Sheepishly catching up

Hello, my friends. It seems that I just cannot seem to stay faithful to the things that actually bring me joy (like this blog) and get reshackled to the things that bring me trouble (like my car—which ain’t so kaput as I’d stated in the previous entry, but more on that later). Nevertheless, here’s a rundown of the more eventful happenings in my life since last I put keystroke to blog.

UAO

So, at the end of January I auditioned for Union Avenue Opera. They’re doing The Pirates of Penzance, La fille du régiment (Daughter of the Regiment) and Пиковая дама (aka The Queen of Spades or Pique Dame). It wasn’t an easy year to bring in an aria for a prospective role I’d be right for. There are, however, a few tenor comprimarios in Pique Dame. Thus, I figured I’d go into the audition to show off my Russian skills with a ready-learned Tchaikovsky art song (“At the Ball”) as well as a Gilbert-Sullivan piece (“Tit Willow,” which I had to learn anyway for the party scene in Die Fledermaus). Not the most perfect audition repertoire, but I had to have something.

I went in and started with the Tchaikovsky. It seemed, to me, that it went over well with the audition panel. One of them asked me if I’d learned the piece especially for this audition. When I replied that I had previously sung it at a recital, they followed up by asking how I learned the Russian. I stated that the diction was self-taught, and the panelist replied by saying (and I paraphrase), “For having been self-taught, the diction sounds quite authentic to me.” I took it as a compliment. Russian is my weakest, most unfamiliar language.

Buoyed by such a compliment, I thought that I might be at least offered chorus in Pique Dame. Not so. I was offered choruses in Pirates and Fille, with a bit part in the latter. Honestly, I was seriously dejected over not being involved in Pique Dame, which seems like it’s going to be the “IT” show this summer, what with Tim Ocel’s involvement. (Really enjoyed working with him on Amahl!) I get it, though. Not everyone can be cast where they would wish, and one must accept that. So, less whining…more looking on the lighter side. I’ve always had a sweet spot in my heart for Pirates and with a director like Mark, it’s going to be silly, frivolous, campy joy onstage. Fille should have its charms, too…and if Jolly can make it even half as fun as the recent Met production, I’ll be happy to participate.

BIRTHDAYS

My niece turned 3 years old in February; my nephew 6 on the first of this month. Emily and Jeff decided to make this birthday extra special by taking them to Disney World for a week, with both sets of grandparents in attendance. I was invited to come along, but declined if only because I’m already taking off a substantial amount of time from work in June (…more on that laterz) but would have loved to revisit the resort, which I’ve not visited since 1993. The kids had a ball, and if that weren’t enough, they had a joint birthday party with all the neighborhood kids and family members a few weeks later. I hope that after all the travels, cake, presents and Mickey Mouse, they will come to appreciate how much their parents, grandparents and uncle love them.

CAR

Oh yeah, so my Dad and I learned a valuable lesson way later than we should have…and that is to NEVER take your car to its dealer unless you have no other alternatives. Why? They’re always going to triple or quadruple the cost of parts you could easily purchase at AutoZone, then screw you further on labor. If this weren’t enough, the local Ford Dealer did some shoddy work on replacing the Taurus’s heater core in January 2009, which caused all kinds of problems back in January of this year. Rubbing salt in the wound was the discovery that I drove 900 miles beyond the mileage allowance on the part-warranty. Could have had most of this nonsense COMPED!!!

A local, mom-and-pop mechanic shop was able to get my car back to drivable status until I can figure out what kind of car to replace it. So yeah…the assumption that my car was kaput? Not so.

MARCH MADNESS

You might think I’m referring to the annual hullabaloo over college basketball, but you’d be sadly mistaken. My personal March Madness was rehearsing two shows—Gianni Schicchi and Die Fledermaus—at once.

Gianni Schicchi was the third and final production of Gina’s current season, and I think it was apt to cap things off on the Hill, even if St. Ambrose Church is not the most Opera-friendly. Got to work once again with some wonderful colleagues—including my homeboy Charlie Martinez—as well as some new people. A very low-stress gig with the opportunity to go a little over the top on the acting side of things.

