This has been a very good week–the best I can recall in a while. Here’s the low-down:
Monday: I did yoga all day on the set of a very eclectic indie flick. I can’t wait for it to come out! It should be quite cute.
Tuesday: I was asked–last-minute–to work on a major feature film that was filming only three blocks from my apartment. The best commute to work ever!
Wednesday: An audition for a major TV series for a bit part. I did my best to prepare and study, but still left with that ambiguous, How did I do? feeling.
Thursday: Was asked to sing–wait for it–Wagner! Can you believe it?! My voice type never sings Wagner. Though this will be a reduced arrangement of the “Ride of the Valkyries“, it in no way diminishes the fact that it is Wagner and I’ll be singing it.
Friday: While finalizing details of a major audition occurring today, … Read more »
This past week I was fortunate to perform with friends Christian Coleman’s chamber work “fALATIMI” as part of Afternoon Concert 18 which was supported in part by a grant from the Brookline Commission for the Arts, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Japanese Association of Greater Boston Women’s Group. Some may recall that this work is the soundtrack for short film Fate Scores and I had the good fortune to sing on the original recording. Below are a few of my favorite photos from the rehearsal and June 6 performance. There are more in the fALATIMI flickr album. Thank you to everyone who came out on that stormy, steamy Sunday afternoon! Your support at our performance is very much … Read more »
A couple of weekends ago, I finally had the opportunity to watch The Audition, a documentary providing a behind-the-scenes look at the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions. I must admit I was a bit skeptical at first, thinking it would be more of a vanity video for the Met and the competition it supports á la Prince’s Purple Rain. However, I was surprised to find that Susan Frömke’s work attempts to provide an objective vision of what the National Council Auditions are to the competitors and the sponsors. Some of the interviews are hilarious and some are quite illustrative of personalities and politics. What made me hopeful was the care, encouragement and compassion the coaches and administrators seemed to show towards the various participants in the lessons and coachings that come as part of competition at the national level. It may really be like that in the upper echelons, but I admit I haven’t been public witness to such showers of praise. … Read more »
This morning I was inspired and excited to rehearse given the lovely snowfall blanketing the area. Snowflakes that drift slowly to the ground are magical and make the world seem a more peaceful place. It really is like being in a snow globe. From my practice room, I could see two dogs running and rolling and nipping at each other’s heels in play in the freshly fallen snow. However, upon singing the first few notes, I became wholly uninspired. Crummy voice can do that. Perhaps I didn’t get enough sleep last night, though I thought I had. I have been sneezing a bit, so I suppose my vocal folds could be a tad swollen. Whatever the reason, my sound was far from pretty. It wasn’t a flat or dull sound and the range was there, but it was just blah. And a blah sound is rarely pleasant to work with.
I really wanted to be excited and motivated to practice because I’ve actually … Read more »
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