Ready for the Opera, Part Two: Glam!

This time I'm the one who's ready.

Visited Incogneeto Vintage yesterday, the store owned by friend and fellow blogger The Vintage Maven.

Walked out of there with this dress:



The sparkly colors didn't show up until I fiddled with the photo shadow settings, which ended up making my hair look gray. It also made other things in the photo look weird. So just look at the dress and think of the hair as a glimpse into my future. Of course I'll ditch the socks (they're Alex's!) and change to pumps. Still unsure if I should wear black or off-black hose.

So here's more dress.

Front:




Back:



Then of course I had to whip up a pair of earrings to wear with it:



...and then I checked some other pairs I already had to see how they'd look.



They'd do, I think, but I like the ones I just made.

And then, after the opera tomorrow, I have another reason to wear the dress... I'm singing in another recital with the Opera Project!! I'll post more about that as the date approaches - it's March 27. Batti Batti here I come.

Accessorizing for Carmen

I've narrowed my restaurant choices to two for tomorrow, but I still don't know what to wear!!!

At this point it's down to two non-matching accessories: A necklace and a purse.

The necklace is really cool - more so because I got it in a pile of junk, broken jewelry and loose beads for which I paid $8. Here's a photo of it, next to some earrings I had made last year to match a different necklace:



And here are pictures of the back to show the clasp:




Isn't that cool? Mixed in with a pile of broken stuff??!! I would have paid more than $8 for the necklace alone.

So if I wear the necklace, I have to wear brown. I'd wear this brown top with a multicolor, ankle-length peasant-type skirt and grey pumps. The problem is that all my brown purses are sort of clunky and not very elegant. I have one maybe... but it might be too small to hold all my girlie things and the little camera.

If I bring my black purse I can fit all my stuff but then I can't really wear the brown... which means no brown necklace. And I really want to wear the necklace. But can one wear brown to the Met? The rhinestone bling really dresses it up, but still... the old fallback, long black skirt with the flowers and black top, would go with the purse. On the other hand, the purse has seen better days and I actually had to do some surgery on it today with... yes... packing tape. The lining was torn and it was that or black electrical tape. Hey at least I didn't go with silver duct tape. It doesn't really show, although I know it's there. How classy to wear a purse repaired with packing tape??? Ha! But at least I'd be in black. So I guess I'm leaning toward taking the chance on the brown and choosing between the least clunky of my brown purses.

Well here's a thought. Because we'll be walking uptown from Penn Station, I'll be wearing my hiking shoes and carrying my dainty shoes in a little shopping bag. I could also carry whatever little extras don't fit into the purse. Oh plus I'll have a coat. A ... purple raincoat. Classy again. BUT it has many large pockets.

There. Problem solved. I'll wear the new necklace and the brown-based outfit, carry a brown purse and will stash whatever doesn't fit in the purse in the inside pocket of my coat.

I'll post dress-up photos at some point. And don't be surprised if I end up in the black. With the brown necklace....

Earrings and Opera

Finally got my earrings out there! The gift shop of the local Watershed Organization has started promoting local craftspeople. Husband does some GIS work for them so he knows everyone there, but what really got me in was that we went to an open house there and I admired the earrings of one of the women. She admired the ones I was wearing, I explained I made them, Husband brought a few in the next day and all of a sudden they were emailing me asking for a photo and a bio. I dropped by today to see the display:




And look, my bio! Which I wrote...



I make it sound like all I do is make earrings and study opera. Because really, does it matter where I work or how much time and mental capacity I spend raising a special-needs kid? Of course not. Earrings and opera, that's all anyone needs to know.

Funding Options

Still working on the voice lesson and opera ticket funds. Here's the latest set of earrings. Click to enlarge the photo.



Think of me for all your birthday and holiday gift-giving needs! Join the group here to see the full inventory.

Need...More... Money...

Remember back when I wrote about Firebrand I said I'd go out of my way to see Anna Christy perform again? Well look at this. Anna Christy, Joyce DiDonato, Sam Ramey and many others... Thankfully none of the other upcoming performances appeal to me. But I can only imagine how much tickets for American Voices are going to run. That on top of what I want to see at the Met... eek. Must... sell...more...earrings.

