked up what it takes to get into law school today. I may have my recent addiction to Law and Order to blame for that, but that was actually the only A+ I ever got in a regular class that wasn't art or music. I think it has more to do with the fact that I have had a bit of a cough and my coaching with Martin Katz didn't go as well as I would have liked. He's great (obviously!) and his comments actually steered me in the right direction with my set of arias, but I really wanted to sing awesomely for him. And I was just mediocre. Dammit. But it's almost funny how, despite loads of encouragement and successes over the past months, one negative experience makes it all seem somewhat hopeless. Like how do you ever make money, have a family... or even a relationship, a home? I think I might love being a lawyer, or a teacher, or even a librarian! And there are moments where I guess you have to think, "Do I really want to be a singer so much that none of that none of these things are an option?" It's an easy question to answer... but the problem is that you have to keep asking it at every juncture.

I'm hoping, as my title suggests, that this is just a dark moment before things brighten and improve. I have direction, which is a start. All I need now is a job to pay for lessons...

Musical Theater with Luis Perez

I really enjoyed the Musical Theater master class with Luis Perez... and not just because the man has actually performed with Marin Mazzie in Sondgeim's "Passion", possibly my favorite musical theater piece EVER! The class focused particularly on acting, with side notes about the singing, and each time a specific "beat" or moment in the piece was isolated and highlighted, the music itself really came alive. As an audience member, it was easy to extract this information and apply it directly to opera arias and auditions. Why aren't we expected to do this detail work dramatically in opera? Probably because the singing aspect is so much more difficult and specific, but sometimes I really believe that if the dramatic intent is correct, it make the vocalism easier and more natural. Emotion sometimes begets good technique.

Personally, I felt ok about my performance. I had been sitting throughout the whole class and so hadn't made a noise for over 2 hours when I got up to sing. And still it went ok. I felt bizarre vocally, like the sound was labored in coming out, but I recorded it and it actually sounded pretty good, except for one flat note in the 1st verse and then the weird emotional thing that happened at the end of my second time through, where the notes just didn't come out at all on pitch because my throat was overwhelmed with emotion. Mr. Perez said something very true about the learning process about a piece... you have to learn the notes first, then learn the emotions and go all the way with it, forgoing the technique... and finally, you take those emotions, but have a "monitor" going on the whole time that keeps your technique in check. I think that's a good breakdown.

I'm mad at myself for still doing "opera arms". I watched my performance of Kiss Me Kate a couple of years ago and was horrified at how boring and stiff I was. So I think I overcompensated, which Mr. Perez observed, saying most people he has to beg to act, but with me he'd say "act less." I'm mad at myself because I've done so much work on my acting over the past couple of years, but I think that since I've gotten out of my head and liberated myself on stage (a credit I do give to Kiss Me Kate and David Walters, my director there with Nightblue Theater), it is not my responsibility to become more specific and controlled in my choices. Choices... that is key. That things don't just happen as a result of emotion and haphazard movements that come as a result.

So this is my goal. Don't just be a decent actress, the phenomenon of an opera singer that actually acts. I want to be a great actress, like those actresses I really admire.

More later.

trying to stay up to date...

I'm amazed that performers go from one gig straight to the next. Perhaps its easier when you're not an "opera slave", where 9-12 hour days are not uncommon. But I've been home for over a week and still feel a little like a truck hit me and I'm still not unpacked... That is an even more daunting task because I'm trying to make room for my new life in a room that holds all of my stuff from high school and college as well. I'm in the midst of reorganizing and giving away boatloads of old clothes... though at this moment I'm admittedly using this blog to procrastinate. ;-)

It's been good to be back. I've enjoyed observing performance class again, and the lack of a job has allowed me the freedom to go into school and practice for a number of hours when I do go in for class. Friday I will sing "So In Love" for a musical theater master class in Grad Seminar. I look forward to that. I watched my video of Kiss Me, Kate from 2007 when I played Lilli/Kate with Nightblue Theater's production... and the positive part of that experience was seeing how far I've come as a performer during my time in grad school! Watching and listening to yourself is such an incredible tool (though sometimes painful) because you don't fully understand the importance of certain vocal and theatrical techniques until you observe them from an audience's perspective. Watching my rendition of So In Love from that show, I observed what I as an audience member wanted to see in the performance, and on Friday I will try to execute that.

I liked watching the conducting master class last week. Again, there is an emphasis on what makes you a good colleague and someone that would hopefully be hired back. These issues are imperative, arguably even more important in this day and age that an unbelievable natural gift.