Die Fledermaus was Jolly Stewart’s final production at Washington University, involving several alumni, grad students and undergrads. In 20 years of the WU Opera, she almost always mounted productions of 20^th Century British and American works with the objective to challenge students’ musical and dramatic chops. Thus, we were quite surprised to find that she wanted to cap off her time at WU with an operetta completely out of the ordinary fare. However, Fledermaus is one of her faves, so it made some sense. As Ivan, Orlofsky’s very Russian valet, I had the honor of capping off the “midnight entertainment” in the middle of Act II with the “Tit Willow” song. It was also enjoyable to walk about in my Cossack and Stalin moustache/beard/eyebrows whilst speaking English in a faux-Russian accent, dropping all definite/indefinite articles and making sure to swallow every last L.

ITALY

My June trip to Italy with the UACC Chancel Choir is, as they say in pop culture, AWN. My plane ticket is bought. I considered that move a true commitment. I’ve found hotels in every city but Venice, and will soon acquire my Eurail pass. Looks like the dollar is getting stronger, too, so I won’t be so set back by the € exchange rate. The itinerary is 4 days in Rome (with a side-trip to Naples), then 2 days each in Assisi, Florence and Venice.

More on this as it approaches… and if you’ve made it this far, I salute you!

Post-Christmas report

Christmas came and went. I found the actual day to be rather anti-climactic. It seems that as I get older, the actual day is not nearly as exciting as the events, gigs and get-togethers that build up to it. Maybe I’ve been emotionally numbed by the rotten December I’ve had. I really don’t know.

Christmas Day and its surrounding times weren’t all bad. I have plenty of happier things to dwell upon:

• Christmas Eve service at Union Avenue; singing “O Holy Night”
• The party at Scott & Anthony’s place
• Giving Snuggies™ to the niece & nephew and getting one from my sister
• Taking Mom to see Up in the Air; enjoying the film more for all the St. Louis landmarks than for the actual plot
• Splurging on an iPod (more on that later)
• Going to see NINE at the Tivoli (worth seeing for Marion Cotillard and Fergie alone!!!)
• Returning an age-inappropriate book to exchange it for the Kathy Griffin memoir on audiobook
• Cookies...nummy cookies...
• Calling my Uncle in DC and discovering that I’m not the only schmuck having a rotten December

Yes, folks, as you read earlier, I splurged and got myself an iPod to replace the one stolen earlier this month. It’s the black iPod nano 5^th generation. I’m very satisfied to have all the portable music I want in ONE place rather than lugging a CD wallet around with me. Aside from the obvious daily uses, this new iPod has all kinds of new bells-n-whistles. I dig the FM tuner…it lets me enjoy 99.1 more often. Love the cover-flow feature. The video feature looks pretty cool, but I don’t know if I’ll use it much though.

The funniest new feature on this iPod hands down is the VoiceOver technology—chiefly designed for the iPod shuffle, but available on all new incarnations. Basically, you can prompt the iPod to speak the song title and artist of whatever you’re currently listening to. The default synthesized voice is a woman speaking English. However, if you have a song in a foreign language, the VoiceOver technology attempts (emphasis on attempts) to detect the language and assign the appropriate synthesized voice. My album of Salome (an opera in German) prompts a deep-voiced male German-speaker—but for only the first two tracks!!! For some odd reason, all following tracks go back to the default English-speaker…and she has some AWFUL German diction ;) I’ve also noticed that for another unexplainable reason, one of the titles on my Porgy & Bess highlights album (“My Man’s Gone Now”) is read by the iPod’s Italian synthesized voice!! Very random. Very funny.

Ok, that’s all I got for now. Will definitely post a year-end retrospective on Thursday. Can’t believe we’re about to exit the Aughts!

I've returned

Dear Blog Readers (if you’re out there, and I don’t blame you if you aren’t),

I must apologize for neglecting this space. I could make excuses, but they’re kind of lame…so here is a rundown on my life events since the end of UAO’s summer season.

