What I Missed - Vids from Central park

While I was busy boozing it up with Husband to celebrate his PhD, this was happening in Central Park: (and as usual, click through if my blog format cuts off the video window)



and



and



Still waiting/hoping/wishing that person will post the Pearl Fishers duet from that evening. Then my regret will be complete.

Summer Non Plans

So here's a list of what I'm probably not doing this summer.

No idea if I'll be supering. I have submitted my info and I now wait to hear. The latest unsubstantiated rumor is that they'll need servants for the wedding party in Don Giovanni. And all my long-time readers know how much I love serving tippy champagne glasses on stage. But after last year's disappointment I'm assuming this year that I won't get picked, and then it'll be a surprise if I do.

Opera Project - I'm actually NOT singing this coming Saturday. They had way too many people interested. They have local composers debuting their pieces, plus the Lucia sextet and an entire section of Wagner. So hopefully I can sing in the following recital, which will be in June or July.

The Met's Summer Recital Series. Free opera in the park. Look. Michael Fabiano, Nathan Gunn and others on the same stage, on the same day. Um...how can I not go? I know how - if we have our regular 99 degree, high-humidity week in the middle of July. But it's free so it's not like I'd have to decide until pretty much that day. And I bet I know who would come with me!!! I have to inform her of this asap. (ok, done) And I have other people I'd like to meet in NYC. This might be a great thing to do. If the weather isn't totally gross.

I'll continue to post about what I'm not doing as I learn about it.

AVA Gala - Wowwwwwwie!!!

Wednesday I went to the AVA "Brava Philadelphia," 75th Anniversary Gala.

Silly me, I didn't check the time on the ticket. I left my house at about 6pm, thinking I'd get there in plenty of time to grab a bite to eat before the performance. But when traffic stopped because of a truck stuck in the left lane, I pulled out the ticket for a peek. OOPS! 7:30 start time. Maybe I'd be able to grab a bag of peanuts somewhere...?

Traffic finally picked up and I made way to the parking garage below the theater. I just want to point out here that I paid $50 for the ticket and then $22 to park!!! There weren't enough spots in the garage so I had to leave my car in the middle along with the keys. They gave me a ticket for the keys which I promptly lost. But on the positive side, the lobby snack bar sold these little sandwiches so I was able to scarf something down in the moments before the bells went off.

So the format was, there were AVA graduates who were the "Gala Artists," and a group of "Resident Artists" who are still students. Everyone was great. A few of the resident artists had solos but for the most part they did ensemble pieces. They were all so good!! And the dresses - OMG one piece of eye candy after another. I'm still talking about the resident artists here. One woman had this gorgeous blond hair and was wearing the most stunning gown ever - it was this reddish/maroonish/brick color, shimmery, with shiny parts on the straps. Should have brought my binocs I guess... that's all the detail I can provide. There was so much glitz and rhinestone on stage. But why am I going off track with the clothing? The singing was phenomenal.

So in between the resident stuff, the Gala Artists came out and did their thing. And their thing was, sing. Oh no I've veered into Dr. Seuss land, sorry about that. I'm not going to write every detail about the evening... but I might come close! I should have taken notes, right? Everyone sang more than one piece. Here's what I remember.

Eglise Gutierrez. So so awesome. Words cannot describe. She did something from La Sonnambula and later a scene from Rigoletto. Legato, legato, legato. I think she took one deep breath at the beginning and then didn't need to breathe again until the end. Emotion in her face, her voice, her eyes. And she was wearing a beautiful purple gown and big sparkly earrings.

Angela Meade sang something from Abduction. She was in NJ Opera's production of it last summer. She is AMAZING. What a voice. The aria had a range from way down here to all the way up there and everything in between. Sounded like one of those arias that he wrote for someone specific. I don't know enough about Mozart to say more than that, but doesn't it make me sound knowledgeable? "Oh yes, he wrote that one for a specific soprano..." Ok, back to business. Her dress: Red gown. Spectacular. Let's see... checking the program...

Latonia Moore. Ok, I don't remember what she was wearing. Black probably? Gorgeous face but her hair kept falling in it!! She kept flipping it back. However it did not distract from her GORGEOUS voice. Madame Butterfly - blew me away.

Ok. Another soprano. Indra Thomas. Wow. WOW! And wow on the black dress with the green wrap! She changed it to a black gauzy type wrap later which made it even more elegant, if that's even possible. Hair pulled back into a tight bun with rhinestone crystals glittering everywhere. She looked like a princess and sang like a goddess.

