More Random Stuff to Appease and Entertain

Mish mosh of stuff for a Friday. Let's see.

Twitter pictures. Briefs Included.

Seattle Opera, next season. Watch, look and listen. (on that 2nd link you have to flip through the pages. Mouse around and you'll figure it out.

More Seattle Opera, this season. Elizabeth Caballero as Susanna in Marriage of Figaro. You have to flip through the album to find her as they have two casts.

Finally, the cats.

Diego in his castle:


Remember the friend I stayed with in NYC? The pregnant one? Here's her belly and also her cat enjoying a drink:


And then... Oh my who let these alpacas in?

Lapsing into Character. And Cats.

After I post about my voice lesson, I always think of things about it that I forgot to write about.

One of the things we went over is where to breathe. Or is that when? I think it's where, because it's where in the song. I make little check marks over the music where I should take a breath. When I first started lessons I had a lot of check marks on my music. Now that I've learned proper breathing techniques I can control my breath a lot better. I still have lots, and I mean LOTS, of room for improvement. Like, I still struggle sometimes to control my breath with the higher notes. I need more energy to reach the notes and sometimes I use too much and the notes are stronger than they need to be. Or louder. Hard to express what I'm trying to convey here. Breath control is something that I really need to practice more than I do. I have to trust that I can let less out and still hit the higher notes, and that even if it sounds screechy to me, I have to believe my teacher when she says it doesn't.

With If Music Be the Food of Love, I have to really relax my lower jaw and make "tall" vowels. It's the only way for me to maintain the legato. And it's interesting - you know you read or hear interviews with singers and actors and they say that you really have to let yourself go and live the part in order for it to be good? You have to give a piece of yourself to it. It's really true. I find that if I pretend I'm singing the song to someone, it sounds ok, but if I lapse into it like it's real, like I'm really singing it and not just pretending, then it sounds so much better. I realize that what I just described sounds like pretending, but it's something different. It's losing myself and being the person who is singing the song. It's hard to describe... but it's like, I'm not just singing the words and being aware of their meaning. I'm singing them and believing them. Does that make sense? Surely there is a better way to describe what I'm talking about. It takes a certain level of relaxation and concentration, of focus, for me to lapse into that mode. But I think that if I practice I'll be able to get there more often and more quickly.

As I was leaving she said she'd like me to try some trouser roles. Cherubino, to be specific. Yes, I know, that's a mezzo part and I'm technically a soprano. But I am comfy down there too, just not as rich-sounding as I'd like. I already know the tune and most of the words to Voi Che Sapete. So will that be a problem or an advantage if we work on that one? Hmm... Maybe we'll do Non so piu cosa son, which I'd love love love to learn.

Ok, cat pic time.


Viola being cute:




I walk away from my beads for 1 minute and Diego moves in as if he's been there all along:

Kitty Distraction

To keep my mind off the adventures of the coming week - you know, the opera with the terrible reviews, the performance that I might or might not be making a backstage visit after - I've decided to go ahead and stop ignoring Cat Pic Friday. Well, at least this week. So here we go with the cats.


Look! Diego had a big blue thought bubble!



Caught!!!



So really I'm just trying to not think about my upcoming adventures. Except that I can't. So let's see... I'm meeting my friend and voice teacher (that's one person - not two) at Penn Station on Wednesday afternoon and we'll walk uptown and find somewhere to eat before the travesty oops I mean the opera. Afterwards I'll find a cab to take me across town to a friend's apartment. The other option is a subway and then a crosstown bus... Yeah, I think I'll spring for the cab.

Next day my friend and I will hang out - I'm really looking forward to that!! Then at 5:30 I'm meeting someone (a regular I'd Rather Be Sleeping reader and occasional commenter, fellow Gunnfan and all-around nice guy) for dinner before Firebrand. Then the thing itself. Is it a show? Like a Broadway show? Semi-staged? Concert/recital style? Costumed? No idea. These questions and many more will be answered that very evening. So anyway, after Firebrand, I might zip backstage for a photo op, might not. Once a year I guess I have to have an annual, "Am I on the list" week or two. Another question that has no answer at the moment. And if I'm not on the list there is no way I'm hanging around by the stage door - how pathetic would that be? I do have some shred of dignity. Somewhere. I'll find it by then. Hopefully the "I'll see what I can do-er" will see and do. Anyway... then I'll make my way to Penn Station and catch the next train home, retrieve my car from the parking garage and drive 20 minutes home. Then I drag my sorry a$$ to work the next day and push some papers around for a few hours before coming home to collapse. And THEN, of course, I'll write all about it here. Hm sounds good to me.

