The rest of my trip
Current mood: tired
Category: Music
Hey! Sorry dudes I haven't gotten a chance to get caught up with ya!
After being in La Paz for a night, I went to Lake Titicaca and stayed on Isla del Sol. It was really gorgeous! You had to climb up this huge huge huge hill to get to where the hotels were. With the altitude and the heavy packs and everything, it was an extreme physical exertion, even for me.
I didn't know where to go and I hate hustlers, so I went to the HI hostel. The travel agent in the town on the lake who had booked my boat recommended it (without booking me) and some girls on the ferry said they were going there, so it was the best I had to go on. The HI hostel kind of sucked, and the Aymara ladies who ran it didn't speak or understand a word of English, but it was cheap and close.
The views all over the island village were fabulous. There were restaurant patios overlooking the lake every few feet. I joined the Irish girls at my hostel for a coffee at a patio across from the hostel. The beverages were sub-par but the sun and sea were worth the whole trip.
The only thing to do on the island is to walk across it, which theoretically takes 4 hours one way. The only way to get back is to take a boat, and I didn't know what time they ran but I was sure they were done for the day. It was 4:30 by the time I left the girls, and I knew I only had a couple hours before the sun went down (it is winter down there), but there was nothing else to do and I was feeling energized after recovering from the climb.
I reached the halfway point of the island right at sunset, and turned back around to try to get home before it got too dark. This was pretty faulty thinking, as it gets dark pretty much when the sun goes down, and I had, being generous about my speed, an hour and a half walk ahead of me. It wasn't long before I was stumbling in the dark. Then I remembered I had a mag light! I pulled it out and twisted it on. The keychain-sized light, which was so impressive when shone upon my reading materials in the bus, barely made a scratch in the darkness of the island. Disappointment! Anyways I speed-walked the path back towards the village lights, thinking I'd be safe once I got to the end of the island.
Wrong! Counterintuitively, the darkness was even more of a hazard once the trans-island path splintered into winding, stepped stone streets, and I had to figure out which rocks were part of the sidewalk and which were part of the scenery. The problem was that there was hardly any light in the village- only a few scattered street lights, and even the hotels and restaurants were kept very dark, with most of the lights extinguished. I was practically crawling on my hands and knees at points, trying not to fall over a cliff.
I asked directions from some locals and eventually stumbled upon my hostel. Then I had to head out for food. I went to the nearest restaurant, where I found the girls, who had had exactly the same problem as me, except with a slightly better flashlight. Very slightly.
The next day I headed back to the town and from there to La Paz, where I would spend the end of my trip. I had wanted to go hiking, but I would have needed to get a couple people together, which is hard when you're traveling alone. It was a moot point anyways because I ended up getting sick again. Seems like whatever had gotten into my system in Uyuni on Tuesday hadn't quite gotten out of it (I had been battling scattered bouts of nausea ever since) and I was sick again Saturday evening- worse than the first time. One of my friends at the hostel (some people I had met my first night, who were back there again the same days as me) works in a hospital and knows about medicine and stuff, so she helped me get the right antibiotics (everything is over the counter in Bolivia). They also came down and checked on me in the night, which is wicked sweet- you know, when you're sick in a really weird country, alone, in a hostel- somebody has to take care of you!
I was feeling better by Sunday night, when I went to Cholitas wrestling! The woman sitting next to me in the gringo section was telling me that she'd been in Bolivia a year ago and met someone who was writing an article on Cholitas wrestling for National Geographic, and it coincidentally had just come out.
So cholitas wrestling is theoretically WWF starring Aymara women in traditional clothes. In practice, only two of the, what, 5 acts? were pairs of females, the rest were men. The plot was the same each act: the bad guys are friends with the ref, the good guys would have won in a fair fight, but the evil ref and the cheating of the bad guys interfered. Most of the time they won anyways. The female acts both had the same plot too: a good, virtuous Aymara girl fights against a bad-ass rebellious girl in Western clothing. None of the chicks looked all muscular, but pulled all the moves!!
