Warm unFuzzies

All warmed up. Hope it's not too early. All warm, but no fuzzies please.

Had a light snack of, yes, leftover pizza. I could say I was inspired, or something, by this person, but truthfully it was all we had in the house. Talk about comparing apples and oranges... She's a professional and I'm a, well, I'm not. She sang a leading role in an opera that people paid to come see, I'm singing two songs for people I pay tuition to. She also gets paid. Again, I pay for the privilege...

And I will say that my pizza was not greasy or cheesy (as the oil seeps out my pores) because it was a Brooklyn, (except square, not round) from Vito's, with a super-thin crust, blobs of fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and crushed tomatoes. Yum!

Evaluating Underwear

First I want to clarify that this post is not related to either of my prior posts that have "underwear" in the title.

Ok.

I feel pretty confident about tonight. (ask me again later...) It's not an audition, it's just an evaluation - someone other than my own voice teacher having a listen and giving advice. However, that doesn't mean that I'm not wearing my polka dot underwear. I absolutely am. You see, when I first started my lessons, I always wore my little grey and pink Vicky S undies with the musical notes on them on lesson days. Then one week they were in the laundry, so I randomly wore polka-dot undies, and wouldn't you know, I had a great lesson and sang really well. So of course ever since then I've worn the polka dots to my lessons. I have a few different polka dot pairs and any of them will do. So today it's a Hanes white bikini with multi-colored dots.

It's all about the underwear.

Warming Up - The Big Relax

So tomorrow is that voice evaluation. I've been practicing my two songs. I can sing them just fine, meaning, I can sing all the notes. But singing is so much more than just hitting the notes! For Lasciatemi Morire I definitely feel the pain as I sing it and my voice teacher told me that it does come through, but then we added the ornamentation two weeks ago... I find myself becoming conscious of it, like, I break out of my misery and think, "Ok, here it comes, gotta get the timing right..." and then mechanically it sounds ok, but that's just it - it's mechanic, not melodic. This morning in the shower (where else?!) I realized that I've practiced it enough and I don't need to be conscious of the notes that much - they'll just come. So hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to relax (yeah uh huh) and let them just come. Might have to pretend I'm in my living room instead of that classroom.

So for Goodnight My Someone - Still working on the damn legato. I stitch the words together and it still sounds choppy. I know I can do it, but why won't it just happen? I know, I know... relax. Dumb jaw. Let it just come. Be Marian the Librarian, looking for that special someone who must be out there just waiting to fall in love with her. Thanks to my teenage mindset I can lapse into that longing-for-a-boyfriend feeling pretty easily. I have found that I have more legato if I sing it quietly, so maybe I have to tone it down a bit, use a little less energy. Maybe it's a muscular control thing, and when I sing it quietly I have more control than when I let 'er rip.

Main point here: Relax, Relax Relax!

Chatty Chatty Bang Bang

Every time I go to a certain person's blog I see this chat box thingee. Of course I can't read any of it because it's not only in some other language, but it's a language that uses a different alphabet. Of course that hasn't stopped me from adding my own 2c there. But anyway, I thought I'd give the chat box a try. Mine is in English. So go ahead, say something.

By (Anon) Request - More Sap

Ok, ok. Here's another. I already posted 4 Camelot vids to YouTube but since someone made a special request and all... but I'm going to embed it because I'm too lazy to upload.



I still prefer the opera. This is just a bit too sappy for me. But like I said, it was by request, and who am I to refuse to share something Gunnish with a new fan? But go to YouTube and see the opera videos, OK??????

Edited to add:

Ooh crippy quality from YouTube. Ok ok I'll upload it.

Oui, C'est Toi Indeed

I'll get this and a few others from Camelot onto YouTube later. Meanwhile, enjoy, link to it and add a comment or two or twelve.