Back to the Cats and a Clarifying Note

I know I seem to favor Diego here on Cat Pic Friday but he seems to pose for pictures more often than Viola. I mean, look at this:



Here's a Viola pic, just so it doesn't seem like I'm playing favorites. Even if I am. She'll never know - she doesn't read the blog.




And speaking of reading the blog, I want to clarify here that what may come across (to those nice people who don't know me) as an obsession is really just a habit and a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. People expect me to provide content and they send it along to me to share, and I do. Plus I love throwing videos together because it's like doing a puzzle. Of course I always respect issues of privacy and never reveal information that's not already publicly known. However, there will be a general slowing-down of videos, media and other information regarding certain topics for the time being.

Now, what do to... am considering skipping out on the whole Baltimore free recital thing. Someone needs to convince me that I should still go. Should I still go? I'm feeling a tad bit... embarrassed right now over possible interpretations of my...enthusiasm.

I know this sounds cryptic. But too bad. The rest is, as they say, private.

Still Amazed, and Return of the Cats

I have to admit I'm still amazed that my voice teacher declared me ready to sing Una Donna to People. And what a confidence booster. Seriously. This whole, "sing like no one is listening" really works. Seriously. I urge everyone to try it.

Ok. I didn't do the cats last week because I was too lazy. I didn't forget. I just didn't feel like it. But they're back and here they are doing what they do best.

*snore*

Gonzo Cat!

Musically today it's all about Muppets from Space. I'm about to go groove with Gonzo's brothers in a moment. Meanwhile, here are today's cat pics.

If I didn't know better, I'd swear that Diego poses for pictures:







Viola, well, we have to pose her.

What day is it? It's Friday, right?

Having two weeks in a row with all these days off has totally mixed me up, day-wise. But I do believe that it's Friday. Did I say Happy New Year yet? If so, here it is again. Happy New Year! Vocally, this year I resolve to sing like no one is listening. I want to really practice on putting out that full sound that I know I can produce. I can do it sporadically but I want to do it consistently at all ranges. Is that too much to ask?

The last couple of days I've been tossing slide-show videos together in iMovie. Here are the results:



and



Of course you should click through to see the full descriptions, rate, add to favorites and comment.

And just so this comes up in people's Google searches: Nathan Gunn. YouTube. You Tube. There. That should stop people from always ending up here when they google that.

Cat pic time. I promised Viola this week, if I recall. Too bad. I have this silly one to post instead and it features Diego.

Cat Pic Friday, One Day Late, With Guest Cats

Yeah, I know, Cat Pic Friday was yesterday. Better late than never.

We have some Guest Cats today, courtesy of Hey Liz. Thanks Liz! Umm... can you please leave a comment with their names???







And now, here's Digeo, trying to hide from his Adoring Public.




His true fans will always know it's him, much to his annoyance.

Is it Still Friday?

I was home alone all day today and spent most of the day recording myself singing. What better way to fill yourself with self-disgust and embarrassment than to watch video after video of yourself singing flat, singing sharp, cracking for no reason and doing all sorts of other embarrassing things. Luckily for all of us it's Cat Pic Friday.


Diego, King of All He Surveys




Viola Approaches the Table



Cats read Opera News too, especially when Nathan Gunn is on the cover

.

*Yawn* I'm Boring. I Mean, I'm Bored.

I have been told by a good friend, someone with whom I never discuss opera because she's not into it, that,

"... incessant chatter about one subject, i.e. opera, can get pretty darn boring."


This telling took place on that Social Networking Site everyone belongs to, the one where you can add comments to everything anyone does. It was a comment on my own status:

"Susan has updated her blog. Boring stuff. Now go read it."

One other friend and regular blog reader commented, "You're NEVER boring," (thanks!) and then this anti-opera friend came along with her "incessant chatter" comment. There are now 13 lucky comments.

Now, those of you who read my blog, all 25 of you, know that I do not chatter about opera incessantly, because, obviously, that'd be boring. Oh and also I'm not qualified. I have pretty much shared all I know about opera, which isn't much. This blog isn't about opera per se, but about me. Gee that sounds familiar. Me going to the opera, me listening to operas, me being an extra in operas, me learning to sing opera. Me me me. So if there's any incessant chatter going on here, it's not about opera - it's about, you guessed it - me. *yawn* Boooorrrriiinnggg.

Then this very same friend went and commented on another status of mine. I think she did it first, before the incessant chatter comment.

Before I leave for my voice lesson I often write that I'm "off to my psychotherapy session, OOPS I mean, my voice lesson." Like, each week, pretty much.

Her comment? "Maybe you could use some psychotherapy & less opera"

What is UP with that? I am seriously stumped. But it's obvious that A. She doesn't read the blog or she'd know what the incessant chatter was about, and B. She's never taken a lesson of the sort that requires to you know yourself in order to do well. And C. She's being sort of mean, no? I mean, does anyone else sense some sort of hostility here?

