ignunce & fireworks

These past four weeks have been a blur of rehearse, rehearse, dressels, work-during-the-day, rehearse, rehearse, ignunce*, rehearse....et cetera!

*Ignunce cannot be described; only experienced! Suffice it to say that when Mark Meier's in town, I stay out waaaaay too late and have waaaaay too much fun ;)

I'm currently singing in the chorus of Il Trovatore with Union Avenue Opera. Two weeks ago, we met to solidify the music and block the entire show. One great aspect of working with our director, Mark, is that his directorial philosophy goes like this: "Mama runs a tight ship." His approach allows us to get all the housecleaning out of the way as quickly/efficently as possible, then take the rest of the time to work in the dramatic elements. The past week was spent running acts and eventually running the entire show...which is incredibly tight and FLYS BY...and that's saying something for Verdi. Today, we meet with the orchestra for the first time to do the Sitzprobe...then the next few days are all Dress Rehearsals before Friday's opening night. Tonight, I will finally have my costume fitting and figure out what she wants to do with my beard...which is quite pitiful. Not gonna lie.

Overall, this has been a great cast to work with. The chorus people are mostly UAO veterans (Nate, Jonathan, Alan, Clark, Jon) with some new blood joining our company (Tom & Anthony). I have a lot of interaction onstage with Jonathan Brader, whose talent for chattering in Italian (whenever we're not singing) is impeccable and amusing. I chuckle at what he'd sound like in a russian piece. The atmosphere backstage is collegial and quite humorous at times...what a great place to to work. I've almost forgot the principals, too. Alexandra, our Leonora, tears. it. UP. in Act IV...and anyone undecided on coming to see Trovatore should keep this in mind. Patrick, our Ferrando, is a vocal powerhouse...one of those "could listen to him sing the phonebook" voices! Veronica, our Azucena, plays the old, crazy gypsy-witch to the hilt...yet another reason to come, y'all. Go to this website and get your tickets: http://www.unionavenueopera.org/

How did you spend your Fourth of July holiday?? I was originally supposed to join my immediate family members down at the Lake of the Ozarks for all of Saturday and then head back today, but circumstances kept us all here. My parents and I spent the afternoon with the Rhymer-side of the family--specifically at the place of my cousin Dave and his wife Amy. I never pass up a chance to schmooze with my Aunt Kathy, plus it was a great way to see some family I see rather infrequently. As dark approached, I drove to good old Freeburg to join my sis, bro-in-law, niece and nephew for a fireworks show at Freeburg Recreation Park. *cue sappy music here* I felt a lot of nostalgia to be honest. This was where my sister and I grew up going to the pool, playing on the swings, playing little league, riding the rides at the homecoming festival (ROCK-O-PLANE!!!), and many other small-town joys. Now, my little niece and nephew were playing there... *end sappy music here* Being in a small town, we weren't expecting a show on par with Fair St. Louis, but the Freeburg Chamber of Commerce (or whatever org) exceeded my expectations! 30 minutes of balls-to-the-wall fireworks...was mightily impressed with what they brought to the table. It was a delightful way to cap off the Fourth of July. All that was missing was a soundtrack of Neil Diamond and Irving Berlin!!