Mother Knows Best

It is Mother's Day, after all, so of course I called my 80 year old mum today to wish her a happy. I asked her if she watched Live from Lincoln Center last week. "I did," she replied, "but it was so boring that I fell asleep... except for when Lancelot was on. He was gooood, don't you think?"

"Always listen to your mother."

Inspiring a Friend

One of my friends went to see Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail at the Met earlier this week. After the performance she had to go back in for something she left at her seat. When she tried to leave again, the doors from the house to the lobby were locked, so the ushers directed her to go back stage and out the good old stage door.


So out she went, and who was standing there but tenor Matthew Polenzani. He was surrounded, she said, by, "a bunch of old ladies..." Hmm sound familiar? So she said she remembered what I told her about meeting the singers. Instead of being all gushy and star-struck, she introduced herself, told him that she teaches at Westminster and knows people he's studied with and they had a nice chat, including a "Say hello to so-and-so for me."

She was all shocked: "He's just a regular person." Well duh, we all are. If you treat someone like a "regular person" they will respond in kind.

Then, of course, we talked about what a wonderful voice he has, and I "reminisced" about New Years Eve, when I listened to him sing Romeo while I held a very feverish child on my lap. Ah those were the days. Wait that was like, 5 months ago...

Whine and Drool

So I raced home from my voice lesson (more on that in another post) and got home at about 8:20. King Arthur was reminiscing with Jenny about pulling the sword out of the stone. Well it was more like whining. Then he whined through the “when I was a hawk I saw that there were no borders” and the rest of the “why can’t we all just get along… I know… let’s make the table round instead of square,” speech. I was like, ok, if he’s going to whine through the entire thing I don’t know if I’m going to be able to watch.

So out went the notices: Knights wanted. And in comes Lancelot. Shiny shirt, blue vest, black leather pants. Oh my. (go ahead, chant it like Dorothy...) Lancelot’s “C’est Moi” was hilarious. Hill-lair-ee-yuss. For anyone who didn’t see it… he’s reading the notice that the king sent out, that the king needs men who are brave, noble, daring, pure, and so on. He’s totally egotistical about it, “Why, that’s me! I am all those things!” The best was when he mouthed it. So he dedicates himself to the king and makes his way to Camelot. Maybe I sneezed or something but suddenly we see him standing over some guy he’s knocked down, and it turns out, of course, that it’s the king. They become fast friends. Then he meets the queen. You can see his heart just melt, and he struggles with it, because the king is like his BFF, and also I think he’s trying to be pure, blah blah blah. Good luck with that. At first she’s kinda bitchy because he’s so pompous, but then he cures some dead or dying dude and suddenly she loves him. So they struggle to ignore how they feel… then along comes Mordred, an evil drag-queenish teen love-child of the king, who, with the aid of a giant Hershey bar, convinces a whining Fran Drescher to trap the king in the forest overnight. Of course everyone knows that with the king out of the castle, Lancelot is going to come and uh, say hi to the queen. They decide to keep it at “hi” and not venture into “howareya” but it’s too late – Mordred and his buddies catch them in the act of whatever it is they’re trying not to do and the queen is put on trial for cheating. Or treason. Or something. Lancelot swoops in and saves her from being burned at the stake and everyone goes their separate ways. The end.

The king was good - the whining ended once Lancelot came along, go figure. The queen was great - what a beautiful voice! And did anyone else notice just how big her mouth is? She must be a dentist's dream - they can probably stick their entire head in her mouth for the exam. Anyway... Christopher Lloyd was awesome. He was typecast of course, as the flighty spacey old guy, but he plays it so well.

*

Ok, on to the fun stuff.

Nathan was a great Lancelot. And cuter than ever, I must say. Seriously. Ok not as cute as in person (yes you should be jealous, I’d be). The way he and the queen almost kiss, but then don’t… aye aye aye. How can she resist? Seriously. If he were leaning in to kiss me... ahem, where was I? Right...those leather pants, that shiny shirt…

I imagine there’s going to be a surge of new members at the fan site. He really should have someone check his MySpace page – how many pending friend requests must be out there. *Raising arm wildly like a know-it-all school kid* I’ll do it Nathan, just send me your MySpace password! I promise not to reply to messages or post any comments – I’d just approve friends and moderate the comments people make. Oh wait he doesn’t read my blog, never mind.