It wasn't just a girls' night out. The guys - of course, Michael Fabiano!! Nessun Dorma. Don't think there was a dry eye in the house. His voice just washes over you. And after being in a production with him, it was so familiar. I was like, Oh yeah, that's right. He was great then and he's even better now.

Luis Ledesma sang the Toreador song from Carmen, surrounded by the resident artists. Like all the men, he was wearing a tux, but that doesn't stop me from imagining him all Escamillo-ed up. He seemed so familiar to me, I should check and see if I've seen him perform before.

James Valenti!!! We all remember him from this. He just made his Met debut in Traviata. You can read all about that in all the regular places. Here he sang O Sole Mio and had the crowd in the palm of his hand. And this man is TALL!! A tall tenor. Yes, I know, I barely push the bar at 5 feet, but that doesn't mean I can't tell tall from down here. I didn't realize just how tall he was until I saw him later backstage.

Before it started and also in between the singing, someone came out to introduce and thank various people who were involved in putting the evening together. The mayor of Philadelphia even showed up to say a few words. They also explained that Joyce Didonato was supposed to have been there but she injured herself (again?!) on stage in Chicago and needed surgery to repair a torn ligament in her knee. Ouch. But you know what? She's such a huge name, such a huge star, that having her there might have taken some of the spotlight away from the other performers. Not that I wasn't disappointed - but I wonder if the dynamic of the performance would have been different.

The crowd: What a mix. Several men in tuxedos, entire rows of them. Women in ball gowns. Women like me, in a nice long skirt and top. And then some people were very, very casual. Not quite pajamas, but not dressed up either.

The row behind me - one woman was eating Goobers, yes, you know, chocolate-covered peanuts, from one of those movie-size boxes, and offering them to her companions. Apparently she had a box of Raisinettes too. Another guy behind me had running commentary - "Wow. Amazing. Listen to that. Did you hear that?" and so on. It was what we were all thinking, but he said it all out loud.

The row in front of me - just as it was starting, one woman whispered something to her companion and a man two seats down let out this rude "shhhppp!"which did the trick, but still... Where was he when the same woman started humming along????

Over in the row of men-in-tuxes, this one woman kept talking to the people on either side of her. But it's ok. She was whispering. It was the loudest whisper I had ever heard. It echoed throughout the entire theater. It was amazing.

These minor incidents did nothing to mar the evening, they are merely amusing to relate.

When it ended I went back to say hi to Michael and give him a squeeze. You can see me doing that here. See my hand coming around? Squeezing. That's not a smile on his face, it's a grimace. Ok ok, I'm just kidding. I mean yeah I was squeezing but he was (I think) smiling. He was so sweet.



I finally finally got to meet Eglise in person! We have had comment conversations on facebook and it was wonderful to finally meet "for real." She had changed out of her gown but was still absolutely gorgeous in person. Her eyes are WOW! I felt instant warmth from her, as if we had known each other forever.



As usual it was super-crazy hectic back there with visitors and performers all wanting photos of and with each other. So after chatting for a moment I made my way back to the car where they let me have my keys back in spite of me having no idea where my ticket was. After a few crazy city-driving maneuvers, you know, wild u-turns, lane changes and so on, I found my way onto the highway and was home within the hour.

The only think I'd change: Next time I'm writing down what the singers are wearing so I can describe it here in greater detail.

Random

Nothing specific to blog about, but I figured I'd start typing in the empty window and see what happens.

Let's see..

I've been watching the video from Saturday's recital and hearing all the mistakes. Missed legato, missed vibrato, wrong length on some notes, and what the HECK was I doing with my arms?

Then I wonder, what will I sing next? I have no voice lesson for the next two weeks so I have plenty of time to think about it. The next Opera Project recital is at the end of May I think, and there's a voice eval with the music school and the recital my teacher hosts of all her students. I need two songs for each of those. They can be the same songs but they don't have to be. We were talking about Art is Calling for Me and Nel Cor... although now that I've sung Batti Batti twice in front of an audience I'm thinking, maybe I should revisit Vedrai Carino and apply all the stuff I've learned since I last attempted it? I also want to go back to Gretchen as she's been sitting in the back burner of my brain for a while. And then what about the next Opera Project recital? I'd love to do Art is Calling for Me but that's not opera - it's a song about someone wanting to sing opera. Maybe if I ever get to the point where I can do two pieces I can have that be one of them. And then of course I'm itching to do a duet. I'd love to do La ci darem la mano. Let's face it, I'm going to learn all of Zerlina, one piece at a time. So now I just need a baritone to be my Don Giovanni. All the men I know are tenors. Where are all the baritones?