Connections from OSB: I've been trying to capitalize upon my relationships from OSB. I contacted Lara Bolton about writing letters of recommendation for my YAP applications next year (SO far in advance, but I figured its better than later and she can be thinking about them while our experiences are still fresh in her memory), as well as asked her opinion about my options for next year. She says go for the big ones, because even the singers at Merola still have things to figure out. So I will, and I'll act the hell out of that audition. I also contacted Scott Jussila, who I find to be, like Lara, kind and open and easy to talk to. I wanted his opinions regarding my "package" since he was also in my final audition for Josh Winograde, James Marvel and Maestro Ryvkin. He recognized that there's a big voice inside of this little package, and I need to capitalize on that. I will try to meet up with him in person, if anything because I think face-to-face meetings are preferable and I just like him and his energy! I've also contacted James Marvel in hopes to schedule a coaching with him when he's in Chicago for the CS convention. I loved what he did with the Lucretia piece and hope to work on my other arias with him so that they are ready for the audition season next year.

Ok... I've written as much as I can without completely rambling. Time to start cleaning!!!

Elizabeth Gilbert on making art...

Sweet Home Chicago

I'm very happy to be home, but already miss my great friends from OSB. Here's a fabulous picture of the Grisettes that shows that we're all... TRIPLE THREATS! ;-)

Must the Winter Come so Soon???

Must my return to Chicago and the inevitable early-April snow shower come so soon? I am very sad that my time in Santa Barbara is coming to an end, but excited to see friends and family and to sleep in a bed that I consider my own. Oh, and the weather in Chicago is basically the exact same as it is here in SB right now... 55 degrees. So that'll make the transition less shocking. ;-)

I have not written much recently, primarily because getting myself to a coffee shop to use the internet has been difficult during these show weeks. Both Carmen and The Merry Widow have gone quite well. I will say that doing the can-can on stage is a trip and the audience seemed to LOVE the grisettes!

Some interesting tidbits about the past week. Again, my nerves and ability to fly by the seat of my pants served me well when one of our mezzos found that she had still not gotten over an illness the morning of our final Brown Bag concert of American Opera. She was set to sing Must the Winter Come So Soon? from Barber's Vanessa, an aria I've always loved but never sang because so many people do it (but they do it because it's good!). But Lara called me up thinking that I had sung it before and asked if I could fill in. I knew the words and rhythms, obviously, but had never sung it with accompaniment. So we just went over it before the concert and it actually went very well! People even said that they particularly liked my rendition, which almost made me laugh! But it's a beautiful piece and I loved doing it. I was proud of myself because generally I like to very VERY well rehearsed for anything I do or else I get nervous. But I did it and stayed calm and even made art.

The other exciting news is that I have been cast in a production of the opera Greek by Mark-Anthony Turnage, one of the resident composers for the CSO with Chicago Opera Vanguard. I got this gig almost purely based on reputation, and after sending a couple of recordings and my resume via email to Eric Reda, the artistic director of the company. I'm very excited to have something like this to look forward to back in Chicago, and am grateful for all the kind words spoken about me as an artist by the people I have worked with. It goes to show that your reputation and performance as a singer and artist are always important and valuable, even outside of the audition.

Lastly, I sang for a panel yesterday in what was both an audition and mock-audition where we received immediate feedback from the panel, who consited of Maestro Valery Ryvkin (artistic director of OSB and a lovely person), James Marvel (acting coach and director), Josh Winograde (LA Opera) and Scott Jussila (YAP coordinator for OSB). I sang the Habanera, which went well... I love the piece and it's a really good starter aria for me because I'm so comfortable with it. And then they asked for Cherubino. I got the most interesting comment from JW, but one that absolutely resounded with what I feel about myself as a singer... that I'm not really one for pants roles! He suggested I look at operetta for my German, and then be sure that I have Dorabella and even Elvira on my rep list! He also suggested Musetta, which actually is VERY exciting to me. My top is working well lately, so I think I can handle it. And those characters are definitely more "me" than Cherubino. So I was extremely grateful for that guidance.

We have one more Merry Widow and then a couple of hours of packing, and then I'm back home Monday. I will write an over all look back at my time here once I get home (and have... *gasp*... multiple days off in a row!), but already I know that coming here was the right decision for me and I have learned to much and established a certain trajectory for myself.

Networking

I'm really trying to work on this crazy ambiguous topic...

