I’ve been hearing auditions in Cincinnati for 18 years now, and happily so. But in recent seasons, Ohio has been the victim of overzealous, tight audition tour scheduling. We’ve blown in and out of here, sometimes arriving at dawn and flying out before bedtime, often squeezing in over 40 singers in between. When you tempt fate that blatantly, it rewards you with bad travel karma, general anxiety and fatigue.
And so I’ve felt a bit guilty over the last couple of years about setting up my colleague Rahree for a bad relationship with this town. This year, Cincinnati and I are teaming up to make things right.
We flew in on the day before auditions (how civilized!), leaving cold and rainy Virginia to arrive to clear skies and mild temperatures. The rain did come, but not before we had collected our bags (first on the carousel!) and safely checked into the hotel. We finagled ourselves into corner rooms (bigger than my first apartment) with windows on two sides. And as we were working our way through a few Skype interviews with directors, the skies cleared again and welcomed us with a double rainbow. And, as if that weren’t enough, the Pasta of the Day on room service was butternut squash risotto.
Too soon to tell if the ‘Nati will win Rahree’s heart, but it’s been an excellent start.
Add Comment