Some of the guys in our group got beat over the head by one of the girls, which was pretty awesome. One of them, a particularly outspoken American, became a devotee of a middle-aged wrestler with sideburns and star-spangled tights, whom he referred to as Neil Diamond until we found out his name was Mister Atlas. He bought the most delightfully HORRID poster of Mister Atlas you can imagine, and kept waving it in the bad guys' faces. At the end of the finale, Mister Atlas ran over to our corner and signed it. All the little urchin children gathered around to see.
It wasn't a tourist attraction for gringos- our presence was superfluous. The rest of the audience away from the ringside youth hostel seats were all Aymara, old and young alike, and very into the show. They show was pretty crazy, in that "would never happen in America" kind of way. The acting and moves were relatively lame, but we were nearly run down by wrestlers stumbling out into the audience many times, having to jump up from our seats and dodge out of the way. Some people in our group were beaten with props, and we were all sprayed with water and Pepsi. (One of the bad guys stole the bottle of Pepsi right out from under my neighbor's chair. That's why she's a bad guy I guess!) It was uncontrolled enough to make it authentic even among the fakeness.
I spent Monday in Lima, as I had a 13-hour layover between flights. I hung out in Miraflores for several hours, then met up with a family I met last time I was in Lima two years ago. I barely made it to the airport- I got into a really really cheap cab, with a little paper sign on the windshield that read "taxi," and it kept breaking down on the highway. Lima is a dangerous city and I wasn't sure if it was safer inside or outside of the car, so I just sat tight as the driver worked on the engine. At one point I saw him just spit in it and slam the lid. Well, it started running, so I guess he knows what he's doing. (Didn't Jesus cure somebody's vision with his spit?)
I only had a few hours to relax after I got home- we had our first Pirates of Penzance rehearsal last night! Much younger chorus members than in the last show. I do love Pirates. Glad to be actually doing Mabel this time, instead of covering and never getting a chance to sing.
Also! I am doing Bastien et Bastienne (an opera Mozart wrote when he was 12) in Harrisburg next weekend. I know, last minute! I am an SOS soprano. More on it later.
I am back from Uyuni and our three-day Land Rover tour across the salt flats and nature reserve.
Yeah it was pretty awesome. First of all, the idiot travel agent I talked to here was very unhelpful. I rode a ghetto bus down there and my feet were so cold by the time I got there that I couldnt feel them for 45 minutes. Then I didnt have a tour booked because she told me it was better to book one when I got there, except it was 6am on a freezing Sunday morning and nothing was open. I finally sat down in the main square to layer on a few more pairs of socks under my hiking boot when a travel agent lady came up to me and offered to open her agency for me, and since I was cold and wanted to go inside, I went with her. So I booked my tour with her even though her agency was obviously pretty bottom rung, because she had a space heater and let me sleep on the couch while she went back out to hustle.
Our car was like an hour and a half late, but it was like an hour and a half late for everything the whole time. We..re on Bolivian time here.
I had two French guys, a Spanish couple, and a Chilean guide. One of the French spoke fluent Spanish, the other only basic, both spoke some English. The Spanish woman spoke no English but some French. Her husband didnt speak either comfortably but he preferred attempting English to French. The Chilean and the tour guide only spoke Spanish. So we ended up speaking French most of the time, and a little Spanish. (Which I dont speak.)
It would be too much for me to recount the whole trip here. We went to the salt flats, which were pretty crazy as you can imagine. It was just white and flat. With neat piles of salt here and there. But it was really salt. Yes, I tried picking it up and licking it. It was salt.
There was also an island of cactuses in the middle of the salt flat. If my guide spoke English, I could probably tell you why.
They can also make really solid things out of the salt, like buildings. We stayed in a hostel made entirely of salt- even the beds! (Some things were made of cactus though.)
The next day we saw flamingo-inhabited lakes. I..d never seen flamingos in the wild so that was neat. We also went to a red lake, which was incredible. Like, it was really red. Not like just kind of pink or purple, like it was red. Pics to follow!
We also saw giant stone things and an active volcano in the distance.
