Waiting Dreams

I did my Elgin callback yesterday for their production of Dido and Aenaes. I sang for two roles...Belinda and Second Woman. It went quite well. And now I play the waiting game.

Singers have different methods of dealing with the 'wait time' between audition and notification. I like to try and sleep a lot. But sleeping brings on these weird dreams of audition results with various outcomes, some awesome, some not so awesome.

Either way it's going to be a great summer. The Elgin program is great, the Boheme will be fantastic, and I will be adding super cool things to my resume.

1 out of 2...so far!!

So I had my Musetta callback Monday, and shortly thereafter received an email welcoming me to the Verismo Opera Club of Chicago!

For those of you who haven't heard of it, the Verismo Opera Club of Chicago is a new company showcasing awesome singers doing awesome operas of Verdi, Puccini, and other verismo composers. It's a new company being headed up by a couple of pro singers in Chicago who are interested in getting to the core of an operatic performance and encouraging total collaboration between singers, instrumentalists, and production staff. Their premiere performance is Boheme, this August from the 13-15. And I get to be their Musetta!

I am especially happy to be a part of this company because it means my reputation is starting to catch on. I heard about and was invited to participate in this project based on an audition for a completely separate company. But everyone in this business seems to know everyone else, and if you make a good impression, as I guess I did, then things can start happening for you rather quickly.

So I'm thrilled! and now back to preparing for Saturday's Dido and Aneas callback.

Work...and Breathe

Exciting month coming up now...

I have 2 callbacks in the next 2 weeks; one for Elgin opera festival and one for Verismo Opera of Chicago. I am fairly confident about both, but you never know in this business who you're up against. I'm taking steps to ensure I give my best at these; I've had 2 coachings on my rep and will have at least 1 more before the callbacks. If I succeed at these, it will make my resume look pretty good for next season's auditions.

I have an audition for a good company at the end of this month as well. I'd like to think that I've turned a corner this year in how well I audition...I'm trying to get it so my audition actually IS an accurate representation of how I sing in performance. It helps to think of auditions AS performances, naturally, and I am also learning not to let too much ride - mentally - on how a particular audition goes.

I also have a recital with Jon at the end of May! We are securing venues and rehearsing our tails off so it will be successful. I'm doing a mix of Lieder and operatic arias, and a couple of scenes with Jon as well.

And, in the midst of all this, I'm trying to fix a technical issue which has plagued my singing for as long as I can remember...my breathing. Breath support is the key to good singing - if you are able to breathe well and sustain phrases, this means your posture is good, your laryngeal position is good, and therefore your tone should be good. Once all those things are lined up, I can stop worrying about technique and focus on the character and music of a piece. It recently came to my attention that my breathing issues are probably stemming all the way from my feet. My feet are constantly turned out, and have been for as long as I remember. My turned out feet come from my turned out hips which I acquired through years of dance and gymnastic training. And now it's sabotaging my singing. I'm apparently cutting off my lower support by squeezing my gluteal muscles and that is causing me to breathe high and stack my air, eventually squeezing my larynx too high and THEN I can't phonate.

Lots of big words but what it means is I'm shortchanging my air tank. So now I'm practicing pronation (turning my hips in)when I sing. It's a slow process...I need to undo about 6 years of standing wrong...but it should fix a lot if I stick with it.

The Competition

was awesome. I won! First place in Division III, Young Artists ages 19-26. It was such a good feeling...this is the first time I've even placed in a competition. I was able to listen to other people in my round, and many of them were quite good, so I was surprised and delighted when my name was called.

With this honor comes responsibility...I now have a spot in Elgin's summer festival, and have to prepare music for their auditions. The opera they are performing this summer is Dido and Aneas, one of the great Baroque works. On top of that, I'm preparing for my Musetta callback, and learning rep for a recital with Jon.

So work work work! And I love every second of it.

Adrenaline!!

It's rushing through me...tomorrow are the Elgin finals. And while I should be nervous, I'm not. I'm just very excited.It shouldn't feel any different from other performances...basically, they have told me that I am good enough to perform for their public. This competition is open to the public and tickets have been sold!

I am so grateful for this opportunity that I can't feel anything other than excited. I will detail tomorrow's experience, but for now it's bedtime.

Too long without a post

So I thought I'd write one, though there is little to share...I have a lot of events/operatic possibilities "up in the air" at the moment, so I need to wait on those before I post what I hope is good news!


A couple of definites:

I will be participating in the Elgin Opera festival from June-July....not sure of roles/dates of WHAT exactly I'm singing, but something will happen!

Jon and I are giving a recital at the end of May...exact venues/times to follow

I will be presenting a new work with my roommates (violin/viola/cello/piano) in recital this May.

Kyra (cellist roommate) and I will be giving a recital, hopefully in June.

I am participating in the premier of a new operatic work this October...presented with funding from the Guggenheim foundation!


Very exciting things, however vague they are! More info. to follow as soon as I have it.