Tomorrow I'm going to the AVA Gala "Brava Philadelphia," where I'll see Michael Fabiano (who finally got himself a facebook fan page) and Eglise Gutierrez, among many others. Joyce Didonato was supposed to be there too but she had to back out. Oh well.

Met Debuts

It's so cool to see and hear about singers I met in NJ make their Met debut. Elizabeth Caballero, of course, is in Carmen. I'm going next week, HOORAY!!!! ...and therefore I will not be reading or posting any of the reviews until after I've been to see it.

This week Michael Fabiano, who starred in Traviata alongside Elizabeth two years ago while I tried not to spill drinks on stage in my ugly maid outfit, had his Met debut in Stiffelio, and they've published an interview with him on their site. How cool is that?

I'm thrilled and excited for both Michael and Elizabeth - they are so talented, driven and hard-working, they deserve all the success they are achieving, and more!

If you're on Facebook, you can see and join Elizabeth's fan page here. I don't think Michael has one... yet.

Summer in Winter

Flashback to the summer! I was in this! Not this scene of course. But this is the very stage upon which I crawled on my hands and knees in front of a paying audience. But seriously, this is why it's so awesome to be a super. You are surrounded by talent! And if you get to crawl on your hands and knees onstage it's an added bonus. The camerawork is a little dizzying at first but it settles down until the end, when it looks like they dropped it.

The Power of Context

My esteemed blogger colleague Opera Chic recently wrote about cutie-pie tenor Michael Fabiano's (who I still regret not giving a big squeezy hug goodbye.) recent experience at La Scala. Don't forget to read the comments. And note that the commenter's name appears at the bottom of the comment, not at the top. OC's intent appears to be, "Look! Here's another stupid thing La Scala did!" yet one of the commenters appears to have twisted it into, "He's a poor little boy who needs to learn the ways of the world." Context people, context! Someone else commented about how talented and professional he is. No idea who that could have been. Oops my name is there, haha.

Opening Night Report

Hoo boy so much to tell, so little time. I'll just tell it in order as I remember things. Photos to follow in a future post.

Before the show, the costume woman came to the dressing room and said, "Liz walked out in the middle of the Cenerentola dress rehearsal." Shocked silence. We all thought, "But... I just saw her..." The she went on, "That's the third assistant to quit on me." Later we found out that we all thought that she meant our Violetta!

I had gotten Liz (the singer, not the costume person!) a gift to celebrate opening night - a very sparkly purple and pink stuffed animal octopus. I should have taken a picture of it. I also got her a cute sparkly sequin-covered pen that perfectly matched the octopus. She wasn't in her dressing room when I got there so I sort of jammed it in by the doorknob. She seemed to like it. Who wouldn't love a purple and pink shiny octopus?

Moving right along... places please for the top of the show! Here's where I must ask - What is the purpose of a final orchestra dress rehearsal if things are different on opening night? It was no big deal that instead of a vase, the bouquet of flowers was now in what appeared to be a crystal ice bucket. It had a handle. There was 1 real flower and the rest were fake. The director wanted fresh flowers but it probably wasn't in the budget. So as the show began they totally blacked out the backstage area. While we were standing there waiting everyone was very quietly goofing around and being silly. Then Michael did his opening thing onstage, came backstage and was immediately blinded. Then, there in the dark, he said, "Oh man, I don't have water." I had just put a new bottle of water down against the wall so I gave it to him. It had one of the rubber chickens attached... (I picked up a few more after I gave one to Cody) So then the clog guy from the previous post said, "That was nice of you." and I said, "Not really." I wouldn't want our lead tenor to crack on his high C because his throat was dry... besides, I had another full bottle down in the dressing room. But even if I didn't I would have given it to him, or anyone who needed it. Well, maybe.