That night we stayed in a real shitter of a youth hostel. Forget hot water, they didn..t even have showers! My whole group of 6 was squished into one small room. The hostel had a little shop that sold lots of wine, so we acquired a lot of it. There was only one heat stove in the building so we all gathered around it and drank and hung out for hours. I kept getting everyone to sing.
OK so here..s the thing about me- i have a really high alcohol tolerance (for a cute little girl), I dont puke from drinking, and I NEVER get hangovers. Once in my life I threw up the day after drinking too much, and once in my life I woke up with a mild headache after drinking too much. And if you know me you know its not for lack of imbibing, that..s just the way Im built. (I actually theorize that its because I drink so much water, and hangovers are largely caused by dehydration.) Anyways, I got SICK. I threw up, went to sleep, woke up with a violent headache, and proceded to be sick on and off all morning- couldn..t even hold down water. Im thinking this has something to do with altitude sickness- some people get really, really ill from it- head, stomach, the works. Im not one of those people, but maybe the combination of the drinking and the altitude? (I drank plenty the night before with no problem though.) Or the eggs. The vegetarian substitute meals they gave me were all eggs, and i cant stand eggs, but I was choking them down anyways. But a lot can go wrong with eggs, and Ive heard Bolivia has an alarmingly high salmonella rate. Whatever. We went to some hot springs, and they were the nicest-feeling hot springs Ive ever been in- consistant temperature, and just hot enough. I felt much much better after that. In fact, shortly after I felt fantastic- I couldnt stop singing. I guess I was making up for how crappy I felt that morning, when we were in the car and at the geysers. Everyone else was jumping through the geyser, but I couldnt bring myself even close to it because I felt so sick and the smell of sulpher was not helping.
We kept having car troubles, and at one point the driver dropped us off at the trashy hostel to have lunch and disappeared with the car for about an hour or more, leaving us just hanging out. It was really boring, but then a herd of vicunas walked right up to us and hung out for awhile. They were so used to people- one of them came right up to me and just looked at me. Not close enough to touch, but considering that when we were in the car they were always running away from us, I didnt know they could be so friendly. Then they just wandered around the grounds for awhile, between the buildings, looking for something to do.
When I finally got back to Uyuni, I found that almost all the buses back to La Paz were sold out. Freaking travel agent, she told me I could just buy the ticket there! It was at the very last minute that I found a crappy little bus company Id never heard of that had a few seats left. It was even more ghetto than the first one- Im talking a bad day on the Chinatown bus- but it got me to La Paz in one piece. I was afraid Id be sick again on the bumpy ride (the vast majority of roads in Bolivia are not paved), and there are no bathrooms on the ghetto bus, so I just forced myself to fall asleep, which worked out.
Today I am back in La Paz but I am too tired and lazy to really do anything- just recouperating. Tomorrow I go to Titicaca.
Last night after I left you, I went to little wine bar. There were only two customers when I walked in, and they were singing Va Pensiero (a famous opera chorus by Verdi). I did a double take, shrugged, and joined in. Turns out the guy is a tango singer from Argentina, and the girl used to sing in the Bolivian Choral Society. So random. She told me I might be able to get the score I need from the choral society. The guy sang me a tango song. Pretty cool.
Today I twisted the arms of some of my hostel mates into making the trip to Valle de la Luna with me. It..s half an hour outside of town, and its like, this whole area of these pillary rock formations that you can walk around. We figured out we could hire a cab there really cheap- $6 an hour, divided by three people. It was really something, stunning and unusual. So glad we went. Yes there are pics, but unfortunately I left the cable for my camera at home so I can..t upload them til I get back!!
I really like La Paz
Current mood: cheerful
Category: Travel and Places
My luggage came today!!! Ive never felt so clean.
La Paz is really great. It..s different than I expected. On one hand, I thought it would be prettier. It..s got the nice mountains all around, but the view is pretty obstructed. The city is also much more congested and polluted than I thought. Well, there are a million people here after all.
On the other hand, its way nicer than I thought. It is not at all ghetto like I expected. Everywhere I..ve been has had a fully working toilet and toilet paper, unlike many other countries. I have not once been at a lack for vegetarian meals. Multiple internet spots on every block, with computers that work way better than in my past experiences.
