This fine Monday morning, I point you to Unfinished No More – a recent blog post by bass-baritone Alan Held. If you’re curious about what a career in opera is like on the ground level, it’s a must-read. (And I mean you, voice students out there.) Alan and I started out together at Wolf Trap
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Life Cycle of an Opera
Permit me an analogy. Watching a show grow from a glimmer in our eyes during the audition tour to a fully fleshed-out world the next summer has to be one of the most exciting things I can think of. (And yes, I know I need to get out more, but all the same…) The life
Read MoreTired & Timid
Vince Lombardi famously said, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” Making music – in real time, in front of real people, without a net – takes many things. Skill, preparation, natural talent, dedication. But one thing might trump all those. Courage. There are more difficult jobs, to be sure. We who traffic in the world
Read MoreCome on Inside
I taught an intro-to-opera class here at Wolf Trap five years ago, and I was surprised and gratified by the enthusiastic response from my “students” (many of whom were as knowledgeable as I!) I’ve been asked frequently since then if I’d teach again, and I’ve hesitated. But, for better or worse, the wait is over…
Read MoreComfort: The Enemy?
I’m obsessed with podcasts and besotted with Radio Lab. Their recent Speedy Beet episode really churned up my mind. If you don’t have time to listen now, here’s the summary. Beethoven’s metronome markings (indicating the speed at which the composer indicated his music should be played) are freakishly fast. And as you might suspect, musicologists
Read MoreBuon compleanno, Traviata
La traviata, much on our minds as we prepare for July 19, is enjoying a birthday! 160 years ago today – on March 6, 1853 – Verdi gave voice to Violetta, and we are all the richer for it. It’s a “snow day” here in Virginia. The actual snow was a bit of a bust,
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I adore the magnificent many-headed monster that is opera. It’s a beautiful and messy example of how a hastily assembled group of opinionated people can somehow manage to work as a team to create a functional (and sometimes magnificent) thing in a short time. But while it can be exciting being a cog in a
Read MoreIncubation
This one is for you performing artist introverts out there. Extroverts, you can just keep on surfing. Move along now. Nothing to see here. Just a minute… OK, I think they’re gone. It’s safe. Not that there’s anything wrong with our friends who wake up every day craving all eyes and ears turned on them.
Read MoreSummer 2013. Bring it on.
The puzzle is complete! We are now on the web (links below). Tickets will be available to Wolf Trap members on February 25 , and to the general public on March 16. (I never say much about this on the blog, but if you enjoy our performances and believe in our amazing young artists, membership
Read MoreColleague Spotlight: 24-Hour Opera Project!
As we scramble madly to put the pieces together for our 2013 season announcement this weekend, I am grateful to my colleague and partner in crime Lee Anne Myslewski for today’s post! People often ask what we do during the “off-season,” that mythical time between the last day of the season and the first day
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