Ok opening scene was fine. A little crowded as Rachel was trying to put glasses on the table in one direction and I was going the other way to put the plates from the chairs to the place settings, but we worked it out. Then we went off to prepare to serve the drinks. That's when I encountered another difference from the final dress - there were heavy blackout curtains along the wings. It was impossible to see where the openings were. So I got my tray of champagne flutes. New flutes - I'd never seen these before. Nice and... light... So I was holding the tray, trying to negotiate around this heavy curtain without sizzling my costume or skin on the thing of lights back there and without tripping on my skirt... and the curtain swung back and hit the tray. It was like slow motion. One, two glasses went over. I put the tray down on the stair prop where they rolled and knocked the other three over. Rachel was waiting to go after me and I said, "I'm not going!" Couldn't go out with a wet tray of nothing... then when they came back Kelly said that two of her glasses spilled, so Casey, the asst stage manager, got some paper towels, then they were standing there all staring at each other like, "What do we do?" So I said, "Here, give them to me!" And I went on stage from the most upstage wing, found the spill, got down on my hands and knees and crawled along drying the floor, all while "Libiamo" was going on around me. I was behind the table, and there's a long table cloth, so the audience probably didn't know I was there. I was trying not to laugh, and wanted to get off stage as quickly as possible, so when I got up I went straight back, which meant I had to split up a couple who had their arms around each other. I don't even know who it was - I was just intent on getting the heck outta there. Later a lot of people were like, "Wow, that was great the way you came out to clean that up! You're a great actor." I think they thought I came up with that idea on my own.

We run back onstage for the money-throwing scene. I lapsed into believing that it was real - I was truly concerned about this fight and horrified when he threw the money. I felt it happening to me and I just relaxed into it. Then there's a little scuffle/fight and they stumbled upstage near us, and then I was actually concerned so that was easy to portray.

Then we were done. No chorus or supers in Act 3.

In the dressing room I learned that most of the chorus was leaving, either to go back to the dorms to drink, or out for a drink. Seemed like very few were hanging around for the reception, although some indicated that they were going out for a drink and coming back. I was a bit surprised that no one wanted to stay to watch and support the principals for the rest of the production. Kelly and I went upstairs and sat on the floor near the balcony railing. One of my coworkers is a volunteer usher and he was there. He came over and said, "Were you up there?" Uh, yeah? He didn't recognize me when I was on stage, how funny is that? "Were you singing?" Uh, nope. So I leaned on the balcony and lost myself in the story. My heart was breaking for Violetta when she read the letter and lost it and cried, "Where are you? I've waited and waited and now it's too late!" and the tears started to well in my eyes. I got more and more weepy as Violetta became more desperate, then Alfredo comes, joyful reunion, more tears, then the "I'm better, I'm worse, I'm cured, I'm dead," is so beautiful and moving. I'm just like my mother, beautiful opera makes me cry.

There were no other mishaps, at least not from my perspective. Everyone sounded great. Liz was amazing. Micheal was too, but she stole the show, by far. Andy, who plays Alfredo's father, was great too. Everyone was.

So after making sure my mascara hadn't turned me into a raccoon face, I went downstairs to wait for the reception to begin. There I met Jen Aylmer, who you might recognize here. My first impression was that she's short! And... that was her first impression of me too. "You're short!" she exclaimed. "I guess I appear tall in emails," I replied, "It's the long hair!" she said. It was funny. She wants to meet Alex, her youngest fan. When I told him he said he didn't want to meet her. We'll see...

The reception was your typical post-opera reception, sans alcohol. There was hummus, veggies, fruit and cookies, and a fountain of cranberry juice-ish punch. And of course the same set of older patrons I had to shove through to meet John O. The performers descended upon the food like vultures. I'm including myself in that group. All we had backstage for the past 3 hours was chocolate. Sounds nice in theory but real food was suddenly very attractive.

Our next performance is Sunday at 2. Hopefully someone will hold that snarky curtain aside so I can get on stage before I spill it all. I mean, someone WILL hold it. After all, now that my secret fantasy to crawl around on my hands and knees in front of a paying audience has finally been fulfilled, I want more, heh heh heh.

So... exhausted...

Two rehearsals to write about. Utter exhaustion has set in.

Tuesday - Got a great parking spot. Ummm don't remember much more. Took notes, will do "real" post later.

Today - rehearsal was from 1 until 8:30. Yup, you heard it. We did have a sort of longish break for dinner and a couple of shorty breaks here and there.

Today's rehearsal was a tech run. That means it was our first time in the theater and on the stage. The rehearsal was to get all the staging fixed up since what fit in between the tape lines on the floor didn't necessarily work on the stage. We were there from 1 until about 4:30. Then Husband and Alex came into Princeton to meet me for dinner at Triumph. After dinner we went back to the theater and I showed them around backstage.