Anyone out there want to buy some earrings? <--- Click that link!! Go ahead! Click it! Look at the photos! Many opera singers out there have a pair (or more) of my creations, including Joyce Didonato, Elizabeth Caballero, Divavixxen and I do believe I gave a pair to Julie Gunn after I saw her perform.

I do believe? As if. I remember every pair. I have pictures of every pair I've ever made.

JDD - green embedded flower earrings with rhinestone rondelles,



And also a pair using the bottom bead in these. It's actually a black bead with two vintage beadcaps.



EC - Vintage orange painted beads - I think it was these, and if not, definitely a pair with those orange beads.



DV- Vintage grey/black oval twisted beads dangling from black tulip beads



JG- Blue I think... embedded flower with blue crystal bicone bead?
(on the far right... I think those are the ones. If not, I think it was something similar. I'm pretty sure they were blue.)



Yep. Sounds about right.

So don't you want to be in good company - all these talented musicians have earrings I've designed! You can too!!

Ok, shameless begging done. Email me if interested. Luindriel@gmail.com.

A Quickie

Voice lesson: Since we'll have a few weeks before the next lesson, instead of starting Gretchen, we began Batti Batti, which I had pulled out last week. We did the pronunciation, the rhythm, the melody. I know much of it already from listening and singing along with the CD. In the car. Very loudly. I make up the words I don't know. I guess I'll learn them now. I still need to translate it word for word and do selective IPA-ing.

Tomorrow: Changed my mind and decided to go with the long black flowery skirt and a black top. I do have earrings for it but of course I needed to make new ones so I spent much of the evening after my lesson throwing together variations of sparkly dangly things I can wear with it. I'm too wiped to photograph them now but I will. I think I made 5 or 6 pair.

So anyway I've tossed what I think I need into the bag, including the tickets. Don't want to forget the tickets. I have makeup, clothes, shoes, jewelry, toiletries and the camera. Tomorrow I'll toss the phone charger in and that will be it.

Hooray!! An adventure!!!

First!

I got an email from my voice teacher today. Initially she was planning on having me sing 2nd to last, in between her two male students (ok girls get your minds out of the gutter, you know who you are) but she decided that "it would be a brilliant idea for me to start the recital" and that "We need to start with a bang!" (again, to you same girls, that's enough out of you!) I don't care if I go first, middle or last, but I can see where first is good. You sing, you're done, that's it.

Still on an earring-making roll. I got these Fabulous square rhinestone spacer beads today - click the photo to see it all bigger.

I've Got a Little List

Ah I wish it were little and that there were only one.

So much to do, so little brain space to remember it all, hence the lists.

1. Alex has a follow-up appt with the pediatric neuro tomorrow.

• Must make photocopies of all reports.
• Send a note to school to pick him up early

2. Final voice lesson of the semester is Thursday.

• Bring book that Alex borrowed from HIS music teacher
• Write note to his music teacher w/gift (earrings?) as we will be missing the last class because...

3. Alex's birthday and party are Saturday.

• Clean the house
• Clean the backyard
• Organize the goody bags (beach balls, sunglasses, silly straws, etc.)
• Make cupcakes on Wednesday for him to bring to school on Thursday.
• Make a cake Friday morning, decorate Fri evening.
• Shop for cake ingredients and party supplies.
• 20 guests total (8 kids, 12 adults) - Pizzas? How many? Chili? How much? Hummus? Make or buy?
• Clean up and organize the backyard (ie, put toys out)
• Shop for food, beverage, snacks, etc. (this requires more lists)
• Clean the bathroom
• Clean the kitchen
• Do some more cleaning

4. Studio recital is Sunday.

• Still need exact location!
• Figure out what to wear.

5. For the shopping - must make lists!! Cake ingredients, etc.

6. Keep track of all the lists.

7. Find the time to practice in front of the mirror.

Ok now that I've typed it all out and sorted it into manageable bits it doesn't seem as daunting. Oh wait, yes it does.

Here's this weekend's creations. Click to enlarge the photo.

