TGIF

Man, I don't know why, but this week has felt really long. Must be the later train rides home three days in a row - 10:30 train Tuesday, 7:30 Wednesday, and 9:30 last night. I was so exhausted by yesterday that I left rehearsal an hour early, catching the 9:30 train so I was home by 11. I also slept in until 6:30 this morning! I feel much better but am still looking forward to tomorrow when I don't have to get out of bed by a particular time.

So, the past few days - Tuesday at the opera was great, it was Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites. It's so rare to hear an opera with very little male singing, but it was cool and a nice change of pace. Also, even though I was looking forward to it, I wasn't expecting to be as caught up by a story about a bunch of nuns as I was as there was little action, but it really drew me in. The orchestra took about 25-30 minutes to really lock in - they were having tuning issues before then - but once they did it was gorgeous. Trey wouldn't have liked it much as a) the set was done by the same guy who did the chalkboard set for Iphigenie, b) it was in French, and c) it was about a bunch of nuns and had little action, so I took Laura, who's husband was also not big on seeing it. Unfortunately I had to leave about 20 minutes early in order to catch my train, but this is definitely one to see again if I have the chance to.

Grant Park audition on Wednesday didn't go as well as I would've liked. For those who didn't read my comment, I got really nervous and my breathing wasn't as good as it usually is - my solo sounded good and was well-supported, but I had to breathe in funky spots and much more frequently than normal. The tempo on the Mozart (Kyrie from the Requiem) was brisker than many recordings I'd heard, and although I had practiced it fast enough, was still not as clean because of breathing issues. I was happy to partially redeem myself on the Faure (In Paradisum from the Requiem) because my straight tone is really good and there are plenty of people who'd be great singers except that they can't do straight tone. Anyway, I'm hoping for a volunteer spot this summer, which I probably won't take because they rehearse in the middle of the day, but I still want the offer...

Sunday I did manage to get a later time for Opera Idol, and I'll still be able to stick around at brunch for a good hour and a half to boot. We'll see how it goes - I'm not terribly well-prepared, but I have no idea what to expect either. I imagine there will be people there who are terrible, as there are on the pop version of the show, but there could be really incredible people there. We'll see how it goes. If nothing else, it will be good for me to take another audition before CSO chorus so just doing it will be a benefit in and of itself.

Ok, that's all for now - hope you're all having great Fridays!