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"!