My director for Carmen, the fabulous Vernon Hartman, who himself is an accomplished baritone, has been extremely supportive of me during this whole processes, as I was doing Mercedes in rehearsals and whatnot. So even though I'm not keen on doing any more pay-to-sings, I "auditioned" for his program in Italy that is in conjunction with an Italian language program. This was at least for him to hear me as a soloist and not just as a comprimario. I sang the Letter Aria from Werther, probably the best I'd ever sung it. He was quite impressed, also because I actually act during it. He also heard What a Movie! and Voi che sapete, both of which went quite well, which I myself was impressed by since the Letter Aria is quite the sing and takes alot out of me. He offered me a spot at his program, and I will consider it because my dad and I were planning on going to Italy for a language program over the summer anyway, and this would allow me to also do some singing there. We'll see. Regardless, I really like Vernon and appreciate his opinion and am glad to have someone out there who thinks highly of me and would recommend me as a singer/actress. And my confidence was padded as well.

I coached Carmen with Lara today, and it went fairly well, though I realize there is still much work to do. I feel like if I can get the light dance-like quality in the Seguidilla and the Gypsy Song and the legato of Habanera and En vain, I will have made great strides in my technique as a singer. I will use this role, a character and opera I love, as a vehicle for me to do this and measure my growth.

I still hope to run the whole opera here before I leave.

Gratitude

I will take a cue from Ms. DiDonato's website and make a list of all of the wonderful things I am grateful for here, at this moment.

Firstly, I am just so happy to be here in this gorgeous weather. I am not being paid much here, but I think that sunshine might be a legitimate payment option. The warmth and sun make me happy, even on very stressful days.

I am grateful for a lovely and fun group of fellow YAs. Besides being very talented, there isn't an unkind bone in the whole bunch. People have been extremely supportive of one another (their encouragement really got me through last week's insanity, probably more than they know) and then after a long day of rehearsal, they are great fun to hang out with! Specifically, I couldn't have asked for a better roommate than Diana Stoic, who also wants to be at rehearsal 15 minutes early and will also go grab a burger (In-n-Out or The Habit) between rehearsals! We work off alot of calories doing the can-can as Grisettes, so we earn the splurge! ;-)

I am grateful that Sara Cambell, the woman playing Mercedes, is better, because it's never fun to be sick... but I am glad (though I wish it didn't come at the expense of someone feeling ill) to have done the whole role in rehearsal. I now have Mercedes completely memorized, and while sitting in rehearsal I am absorbing Carmen as well and hope to run the whole role with piano before the program is done. I continue to fall in love with the music. It's "rock-n-roll" opera, I like to say... because the tunes are so catchy (I can't stop singing The Gypsy Song) and Carmen herself is such a rock star (even in the self-destructive way).



Now, on another subject... I am working on my "networking" skills, but sometimes it seems a little forced and weird. So I've made something of a decision, that I will never force a conversation or kiss up to people, but remain friendly and genuine to all people, including the stage managers (Valerie Wheeler is our fabulous SM for Carmen... she's so efficient and no nonsense, but also funny and very real. I respect her a great deal), not because I should, but because it's good to be nice to people. If people like me, they will like me because I am who I am. Perhaps I will loose out by not "kissing up" to people, but if I were ever anything but myself, I think I couldn't be happy with anything I got because of it.

I think very highly of both our director, Vernon Hartman, and our Maestro, Nir Kabaretti. They are both extremely talented and efficient in their rehearsal. Vernon is a singer himself, so he directs both the music as well as the text without asking for anything that doesn't enhance the show for the singers. Maestro Kabaretti was so good in helping me through Mercedes. I only hope that I was able to make a good impression.

Tomorrow is my first day off in over two weeks (thank GOD!), and there is a cocktail party in the evening with many of the staff from the company, including principals, directors and musical staff. I know that my tendency (out of shyness) is to stick to my friends and not talk to the higher ups, but I will make it my goal to talk to at least two staff members (other than Lara and John Ballerino... since I'll obviously talk to them) and at least two donors I don't know. It's a good exercize, though easier done in "mock" form in grad seminar!

Well, time to go walz to Lehar. I'm enjoying the Merry Widow much more than I expected! It's campy, but the principle singers are fantastic and great actors, so they make it come alive.

Sending sunshine to all of you Chicagoans!

Know your Cover!!!