Not to leave on a What the Heck mood, here are today's cat photos, taken by Husband with his brand-spanking new camera.


Here I am with Viola as she comes for her daily petting.




Here she is with That Look on her face.



Here's Diego with That Other Look on his face.



Here I am in my natural habitat. No, I'm not picking my nose. Wait, am I? How embarrassing.

Cat - Hat. In French, Chat - Chapeau.

Had a little cocktail party today. Started talking in Italian to a friend who speaks it. Well, I spoke enough to tell him that I only speak opera Italian. Somehow we moved on to French opera (in English) and he really and truly thought that Carmen was the only French opera out there. He's a smart guy, but he actually asked, "So is Carmen the only one? Are there any others in French?" I was really casual, like, "Oh yeah, there are tons, like..." and I named a few. He had never heard of them. I guess I keep forgetting that most people just don't know. All my friends at work are opera people, and many of my friends outside of work are opera people and/or singers, so sometimes I forget that the Rest of the World has that stereotypical view of opera. Well, now he knows. Carmen is not the only French opera.

Cat time.


Diego relaxes inside the Boppy.


Viola relaxes on top of the Boppy.

Cat. Pic. Friday.

The next time I invite you over for dinner, remember, we never let the cats on the table and they never ever eat off the dishes.

Cats Here and There

Cats here:



Diego and Viola play with toy trains


Cats there - Adoption Day at the local feed store:

The good, the sad, the cats, the comparison

The good:

My voice lesson yesterday. Especially when she had my lie on the desks on my back to sing. Yes, desks, because my lesson takes place in an elementary school classroom. There's more but I've had too much to drink to go into it now.

The sad:

My friend Colleen lost her battle with cancer today. She is survived by her husband and two children, ages 2 and 5. My heart if breaking for her going, knowing that her kids would be growing up without their mother, and the 2 year old won't remember her.

The cats:


Viola and her closeup, last week.


Viola and Alex when he was about 3 or 4 months old.


Whose crib is this anyway? Alex, age 3 or 4 months.


The comparison:

I'm short! I forget that I'm short until I see pictures like this.

March, 2008 .........and......... October, 2008

Ok, Fine. Cat Pic Friday.

I think someone needs an attitude adjustment... and it's me!! I wasn't in the mood, but I don't want to disappoint, so here are the pics for Cat Pic Friday:



Diego lounging on a boppy pillow


Prince Diego in his castle


Viola will dominate next week's post. I promise.

Cat Pic Friday Adventure

Not sure how the week went by so quickly, but here it is, Friday again. Friday means... cat pictures. Here we go:


Diego settles into a pile of clothes on the chair.



Viola caught checking the jewelry box for anything she can pawn.
(get it? PAWn. Just made that up. I'm feeling very clever!)



For 5 minutes there were no toys on the floor, so the cats made their move and collapsed as if they had been sleeping there forever.


Am in intense, intense discussion with the friend from the friend/person post about the particulars of her upcoming adventure. This is important stuff, people. We'll be living vicariously through her soon. She is aware that the pressure is on. She won't disappoint us.

Cats in My Tessitura

Voice lesson yesterday. Wasn't finding it. It was in me. I had it the day before. Had a bit of tension in me though and couldn't figure out how to get rid of it to relax and open my throat. It's so frustrating. Why can't I produce That Sound, that rounded, full and beautiful Sound, all the time?

We did vocalises (sp??) for much of the class just to practice that. I have to get the memory of the sound into my muscles, into my body, so that the whole thing comes together when I want it to.

My homework is to go over Ouvre ton coeur, aaaahhhs only, then vowels only, and not to add the consonants back in until next Tuesday. So Tuesday will not only be the first day of Rosh Hashanana, it will also be Consonant Day.

Wow that all barely makes sense but I'll restrain from editing it.

I have access to a photograph that you, dear reader, may find interesting, however I must pursue the Proper Channels before posting it. It's possible that the Channel may say "What? Are you f'ing kidding me? No way!" but it's just as likely that the Channel will say, "Sure, whatever." So if the picture appears in a future post, you'll know the answer. If not, you'll just have to wonder.

Cat Pic Friday:


Viola glares at the paparazzi.



Diego cozies up to his scotch.


This next one is blurry but I love how it makes his canines look longer. Why felines have canines is a subject for another post. Uh... another post on another blog.


Arrggh, get away from me scotch or I'll bite ya with me canines.

I Remembered Just In Time

Chased the cats around with the iPhone to get something up here for cat pic Friday. These pictures are very very fresh. Be careful - the paint is still wet.



Viola's small head shows how small her brain is.




Diego's head looks big in this picture, but don't be fooled. It's small.