On the Road Again

I am in the last weeks of OFY tour. This week has been going quite well. Overall, I've enjoyed my time on tour very much. It is interesting to have such a young, honest audience. You always feel their energy, and you know you are making a connection to them. You can literally see it on their faces. It's an honor to have been an ambassador of this art form, and hopefully opera will have a brighter future because of the foundation that companies like OFY provide.
Tour has also given me a taste of what it might be like to really succeed in this business...the traveling, being away from loved ones, expense at getting to and from where you need to be, changing hotels a lot, missing things like cooking, my cat, my general routine. I think the opportunity to sing is worth it. At least, at this point that is how it feels. The hardest part of this year is that this job has provided me with a taste...and just a taste. Between weeks on the road, I have had to move cities from Chicago to Cincy, and re-establish myself in work and in singing. It hasn't been an easy transition...every time I start to get settled, I have to leave again for a tour week, an audition, a competition.
But I think that's all part of the life too. I'm lucky to have some flexibility in my "real" jobs, and manage my singing career around them, but all the same it's jolting to have something different every other week. Sometimes it's hard to keep sight of why I'm pursuing this, because of the hectic schedule. But then I hear Mirella Freni sing something from Boheme, or Barber's Adagio for Strings pops up on my Pandora mix, or I go to hear Jon sing in a concert, and I'm reminded. When I hear moments of music like this, I get chills. And nothing makes me happier than the physical sensation of singing in resonance, with a relaxed body and a text full of intention. Or hearing a room of 600 kids laugh when I duck out of Frederic's reach once again. Kids often ask "what is your favorite part of the show" and everyone has different answers, but mine is always "Poor Wand'ring One, because I get to make everyone laugh." I'm in the career for the music, the stage, and the laughter.