Here..s the most interesting thing though: it..s like the whole city is one big marketplace. The streets are packed with vendors and stalls selling everything- not just the usual, scarves and sodas and batteries, but literally everything. I saw a stall selling those sports injury things you wear over you knees, ankles, whatever- that..s all he sold, for every body part. Another couple of stalls sold receipts and other paperwork for business owners. I have not been inside a store since I got here, and I can..t imagine why anyone would ever need to.
But the surprise is that, for all the vendors, there..s no hustle. No hustle! Nobody tries to get you to buy anything. The aymara ladies just sit their at their stalls knitting, ignoring you as you examine their wares, only looking up when you..re ready to pay. Even on the main tourist road, the stallkeepers just hang out and let you do your thing. Even the travel agencies don..t try to lure in obvious gringos. It is so nice. I..ve actually bought so much stuff I wouldnt have otherwise if I was afraid to glance at a display to avoid being pressured into buying something. Im actually enjoying walking through the bustling marketplaces and shopping openly.
On a related but different note- and this is the nicest surprise of all- the men dont hit on you. I havent had a single whistle or cat call since i got here. it fabulous! And such a surprise, since at least where i live its always the spanish guys making life miserable for pretty women. I guess Bolivian men are more respectful- or intimidated, since they are so small!!
Actually, I really am wondering about the role of women in Bolivian and Aymara society. Youd expect in an old, traditional, indigenous culture, where women still wear traditional dress, that theyd be oppressed or not have rights or something. But the women are doing everything- almost all the workers Ive seen have been women, from the aymara vendors to the travel agents to an armed guard outside the bank. (The banks have armed guards!) Where are the men? I guess in office jobs. But women are usually walking around by themselves, manning the shops by themselves, etc, so they obviously have a lot of independence.
Another misconception- I thought it would be so dangerous here and there would be people trying to pickpocket and rob you at every turn, but so far that has not been my experience at all. Lets not let our guard down, but I feel totally at ease everywhere. Even more so than at home, when I am on guard because of all the men hitting on me. It..s relaxing!
I spent all day today on a wild goose chase trying to locate a score I ended up needing last minute for something when I get home. It was not how I wanted to pass the day, but it took me on an interesting journey, from the musical instrument museum on the charming calle jaen all the way to the library of the national conservatory.
I better get a move on. Yes I am taking pictures, no I have not uploaded any yet. Now that I have my suitcase with my camera cord I hope I can! Don..t forget to follow me on Twitter in the meantime!
I am in Bolivia
Current mood: adventurous
Category: Travel and Places
Hola!!!
I am in La Paz, Bolivia. So glad to finally be on vacation!
FAQ: Why Bolivia? Because I love South America and this is one of the most interesting countries I haven..t been to yet, because I missed Titicaca when I was in Peru but I can see it here, because it..s ridiculously cheap.
My luggage is lost. :( Well it..s somewhere but I don..t know where because apparently the Bolivian branch of LAN is closed on Thursdays? I got here yesterday morning- was supposed to get in at 3am but due to delays got in at 11am instead. So, what is up with everyone in South America flying in the middle of the night? Seriously, there are all these 1am flights and they are packed, and all the airport shops are open 24/7. Somehow I doubt they have a word for "redeye."
My youth hostel has its own microbrewery, and yes you get a free beer every night you book. There are also free pancakes at breakfast.
So, La Paz! It is interesting. Like half the people are Aymara, which is an indigenous race. Theyve got their own language and dress- weirdly, the woman wear a very strange traditional dress but the men don..t? Cant find an image thats the right size to post here without fooling with it, but they wear poofy ankle-length skirts, shawls, sweaters, stockings, and bowler hats. Seriously, they all wear these bowler hats that sit so far on top of their heads they don..t cover anything. Thats the part of the costume I dont get the most. whats the point?
So, after nearly 24 hours in transit, I got to my hostel, went out for a snack and had some coca leaf tea (to ward off altitude sickness) and quinoa!!! They served it like a pasta in a big sizzling casserole with cheese and tomato sauce. Of course the whole meal was like $3.