So did anyone else notice that the microphone on the stage picked up all the stage chatter that the audience doesn't usally hear? The dancers with their, "Over here, no over here, Ok," and then after the curtain calls you could hear the cast giggling and talking over the PBS announcer.

More later, after I see it again.

Meanwhile, if you go to the NY Times Review you can see a little video of the gala dinner, including Nathan giving Fran Drescher a big hug before he runs off for his beauty sleep.

A Lusty Month of May? (photo added)

Just saw Camelot on Live from Lincoln Center. Will do a full review tomorrow, however, just wanted to post some initial impressions.


Like, I like shiny things. For example, shiny shirts paired with leather pants. And people who wear things like that are A-Ok in my book. And no you may not borrow my book. It's mine and I'm not sharing. But as usual, I digress... where was I?

Yes... initial impressions...

What's-her-name, Fran the whiner, should stick to The Nanny and stay off live stage. She looks good in the dress but could she please just keep her mouth shut?

And... if we play 6 degrees of separation... Nathan Gunn has now worked with Christopher Lloyd who worked with Danny Devito and also Michael J. Fox. Danny Devito has worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger (sp?) and also Bette Middler, who has worked with Barry Manilow... Nathan Gunn is that close to Barry Manilow in this game? Ok I'm stopping now before this truly gets out of hand.

A vaguely more serious post about the performance will follow tomorrow or Saturday. And by serious, of course, I mean, mostly silly.

Warming Up...

...for tonight's voice lesson. The last lesson before next week's eval. Of course my throat is tightening up and generally not cooperating. I'm sure my teacher will have her virtual psychiatrist's couch out tonight.

I'll get home around 30 minutes after Camelot begins. I've decided to watch it from there and "catch up" on the first half hour afterwards.

Camelotta

Well, lookie who saves the show. See the full story here.

There was, however, one thrilling exception to the rule, as anyone watching the delayed broadcast of this performance tonight on PBS, or sitting in the audience for the remaining four performances, will undoubtedly attest.

He's the One

When baritone Nathan Gunn launched into Lancelot's preening ``C'est Moi,'' nostalgia for Robert Goulet's career-defining delivery of the song melts away. Even lovelier is Act Two's ``If Ever I Would Leave You,'' which comes across here not as a tired old chestnut but as fresh an expression of devotion as ever sung by knight to queen. Checkmate.

The Tapes

Each week I record my voice lesson so I can listen to the tips and so on from my teacher. I also use them to warm up, especially since the electric piano suffered one too many falls off the ottoman where it was perched. (Don't even try to imagine what my living room looks like...) I'm even able to listen without cringing, except of course when I think I sound flat or sharp or harsh or tight or whatever... occasionally there's an nice sounding note, sometimes two, sometimes even in a row.

When I first started my lessons I couldn't bear to listen to myself on the tapes. I probably still couldn't bear to listen to those early tapes. In fact I should probably destroy them. If I weren't anti-litter I'd toss them out the car window while driving on the highway.

So where was I?

Right. I have a voice eval in one week. My teacher has been pleased with my improvement over the past few lessons. My last lesson before the eval is tomorrow, and... I haven't listened to last week's tape yet. Granted, Alex's breathing problem filled up most of my brain power over the weekend, but still...

I guess I'll have to listen on the way there tomorrow...

Nathan Gunn: Pro-Wrestler?

Nathan was on The Colbert Report yesterday. Who knew opera and pro-wrestling had so much in common.

