My luggage came today!!!  Ive never felt so clean.

La Paz is really great.  It..s different than I expected.  On one hand, I thought it would be prettier.  It..s got the nice mountains all around, but the view is pretty obstructed.  The city is also much more congested and polluted than I thought.  Well, there are a million people here after all.

On the other hand, its way nicer than I thought.  It is not at all ghetto like I expected.  Everywhere I..ve been has had a fully working toilet and toilet paper, unlike many other countries.  I have not once been at a lack for vegetarian meals.  Multiple internet spots on every block, with computers that work way better than in my past experiences.

Here..s the most interesting thing though: it..s like the whole city is one big marketplace.  The streets are packed with vendors and stalls selling everything- not just the usual, scarves and sodas and batteries, but literally everything.  I saw a stall selling those sports injury things you wear over you knees, ankles, whatever- that..s all he sold, for every body part.  Another couple of stalls sold receipts and other paperwork for business owners.  I have not been inside a store since I got here, and I can..t imagine why anyone would ever need to.

But the surprise is that, for all the vendors, there..s no hustle.  No hustle!  Nobody tries to get you to buy anything.  The aymara ladies just sit their at their stalls knitting, ignoring you as you examine their wares, only looking up when you..re ready to pay.  Even on the main tourist road, the stallkeepers just hang out and let you do your thing.  Even the travel agencies don..t try to lure in obvious gringos.  It is so nice.  I..ve actually bought so much stuff I wouldnt have otherwise if I was afraid to glance at a display to avoid being pressured into buying something.  Im actually enjoying walking through the bustling marketplaces and shopping openly.

On a related but different note- and this is the nicest surprise of all- the men dont hit on you.  I havent had a single whistle or cat call since i got here.  it fabulous!  And such a surprise, since at least where i live its always the spanish guys making life miserable for pretty women.  I guess Bolivian men are more respectful- or intimidated, since they are so small!!

Actually, I really am wondering about the role of women in Bolivian and Aymara society.  Youd expect in an old, traditional, indigenous culture, where women still wear traditional dress, that theyd be oppressed or not have rights or something.  But the women are doing everything- almost all the workers Ive seen have been women, from the aymara vendors to the travel agents to an armed guard outside the bank.  (The banks have armed guards!)  Where are the men? I guess in office jobs.  But women are usually walking around by themselves, manning the shops by themselves, etc, so they obviously have a lot of independence.

Another misconception- I thought it would be so dangerous here and there would be people trying to pickpocket and rob you at every turn, but so far that has not been my experience at all.  Lets not let our guard down, but I feel totally at ease everywhere.  Even more so than at home, when I am on guard because of all the men hitting on me.  It..s relaxing!

I spent all day today on a wild goose chase trying to locate a score I ended up needing last minute for something when I get home.  It was not how  I wanted to pass the day, but it took me on an interesting journey, from the musical instrument museum on the charming calle jaen all the way to the library of the national conservatory.

I better get a move on.  Yes I am taking pictures, no I have not uploaded any yet.  Now that I have my suitcase with my camera cord I hope I can!  Don..t forget to follow me on Twitter in the meantime!

Love always,

Amanda

 

Hi!

Moments of rest have been few and far between since I returned from Fledermaus upstate. But today has been the most extensive. I even took an unexpected nap when I passed out in the middle of the evening on my couch. I had no idea I was that tired.

No excuse for keeping you uninformed, though. I have news!

First of all, a wonderful development on the opera front- I'll be singing Marie in La Fille du Regiment. The company is called Champagne and Candlelight Opera di Camera. It's probably just going to be performed in a Manhattan library, but it is with chamber orchestra which is nice. Anyways it's the THE BEST ROLE EVER. Especially for me, because it's extremely acting-heavy, in French, lots of room for coloratura, and it's a really funny comedy. Oh yes we are going to have fun. The show will be in November, though I don't have the info yet. And yes it will actually be in the city! Should be on a Saturday afternoon.



More good news! Over a year after being "not invited back" to my church job, I have a new (better) one. I decided after the musical blueballs I was getting from singing at the last place, I needed to find something that was more up my ally musically. Specifically, I wanted challenging and rewarding music, a precise and demanding conductor, and colleagues with excellent musicianship. Secondly, I had a specific dollar amount in my head that I require to get me out of bed that early on Sunday mornings- there were opportunities for jobs that paid less, but I'd rather sleep. Lastly, I decided not to extend a lot of effort looking for a new job- I'm pretty top-notch at this stuff, and I know people, so I figured I alert the world that I'm available and a job will find me.