Then I went to the witch market. They had like llama fetuses all over, but most of the rest of it was trinkets. I bought a puma statue. I don..t really need a puma statue, but I wanted to buy something so I could ask to take pics of the stall. Anyways it will protect my house according to the lady!
BTW like no one here speaks English. Sucks for me! salright I understand Spanish fine.
After that I totally crashed for 6 hours, then went to the hostel bar. I sat with a group of Aussies/Irish/English and one Dutch guy. When it came out that I..m a singer they made me sing, which i was not totally game for but did it anyways. Then they asked to hear one of our rock songs, so I sang Midnight Bride (never been asked to sing one of my originals a capella- i wonder how it came out?). Then the bartenders wanted a song too. By this time I felt silly, but they compensated my singing by treating my whole table to two rounds of shots, plus a couple free beers for me and my new friends. One of the bartenders names is Guglielmo (yes like in Cosi fan tutte) and he was telling me how he..s never heard anyone sing like that, and they don..t have opera singers in Bolivia. It..s true- Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, even Peru have opera companies, but not Bolivia. Anyways they were so fascinated by my opera singing that I felt like I was actually doing something good (bringing opera to Bolivians) instead of just feeling embarrassed.
Today one of the guys from the hostel and I went for a walk around the city and hit a few bars. I tried to find my luggage but no luck. I should be able to reach the woman who I reported the problem to tomorrow, though, and hopefully I will get it then!!! I bought a fresh pair of underwear off the street, which cannot possibly be sanitary, but I feel like a new woman. Next on my shopping list: socks.
I wanted to go to Uyuni tomorrow but I can..t leave til I have my luggage, so prob I will stay here through Saturday.
Anyways Im ready to get out of this internet place, but I have so much more to talk about. I dont have regular internet access here but I..m trying to post updates via twitter, so please check there to hear about my adventures in Bolivia!
New church gig, Daughter of the Regiment
Current mood: relaxed
Category: Music
Hi!
Moments of rest have been few and far between since I returned from Fledermaus upstate. But today has been the most extensive. I even took an unexpected nap when I passed out in the middle of the evening on my couch. I had no idea I was that tired.
No excuse for keeping you uninformed, though. I have news!
First of all, a wonderful development on the opera front- I'll be singing Marie in La Fille du Regiment. The company is called Champagne and Candlelight Opera di Camera. It's probably just going to be performed in a Manhattan library, but it is with chamber orchestra which is nice. Anyways it's the THE BEST ROLE EVER. Especially for me, because it's extremely acting-heavy, in French, lots of room for coloratura, and it's a really funny comedy. Oh yes we are going to have fun. The show will be in November, though I don't have the info yet. And yes it will actually be in the city! Should be on a Saturday afternoon.
More good news! Over a year after being "not invited back" to my church job, I have a new (better) one. I decided after the musical blueballs I was getting from singing at the last place, I needed to find something that was more up my ally musically. Specifically, I wanted challenging and rewarding music, a precise and demanding conductor, and colleagues with excellent musicianship. Secondly, I had a specific dollar amount in my head that I require to get me out of bed that early on Sunday mornings- there were opportunities for jobs that paid less, but I'd rather sleep. Lastly, I decided not to extend a lot of effort looking for a new job- I'm pretty top-notch at this stuff, and I know people, so I figured I alert the world that I'm available and a job will find me.
That's kind of what happened. I ran into a pianist I knew at an audition and told him my predicament, and he told me David Hurd was looking for an alto. I knew who he was, he's a famous church composer and has music in the 1982 hymnal. So I'm like, I'm not singing alto but give me his email anyways, I'll write him just in case something comes up. I did, and not long later he invited me as a sub- one of his sopranos was out of town for about a month so I took her place in that time, and a couple of times since. Anyways he contacted me this summer because he lost one of his two sopranos and asked if I wanted to audition for the spot. And I did, and he hired me on the spot. I have a church job! And one that I wanted! It's hard work- long rehearsal, long service, lots of music, difficult music, lots of pressure because everyone's a good sight-reader. The pay is average but the effort is above average. It's worth it, though, because the music and the choir are great. I'm looking forward to being a part of a choir again.