This week has been unbelievably hectic and exciting, but also nerve wracking. After a week of shows and coachings on Carmen and the scenes to be performed in the "Brown Bag" concert on Wednesday (lunch time concert series featuring the YAs), I was sincerely looking forward to a few days of relaxing in the chorus and also giving my voice a rest. I was so excited to do the Brown Bag scenes since I got to perform the role of Carmen since the woman covering the role isn't a YA (Carmen is my "role study"). So though my actual cover is Mercedes, I was preparing Carmen's part in both the quintet and the Card Trio. Feeling physically fatigued and emotionally exhausted, I was ready for a let down in the action. We've essentially been performing non-stop between master classes, outreach school shows and the festival preview concerts.

BUT 10 minutes before the brown bag, I got a call from Valerie, our lovely stage manager, who said that their Mercedes had gone home sick and they would need me for the afternoon rehearsals! AHHHHH!!!! So Lara was a savior and helped me re-learn the quintet, singing Mercedes's harmonies. I had alread learned the trio as Mercedes, so that was ok. So I showed up to rehearsal and did a good job with the quintet as well as The Gypsy song singing while jamming on the tambourine (my junior percussion skills are finally being put to use!). Yesterday was a little rougher since the ensembles in the 3rd act are very wordy and I had practiced the alto line, which is also Carmen's part. So I sort of fell flat in the morning rehearsal, but I think I stepped up in the evening. Emily Johnson, who's doing a fabulous job with her powerful and sexually charged Carmen, was nice enough to suggest we run through all those parts musically, which was extremely helpful for me.

Retrospectively, I think I was a little selfish and irresponsible, not using my coaching with Lara more on Mercedes's part. I like singing Carmen more, obviously, but someone getting sick is a very real possibility. So I have learned a valuable lesson, though thankfully not at the expense of my reputation. I am grateful for years of choral singing and harmonizing in rock 'n' roll that has taught me to feel out harmonies and learn music extremely quickly.

Tomorrow I will most likely sing in the orchestra reading, which I'm really excited about! My voice is a little tired, but I will use it sparingly from now on. I'm not getting a day off this week, going on two weeks since I did have a free day, but I hope that my willingness to work will speak highly of me as a professional.

Man, I was right in titling this blog "Adventures in Opera"!

Performances and Mr. Katz...

Yesterday we performed our favorite arias for an audience of Santa Barbrians, which was basically a "Death by Aria" for the public. It was a good show and luckily our group of YAPs is extremely kind and supportive, so the general energy was positive. But I sang "Give Him this Orchid" from the Rape of Lucretia by Benjamin Britten (because both Lara Bolton and I LOVE Britten and this aria), but the audience we were singing for might have preferred one of the "hits". I thought it was my chance to do something not French, since I'll be doing Carmen next week... but perhaps I should have sang Va! anyway. Ah well. It went well, but next time I hope to really take better breaths and connect the phrases in a more artistic way.

I had a coaching with Martin Katz, which wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be, considering he's "THE" Martin Katz. He had great artistic suggestions and I was proud of how I responded to them. We did "The Letter Aria" from Werther, and rather than being a vocalise with all the same vocal color, each letter was given something different with his suggestion, and this makes the aria "pop" I believe. I realized that what I need the most work on is my ability (and willingness) to caress music as apposed to just blasting dramatically, which Mr. Katz recognized that I already do quite well. But it will be more affective if I am able to contrast it with extremely elegant and sometimes very soft singing. I hope to do this when I sing "The Diary" for him, from Argento's cycle "From the Diary of Virginia Woolf".

Photos...

The goal is for kids to think Opera is "cool" after we perform our show...



With Andrew Darling (baritone), Jonathan Smucker (tenor) and Diana Stoic Richardson (soprano).
Carmen, obviously...
Hanna from The Merry Widow



Camille and Valencienne from The Merry Widow

I LOVE outreach!

Three years ago now, my mom ran into Dr. Susan Armbruster, the acting principal at Lake Bluff's elementary school, at the grocery store and she asked her whether or not I might be interested in being their substitute music teacher for... the rest of the year. Their music teacher has left to follow her boyfriend to the east coast when he was transferred since the P/T teaching position wouldn't allow her to pay rent. My mom asked me and, after thinking about it for 5 minutes (I had NO teaching experience) I decided to give it a try. Those few months were extremely challenging, but also very rewarding, and though I am fairly certain elementary music is not my calling, I know that I find the energy and enthusiasm of children refreshing and their ernestness and innocence inspiring. And in all of my outreach experience since (Hansel and Gretel, Little Red, OSB), my knowledge of how to relate to this age group has been invaluable.

