Ok, I lied...

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!

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.

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?

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...

"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!

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!

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?

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...

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:

This and That

Saw Barbiere again in the movies with Shannon. It was her first opera, I think. She really enjoyed it. How can you not? I was still blown away by Juan Diego Florez. The entire cast was excellent. I got home after 10 and had trouble sleeping. More evidence that opera is keeping me awake? The music was still going through my head when I woke up this morning.

Sold a 4 pairs of earrings at work this week for a total of $87. I have an appointment to show my earrings at the spa next week. I'm pretty sure she's going to take some of my earrings on consignment so hopefully not only will the opera be "financed," but so will my voice lessons.

The Opera Fund

So it begins. I'm going to see Romeo et Juliet on December 12 at the Met. Perhaps I already posted about it... I can't remember right now. It'll cost upwards of $200 for the ticket, transportation, food etc. In order to assuage any guilt I may have at spending $200 for one night's entertainment, I have established a mental "opera fund." I started with a weight-loss challenge with the moms' club. Six of us each paid $25. We weighed in every week for 8 weeks, gave each other tips for diet and exercise and generally supported one-another in our weight-loss endeavor. The person who lost the largest % of her body weight would win all the money. I knew I had an advantage because I started out smaller than all the other women in the challenge. I ended up losing 11 lbs in 8 weeks, which came to about 8% of my body weight, and I won the challenge! That $125 is a great chunk to start off with! Plus as an added bonus I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight, although for some reason my pre-preg clothes don't all fit... which leads to my next opera-related expense: A new outfit to wear! So I'm going into high gear selling earrings. I'm going to a local spa next week to show them what I have. Hopefully they'll sell my earrings on consignment. I'm also selling off lots of vintage jewelry, beads and findings on Ebay. Once I reach $200 profit I'll close my mental account.

Tenors Make More Money!

Yes, yes, two posts in one day.

Saturday we went to a street fair in Princeton. All sorts of organizations were there, including the New Jersey Opera Theater. They had a trunk full of costumes for the kids to try on and get photographed. We were talking to one of the women and of course Alex clammed up and would talk, so I told her that he wants to be an opera singer and how he's drawn to the baritone parts. She leaned in and said in a conspiratorial stage-whisper, "Be a tenor- tenors make more money!"

A Burning Desire

Have I mentioned that Alex's music teacher is a former professional opera singer? That's not exactly relevant except that this is a blog about opera... of course she's thrilled by Alex's career aspirations. Anyway last week I wasn't feeling well so Jim brought Alex to music class. It's the first time I've missed a class since he started, except for when we went to Florida. She informed Jim that she'll be giving private singing lessons at Westminster next semester and she thinks I should sign up because she can tell that I've got "the desire to sing burning inside me," or something like that. She said it again to me this past week. So is she a mind reader or what? I asked her how she could tell and she said she just can. Hm. I've wanted to take singing lessons all my life. I know full well that I have no opera potential, no matter what fantasies I might harbor... I have a decent voice and can carry a tune, but I want to improve my range, ie, become more of a soprano. I even mentioned my (burning) desire to Denise a few weeks ago and she gave me some advice about finding a teacher. It was just funny that Alex's teacher said that, because she's right! So now I have to decide... a trip to the Met to see Romeo and Juliet, or a semester or two of voice lessons? Or... do both, and then have rice and beans, no new clothes and no eating out for, well, the rest of my life? That sounds OK to me!

Recitals, Barbers and Romeo

So it's been a while but I'm back. We did attend the recital on the 15th. It was good! And amazingly, Alex sat and watched for the entire first half. He had great fun applauding after each singer too.

The Met is having an encore broadcast of Barber of Seville. I posted to the mom's group to see if anyone would like to have a "Mom's Night Out" and got one taker- Shannon. So in May we'll be off to the movies!

Denise will be teaching an opera class about Romeo and Juliet this fall at the Princeton Adult School. To culminate the class they go see the opera at the Met. She's going to include me in the emails so I can join them if I want. I'll start saving my pennies now! Finally a chance not only to go to the Met with friends, but also to see Nathan Gunn live! Oh yeah and Anna Netrebko (probably spelled wrong...). Then two days later I'll see it again in the movie broadcast.

Post Office Recital

Yesterday as we went into the post office Alex began to sing Papageno's Birdcatcher Aria. There were a few people inside but of course no one was talking. His voice echoed throughout the room. One woman who had been preparing something to mail got in line behind us. She recognized what he was singing and asked him if he could do "Queen of the Night." He just launched right into it! It was pretty cool. So of course I asked him what he wants to be when he grows up (see video in prior post). She asked him what other operas he likes. I had to prompt him but he said he likes Figaro in Barber of Seville because "...he's a baritone." Too bad he can't decide now what voice he'll have later. Not that I expect him to become an opera singer, but I'll certainly encourage whatever interest he shows!

Sunday we're going to this:

Come see NJ Opera's Young Artists perform in a free concert this Sunday, April 15 at 3pmVoorhees Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick. These young singers will perform beloved opera favorites such as "Una Voce poco fa" from The Barber of SevilleDon Giovanni (Mozart) and the "Card Trio" from Carmen (Bizet). They will also perform opera rarities such as "O Lisbonoa, alfin ti moro" from Don Sebastiano (Donizetti) and "Sibilar gli angui d'Aletto" from Rinaldo (Handel).

The concert is free with $3 admission to the Zimmerli Museum (waived for Rutgers students and staff and for museum members).

Or as Alex calls it, People Singing in the Museum.

Now if only they would contact me to be a super in one of their upcoming shows!

Now that I know how...

Here's another Alex - Opera video:

The "Imitation" Video

Ok, here it is:

Imitation

So cool... Alex has really begun to imitate the opera we listen to. Of course Magic Flute... of course Papageno... I have to get a video up here somehow of him totally imitating Papageno's countdown when he's hoping Papagena will show up. "How 'bout I count from one to three..."
He imitates Nathan Gunn's intonation perfectly, the way he's all hopeful on "one," singsong on "two" and sad and downtrodden on "three." He imitates the sound but does his own "acting" or whatever you'd call it- he looks around like he's looking for her in between "two" and "three." It's great! He's learning more and more of the words in both English and German.

We've been watching the Barber DVD a little. He likes the scene where the musicians are asking to get paid and thanking the Count and saying what a great guy he is, getting louder and louder, while the Count keeps saying, "Basta, basta!" Enough, enough! Be quiet! I quite like it too!

More Barber

Not yet... but Denise has a DVD from I-don't-know-when and she loaned it to Jean. Jean finished watching it and loaned it to me yesterday. I forgot I had it until today, then Alex kept getting out of bed after we put him to bed for the night, so long story short I haven't watched it yet. Now I'm shooting for tomorrow.

And while I'm on the subject, I still need to get my hair trimmed.

An Interesting Observation ("ear"servation?)

Sometimes I ask Alex, "Can you do that?" when we're listening to music, to see if he can hit the notes or add vibrato or whatever. He usually ignores me. The other day he was singing the Pa-Pa-Pa duet. He always sings both parts. So anyway he was playing and singing and he sounded exactly like Jennifer Aylmer when he sang, "...the greatest happiness is many." I mean EXACTLY! He imitated her voice and intonation. The line goes across her break, or whatever you call it, between high and middle range, and he repeated it perfectly. It was so cool!