Elizabeth Caballero, who plays Violetta, has a YouTube page. I subscribed and put a comment on her page on Monday. So Tuesday when I walked in she said hello and confirmed it was I who left the comment. (aside: like my grammar? It was I...) Chatty chat, thanks for the comment, blah blah, etc and so on. Oh and, "Is that your daughter?" Umm... no. Ok fine the picture is teeny-tiny, I can see where gender identification could be difficult. Anyway today at the start of rehearsal we were all onstage and she stage-whispered from downstage, "Your son! He's so cute! I saw the videos of him singing!" and then later, when I was bringing him into the theater she was coming in and got all gushy on him. She was with someone whose name I should know and do know but I'm too tired to think... anyway she said, "You should hear him! He wants to be an opera singer! I heard him sing Papageno's aria! I'll have to send you the link on YouTube." Of course Alex refused to even make a sound at that point.

So after dinner we were called back for 7:15. I got there at about 6:45 when the principals were doing some staging. They were doing the last act, when Violetta is dying and Alfredo gets there just in time. At one point they were singing and she slipped in, "Am I singing the right words?" and later when she collapsed into Michael's arms for the death scene, she had a little too much momentum and down they both went. Another time he was laying her down but sort of let go too early and we all heard her head clonk on the floor. Actually I think that might have happened twice... So anyway at about 8:30 the supers had to go back onstage to close the doors to the ballroom. I think we did it twice. Then a half hour later we were released. Yes, I waited an hour and a half for 10 seconds of rehearsal. Isn't life in the theater exciting?

It's interesting to watch the chorus interact. Like last year, they drape all over each other. Although last year it seemed more out of affection and familiarity. This year it seems a little more steamy. There is a set of people who are always heavily flirting, hugging, touching... and the pairs seem to be interchangeable. Interesting, no? At one point I was sitting in the row in front listening to one guy relate a very intimate experience he once had to one of the women. Definitely far far Too Much Information. And now of course whenever I look at him this story pops into my head. That, and he's a winker. That's right. He winks. Like a friggin' grandfather. Ok, stop winking at me, you're what? 25?

Am about to fall asleep on the keyboard and I doubt anyone wants to read the jumble that my head would end up typing. On the other hand, who knows, maybe that would be my best blog entry ever.

So on a parting note, I'd like to direct everyone to the very insightful, clever and delightfully obnoxious blog of a self-labeled "random" chorus member. The blog is called, "Viva la Diva." Doesn't she have nice legs?

Can't... Catch... Up...

I've got too many drinks in the buffer. And I'm not here now to catch up either.

Just realized that I've been saying how Ah-Maze-Ing Michael Fabiano's voice is so why not give an example. Thanks, YouTube, for everything.

Great. Now that photo'll be all over the Internet.

No, Michael, not all over the Internet. Just on my blog.

"Random Chorus Member Number 12," as she prefers to be called, whose lap is under Michael's head, inspired the photo caption: (meaning, I took part of what she said and then made it my own.)

World-famous La Scala tenor Michael Fabiano with xxxx Opera Company,
where chorus members scramble for q-tips to dig chunks of wax out of his ears.

Truth is, when I showed him the picture and he said what has since become the title of the post, I couldn't tell if he was being snarky or jokey. I was sitting there on the steps eating my apple when he plunked his head down in her lap and said, "You smell good, like a girl," and she replied, "You have a big chunk of wax in your ear." And she really did dig the wax out, using the paper towel I had used to dry my apple. No, I didn't take the towel back. Ew.

Here are some more rehearsal pictures:





Look! Someone was recording the rehearsal! What is that machine? I want one!



Some sort of stomach bug is going around the cast and apparently the supers are not immune, so I'll have to write about the rehearsal in detail another time when I am in full health.

Also, I went to a live performance behind Panera last night, well half of one anyway, and I'll have my version of a full review up in a few days.

The Italian Lesson

"Piu staccatto!"

"Bravi! Bravi!"

"Crescendo!!!! Crescendo!!!!"

"Molto piano"

"Subito piano"

The maestro is so cool. He dances around waving his arms and shouting in Italian. I love it!

My rehearsal adventure starts, as always, with the parking. Today I found a spot on the street, hooray! Right next to some guy who was changing the tire on his car. I pop out of my car, "Hi, need any help? Uh, not that I could do much more than cheer you on. Hey, you're doing a GREAT job changing that tire!" He must've thought I was a freak. Then I put too much money in the meter. Parking is free after 7 and I got there 6:30. I swear I'm good at math... or at least I used to be... but I gave Parking Authority an extra 25 cents.