I am at Opera Santa Barbara a week earlier than the rest of the YAPS because I am part of the "outreach quartet", consisting of Diana Stoic Richardson (sop), myself, Jonathan Smucker (tenor) and Andrew Darling (baritone). We do scenes and arias from both The Merry Widow and Carmen for the children who are generally K-6th. As with Granny in Little Red at CROT, this is a great learning experience in physicality on stage as well as actively engaging an audience, because children respond primarily to action as apposed to text (especially if it's in French!). The love duet I sing with Jonathan from The Merry Widow is difficult to really make entertaining for the kids, especially since they generally find romance to be disgusting. ;-) The girls are often most interested in the pretty red dress that I wear. Jonathan sings so beautifully though that he keeps their attention throughout his aria preceeding very well. The Habanera is a different story though, because even though I sing in French (which is probably better so that the children to not get all of the sexual inuendos), I am able to miander throughout the audience and make direct eye contact with many of the kids, which immediately connects them to the performance. I think it is also fascinating for them to see this kind of singing up close. The little ones are often just spell bound. And then if I see the pre-pubescent 7th grade boys in the back getting fidgety and seeming like they are just too cool for school, and definitely too cool for opera, THEY are in trouble. ;-) So they generally get a good idea of who Carmen is, the PG version, of course.

Now the most FASCINATING part about this experience is how well I've been singing in these shows! From the moment I'm on stage I forget about myself because I am looking out into the audience for my next "victims". And without my ego getting in the way, worrying about how I'm going to sound and what my audience will think of me (because, in all honesty, the kids don't care whta you sound like as long as you're entertaining), my voice just flows out. No, it isn't technically perfect, but the character and emotion of the piece come out because I am saying every word with intention. And then at the end I often pause before the last F#, because the kids have often gotten quite vocal themselves at this point, giggling and whispering, and once they've quited a bit I let out the loudest and longest F# I've ever sung. Then they get that opera can be both fun as well as impressive. What if I could accomplish this in auditions? Perhaps I'd be having more success!

The greatest part for me is after the show talking with the kids one on one... we don't always get to do this because we often have to run to our next show, or the kids have to leave, but they are desperate to look at the costumes up close. Or they just want to hug you! It makes me a little teary eyes just to think about it. These are easily the most rewarding moments for me as a performer. And I know that as long as I sing I want to combine these two loves: the love of music and the love of children, of teaching them and brightening their world.

70 degrees and sunny!

Though I haven't seen too much of the weather so far...

We've arrived in California and basically hit the ground running. Arriving on Thursday, we were rehearsing by 10 am Friday morning and had a performance that very evening. I am broken hearted I didn't bring my camera to that performance, because we were at the Topa Towers in Ventura where the dinner club is on the 22nd floor, over looking the city lights and the dark void beyond that in the daylight is an ocean.

The first performance was good, though somewhat nerve racking. I performed a duet from the Merry Widow that I had run with piano for the first time that morning. It went fairly well, which I am proud of because I generally rely on having run something a million and a half times for comfort. My singing was fine that evening, but my nerves dealing with new people and the general director of the opera company (who is very nice and in now was utterly supportive) there MCing the performance. Last night, our second show, was much better for me vocally. I utilized some of the techniques in "Power Performance for Singers" in my mental preperation before the Habanera, which requires the utmost control of breath and vocal weight. By calming my mind and becoming Carmen, I am able to execute these lengthy passages without excessive breaths. The Habanera is known for these crazy long lines and few places to breathe, but Lara Bolton, the fantastic coach we are working with here, said that Bizet wrote it knowing that it was possibly to sing while only taking breaths where he wrote rests. I said something like, "You're kidding, right?" But as we tried it, taking an efficient and simultaneous monstrous breath during the 16th note rests, I was able to get through the whole thing that way! AND, even more importantly to me, I was able to do it during performance last night.

Today we are performing for a retirement home in a festival preview concert. Today is somewhat relaxing and I hope to make it to the beach late this afternoon to try to catch some dolphins!

With Jonathan Smucker, tenor, at the Opera Night performance in downtown Santa Barbara. Yes, he is in fact related to the Smucker family of jelly fame. :)

California, here I come...

My painting of Carmen... I painted this when I still thought I'd never get to sing the role!