So I'll be at Church of the Holy Apostles starting September 7. Services are Sunday mornings at 11am. There is lots of great music. I'll be the first soprano.
Wednesday was a wonderful Opera on Tap concert- all Kurt Weill, all the time. I sang two of the lesser-known French pieces, Le train du ciel and Le roi d'Aquitaine. The show was awesome. Sorry I didn't make an announcement- I didn't send out an email since it was my only show all month and I didn't think it was worth taking the time to make a mail blast about it, and I don't think anyone reads bulletins anymore. I should have put it here though! (I did put it on twitter, so if you're not on twitter too bad for you 'cause it's awesome.)
Fledermaus!!
Current mood: triumphant
Category: Music
Today was our performance!!
First let me apologize for shirking in my bloggerly duties by not writing after the dress rehearsal. It was kind of a rough rehearsal, not anyone's fault but I was just frustrated with my singing. My technique has been sloppy this week (it was great last week) and I ended up taking my high G's out because my attacks were rough around the edges. I guess I need a brush-up lesson- haven't had one in ages. I'm kinda pissed at myself because some of my coloratura runs needed to be cleaner, and it's like, yeah we're splitting hairs, but if you're a coloratura, all you got is your high notes and your accurate runs. Normally I wouldn't get to a dress rehearsal and still need to polish my runs. wtf Amanda? If there was one problem with this production it's that we had so much rehearsal and not enough time or energy left to practice individually (until it was almost performance time and one doesn't want to wear onesself out). This week was lighter because we were saving our voices. The show is so demanding on so many of the characters. Not as much for me as for Rosalinde and Eisenstein. Of course the way I was interpolating high notes made it more difficult for me, but I ended up taking them out because they weren't as hot as usual. (They were still ok mind you, but there's no point in interpolating a high G unless it's really perfect.)
Long story short, I was kind of grumpy by the end of rehearsal, partially because of my insufficient approximation to perfection, and if there was anything else pissing me off I don't remember now, but I was not in the mood to write- I had a glass of wine with my friend Heather and did some work on my computer.
Don't forget my costume woes. This is what I looked like yesterday:
They decided I needed white gloves instead of black (still black character shoes and stockings), so tonight I looked like this:
That's my in my PRIVATE DRESSING ROOM, btw. Yes, that is how much of a superstar I am.
My hair by Angela Libertella (my cover/Ida). What kind of genius can put together a work of art like that between acts? I have a lot of hair, it is a project.
Anyways, the dress rehearsal was otherwise very good, and tonight was fabulous. We never got to rehearse or preview in front of an audience, so it was surprising to see where there was and wasn't laughter. (A lot more places than we'd expected.)
Everything was just great. The laughing song went better than ever- I reworked the blocking with the director before the dress rehearsal started, and it made a huge difference. The audience really got into it, and the applause was sumptuous. I had been a little worried about the champagne song actually, because I have to hold a glass in my left hand and a big, heavy, full, open bottle of champagne in my right- it was hard enough to hold it when I was wearing the plether gloves, but iwith the white satin ones, I was afraid it would fall right out of my hand. I didn't drop it, but i had to hang onto it with a death grip and not move around as much as I had been, just to be safe. I think the tension made my singing a little messy, but whatever, it's the champagne song, we're all supposed to be drunk anyways.
The waltz went pretty well. Eisenstein and I figured out that if he just holds on to my waist tighter, we can get around faster- although I again forgot to hold my fan in my hand, and spent the first turn with it flapping around, before I had to break away and catch it in my hand. The Prince, a very talented 18-year-old guy in my studio, always forgot his cue to come pick me up to waltz with me, so I threatened to kick his ass. He responded by getting the cue right for the first time ever. Thus far in my career I have found this to be the only thing that works on tenors. Even big burly tenors fall into line when they think the soprano is going to go apeshit on them.