That's kind of what happened. I ran into a pianist I knew at an audition and told him my predicament, and he told me David Hurd was looking for an alto. I knew who he was, he's a famous church composer and has music in the 1982 hymnal. So I'm like, I'm not singing alto but give me his email anyways, I'll write him just in case something comes up. I did, and not long later he invited me as a sub- one of his sopranos was out of town for about a month so I took her place in that time, and a couple of times since. Anyways he contacted me this summer because he lost one of his two sopranos and asked if I wanted to audition for the spot. And I did, and he hired me on the spot. I have a church job! And one that I wanted! It's hard work- long rehearsal, long service, lots of music, difficult music, lots of pressure because everyone's a good sight-reader. The pay is average but the effort is above average. It's worth it, though, because the music and the choir are great. I'm looking forward to being a part of a choir again.

So I'll be at Church of the Holy Apostles starting September 7. Services are Sunday mornings at 11am. There is lots of great music. I'll be the first soprano.

Wednesday was a wonderful Opera on Tap concert- all Kurt Weill, all the time. I sang two of the lesser-known French pieces, Le train du ciel and Le roi d'Aquitaine. The show was awesome. Sorry I didn't make an announcement- I didn't send out an email since it was my only show all month and I didn't think it was worth taking the time to make a mail blast about it, and I don't think anyone reads bulletins anymore. I should have put it here though! (I did put it on twitter, so if you're not on twitter too bad for you 'cause it's awesome.)

Better go- talk atcha soon!

Love always,
Amanda

Hola!!!

I am in La Paz, Bolivia.  So glad to finally  be on vacation!

FAQ: Why Bolivia?
Because I love South America and this is one of the most interesting countries I haven..t been to yet, because I missed Titicaca when I was in Peru but I can see it here, because it..s ridiculously cheap.

My luggage is lost. :( Well it..s somewhere but I don..t know where because apparently the Bolivian branch of LAN is closed on Thursdays?  I got here yesterday morning- was supposed to get in at 3am but due to delays got in at 11am instead.  So, what is up with everyone in South America flying in the middle of the night?  Seriously, there are all these 1am flights and they are packed, and all the airport shops are open 24/7.  Somehow I doubt they have a word for "redeye."

My youth hostel has its own microbrewery, and yes you get a free beer every night you book.  There are also free pancakes at breakfast.

So, La Paz!  It is interesting.  Like half the people are Aymara, which is an indigenous race.  Theyve got their own language and dress- weirdly, the woman wear a very strange traditional dress but the men don..t?  Cant find an image thats the right size to post here without fooling with it, but they wear poofy ankle-length skirts, shawls, sweaters, stockings, and bowler hats.  Seriously, they all wear these bowler hats that sit so far on top of their heads they don..t cover anything.  Thats the part of the costume I dont get the most.  whats the point?

So, after nearly 24 hours in transit, I got to my hostel, went out for a snack and had some coca leaf tea (to ward off altitude sickness) and quinoa!!!  They served it like a pasta in a big sizzling casserole with cheese and tomato sauce. Of course the whole meal was like $3.

Then I went to the witch market.  They had like llama fetuses all over, but most of the rest of it was trinkets.  I bought a puma statue.  I don..t really need a puma statue, but I wanted to buy something so I could ask to take pics of the stall.  Anyways it will protect my house according to the lady!

BTW like no one here speaks English.  Sucks for me! salright I understand Spanish fine.

After that I totally crashed for 6 hours, then went to the hostel bar.  I sat with a group of Aussies/Irish/English and one Dutch guy.  When it came out that I..m a singer they made me sing, which i was not totally game for but did it anyways.  Then they asked to hear one of our rock songs, so I sang Midnight Bride (never been asked to sing one of my originals a capella- i wonder how it came out?).  Then the bartenders wanted a song too.  By this time I felt silly, but they compensated my singing by treating my whole table to two rounds of shots, plus a couple free beers for me and my new friends.  One of the bartenders names is Guglielmo (yes like in Cosi fan tutte) and he was telling me how he..s never heard anyone sing like that, and they don..t have opera singers in Bolivia.  It..s true- Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, even Peru have opera companies, but not Bolivia.  Anyways they were so fascinated by my opera singing that I felt like I was actually doing something good (bringing opera to Bolivians) instead of just feeling embarrassed.