I am so excited for my upcoming experience in Santa Barbara, but this departure is bittersweet. Before grad school, I had been working in a cubicle and feeling somewhat isolated in my life. Many of my best friends, particularly women friends, left Chicago after college and I had yet to fill that void (not that people can ever be replaced, especially not the amazing friends I have been fortunate enough to find in this journey called life, but a woman always needs girlfriends to spend time with). In coming to Roosevelt, I have made some wonderful new friends, both men and women, and I am so grateful for their presence in my life and the laughter and support. Saying goodbye to them, even for just a couple of months, is sad.

It's always difficult leaving for these things... I feel anxious, excited, nervous... I get there and we immediately start rehearsals and have a performance the day after we arrive. So I will drink alot of water today and tomorrow, allow for a day of vocal rest as I travel tomorrow, pack only my scores/music, my journal and Harry Potter 5 in my bag so that I will study and solidify my memorization while on the planes and in the airports. This week home has been good but of course extremely busy and hectic, so I could use a day essentially "by myself"... while surrounded by planes and airports full of people. ;-)

I am also so grateful that my mom and dad live close to Chicago, so that even though I have sublet my apartment, I have a place to stay where I can relax while still being close to my teachers and coaches. And my dad can drive me to the airport and send me off with his constant encouragement and assurance that, like all of these other adventures I've had so far, I'll have a wonderful time.

I drove Maria, the wonderful woman who cleans my mom's house, to the train station today, and in a bizarre hodgepodge of english, handgestures and polish, I explained to her why I was leaving for California and for how long. This is a woman who works so hard and helps to support a son who is confined to a wheel chair. We lamented about the price of apartments and bills in Chicago, and she really felt sorry for me that my jobs were so unsteady... 3 weeks here, 7 weeks there. I tried to explain to her that I really like what I do, which is why I can deal with the lack of consistancy, but I think that got lost in translation. But it reminds me to also be very grateful that I have to means to pursue a career that is not consistent, to go back to school. I am blessed to have the opportunity to do what I love.

Back home for a few days...

This time of rest is not so much a time of rest... I'm working hard on learning my music for the scenes that we're performing the first few weeks. I've got the first two choruses well learned (not even including the Habanera chorus, which is memorized inherently), but Carmen is FULL of chorus music! It's really overwhelming, but I want to be very prepared when I arrive. We have the first week where there are just 4 of us and I assume the chorus music won't be rehearsed until the regular program starts, but as with CROT, I can't assume that I'll have ANY time once I get there. And, as I've seen at CROT, it really does reflect extremely negatively on someone as a professional. That being said, it's HARD to learn chorus music on your own!

I had a great coaching with Francesco Milioto today. I trust his opinion on good singing, and have known him and been singing for him for years, and he said I sounded good, better than I ever have before. We did some great work on the Habanera and got En vain pour eviter to sound good, emotional. And my French doesn't suck either!!!

Tomorrow's a long day of singing, and then I get to see the Marlena Malas master class, which I'm sure will be interesting. I will go through all of my arias with Tracy in the afternoon before the class. I know now that my audition success relies heavily on feeling extremely prepared, and I already feel quite good about what I'm presenting. I plan on starting with the Habanera and then I will bet $100 I will be asked to sing Mozart. So I will practice that order.

I'm not actually betting $100... ;-)

It's freezing in Japan...

                                                                       

 Tonight is opening night of Madame Butterfly.   And despite sub-zero temperatures, a new theater and ever changing makeup to make us, most of whom are definitively Caucasian, look Japanese... it is shaping up to be a beautiful show.  My favorite part is hearing our Butterfly, Indira Mahajan sing.  She's sung all over,  and is a tiny person with a fantastic and sizable instrument.  She seems to be very kind and does not have an ego that made he prove herself in rehearsals...  she saved he voice for the performances, which I believe is the smarter and more humble way to rehearse a show, particularly a role of the magnitude of Butterfly.  She's also elegant on stage and a magnificent actress.

Also notable to me is Rebecca Ringle, the mezzo playing Suzuki.  At first finding out that she's probably just a year older than I am, I was jealous of her success.  But it's also heartening that someone of that age is singing roles and performing with companies such as NYCO.  Rather than being jealous, I will work towards creating a career like hers.  I must also remember I had a few years that I was sort of "off"... so if I allow myself that to consider...