The audition aria went wonderfully, too. It really is funny, and was staged really entertainingly. We may have removed the high G's, but I still had a somewhat sustained F- it's easy to forget that that's high to other people, and you could hear the audience gasp when I sang it, which was a very nice surprise. I'm like, "Oh yeah, that's a high note too."
Anyways everyone else did good too. We had a really, really good cast. Everyone was uber-prepared, talented, friendly, and easy to work with. And Bergeret and Bagwell were wonderful to work with, they were both so good at what they do and so nice about everything. We were all very lucky.
There was a fabulous, wonderful, delicious catered reception afterwards. Oh man, the food was so good!! They had plenty of vegetarian stuff, including this goat cheese lasagna that I could have eaten all night. Also an open bar with a couple of local wines. Yumm.
I believe there were plenty of production photos taken, although I haven't seen any- except the ones that were in the paper. We were the front page story yesterday, with huge pictures and a couple quotes from yours truly. I wasn't in the big above the fold photo, but I was in the big below the fold photo- except it was a picture of the cinderella dress they had me in for half a rehearsal. Oh well. Hoping to get copies of the other photos soon!!
Tomorrow we take the bus back to the city. Talk to you guys later!!
First rehearsal in the Smith
Current mood: peaceful
Category: Music
Today was a sort of dress rehearsal- we were in dress, but it wasn't the official dress rehearsal.
There have been complications surrounding my costume. Backtrack: Gena told me before I came to bring a "gaudy gown." Under the impression that we were doing a semi-staged show, I didn't presume it had to be really period- 19th century Vienna- and decided the closest thing I had to a gaudy gown was the sparkly, shiney, salmon pink number I wore for Chocolate Soldier. I was also going to bring the red gown that you will observe in my headshot, but at the last minute I took it out, deciding that the pink one would be perfect and I didn't need a back-up gown. My luggage was too heavy as it was.
Well, the show is actually fully staged- fully, fully, fully staged. Costumes, sets, blocking, dancing. And they want the gowns to be period. They didn't tell us this 'til we'd already had several rehearsals. Well, my gown is great, but it's skinny- very tight (although flowy enough at the bottom that I can still waltz in it pretty hard). They wanted poofy dresses.
I showed my dress to a few people who liked it- it has a big ruffle down the front which makes it look bigger and flowier than it is (though it is still tight enough that I can't wear anything under it- at all), so everyone I showed it to approved.
I wore it last night at rehearsal and got overall approval again, but today when I got to our semi-dress rehearsal, I was handed two new pastel dresses- a frilly pink one and a poofy blue one. My Little Pony all over the place. I was instantly skeptical, but I agreed to try them on.
I tried the pastel pink dress on first. It was nowhere near fitting- it fit at the waist, but there was no way in hell I was going to get it to zip up- as I'm sure I've mentioned before, I have a huge rib cage (common problem among opera singers) and dresses just don't want to zip up.
The blue one did zip up. It fit great. But it was a Disney Princess dress- somewhere between Snow White and Cinderella. Adele may be a soubrette (a coloratura soubrette), but she is anything but an ingenoue. She is a slut, a liar, and a catty bitch. So wearing a pretty princess dress in powder blue felt ridiculous. Mind you, it looked great on me, but it was as out of character as can be- and un-period. It was too short (showed my ankles, GASP!) and contrasted extremely with the other gowns on the floor- black, dark blue, and deep purple. The final blow came when I realized during the waltz that I couldn't lift my arms all the way. The costume madam advised me to hike the sleeves up over my shoulders, which helped a little, but I still couldn't lift them and breathe at the same time, not to mention we weren't allowed to sew the sleeves into place, since the dress belonged to a school costume closet, not to us.
Then they gave me a pink dress, which I threw on backstage between numbers. The costume mistress also took the opportunity to throw my hair up with a clip- because I'll have my hair done for the show, and we wanted to get an idea of what I'd look like with my neck exposed. I was told I looked fine, but when I finally caught sight of myself in the mirror, I nearly laughed- the dress, which had looked a soft salmon backstage, was really a glowing hot pink, with a halter top and some strangely placed extra straps in the back. It was tightish and very low cut on top, flowy on bottom, with rhinestones across the stomach. All in hot pink polyester. To make matters worse, my hair, thrown back temporarily in the hair clip, flopped down over the back of my head in a messy, off-centered ponytail.