If You Have to Ask... Ask the Neighbors

If you have to ask, you can't afford it. So they say. Take, for example, opera tickets. Or voice lessons. Both very expensive habits. Addictions, really. So hopefully I'll sell a bunch more earrings in the coming weeks to help fund my musical education.

Made these tonight:



And the neighbors? Apparently, although I sing only inside my house, apparently they all agree that my singing has improved a great deal over the past several months. Like, they've talked about it. Amongst themselves. And then put a drink or two in any of them and they'll tell me all about it. And here I thought I was safe in my own home with the windows shut. Hm I wonder if I should shut the shades too...

Mini Opera Adventure and More

Last night I went to a jewelry store, of all places, to see an Arias and Art Songs thing presented by a local organization called The Opera Project.



I found out about the event from an old friend (as in, high school!) who is friends with the woman who owns the jewelry store. So this friend of mine went to support her friend, the entire time saying, "Me? Opera? I don't know..." while I kept assuring her that she will leave in awe of the music people are able to produce from their bodies.

The program was in two acts. Most of the singers in the first act were older and pretty much... in my league! I thought, "Holy S***! I could sing with this group!!" The second half was mostly younger people who definitely have a future in opera. Beautiful voices, beautiful performances, the whole package. Totally out of my league.

Some time in the middle of the second half my friend said something like, "Wow. This is an entirely different level of good singing - it's nothing like American Idol - and I thought the people on that show were good." Yeah no kidding. I actually have never seen American Idol but I can imagine. So when she said that inside I was like, "Hooray!!! She likes it!!!" Or at least she appreciated and understood the appeal.

At some point I got around to reading the blurb on the back of the program. Turns out the Opera Project is two groups - The Opera Project itself supports young singers by providing rehearsal and recital opportunities they wouldn't otherwise have since they're not yet "finished." Then the other group is the Classical Singers Network, for people just like me!! People who maybe started later in life studying voice, who get together to support one another, give feedback and finally, because of the Opera Project, are able to perform in recitals such as the one I saw yesterday. Amazing! So after the performance I found the Guy in Charge and asked him how one gets involved. I explained when I started studying voice, and where, and he was very enthusiastic. Their group is made pretty much exactly for people in my situation, as he cornily said, to give people like me the "operatunity" to perform! I'll call him during the week. I think I want to talk to my voice teacher first. I guess I could call her rather than wait until Thursday... we'll see. I imagine I'll have to audition or something - I definitely need to talk with my teacher before I call this guy!

Another Fun Fact about the evening was that one of the singers was in the chorus when I supered in Romeo two years ago, so of course I had to have the, "You look familiar..." chat and then I helped him guess how he knew me.

Spent this evening making some earrings... I just need to figure out how and where to sell them so I can go to more opera and pay for more voice lessons!!!!





Finally - I've added a new blog link to the list to the right: Once More With Feeling. Check it out!

Overly Creative Day!

Once you get started creating things, it's hard to stop!

Made that video of myself that I posted two posts ago.

Made a bunch of earrings:



Made... yet another Beethoven's Wig video! This is a quickie.

Bejeweled

I knew I'd be able to whip something up. I like these earrings much better than the ones I made yesterday, and they match the necklace I whipped up. It's easy to make pretty jewelry when you start with cool beads. So here we have it, the jewelry that will be going to the opera and the Firebrand thing.

A Change of Fashion

After all those posts about the brown outfit, the brown shoes, the brown jewelry, I suddenly realized that wearing black on Wednesday and brown on Thursday means schlepping not only the clothing but the shoes, purse and jewelry with me to the Met and then schlepping the black outfit, shoes and purse to Alice Tully. My practical brain finally woke up and said, "Duh! Just bring a different shirt and wear the same skirt!" I did allude to this in yesterday's post. So... now I can return the slightly painful shoes and leave the extra purse and brown clothes at home. I'm pretty sure my skirt will survive the day well enough to wear again on Friday, and if not, my friend with whom I am staying has graciously offered to loan me something from her wardrobe. So now I just have to decide on the necklaces. I have a purple thing just like the brown one here. Tonight I can add some baubles, maybe a dangling bead, and also shorten the chain, and voila, instant necklace.

The mere idea of lightening my load has taken a weight off my shoulders. (Sorry, I couldn't resist. Don't tell the pun police.)