Today one of the guys from the hostel and I went for a walk around the city and hit a few bars.  I tried to find my luggage but no luck.  I should be able to reach the woman who I reported the problem to tomorrow, though, and hopefully I will get it then!!!  I bought a fresh pair of underwear off the street, which cannot possibly be sanitary, but I feel like a new woman.  Next on my shopping list: socks.

I wanted to go to Uyuni tomorrow but I can..t leave til I have my luggage, so prob I will stay here through Saturday.

Anyways Im ready to get out of this internet place, but I have so much more to talk about.  I dont have regular internet access here but I..m trying to post updates via twitter, so please check there to hear about my adventures in Bolivia!

Love always,
Amanda

Today was our performance!!

First let me apologize for shirking in my bloggerly duties by not writing after the dress rehearsal. It was kind of a rough rehearsal, not anyone's fault but I was just frustrated with my singing. My technique has been sloppy this week (it was great last week) and I ended up taking my high G's out because my attacks were rough around the edges. I guess I need a brush-up lesson- haven't had one in ages. I'm kinda pissed at myself because some of my coloratura runs needed to be cleaner, and it's like, yeah we're splitting hairs, but if you're a coloratura, all you got is your high notes and your accurate runs. Normally I wouldn't get to a dress rehearsal and still need to polish my runs. wtf Amanda? If there was one problem with this production it's that we had so much rehearsal and not enough time or energy left to practice individually (until it was almost performance time and one doesn't want to wear onesself out). This week was lighter because we were saving our voices. The show is so demanding on so many of the characters. Not as much for me as for Rosalinde and Eisenstein. Of course the way I was interpolating high notes made it more difficult for me, but I ended up taking them out because they weren't as hot as usual. (They were still ok mind you, but there's no point in interpolating a high G unless it's really perfect.)

Long story short, I was kind of grumpy by the end of rehearsal, partially because of my insufficient approximation to perfection, and if there was anything else pissing me off I don't remember now, but I was not in the mood to write- I had a glass of wine with my friend Heather and did some work on my computer.

Don't forget my costume woes. This is what I looked like yesterday:



They decided I needed white gloves instead of black (still black character shoes and stockings), so tonight I looked like this:



That's my in my PRIVATE DRESSING ROOM, btw. Yes, that is how much of a superstar I am.

My hair by Angela Libertella (my cover/Ida). What kind of genius can put together a work of art like that between acts? I have a lot of hair, it is a project.

Anyways, the dress rehearsal was otherwise very good, and tonight was fabulous. We never got to rehearse or preview in front of an audience, so it was surprising to see where there was and wasn't laughter. (A lot more places than we'd expected.)

Everything was just great. The laughing song went better than ever- I reworked the blocking with the director before the dress rehearsal started, and it made a huge difference. The audience really got into it, and the applause was sumptuous. I had been a little worried about the champagne song actually, because I have to hold a glass in my left hand and a big, heavy, full, open bottle of champagne in my right- it was hard enough to hold it when I was wearing the plether gloves, but iwith the white satin ones, I was afraid it would fall right out of my hand. I didn't drop it, but i had to hang onto it with a death grip and not move around as much as I had been, just to be safe. I think the tension made my singing a little messy, but whatever, it's the champagne song, we're all supposed to be drunk anyways.

The waltz went pretty well. Eisenstein and I figured out that if he just holds on to my waist tighter, we can get around faster- although I again forgot to hold my fan in my hand, and spent the first turn with it flapping around, before I had to break away and catch it in my hand. The Prince, a very talented 18-year-old guy in my studio, always forgot his cue to come pick me up to waltz with me, so I threatened to kick his ass. He responded by getting the cue right for the first time ever. Thus far in my career I have found this to be the only thing that works on tenors. Even big burly tenors fall into line when they think the soprano is going to go apeshit on them.

The audition aria went wonderfully, too. It really is funny, and was staged really entertainingly. We may have removed the high G's, but I still had a somewhat sustained F- it's easy to forget that that's high to other people, and you could hear the audience gasp when I sang it, which was a very nice surprise. I'm like, "Oh yeah, that's a high note too."