So I had 20 minutes to kill. I went to the music building and saw some of the chorus there. I said hello with a smile... nothing. Hmm. Not another repeat of last year! I went outside and sat next to Sean, said hello, he looked familiar, was he here last year... nope... but he was in Rigoletto. So we met. Then the meanie girl from last year came out. I said hello. She looked the other way. Very drama-llama dramatic. Okayyyy... I'll wait to see if she comes around. Then someone else came out and lo and behold she was... friendly!! Made me wonder, was she actually in the chorus, or just some random woman passing by? Seriously, so many of the chorus girls were so standoffish last year (and by standoffish, I mean, of course, well, this is a family show kids so I'll stick to standoffish) that I had a hard time processing the friendly interaction.

So once again the rehearsal started with the music, and I've summarized that above. The chorus sounds AMAZING. A MAZE ZING. Two of the leads weren't there so the covers sang the roles. Then we moved on to staging - another party scene. This time Ken and I carry a card table laden with drinks, cigars, cards and cash onto the stage. The we skedaddle out of the way so Kelly and Rachel can bring the chairs. Worked great without the chorus on stage... then the director had them come on, and part for us, but then they closed back in just as Ken and I were trying to exit and there was a lot of shuffling and bumping. I cannot count how many people I bumped into tonight. So anyway then Ken and I go back to the table and grab trays of drinks. The tray had I had had two gummy sticky things on it so I stuck two of the glasses there. Then we had to go right back onstage and serve the drinks. I just go into the crowd and people take a glass, so it's different every time. The last person to take a glass tugged on it and almost took the tray with her. She burst out laughing and I got the giggles. Well I had already had them from before, when I was trying to exit the stage and kept bumping into everyone. Then at one point we have to remove the table, and again *bump* *oops* *sorry* *snort* *don't laugh... don't laugh.... don't laugh...* Really this one guy just has to get out of the way, but each time he stepped to the side, I also stepped to the same side... Eventually we'll figure it out.

Then we had a break.

Overheard in the bathroom (translation: I was in the stall):

"Ohmigod! Look! Three blonds together"
"Well, I'm not as blond as you two."
"True, your hair tends toward red." Pause... "But it looks GREAT with your coloring."
(An aside here: They're all platinum blond. None of them tend toward red.)
Pause.
"Ooohhhh! Did you know we're going to be in a lesbian scene together?"
(I'm still in the stall wishing so much that I had my notebook to write this all down)
"Yeah, he told me to put my head in her lap and my face ends up in her crotch!"
(I flush and exit the stall as they're on their way out.)

So I decide to sit outside. I plunk myself down next to some of the chorus members and pull out my little container of fruit.

My nearest neighbor:

"Hey! You have blueberries! And grapes!"

Me:

"Wow, you're really good at identifying fruit! Would you like some?"

And so we got to chatting. She asked how I became a super so I told her I had a friend who had a picture of herself with Nathan Gunn, and I asked her how she met him. She told me she was a super in an opera he was in and I was like, "A super? What's that?" and the rest is history. Well as soon as I said I had a friend who met Nathan Gunn her eyes lit up and she was all "OMG!" so of course I whip out my iPhone to show her The Picture.

I told her the whole story, and that I know one of his students, and she said that someone in the chorus this year studies with him. She also asked if she can come the next time I meet him... I told her to get in line! I also told her that I study voice at the local Conservatory. Turns out she goes to college that the conservatory is associated with AND my voice teacher was a guest lecturer in her pedagogy class. She asked me what I was singing and so on. I was still amazed - a normal person in the chorus! I think last year's experience really jaded me. This year is already a lot more fun.

Anyway, break over, back in we go.

So we go over some more table-moving and drink-serving. Someone left a libretto nearby so I was reading along. There's one point where the chorus sings, "Alfredo, voi." Alfredo, it's you! and at that very moment Michael Fabiano, who is Alfredo in the production, opened the door and came in. It was hysterical - I don't know if he planned it since he could probably hear the chorus through the door.

Did I mention that the chorus sounded AMAZING??? And Michael is awesome. WHAT a FABULOUS voice.

The director was very pleased with everyone's performance and we got out an hour early.

I walked out with Ken and Rachel and we talked about how nice everyone is this year compared to last year.

Next rehearsal: Friday afternoon.