And now, a burst of excitement for seeing Juan Diego Florez and Natalie Dessay! TOMORROW!!! At the Met!!! All dressed up, fancy fancy!!! I know it'll be great in spite of the meta-aspect. Perhaps the initial reactions were due to the unexpected nature of the setting? Either way, I always have an enchanting evening when I go to the Met, and I'm sure tomorrow will be no exception.

And then... Nathan Gunn the day AFTER tomorrow!! That still seems like ages from now because of all I'm doing between now and then.

I'll surely post again tonight with photos of the black ensemble and jewelry.

I Haven't Forgotten

All this talk about what to wear on Thursday, what shoes, what earrings, what what what... but I haven't forgotten that my adventure begins on Wednesday with my trip to the Met to see La Sonnambula! I don't have a photo of me in the outfit (yet) but here's the skirt AND the earrings I made tonight to go with it. I was looking at the skirt this afternoon wondering what earrings to wear with it. I went to my jewelry box and saw a pair with these black flowery beads. Black... flowers... exactly the same colors as the skirt! I have a bunch of those beads so I fussed around with them this evening and came up with these sparkly things! Oops they're hanging crooked, oh well. You get the idea. And no, I didn't get the skirt at Old Navy. Even better - I got it at a church rummage sale for like $2. Cost me more to clean it. It's (too) long, it's gauzy, it's flouncy, it's lined. Perfect for a trip to the Met.

:

With it I'm wearing a cute black shirt - one of the "my eyes are up here" shirts of course - with either a chunky amethyst necklace or one of the many fun purple-themed rhinestone necklaces I got from my grandmother.

So now I have to figure out how to get the Thursday night outfit, Thursday day outfit, plus the Thursday purse, the Thursday shoes, pajamas and other overnight things, my small binocs, the little camera and the gifts all into my little backpack. Gifts? Well, earrings for my friend who graciously offered her couch to me... but I'm bringing her a selection from which to choose. The other gift - well, I broke down and figured, since there's a good chance I'll get some face time with Mr. Gunn, I might as well keep with tradition and bring him some contraband in the form of a CD of a recent recital for him to throw on the pile with the other ones I've given him.

My, "I'll see what I can do" contact requested that I follow up on Wednesday. I will, of course, report back once I have the yay or nay on that. I don't want to get my hopes up but at the same time... I'm hoping... But I have tons of adventure to get through between now and then!! If I can post on Thursday, I will.

But first... Wednesday!! Juan Diego Florez!!! Natalie Dessay!!! Beautiful music with a stupid set! Hooray!

Haha I just had a thought - why not wear the same outfit two days in a row? I did consider it, but then I remembered that after taking the train and walking around the city, the shirt probably wouldn't hold up too well. Plus I'll probably spill something on it. The skirt I could probably get away with... and it's not like I'm seeing the same people... Hm.. do I have another acceptable black shirt? That would lighten my load a great deal... Will ponder this for the next 10 minutes or so.

Does This Make Me Look Fat?

Of course I think it does so I'm not posting the picture. I think I need to invest in some Spanx ASAP. Yes, that link does indeed bring you to a product called Power Panties.

But I will post the picture of the necklace I found and the earrings I made to go with it. If you click on the photos you should get a bigger image. If that's what you want...

So here's the necklace. It's cool but the chain is too long. As soon as I put it on I realized that a long necklace is a no-no for me because of, uh, my body shape.





So I plan to shorten the chain like this, to use that body shape to my advantage:


Damn I think I need a new bra too. See, this is why opera is so expensive - it's not just the ticket. It's the underwear.

Here we have the earrings, and then a shot of the earrings next to the necklace.


And when I was putting all my supplies away, I came upon these fabulous beads!! But I was too tired to try and create another pair so these shiny baubles will have to wait until next time.

Socks, Shoes and Other Opera Accessories

I keep getting this feeling like I want to post but I have nothing to say. Well, nothing new. I could of course go on and on about the meta-opera thing, or any of the other subjects that I've beaten pretty much to death over the past two years.