I was TOTALLY 80'S.
I voiced some concerns, but the consensus of Those In Charge was that it was the best option so far, because the one was too tight on bottom, and the other was too short and light, but this one was the right length and flowiness. (The cast member consensus was across the board that the original dress I brought was the best of the three, but they are not Those In Charge.) It is a pickle- we are stuck between a rock and a hard place with the gown situation, and it's a matter of choosing between the least of three evils. For the time being, the choice is the hot pink halter dress.
But it gets worse. I had been wearing white shoes, since black obviously did not go with any of the dresses, and I'd left my tan character shoes at home since they clashed so much with the salmon pink dress I brought. Of course white shoes are terrible on stage- they draw way too much attention- but I was hoping to find something better once I got here.
Well, as I was getting ready to leave, I was told to wear black shoes tomorrow- and handed me a pair of black leather elbow gloves. Which, unfortunately, fit. So now I will be wearing a hot pink halter gown with black shoes and black leather elbow gloves. In 1800's Vienna. Help!!
I was feeling a little flustered by the time I got out of there, so I sat by the lake for awhile, reading and making phone calls. It was a gorgeous, wonderful day. The lake was so blue and the sun felt so good.
Did I mention that the Smith is wonderful? It is such a beautiful old place, and big- seats 1400 I think, from what I can tell on the website. I hope I get a chance to take some pics.
^^Wine Touring around Seneca Lake- and yes, my delts really are that fierce.^^
Still here in Geneva, rehearsing Fledermaus!
Sunday we had the day off, so Prison Director Herr Frank (that's a character by the way), who is local, took us on a wine tasting tour. I was the only one who made it through the whole thing drinking- the other girls bailed halfway through, and of the guys, one was a designated driver, one is a health nut, and one is underage. Well, I had a good time at least! I can't believe how many fabulous wines there are up here. I didn't know it was a wine producing region til I got here. They're known for their Rieslings and other whites, but I had a lot of really great reds on the tour, too. And, luckily, it was a gorgeous day- the only one without rain so far except for Friday, when there was the car thing.
Saturday, by the way, we were taken out to this fabulous crazy awesome restaurant in the middle of nowhere, but the locals want to keep it secret so I promised not to tell about it. Too bad for you!!
Today my cover took me to the outlet mall, which was great (I got what I needed, which was new exercise clothes), but we didn't have enough time to delve deep. One of the tenors needs something so we might go tomorrow with another of the tenors who has a car. They had so many exciting stores there so I really want to spend some more time there!
The director came back today (he was gone for the weekend), and changed back the things the producer changed while he was gone. There was a guy from a local paper there, so I volunteered to be interviewed. 'Cause, you know, I talk a lot anyways, somebody might as well be taking notes.
They're starting to lighten up on us, since the show is coming up so soon. Tomorrow we just have an afternoon rehearsal. We are finally in the Smith Opera House! I've never seen the inside, but I've heard it's great. Hooray! Will try to remember my camera...
A beautiful day in Geneva
Current mood: happy
Category: Travel and Places
At last! Today was sunny and 83 degrees all day. And we had a lighter rehearsal schedule than the last couple of days, since the director had to leave for the weekend this afternoon. We ran the entire show with starts and stops (I know my stuff pretty darn cold, including lines, choreography, entrances and exits), and then we were done- I had an afternoon coaching with the music director on my arias, and that was it. I took advantage of the lovely weather to go for a jog along the lake. Tonight was the town's block party and car show, so I went to check it out- first by myself, later meeting up with Heather and Thomas. I couldn't believe how many people there were- this is such a tiny town! Where did they all come from? Anyways, since it was finally nice out, I took a few pictures for you.
And here are some pictures of the car show:
I hope you all had a lovely day as well! Tomorrow we have a light day- two hours to run lines, two hours to run music. Talk to you later!
tired
lazy
rushed
cheerful
adventurous
relaxed
peaceful
happy