Anyways everyone else did good too. We had a really, really good cast. Everyone was uber-prepared, talented, friendly, and easy to work with. And Bergeret and Bagwell were wonderful to work with, they were both so good at what they do and so nice about everything. We were all very lucky.

There was a fabulous, wonderful, delicious catered reception afterwards. Oh man, the food was so good!! They had plenty of vegetarian stuff, including this goat cheese lasagna that I could have eaten all night. Also an open bar with a couple of local wines. Yumm.

I believe there were plenty of production photos taken, although I haven't seen any- except the ones that were in the paper. We were the front page story yesterday, with huge pictures and a couple quotes from yours truly. I wasn't in the big above the fold photo, but I was in the big below the fold photo- except it was a picture of the cinderella dress they had me in for half a rehearsal. Oh well. Hoping to get copies of the other photos soon!!

Tomorrow we take the bus back to the city. Talk to you guys later!!

Amanda

Today was a sort of dress rehearsal- we were in dress, but it wasn't the official dress rehearsal.

There have been complications surrounding my costume. Backtrack: Gena told me before I came to bring a "gaudy gown." Under the impression that we were doing a semi-staged show, I didn't presume it had to be really period- 19th century Vienna- and decided the closest thing I had to a gaudy gown was the sparkly, shiney, salmon pink number I wore for Chocolate Soldier. I was also going to bring the red gown that you will observe in my headshot, but at the last minute I took it out, deciding that the pink one would be perfect and I didn't need a back-up gown. My luggage was too heavy as it was.

Well, the show is actually fully staged- fully, fully, fully staged. Costumes, sets, blocking, dancing. And they want the gowns to be period. They didn't tell us this 'til we'd already had several rehearsals. Well, my gown is great, but it's skinny- very tight (although flowy enough at the bottom that I can still waltz in it pretty hard). They wanted poofy dresses.

I showed my dress to a few people who liked it- it has a big ruffle down the front which makes it look bigger and flowier than it is (though it is still tight enough that I can't wear anything under it- at all), so everyone I showed it to approved.

I wore it last night at rehearsal and got overall approval again, but today when I got to our semi-dress rehearsal, I was handed two new pastel dresses- a frilly pink one and a poofy blue one. My Little Pony all over the place. I was instantly skeptical, but I agreed to try them on.

I tried the pastel pink dress on first. It was nowhere near fitting- it fit at the waist, but there was no way in hell I was going to get it to zip up- as I'm sure I've mentioned before, I have a huge rib cage (common problem among opera singers) and dresses just don't want to zip up.

The blue one did zip up. It fit great. But it was a Disney Princess dress- somewhere between Snow White and Cinderella. Adele may be a soubrette (a coloratura soubrette), but she is anything but an ingenoue. She is a slut, a liar, and a catty bitch. So wearing a pretty princess dress in powder blue felt ridiculous. Mind you, it looked great on me, but it was as out of character as can be- and un-period. It was too short (showed my ankles, GASP!) and contrasted extremely with the other gowns on the floor- black, dark blue, and deep purple. The final blow came when I realized during the waltz that I couldn't lift my arms all the way. The costume madam advised me to hike the sleeves up over my shoulders, which helped a little, but I still couldn't lift them and breathe at the same time, not to mention we weren't allowed to sew the sleeves into place, since the dress belonged to a school costume closet, not to us.

Then they gave me a pink dress, which I threw on backstage between numbers. The costume mistress also took the opportunity to throw my hair up with a clip- because I'll have my hair done for the show, and we wanted to get an idea of what I'd look like with my neck exposed. I was told I looked fine, but when I finally caught sight of myself in the mirror, I nearly laughed- the dress, which had looked a soft salmon backstage, was really a glowing hot pink, with a halter top and some strangely placed extra straps in the back. It was tightish and very low cut on top, flowy on bottom, with rhinestones across the stomach. All in hot pink polyester. To make matters worse, my hair, thrown back temporarily in the hair clip, flopped down over the back of my head in a messy, off-centered ponytail.

I was TOTALLY 80'S.

