Totally Zen...

Jon and I open our recital tomorrow night at Bethany Church in Chicago.
I am prepared for this one. The difference between this recital and previous ones is...I learned all the music for it in about 6 weeks. This is half of my normal music-learning time. It is a testament to putting in HOURS of training, to be as comfortable with 6-week learned music as I was with 3 months.

Not much else to say...it promises to be an exciting weekend!

Now to shoot for 10 hours of glorious pre-recital sleep.

This crazy business of show.....

The last 3 days have been QUITE eventful...not sure if I can accurately recap, but I'll try:

-the family in France accepted me!
-I sent off materials (passport copy etc.) to be processed by the agency.
-was beside myself with excitement over living so CLOSE to Geneva for almost a year

Then, this morning:
-got an email from a YAP that I thought had turned me down, but turns out I was waitlisted and...I got in!
-the problem is it runs for 6 months....3 two month shifts (it's triple-cast)

now, I know none of this is a "problem"....I'm not lying around saying "Oh, poor me, I simply CAN'T go to France yet because I am in such demand HERE"...it's more a matter of impeccable cosmic timing - or mistiming.

So, I'm trying to finagle everything, like the multi-tasker extraordinaire that I fancy myself to be. I am trying to keep my October opera, do this tour, and simply push back going to france until early next year.

Wish me luck! oh, and while luck is being wished for that, Please come see/wish luck for:

recital in Mary Sauer's studio tomorrow night, Fine Arts Building, Chicago

S.O.N.G. recital with Beacon Street Chamber, Sunday, 3pm, Fine Arts Building, Chicago

recital with Jon and Eric Hiller, Thursday, 7:30pm, UCC Bethany Church, 4250 N. Paulina st. Chicago
and
Sunday, 3pm, Resurrection Lutheran Church, 3303 N. Seminary Ave., Chicago

POWERing through this next week. woot.

A Different Direction?

So, I'm at a bit of an impasse with my life at the moment...I have a couple of years to hang out waiting for my voice to finish developing enough for my career to start and I don't really want to hang out here.

Here, meaning the U.S.

Solution?

Move to Europe!

I've decided to au pair in Italy or France (probably France) after my October opera finishes. I think it will be good to really solidify one of the languages I've studied and have to sing in all the time, and see what life as an opera singer is like in a country where opera is an integral part of their history and still considered a popular art form.

I realize that this move will pose new challenges; the "game" of getting an opera career started is slightly different over there than here, but some things are the same: I will start by finding a teacher that I work well with and trust, and speak to several of my friends that have moved to Europe to try their hand at getting their careers started over there. I want to be careful to not lose the motivation and momentum I have gained this year simply by working hard, networking and seeking out any and every opportunity to sing.

At the very least, this should make for some interesting blog posts!

Funny Story

as the spring weather has slowly come to Chicago, I've taken out my bike and started getting some exercise as I go about my day. Not only is it physically and environmentally friendly, but it gives me a chance to mentally reflect on important things in my life. These days, the most important thing is my upcoming recital with Jon. I have a LOT of music to memorize, and, while biking, I've been going over words and music in my head...or so I thought.

Maybe I can't differentiate between in my head and aloud, because when I stopped at a traffic light tonight while riding home, I noticed a man in a car on the adjacent street looking at me. I looked back at him and he asked "was that your voice?" Then I realized I had actually been singing phrases aloud instead of just going over them mentally. I answered "...yes?" and he said "well it's beautiful."

And I rode home with a spring in my pedal.