I got very excited talking to my friend Amy Stewart last night about the possibility of moving to Europe.  I have one more semester of school at RU and then, if COT doesn't work out, I will seriously consider applying for a Fullbright.  With something like that I could go to Berlin and audition there.  AJ Wester, a director friend of mine, has always told me that because I'm not the typical "pants-mezzo", I may not have YAPS knocking down my door, but I could end up working alot, being cast as the female mezzo leads...   Charlotte, Dorabella, Carmen, Rosina, etc.  So I will remember that and be heartened.  I am young but my voice is becoming settled and I could sing these roles now in smaller European houses.  So I will leave myself options and not feel like getting Santa Fe or Merola will make or break my career.

It was -26 degrees out here in Cedar Falls this morning, so again I'm staying in until I MUST go out.  Erin and I are having an early dinner with our home stay host, Loree Rackstraw, with is exciting because she seems like an extremely interesting woman who I look forward to talking to.

Here are some photos from the production at Lincoln Elementary in Waterloo....

Cedar Falls

We arrived safely in Cedar Falls, where Madame Butterfly will be performed due to Theater Cedar Rapids still being under renovation after this summer's flooding. I am now living with Erin Smith, a lovely soprano who plays Little Red in our production, and we have been put up in the home of a fabulous woman named Loree Rackstraw, a former professor and a published author who recently released a memoir about her friendship with Kurt Vonagut!!! Crazy, right? Not only that, but she has original art work by Vonagut, who also happened to be an artist as well as an author. Erin and I have been given something of our own apartment in the upstairs of Ms. Rackstraw's home, with our own bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen. It's just fantastic and I've felt very comfortable and at home here, with a coffee pot and kitchen table I can write at in the mornings.

Over the summer I read the Artist's Way again, which was great because for the first time I really had the TIME to give to it and was working through many things in my artistic life that were able to be synthesized through the process. It has been extremely difficult to keep up with my morning pages so far while in Iowa, and only with starting them up again do I realize how much their absence in my life was negatively affecting me. And perhaps the relaxed schedule has something to do with it as well. ;-)

Our last performance of Little Red was yesterday, and it went well, probably my best vocally... though the comic timing wasn't as sharp since we hadn't run it at all since the Thursday before. Monday's show was cancelled due to the extreme cold and blizzard predictions.

We had a frustrating run of Butterfly yesterday, with a new set, costumes, makeup and orchestra to deal with... Hopefully it will all be better today. It was hard to hear the orchestra, and therefore watching Maestro Kleinknecht is even more important. He's a very clear and giving conductor and easy to follow. But then there are sightlines to deal with (the accusation scene has me in the far back and behind a large crowd, so I have to rely on other people getting the cue visually), obstructions from the set and other people. But you make due. We have only one more run before the show... and I believe it's an open run... and even though I'm just in the chorus, and the chorus isn't in much of the opera, it's still very important to make the show go as smoothly as possible.

Tonight I plan on going back stage and taking pictures of the principles for some possible paintings. I caught this view just before we were supposed to line up for curtain call, where Sorrow runs out to Butterfly an interrupts her suicide attempt. They are framed by the traditional Japonese doorway with Suzuki leaning up against the fram. It was so beautiful. I hope it's recreated tonight so that I can capture it and turn it into a picture.

I just realized that the two operas I'm working on over the next three months happen to be the "opera" paintings I have already done: Butterfly and Carmen. Perhaps I will elaborate on both of them as a series of paintings.

Today, since I have a day off, I will finish my written proposal for RU to skip next semester and come back in the fall. I will submit it with copies of both contracts. I will do the same for Graduate Seminar, including the link to this blog.

I have some great pictures of Little Red's Most Unusual Day that I will post in my next entry...

Physical Comedie and Physical Maladie

I've learned so much from this outreach experience here in Cedar Rapids. Again, like all outreach, more so than any other performance situation, the show is NOT about the performers but about educating and entertaining. During the first few performances I found that the kids weren't responding so much to the humor of my "aria" because the situation and jokes were a bit convoluted (see last post), so I decided to figure out a way to establish Granny's "cougar" and man-craziness before the singing even begins. So I grabbed a flower left over from Valeria's scene where the mother picks the bouquet of flowers, and gave it to Tony, our fabulous pianist, with a little wink. This geared up the kids' minds to the idea of flirtation and seemed to work. They seemed to get the joke more quickly... this confirms that elementary age children respond to physical comedy the most strongly. The words, unless they are very well articulated and indicated, are generally lost other than just telling the story. Dancing with the watering can, kissing it like it were a man, and then directly talking to the youngest kids in the front row, seems to keep them engaged and makes them laugh. The kids are a great barometer for the effectiveness of physical comedy, because their laughter is only given when they're really tickled. They are not there to judge or critique... they just exist and react in the moment.