I voiced some concerns, but the consensus of Those In Charge was that it was the best option so far, because the one was too tight on bottom, and the other was too short and light, but this one was the right length and flowiness. (The cast member consensus was across the board that the original dress I brought was the best of the three, but they are not Those In Charge.) It is a pickle- we are stuck between a rock and a hard place with the gown situation, and it's a matter of choosing between the least of three evils. For the time being, the choice is the hot pink halter dress.

But it gets worse. I had been wearing white shoes, since black obviously did not go with any of the dresses, and I'd left my tan character shoes at home since they clashed so much with the salmon pink dress I brought. Of course white shoes are terrible on stage- they draw way too much attention- but I was hoping to find something better once I got here.

Well, as I was getting ready to leave, I was told to wear black shoes tomorrow- and handed me a pair of black leather elbow gloves. Which, unfortunately, fit. So now I will be wearing a hot pink halter gown with black shoes and black leather elbow gloves. In 1800's Vienna. Help!!

I was feeling a little flustered by the time I got out of there, so I sat by the lake for awhile, reading and making phone calls. It was a gorgeous, wonderful day. The lake was so blue and the sun felt so good.



Did I mention that the Smith is wonderful? It is such a beautiful old place, and big- seats 1400 I think, from what I can tell on the website. I hope I get a chance to take some pics.

Tomorrow is the dress rehearsal.

Love always,
Amanda

^^Wine Touring around Seneca Lake- and yes, my delts really are that fierce.^^

Still here in Geneva, rehearsing Fledermaus!

Sunday we had the day off, so Prison Director Herr Frank (that's a character by the way), who is local, took us on a wine tasting tour. I was the only one who made it through the whole thing drinking- the other girls bailed halfway through, and of the guys, one was a designated driver, one is a health nut, and one is underage. Well, I had a good time at least! I can't believe how many fabulous wines there are up here. I didn't know it was a wine producing region til I got here. They're known for their Rieslings and other whites, but I had a lot of really great reds on the tour, too. And, luckily, it was a gorgeous day- the only one without rain so far except for Friday, when there was the car thing.

Saturday, by the way, we were taken out to this fabulous crazy awesome restaurant in the middle of nowhere, but the locals want to keep it secret so I promised not to tell about it. Too bad for you!!

Today my cover took me to the outlet mall, which was great (I got what I needed, which was new exercise clothes), but we didn't have enough time to delve deep. One of the tenors needs something so we might go tomorrow with another of the tenors who has a car. They had so many exciting stores there so I really want to spend some more time there!

The director came back today (he was gone for the weekend), and changed back the things the producer changed while he was gone. There was a guy from a local paper there, so I volunteered to be interviewed. 'Cause, you know, I talk a lot anyways, somebody might as well be taking notes.

They're starting to lighten up on us, since the show is coming up so soon. Tomorrow we just have an afternoon rehearsal. We are finally in the Smith Opera House! I've never seen the inside, but I've heard it's great. Hooray! Will try to remember my camera...

Talk to you guys soon!

Love always,
Amanda

At last! Today was sunny and 83 degrees all day. And we had a lighter rehearsal schedule than the last couple of days, since the director had to leave for the weekend this afternoon. We ran the entire show with starts and stops (I know my stuff pretty darn cold, including lines, choreography, entrances and exits), and then we were done- I had an afternoon coaching with the music director on my arias, and that was it. I took advantage of the lovely weather to go for a jog along the lake. Tonight was the town's block party and car show, so I went to check it out- first by myself, later meeting up with Heather and Thomas. I couldn't believe how many people there were- this is such a tiny town! Where did they all come from? Anyways, since it was finally nice out, I took a few pictures for you.







And here are some pictures of the car show:









I hope you all had a lovely day as well! Tomorrow we have a light day- two hours to run lines, two hours to run music. Talk to you later!

Love,
Amanda

Hey my loves!

It rained so hard today. I went to The Flour Petal for breakfast- had a cherry mocha (yay my favorite but no soy milk boo) and a slice of strawberry fhubarb pie. It started absolutely pouring out when I was in there- I tried hard to wait it out, but i had to get to rehearsal, so I was forced to walk. One of the singers actually called to offer me a ride, but I told him I wasn't at the dorm, I was in town, and it was a short walk, and as I had already started on my way, I was soaking wet already and a little more rain wouldn't make a difference.

