I took the commuter plane to Boston this morning. My fellow travelers were rocking their suits and heels, but I was happily clad in jeans. Dress code for recording studios is blessedly relaxed, and I get to spend my day helping producer Blanton Alspaugh* and composer John Musto make the magic. We’re at Soundmirror in
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Aria Frequency Lists!
The ever-popular Aria Frequency lists from this year’s audition tour are now available for your post-turkey tryptophan haze viewing pleasure! Hop on over to the Aria Lists page to link to a separate document for each voice type. Best wishes for a lovely Thanksgiving! See you on the other side, where I’ll begin to drop
Read MoreCurious Women 2.0
The set and costumes of our 2011 production of Wolf-Ferrari’s Le donne curiose have traveled south from The Barns and will take the stage this weekend at Shenandoah University. If you’re anywhere near Winchester VA this weekend, check it out!
Read MoreThe Questions
Audition tour 2012: Eight cities. 11,326 miles. 1,215 arias. Planes, trains, taxis, hotels, surprises, frustrations, adrenaline, fatigue. It might seem as if we’re done, but only now does the rubber really hit the road. We’ve been gathering information for a month, and now it’s time to use it. We hold off on making decisions about repertoire until we
Read MoreHello, Houston!
And just like that, we’re in Texas. Off the plane, bags thrown in the hotel, and suddenly we’re at the Wortham Center, bathing in the beautiful sound of the HGO Orchestra playing Beethoven. It has been 20 years since I saw Fidelio, and this evening was even more compelling because of the WTOC alumni onstage
Read MoreOffice at 38,000 Feet
Detritus from the Trail
A random collection of things we’ve accumulated along the audition trail… No, the Winter Mustn’t Come So Soon Ladies, there are alternatives to the Mezzo National Anthem. Recently heard to good advantage: “I Am an Actress” (Nina’s Aria) from Pasatieri’s The Seagull, “Waiting” from Harbison’s Great Gatsby, “Don’t Say a Word” from Heggie’s Dead Man
Read MoreOn the Road Again
After a week off from opera duty (and yes, my daughter’s wedding was a.ma.zing…), we’re back on the road again today, in beautifully sunny Cincinnati. Our Ohio stop always brings us music from an array of wonderful midwestern music schools – CCM (our audition site host), Indiana University, University of Illinois, and University of Missouri
Read MoreNever Sure
Rahree and I have an annual audition tour magazine addiction. Neither of us tends to read magazines for fun (you can’t count Opera News, really…) the rest of the year. But in October/November, our carry-on luggage bulges with things like Vogue, Scientific American, Real Simple, Psychology Today, Rolling Stone, Wired, and Oprah. It’s Ms. Winfrey who
Read MoreSunny in Seattle
It was a whirlwind Seattle visit. The morning pre-audition ritual was particularly extensive, as we were still on east coast time and up before the sun. A 7am hike up Queen Anne hill netted us one of the most memorable sunrises I’ve seen. (Captured at right with my phone, as of course, I didn’t think
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