Portamenti Make Him Sound Girly!

I had a typical lesson with Tammy yesterday. (Actually, the word "typical" is rather misleading since a lesson with Tammy is never, ever "typical." What I mean to say is, it was typical for Tammy.) She was talking to me about Orlofsky and she randomly screams the F-word just as the Chair of the Department walks by her studio. lolz

So we were working on my "big aria" and I was doing these portamenti (sliding between two notes) to make him sound more bored and Tammy says, "Don't do portamenti; it makes him sound girly. He needs to be a boor. You know, b-o-o-r." I think this is hysterical because 1. I'm a girl playing a boy and apparently I'm making him sound girly and 2. his big thing is that he's bored by everything and Tammy wants to make him into a boor. Oh, my English-geek nerves! How I love you, irony! How I adore you, homophones! (I haven't thought about homophones since like 2nd grade. This was huge. Although, I don't think they ever taught us bore and boor. WONDER WHY...)

She proceeded to nit-pick my aria and now it sounds SO much better than before. I knew what I wanted to fix but I didn't know how to fix it. The horrid thing about this aria is that it's really hard to do it well and when you do, it sounds like the simplest thing in the world. No glory, as usual. *sigh* Such is the life of a mezzo-soprano. You have to pull out some Rossini if you want respect. And, alas, we shall never do a Rossini opera in college. The boys would fold under the pressure. ;)

HOWEVER, the words "Your Russian accent is very good" came out of Tammy's mouth. I have it on tape! That made my life.

As I came out of my lesson, Dan-the-Nero-hound was waiting outside. The first words out of his mouth were "You look great." Strangely enough, the first time he ever said anything to me about how I look was when I was in costume for Valetto (a page BOY) for the opera last January. Creepy, much? I really do wonder about these boys; I got more attention dressed as one of them then I do on a daily basis. What is THAT all about? Maybe I'll figure it out this January when I play Prince Orlofsky. *shrug* Either way, Nero-Hound-Dan is not going to be in the show this January because he's going to California. Too bad; he has a nice voice.

A Beautiful Day in NYC

My sister Heather and I had a fun little excursion into the City. We went in to see the doctor (I'm fit as a fiddle!) but we made a whole day of it. We didn't do anything of consequence, but that was the best part of all. We just walked and shopped and hung out in Central Park. I staged an impromptu photo-shoot of my lovely teenage sister. You can find the rest of the pictures here.



I love Columbus Circle -- it is so gorgeous! I love the fountains and the statues. One of my all-time favorite statues (the young boy with his arms out as though he's about to take flight) is in that square.



This is Heather's version of The Lion King.



Here's to a great day in NYC. If only there had been an opera playing...

Lolz

Vittoria Tesi, a famous singer in the 18th century, refused to play pants roles because it was "harmful to her health." What does that even mean?

Maria Cere was considered so ugly that she was never allowed to take female roles. Therefore, she "specialized" in pants roles. What a compliment.

Metastasio's libretto "Achille in Sciro" tells the story of Achilles who's dressed as a woman until the end of the night where he throws off his trappings and reveals his true gender. However, the part of Achilles was played by a woman at the premiere. Strange, much?

Shameless Post of Death

SHIVER is Maggie Stiefvater's brand-new book and it's going to rock! How do I know this?

I read her LAMENT a month ago and it was one of the best books I've read in a while. It combined music, magic, mythology, and mysterious boys into a huge adventure. As a musician (and an Irishwoman) myself, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Here's a trailer that Maggie made herself. She composed the music and made the stop-motion animation. It's gorgeous and definitely worth checking out.

New York Phil: Russian Fest!

Bramwell Tovey led a smashing concert last night with the NY Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall. It was an all-Russian program: Tchaikovsky's Polonaise from Eugene Onegin and his Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for Piano and Orchestra, and three pieces from Khachaturian's Gayane (including the Sabre Dance!).

Tovey led the orchestra with his usual deftness. I love watching his left hand; he was always doing something or other. Oftentimes, I thought he was painting a picture up there. He was a brilliant standup comic. He had the audience laughing between every piece. My favorite line of the night was as he was introducing the Romeo and Juliet. He was quickly telling the story and he said,

"And then Romeo did what many of us dream of doing: he killed one of his wife's relations in a bloody sword duel."