In the end it ended up being one of the nastiest storms I've ever been caught walking in. It was just rain, but so much of it- my sandals didn't dry off all day, even though I went through rehearsal barefoot with my shoes sitting in front of the fan. I was also pretty exhausted. This is probably also because I was up so late working on that article (and blogging to you, dear readers), and am always up that late for that matter and don't enjoy waking up before noon- and I was sore from a really really hard workout that I squeezed in during break yesterday- but mainly because being drenched just drained me. I was cold and wet and tired the rest of the day...

We started with the audition aria, which, considering that mine involves more than one high G, is not a great way to start the day after being drenched- but we have it blocked so it's really adorable, so it's fun anyway.

We worked on and ran the second and third acts. My Orlovsky is starting to get the waltz thing down. I was upset with myself because I thought I knew my blocking for the Laughing Song, but when I got into it I realized I didn't remember most of it, and was mediocre at faking my way through it. I guess I should have checked my notes instead of assuming I knew it from the day before. When we did it again in the act 2 run-through, I had it down.

We worked through act one at the end of rehearsal. We started the opening dialogue, found some things we needed to clear up, and just as we were about to start again, there was commotion from the observers and a shadow flickering through the room. A bat had flown into our rehearsal room. The name of the operetta is "Die Fledermaus"- The Bat. We opened some windows and tried to get it to fly out, but after a few minutes it disappeared as mysteriously as it appeared- no one saw where it came from or where it went. A fabulous omen.

I got in some trouble at the end of the night- we were supposed to be running act 1 through, and after my last scene in the act was over, I stuck around for a bit, with the attention of staying til the end of rehearsal just for social purposes- see who wanted to go out to eat afterwards- but then my understudy (who is playing Ida) asked if I wanted to get coffee, and after several days of lecturing my lamer colleagues on the importance of socializing, I couldn't say no! The coffee shop was closed, so we ended up at the Red Dove again having fried chick peas. That's when I thought, "Oh, I should turn on my phone in case any of the gang tries to call me when rehearsal ends-" and I saw that I had a message from Gena. Technically I hadn't asked the director for permission to leave- my part was over, and I would have checked with him but he was wrapped up in the run-through- although I had told Gena I was leaving. Well, he apparently wanted to run the choreography for my trio again, and Gena called me expecting me to run back, even though I didn't get the message until 9:45 and rehearsal ended at 10 and I was more than 15 minutes away. I apologized thoroughly, but she really lectured me about leaving without the director's permission (even though schedule-wise I was supposed to be done and I didn't want to interrupt the director when he was in the zone) and totally killed my buzz. She wasn't forgiving and was really guilt-tripping me, and I felt upset and worried about the situation. But when Heather called to say the director was going to the Parker, I decided to head right over there to make amends- and he wasn't angry at all, just surprised when he looked up and didn't see me there, but said he found better use for the rehearsal time anyway. Ugh, all that trauma for nothing! I shouldn't have called back- she always gets upset over nothing... at least she's nice about it, though- some directors are in constant crisis mode and they become total jerks, whereas Gena is in constant crisis mode but half the time she's just worried that you're going to get sick from walking around in the cold or not get enough vocal rest.

Tomorrow we run the whole thing.

Talk to you later!

Love always,
Amanda

Hi everyone!

Today I had to wake up wayy too early (for me) for a morning rehearsal. The director and I had coffee and went over our scores, and then we headed over to the Geneva Room to start rehearsal. Ugh, singing opera before noon! :( We did blocking today, starting with the Adele-Eisenstein-Rosalinde trio from the first act. There is choreography! Dance moves and pointing and posing! And other parts are very relaxed and we are more or less left to our own. We get to waltz in the second act! This is Johann Strauss after all. I love waltzing! I mostly waltz with Eisenstein, who is a good waltzer, but at one point I get stuck with the teenage boy playing Orlovsky, and as you can imagine he has no idea how to waltz- and we are doing a pretty complicated pattern (for opera singers, at least). I know how to waltz but not to the point that i can teach someone to lead. But anyways it's a really great scene- Eisenstein and Frank are hilarious together.