So let's go back to fashion. I've decided to go with the brown outfit for Thursday. If only I had earrings to go with it... Ha! Tonight I'll make the perfect pair. And then I'll need a necklace... hm... a trusted fashion expert, blogger, opera singer and regular reader recommended a long silver necklace. I can see the appeal. I'll have to paw through my tangled costume jewelry pile. The other option, which she didn't mention but hopefully will comment on now that I'm mentioning it, is a necklace that doesn't reach the shirt at all. It's a pretty scoopy-neck top so there's room for something to cover the freckled paleness of my upper neck. I have a necklace in mind, of many many gold-toned chainy pieces... I'll have to untangle it and post a picture.

I never did comment on the shoes. I thought I was going to like one pair better, the solid brown ones, but it turns out that not only do I like the others better, but they fit better too! The solid pair had a low heel that ended in about a centimeter square. Every step I took I teetered on the brink of a sprained ankle. But even more problematic: Toe cleavage. I do NOT like toe cleavage. The moment I put the shoes on, before I even attempted to hobble across the room, I was like, "Nuh uh."

The other pair has this shiny part but it's much subtler than I thought it would be. It feels ok to stand around in. Sort of. I will, of course, wear my hiking shoes until I arrive at Lincoln Center. And I have a secret... I almost always slip my heels off during the performance. Any performance. In fact, at Die Fledermaus I brought an extra pair of socks because I remembered from the previous year that it was kind of cold in there. So yes, once the house lights went out, off went my shoes and on went the socks. Tres chic, no? Don't tell anyone, ok?

Random Ramblings Ending With Earrings

I came here thinking I should write about my voice lesson. The hope/idea is that once I start typing a wonderfully clever and insightful post will magically appear.

So let's see.

It was a pretty mundane lesson. Not bad, not earth-shattering. Went over a few bits and tricksy parts of Ouvre Ton Coeur. My teacher was once again all gushy about how much I've improved. She even drew BOTH a smiley face AND a star on my music. But grrrr that French. What is UP with that pronunciation? Apparently I'm not making my lips kissy enough. Who knew. Maybe I need some kissing practice. *smooch!* There I just kissed all my readers. I hope no one has a cold.

So we decided to put Ouvre back in the folder and revisit Apres un Reve next week, and then... yes... something new!!! Of course next week I won't have my voice lesson on Thursday evening because I'll be in New York City watching Nathan Gunn in Firebrand of Florence. And, you know, maybe saying hi, getting a new photo. You know, for the blog. We're still at the "I'll see what I can do" phase of the adventure. Who is seeing what who can do? Well that part I'm not at liberty to say. Can't give away all my secrets! But the word is, someone is seeing, uh, what can be done. By that someone. Got it?

Dang so if this pans out and I do end up backstage, I can't go empty handed. Same old dilemma. What to bring? CD of some live performance? Been there, done that. Gift CD from Alex? Done. Ya know, if he wore dangling earrings this would be so much easier. Maybe I'll throw a few gifty pairs in my bag, just in case. You never know who you might need to give a gift to. Oh I should post pictures of some of my recent creations! Let's see...

I made these today:





And here are some others I recently made:







So the plan is to sell enough to finance my opera habit. Of course I don't have a shop, or a craft fair, or any other regular place to sell them. I do, however, have a group on Facebook called "Earrings for Sale." If you're on Facebook and you like what you see, join the group to see the rest! And shop, shop, shop! This operamummy is running out of operamoney!

Just a Little Something I Whipped Up

Just made a pair of earrings: green encased flower glass beads with rhinestone rondelles, a shiny green glass bead and small silver balls. Tried taking a picture with my iPhone so of course they're blurry. Really need the macro lens on the real camera to get a good shot, but anyway, here they are:



Now I'd like to repeat, for the record:

The whole gift idea was a token something-or-other to thank John O. for the backstage invite. I knew from the very start that flowers were not on the radar. I never planned on gifts for anyone else. My smiling face will be gift enough, ha ha. And of course a fabulous review of the experience here on my blog! See the comments on the long post from a few days ago for more details...

Earrings for Sale!

Thought I'd post pictures of some of my earrings, since they're helping me get to the opera and pay for singing lessons. (If I can stop buying beads on ebay, that is...)

Here they are: