Remember a few posts back when I wrote that NG shouldn't worry, he's still on the top of my list? We'll he's been lowered to #2. JDF has moved into the #1 spot. Sorry Nathan baby, there are plenty of pretty faces out there but JDF's voice... one of a kind.
Yes, I'm 40. And married. With a child. And behaving like a teenager. At least I don't have any posters up on my walls... although I do have a few choice websites bookmarked.
Anyone who's reading this who hasn't heard JDF (or NG for that matter) should go to my youtube page. NG is featured in most of my posted videos, JDF in most of my favorites. Oh and while you're there check out The Menu Song from The Electric Company. It's great!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
I think she's nuts
My future voice teacher sure has lofty goals for me! Now she says I should find out the audition requirements for the opera chorus and we'll have something to aspire to. I think she's nuts.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Super Duper
Whew. Lots has happened since I last posted.
First the annoying stuff. I went back to the massage place to deliver the earrings and pick up the contract and the woman had to run into an emergency meeting... I called a couple of times, she was never there, she never returned my calls. Finally she was there but on another line. I was put on hold. Then the same person who answered the phone came back and said, "Robin's really swamped right now and she just can't take on any new product at the moment. Can you come back next month?" I was a little miffed, to say the least, since she had agreed to sell my stuff, we agreed on an asking price and the percentages. I'm also annoyed b/c I purchased a 6 month membership sort of because she agreed to sell my earrings. At least that'll force me to go back. However I have lost respect for her. She and I had an agreement and she had one of her employees tell me she changed her mind. Very uncool.
Okaaaay. Onto the good stuff! I went to the rehearsal this morning for Romeo and Juliet and I'm in as a super! I'm going to be a monk. (Ok stop laughing now, especially those of you who know that I was a nun in my high-school's production of The Sound of Music!) So the opera starts out with a the chorus and a monk lamenting the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The monks (hey, that's me in that brown robe!) bring them in on pallets. I'm one of the 4 who carry Juliet. It's a dancer double, not the opera singer. She's still pretty heavy to carry though. So I'm in the front, near her feet. We bring her on stage and stop at an angle. The 4 other monks come in from the other side with Romeo. The friar sings his piece, uncovering each face, then we straighten out and place the pallets down. The monks near the front of the pallet (hey, that's me!) cross over to the front side of the stage while the friar does his thing (he wasn't there so I'm not quite sure what that is...) and then we come back and carry them out. And that's it, I'm done, as far as I know. We rehearsed with the chorus after lunch and that was awesome. They sound amazing.
After the rehearsal we went to the costume dept to get fitted into our robes. Mine was too long of course, but the sleeves were too short. The costume dept is quite a scene - costumes stuffed onto racks everywhere, and desks with sewing machines crammed in between.
On one of the days we're going to see Die Zauberflote at 1pm and then I'm in Romeo that night at 8! A long day at the theater!
On another note, my obsession with Juan Diego Florez continues. I cannot get enough of his voice. It's like velvet. It's like flowing water. It's nothing I've ever heard before. I can't explain what it does to me. Sometimes I'm moved almost to tears, other times I feel like I'm melting into a puddle. Amazing. I think about how many people DON'T know about him and feel sad for them. How weird is that?
First the annoying stuff. I went back to the massage place to deliver the earrings and pick up the contract and the woman had to run into an emergency meeting... I called a couple of times, she was never there, she never returned my calls. Finally she was there but on another line. I was put on hold. Then the same person who answered the phone came back and said, "Robin's really swamped right now and she just can't take on any new product at the moment. Can you come back next month?" I was a little miffed, to say the least, since she had agreed to sell my stuff, we agreed on an asking price and the percentages. I'm also annoyed b/c I purchased a 6 month membership sort of because she agreed to sell my earrings. At least that'll force me to go back. However I have lost respect for her. She and I had an agreement and she had one of her employees tell me she changed her mind. Very uncool.
Okaaaay. Onto the good stuff! I went to the rehearsal this morning for Romeo and Juliet and I'm in as a super! I'm going to be a monk. (Ok stop laughing now, especially those of you who know that I was a nun in my high-school's production of The Sound of Music!) So the opera starts out with a the chorus and a monk lamenting the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The monks (hey, that's me in that brown robe!) bring them in on pallets. I'm one of the 4 who carry Juliet. It's a dancer double, not the opera singer. She's still pretty heavy to carry though. So I'm in the front, near her feet. We bring her on stage and stop at an angle. The 4 other monks come in from the other side with Romeo. The friar sings his piece, uncovering each face, then we straighten out and place the pallets down. The monks near the front of the pallet (hey, that's me!) cross over to the front side of the stage while the friar does his thing (he wasn't there so I'm not quite sure what that is...) and then we come back and carry them out. And that's it, I'm done, as far as I know. We rehearsed with the chorus after lunch and that was awesome. They sound amazing.
After the rehearsal we went to the costume dept to get fitted into our robes. Mine was too long of course, but the sleeves were too short. The costume dept is quite a scene - costumes stuffed onto racks everywhere, and desks with sewing machines crammed in between.
On one of the days we're going to see Die Zauberflote at 1pm and then I'm in Romeo that night at 8! A long day at the theater!
On another note, my obsession with Juan Diego Florez continues. I cannot get enough of his voice. It's like velvet. It's like flowing water. It's nothing I've ever heard before. I can't explain what it does to me. Sometimes I'm moved almost to tears, other times I feel like I'm melting into a puddle. Amazing. I think about how many people DON'T know about him and feel sad for them. How weird is that?
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Links to Barbiere Videos
Looks like someone managed to burn a DVD of the PBS broadcast of Barbiere and they've been posting snippets on YouTube. Like this one: Una Voce Poco Fa and this.
I'm sure I already posted that I signed up for singing lessons. My voice teacher assures me that I'll be singing Una Voce very soon. At first I thought she was nuts, but then I realized that except for some of the individual singers' crazy improvisations, I actually can reach all the notes. So I guess anything's possible...
I'm sure I already posted that I signed up for singing lessons. My voice teacher assures me that I'll be singing Una Voce very soon. At first I thought she was nuts, but then I realized that except for some of the individual singers' crazy improvisations, I actually can reach all the notes. So I guess anything's possible...
Friday, June 8, 2007
"It's Orgasmic!"
The other day I brought the Barbiere videotape to work and had Denise meet me in the little library where we have a tv/vcr combo thing. I popped in the tape and played Count Almaviva's final, outstanding, mind-blowing aria. I've seen it several times already and I'm still blown away every time. So we're both sitting there gaping at Juan D.F. on the tv and Denise utters, "It's orgasmic." That says it all!
Thursday, June 7, 2007
On My Way, Part 2
Well I did it - I signed up for voice lessons with Alex's music teacher at Westminster Conservatory. I have a feeling I'm going to be insufferable to live with for the next several months!
On a related note, when I brought my earrings to the massage place, the owner had to run into a meeting and said she'd call me. I've left her one message since then... I'll be calling her again tomorrow.
Today I requested a bunch of Schubert "lieder" CDs from the library. Now if I only knew how to pronounce "lieder."
Yesterday was Alex's 3rd birthday. We were watching Barbiere and I asked him what the style of singing was. He said it was coloratura, then said that it was jumpy. Today we met Denise after work and he told her that coloratura has lots and lots of notes. It's fascinating to hear how a child describes things! Jumpy!
On a related note, when I brought my earrings to the massage place, the owner had to run into a meeting and said she'd call me. I've left her one message since then... I'll be calling her again tomorrow.
Today I requested a bunch of Schubert "lieder" CDs from the library. Now if I only knew how to pronounce "lieder."
Yesterday was Alex's 3rd birthday. We were watching Barbiere and I asked him what the style of singing was. He said it was coloratura, then said that it was jumpy. Today we met Denise after work and he told her that coloratura has lots and lots of notes. It's fascinating to hear how a child describes things! Jumpy!
Operaholic
Hi, My name is Susan and I'm an operaholic. It started simply enough. I thought I could control it. I thought, sure, I can just listen to just one aria. But then I needed to hear another by the same singer, or a different version of the same aria by the same singer, and soon it spiraled out of my control and I needed to hear different singers performing it. This spread to entire operas. What version should I listen to, I wondered? I know, all of them! I just can't stop. I'm reading about operas, reading and listening to interviews with singers, directors, conductors, getting different versions from the library, reading librettos, comparing translations, reading reviews, reading the histories of different opera houses, learning about different composers... I just can't stop. And then there's YouTube. Need I say more?
So my latest particular obsession is a tenor named Juan Diego Florez. (Don't worry Nathan Gunn, you're still at the top of my list.) JDF doesn't have the looks and I have no idea about his physique as directors aren't as inclined to undress him as they are with NG. But that voice... to quote someone else's comment on a YouTube video, there are no words to describe such beauty. Will I ever get tired of listening to this? I would do anything this man asked me to do if he sang it to me. Anything. So Juan Diego, if you're out there, take notice. Yikes does that make me an opera groupie?
So my latest particular obsession is a tenor named Juan Diego Florez. (Don't worry Nathan Gunn, you're still at the top of my list.) JDF doesn't have the looks and I have no idea about his physique as directors aren't as inclined to undress him as they are with NG. But that voice... to quote someone else's comment on a YouTube video, there are no words to describe such beauty. Will I ever get tired of listening to this? I would do anything this man asked me to do if he sang it to me. Anything. So Juan Diego, if you're out there, take notice. Yikes does that make me an opera groupie?
Sunday, June 3, 2007
On My Way!
Whoo hoo! Massage Envy in Lawrenceville will be displaying some of my earrings for sale! Voice lessons and Metropolitan Opera, here I come! Denise already assumes I'm coming to Barber of Seville next spring when she goes with her class. One opera at a time! Let's raise the money for R&J first...
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