Update on the Pipes - UPDATE - Photo added

Those pipes would be Alex's, the future opera singer. He'll be 4 next month. We had a few bad nights of him waking up coughing and wheezing. Went to the doc yesterday where she gave him a breathing treatment with a nebulizer right there in the office, sent us home with the nebulizer machine and sent us off for a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia. Lungs are clear - it's seasonal allergies which for some reason are causing him to have asthma, combined with an ear infection and what she thinks is the start of a sinus infection. So he's on antibiotics, breathing treatments, antihistamine, cough suppressant and decongestant. Gotta keep those lungs clear and healthy!

Here he is in the pediatrician's office doing the breathing treatment.

That's My Boy

On the way home from a friend's house yesterday evening, Alex said, "I want to hear that music."
"What music?"
"That music we were listening to on the way here."
Right. Alex wanted to listen to... La Fille du Regiment.
"What part?"
"The loud part."
"Rataplan?" (this is what the soldiers sing when they're all drunk)
"YES!"

The CD was already set to the trio in act 2, so we listened to that, then I put the other disc in. The entire act is one track so I had to fast forward, so we also listened to the patriotic song Marie sings for Tonio and the regiment, and then the love duet.

That's my opera-lovin' boy.

Prep Work for Summer

I figure, even though I'm a non-singing super in La Traviata, I should learn some of the music.

Where I'm Not

It's 7:35 Eastern Time. I'm home. I'm not sitting in Row DD, Orchestra Rear, listening to the orchestra tune up. That's happening right now. At this moment. As I type. I am here and they are all there. It's weird, but it's ok.

Still planning on La Sonnambula next season. Mentioned it to my voice teacher and she'd like to go too. So I might not be going alone!

Listened to an interview with JDF and Natalie Dessay. He mentioned that he'll be doing Pearl Fishers in the future. Hmm another potential pairing with the Gunnster as he often does the bari part. I wonder where... (checking my frequent flyer miles...)

Camelot!

I'm laughing as I type this. Check out these photos and captions from Opera Chic.
I'm especially lovin' that she uses the nickname I came up with!

Big hands, what about that huge chin? What's up with that?

You can see the whole slide-show here.

Too bad tickets are outrageously expensive - from $120 in the 3rd tier, to $250 on the main floor! That's more expensive than opera! Talk about excluding the masses...

Hooray for live broadcasts!

Lest We Forget...

...in spite of all the silliness, it really is all about the music. Someone pointed out to me that they don't care about singers off stage - it's about how they sing, not how they look or behave. Perhaps my posts have gotten off track with all the stage-door silliness, but it really has been about the music all along.

When I went to Romeo, I had no thoughts of waiting by the stage door to meet Nathan. Of course I was excited to see him perform live. But the whole experience of that evening was what it was all about - I had no thoughts of trying to meet anyone. Here's yet another post about the music.

When I bought my ticket to Chicago, it was to see Nathan Gunn and Juan Diego Florez perform together, not to meet them. I vacillated about waiting at the stage door or not for them, and was leaning towards not... and then the Fishbone happened, and I went to the NJ Opera party and met John. He invited me backstage in Chicago and, well, Nathan and Joyce were there. I'm happy that they were, it was a great experience, but it's not why I went there.

Then getting that picture with Juan Diego last week ... I had no plans of going to the stage door until Denise kept urging me. Then I realized that I had no plans to do, well, anything... I was in no rush to get back on a train... so I figured, sure, why not go? And it sure was an interesting experience, to see the crowd that gathered, and it was great fun to get the picture.

Ever since I was a teenager I felt that if I ever heard a musician whose music had touched me in some way, that I would like to meet them to thank them. I did just that. I think it makes them feel like their hard work is worth it when someone does that.

So again, I don't plan on going far out of my way to meet the performers that I like, but if it's easy to do, like at the Met or with NJ Opera, or if it falls into my lap, like in Chicago, I'm not going to say no. And then, of course, I'll take pictures, write all about it and compare the experiences, because how fun is that???