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Adventures in Blogging

Each day a few more of you are finding your way to this new blog address. Welcome back! I had an exciting and unfortunate time in cyberspace at the end of December when I followed Blogger’s instructions to change the URL address… See, I had intended to phase out the blog during 2006, so its

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Ho Ho Ho

We’ve successfully navigated the winter solstice here in the northern hemisphere, and, even as you read this, the sunlight is returning and the days are getting longer. If you’re idly surfing, scroll down for a random sampling of my favorite quotes and quips. In no particular order. With apologies for any duplications, misattributions, etc. And

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Fun with Radio

Today we’re in the recording studio at WETA-FM, producing Center Stage from Wolf Trap. An exciting couple of days to spend here, given the recent news about classical music radio in Washington, D.C. We’re working through some stunning audio footage from last year’s chamber music series – this morning including contributions from Joyce Yang (one

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Announcing the Wolf Trap Opera Studio

Big news today. We’re launching a new division of the Wolf Trap Opera Company next summer – an introductory tier designed for singers who are just about to finish or who have recently finished their undergraduate work. It’s called the Wolf Trap Opera Studio, and auditions will be held in February 2007. Go here for

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All Over the Map

I’m drowning in dry-erase boards. Most of the time, I’m blissfully content with spreadsheets and databases. But there’s something about trying to figure out how an opera season might assemble itself that wants to be played out on a large screen. So I’ve absconded with most of the large white boards I could find, spelled

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Days 12 & 13: The Barns

Nice to be back home, but the tendency to multi-task is disconcerting. On the road it’s easy to pretend that auditioning is the only thing we have to do. Coming back here reminds me that there are so many other things to deal with, and miles to go before we sleep. Some lovely auditions this

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Day 11: Chicago

Greetings from the shore of Lake Michigan. More Audition Rep NotesCertain arias that I’ve grown accustomed to hearing frequently in previous years are barely making an appearance this year. Some of them I don’t miss, frankly, at least not in an audition context – among them, The Trees on the Mountain (I still enjoy it,

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Transition

All of my travel predictions were blessedly wrong. The 20-minute cab ride to the airport did indeed take an hour and 15 minutes, but the rest of the trip couldn’t have been better. Hardly anyone else on the plane, and a 20-minute early arrival at O’Hare. Unheard of. I’m still pretty tired and stupid*, though,

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Days 9 & 10: Cincinnati

After over a week’s worth of hotels, planes, trains, venues, and assorted electronics operating flawlessly, it’s time for a little chaos theory. The flight from California to Ohio went well, and following it immediately with 4 hours of auditions at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, while not a great idea, actually worked fairly well. But

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The Short List and… Auditioning the Second Time Around

OK, I promised. Here’s what’s still in play for possible operas at The Barns next summer. In no particular order. AlcinaA Midsummer Night’s DreamDie Entführung aus dem Serail The Rape of LucretiaL’étoileIl re pastoreI Capuleti ed i MontecchiLa pietra del paragoneSemeleLinda di ChamounixIl ritorno d’Ulisse in patriaVolpone Così fan tutte And, because of the peculiar

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