I rehearsed early and then had a long break in the afternoon. I went to a random restaurant that was pretty close to where the afternoon rehearsal would be, had some artichoke dip and local Riesling, and chatted with a young barmaid who just finished a fashion internship in the city, and a guy who worked for a supplement company who has a product that he says is like way better than flax seed. (I don't take flax seed but I've heard good things.) Then I had some time to kill so I browsed in the nearest shop and then went to the lake. There was a house on the lake with a big sign:

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I had seen this sign on my first day, and at first I thought it was two separate things: "We sell WINE and ice cream," and I was joking that they had their priorities straight. Upon inspection, they actually sell wine flavored ice cream- not the merlot and cabernet ice creams you can get in some hoity-toity grocery stores (I forget the brand), but flavors like chocolate cabarnet and raspberry reisling- 5% alcohol content and you have to show your ID to get some. I tried the chocolate cabernet- it was very good!!

At night we had a masterclass with Thomas Bagwell, our music director. Only 5 people sang, including me. i was scheduled to sing first with O zittre nicht, but I was almost late because as I was heading over I realized I forgot something and had to go back to the dorm- I made it just before we started and got to catch my breath during the introduction speeches.

I almost laughed when he asked me if O zittre nicht is a new aria for me. There are no new arias for me. I don't mean that literally, but it's just that I've never changed Fachs, so I've been singing more or less the same rep my entire adult life. And since I am quick study, I've done everything in the more common (and much in the less common) quadrant of the standard rep. Of ourse there is plenty more music out there for me, but nothing "useful," which is an important consideration to me at this point in my career.

Anyways it went really well, and then we went to the Red Dove, which is a restaurant I heard so many good things about, but it was a disappointment- they are closing for vacation in a few days, and since their food is mostly fresh, they severely reduced their menu for these last days. But I had a good dinner nonetheless, and we enjoyed some great drinks, and I waltzed with a stranger in the otherwise empty bar. It was just me and heather and the director (Al) and Gena (the producer). I can't believe how hard it is to get these freaking cast members to go out!! Usually singers are so gregarious, but all these people keep saying they're tired, or busy, or not hungry, or they "can't." I think much or most of the point of this kind of project is for a group of musicians to get together and socialize. Oh well, we're not opening for another week- we'll have plenty of time to hang out.

It's late (considering that I have morning rehearsals)- I've been sitting here in the common room writing an article for Classical Singer. Being able to work on the road is an important task for someone who plans to spend much of their life on the road!

Love always,
Amanda

I forgot to finish my story last night about the church that I wandered into and sang.

So I mentioned to Gena on our dinner break about going to the church because of the thunderstorm, and she was rather astonished. She and her late significant other, the man who ran American Landmark Festivals, Francis Heilbut, have a strong connection to that church. Before he was taken before his time, Mr. Heilbut took an early interest in my career, and got me some of my earlier gigs in NY. Anyways he had some connection to this church, helped out with the Steinway that I played in the santcuary, and his funeral took place this. Not only that, but our Thursday blocking rehearsal is taking place in that very church. Kind of eerie that I was practically forced in there by the weather!

Today it rained and rained. I was supposed to be free until 6:30, but by the time I got home from waiting out the thunderstorm at 2:30- when at last it was sunny and gorgeous out- the director had just arrived, and insisted that I and everyone show up for rehearsal at 3. I had been planning on practicing, exercising, and sitting by the lake and enjoying the gorgeous weather for the next 4 hours, but instead I had to go to rehearsal, sing for 5 minutes, then sit around outside reading while everyone else went through their trios. (I'm only in one trio, and it's a short one.) I was very sad for the loss of my free afternoon!!!

The director is the guy from the professional NYC G&S group. I informed him that I had sent him my materials years ago and he had never offered me an audition. He insisted that that couldn't be true, as everyone who sends in their materials is invited to audition. (Um, except me?)

The remaining cast members showed up today too. Everyone is pretty good, although some people are musical theatre people and some people are opera people, so there are big gaps in various skill levels- some are better at dialogue, some at singing, some at acting, etc. Overall, it's a talented group.

I can't believe how hard it is getting this group to go out after rehearsal. Last night the guys all wanted to go grocery shopping instead, and tonight everyone was "too tired." I finally got the director and my friend Heather to go out to the tavern I was at last night, though none of the same people I met were there, disappointingly. The sandwich and sweet potato fries I had were pretty good though.

Tomorrow I'm called to rehearsal at 10am. WTF, who rehearses at 10am? And then we have a masterclass with the pianist in the evening. I think I'm supposed to sing O Zittre Night.

ttyl!!

Love always,
Amanda