He attempted to tell the ending of the story without using the words "poison" or "dagger" or "suicide" so he said,

"And they [Romeo and Juliet] were both lying there on the slab and...well, it's all rather gory."

He was fantastic.

The orchestra, of course, sounded simply exquisite. It was all music that even an uneducated musician would know at one point or another. The Polonaise was sufficiently bouncy and exciting-- a perfect opener. I was shocked by the perfection of the balance between the sections. And the celli-- they rocked the house on this one.

The Rachmaninoff came next with Vladimir Feltsman on piano. He had such a unique touch on the piano; it was much springier than most renditions of Rachmaninoff. I really enjoyed it. Feltsman was absolutely outstanding. He was just sitting there, having a gay old time like he was hanging laundry instead of playing an infinitely difficult piano piece. He did all 25 minutes of music from memory (of course!) and he didn't miss a thing. The Variation XVIII was absolutely otherworldly. I thought I would float away, it was so beautiful. I could listen to that forever.

The Khachaturian was great. The second movement, the lullaby, was gorgeous. I'd never heard that part of Gayane before. They played the Sabre Dance at the perfect tempo. I thoroughly enjoyed this selection.

The Romeo and Juliet is beyond words. That piece is amazing to begin with (it's definitely in my top ten all-time favorite symphonic works) and to hear it played live was just amazing. I keep using the word "amazing" because I'm not sure there's another word to describe it. The music swept me away and the story of Romeo and Juliet became something more than it had ever been before. I heard things last night that I'd never heard before, even though I've listened to that piece a hundred times. The opening was so pious; I could almost see the church. The sword duel was exciting and the love theme swept through the room with a passion that can only be born from live music. I heard Romeo's heartbeat ebb away. It was all truly fantastic--beyond words.

I love Tchaikovsky.

You Know You're a Mezzo When...

...you can get away with this.

This is the lovely Malena Ernman, mezzo-soprano and European pop sensation. She is to be admired for her versatility, personality, and undivaness. (And did I mention her amazing biceps?) I love a opera singer who can take a picture like that and get away with it.

<3

You can find the Facebook page dedicated to her here. (You will find more flattering pictures there.) If you want to see her in action, check out her La Voix winning performance and an opera aria.

Progression

It's time for random updates on random things. Hurray.

1. My Austria trip is all-go (!), but Ann Murray canceled her master class. EPIC SADNESS. I'm not sad about having to study with someone else (they're all amazing, I'm sure), but I'm pretty bummed about Ms. Murray canceling. I'm sure she had a good reason, but I'm still sad. What can you do? My trip is still going to be amazing. I still have insane palpitations just thinking about it. SALZBURG and VIENNA. There are few words that excite me more than those two.

2. My first post-operation lesson with Tammy went splendidly. Shockingly, the operation did not fix my ten-thousand technical shortcomings. (HAH) Seriously, though: this operation has changed my life. I can breathe a thousand times better, I can smell and I can taste and my life is good. My passagio is significantly stronger (that's the first thing that I noticed and also the first thing that Tammy commented on). So, yay for that. I'm happy. And things are still going to get better because I'm still not 100% recovered. Modern medicine, I love you!

3. I discovered a Puccini opera that I actually really like! Madama Butterfly is tragic yet stunning. The beauty of it overwhelmed me. I love everything about it: the music, the characters, the plot, the setting...everything. Ah, <3 at first listen. Puccini, you have been saved from my I-don't-care list! You go, Puccini!

4. I am in love with Orlofsky. Epically. I cannot get him out of my head! My sister is sick of "Chacun a son gout" already. I'M NOT! I love his music, his attitude, everything. I cannot wait to start rehearsals. (Or to get my dialogue...Isabel, that's a shout-out to you. You have no idea how you make me suffer...) So it seems like I have love-affairs with all the characters I play. I guess it's a good thing they're always boys. :P

So, in short, life is good. Summer is rushing through my veins and I couldn't be happier.