I wish my brothers could see this show, if only because it would prove to them that I'm not adopted... since they're all hysterical and I've always been the more reserved of the four of us. I'm proud of the improvisations that I've felt comfortable enough to throw in... particularly of the "Haaaiiiiiiii.... YA!" that comes as I smack Mr. Big Bad on the rear end with the broom.

I'm not sure there's anything better than the sheer joy of making these kids laugh and enjoy themselves. Many of the children we've sung for are victims of the floods this summer, having lost their homes or had their lives altered because of the tragedy. Many were already low-income and, as the music teacher at one school told us, are excited to come back to school after the holiday because that is where they are happier. Needless to say, what we do is very important if it makes these kids really happy for 45 minutes.


Now... today was an adventure because Chaz, one of the main characters, woke up quite ill this morning. He was going to brave it and do the show severely under the weather, but found at the last minute that he absolutely couldn't do it. So we stared at a gym full of students with a full set behind us and half of us in costume, telling the the show wasn't going to happen. So Tony had us all pull out our music, arias or songs from the Broadway show we could sing. Ironically, this as the only day I didn't come with a backpack full of music. Luckily, we were a 5 minute drive from my homestay, so I just popped back while the other guys sang. A good lesson to learn though... ALWAYS keep your audition book on you, because you never know when a situation like that will occur. And this time it was for kids, but who knows if it could happen in another situation.

We also just found out a few other cast members are sick, so hopefully they will improve with the weekend while the rest of will stay healthy.



On a different and more positive note... I found out that I will be singing Carmen in both the quintet and Card trio in a scenes concert at the beginning of OSB. This is exciting because I thought I'd be singing Mercedes, which is my official cover. I'm so excited to learn and perform "En vain pour eviter", where Carmen sees death in her future predicted by the cards. I have so much music to learn, so many french words. I will spend much of my free time next week with my face buried in the score, ipod headphones keeping out the sounds of the real world. Bizet during the day, Puccini at night... what a joy. I am grateful.

Rapids Update: Auditions and Outreach

After an intensive week of rehearsals, Little Red's Most Unusual Day got on it's feet in front of a audience other than Washington High School's orchestra room wall, and I'll say that the K-5 kids at Arthur Elementary were MUCH more receptive! The show went fantastically despite all of us feeling a little frazzled by having to figure out how the puzzle pieces of our set went together, delaying our start time by 5 minutes. The magical thing about outreach is that no matter how perfectly you rehearse it, the show will inevitably change and come to life when in front of the audience. The kids were extremely engaged, and our performance was definitely heightened by their enthusiasm. Strangely (or perhaps not so strangely) enough, I thought that EVERYONE sang better than they ever have in rehearsals, fed by the non-judgemental presence of the kids who really just wanted to have a good time. So a good time was had... by ALL of us, audience and performers alike.

Interesting observations... at this age, kids can tell if you are having a good time and feed off of that, so it's a great lesson in performing. And audience can sense whether or not you're really into it... kids are just more vocal about it. The beginning of my "aria" is introducing the fact that "Granny" is a "cougar" and really loves MEN, but the text is somewhat convoluted:

I am a little Granny in my little garden with my pretty little watering can.
I'll take this little seed and plant it in the ground and watch it turn into a little man.
Then he will be my lovely little lovey dovey cutie pie and cootchie coo.
Then I will be his little bride and love him. Well, at least I will a year or two....

So I don't think the kids got it at first, but then when I started talking about wanting a boyfriend of my own and kissing my watering can which I mime and being a man I dance with, they get it and react. Their favorite moments were when my fabulous tenor friend Chaz Ali-Williams, who plays forest ranger Dudley, the object of Granny's affections, holds out a long high Bb (??), which they apparently think is hysterical. I think they are also just fascinated by it, and it also feeds into the humorous stereotype of "opera singers". But when you ask them afterwards whether or not they like opera, they answer definitively "YES!", which means we have succeeded.

This has been my observation with all outreach shows I've done. Kids are much more accepting and able to enjoy and understand opera than most people would guess. It goes to show that opera really is just musical theater and meant to entertain, and if you do your job and touch the audience, they'll dig it.


Above are pictures of my trees that I painted for the set as well as me as "Granny"...


So far it has been a real joy being back in Cedar Rapids with great friends from this summer, and making new friends as well.