During late September/early October, I was involved in a world premiere production of composer Barbara Harbach’s O Pioneers!, an opera based on the Willa Cather novel. I was quite happy to have the job: it paid well, I got to work with some great singers, Mark Meier directed, and it gave me the opportunity to perform at the Touhill PAC. That’s about all I have to say ;)

For the past few months, I’ve been actively singing with the church choir at Union Avenue Church. We are embarking on an Italy Choir Tour this June. Scott, our choir director, negotiated a trip with a NYC-based tour company. The proposed route plan: 10-days in Italy, including 2 nights each in Rome, Assisi, Florence and Como. The airfare, bus transportation, lodging, some meals and admission (for museums/attractions) brought the final total to a whopping $3500—and that was ONLY if we could get 40 people onboard. I, and others, were uneasy about this price. Nevertheless, I was willing to scrimp and save. We got about 25-30 people to commit, and after some developments (including the option to keep costs the same by nixing Assisi—a devastating prospect), it was decided that going through a tour group was no longer feasible…

…which brought us back to square one. Last week, Scott proposed a trip planned independently—and if not enough choir people sign up, it will be an enjoyable trip with great friends. This option looks far more palatable, given how it would save everyone about $1,000. Plus, we’d get to keep Assisi on the tour and end it in Venice—where I’ve never been—instead of Como (on the Swiss border). I can also visit many places/see many sights I missed in Rome and Florence the first time around. And Assisi? Well, you know how I feel.

Paying for the tour seems a tough venture, but I must say that the challenge has been eased by some fortuitous developments. Since O Pioneers!, I have been engaged for five singing gigs. I just finished the first with New Opera STL (Chorus/Ambrogio in Barber of Seville), where I’ll return for some brief comprimarios in Werther and Gianni Schicchi in January/March. Next week, I begin rehearsals for Amahl and the Night Visitors with UAO. Jolly Stewart also asked me to be involved in Die Fledermaus—her final production at WashU this March. I’ll be one of the New Year’s Eve party guests, singing the “Tit-Willow” song from The Mikado. For all of this, I am very thankful!

Speaking of thankful things, here are some other things I have to be thankful for this year:

• Countless wonderful, accepting, understanding friends
• GLEE, South Park, Survivor and The Amazing Race
• A boss and supervisor that “get” my odd schedule and career needs!
• Union Avenue Christian Church—for many reasons
• Prospect of returning to Italy; having the means to do so
• Emily, Jeff, William, Grace, Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, Dad, Uncles, Aunt and cousins
• That I’m alive.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

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!!

A surprising development

I was surprised by a UAO development three days ago. A chorus slot in Lakmé opened up and was offered to me. There were a lot of pros/cons to weigh. The major pros are $ and the chance to be in an important french opera; the only major con is that I'm giving up a significant portion of my summer to do all three operas. I accepted the offer. Who knows if I'll regret this choice or not. Nevertheless, I have decided to act against regret by making some concrete plans for vacation, preferably the last week of May or first week of June before chorus music rehearsals begin.

As for vacation, I'm thinking of spending a week in Fort Lauderdale to lounge on the beach and visit my Uncle Lance and Brian. Maybe they'll even let me stay at their place! *crossing fingers*

Tomorrow night is the opening night of Donizetti's Don Pasquale with New Opera St. Louis. I highly recommend the production, as all four principals are exceptional singers...and there's a bitchin' couple of choruses in Act Three...well maybe not bitchin' but I think the director has given us some fun stuff to do with what little stage time the composer gave us. ;) Here are the details...

WHAT: Don Pasquale
WHEN: Friday, March 27 @ 8pm / Sunday, March 29 @ 5pm
WHERE: Saint Ambrose Church on "The Hill" / 5130 Wilson Ave / St. Louis
TICKETS: $30 / $26 / $22 (Student Rush $10 @ the Door) Call 314.865.0038
WEBSITE: newoperastl.org

Prodigal Blogger Vol. 1

Woah, where have I been this month?!?

*cue cheesy baptist church organ music*

I’m a bonafied certified blog-backslider!!!  I am a lost sheep!!  But I—the Prodigal Blogger—have come home to beg your forgiveness!!!

Ok… now that that part is over with…lemme fill you in on what’s up…

WILLIAM TURNS FIVE!

My nephew William turned 5 years old at the top of the month.  His parents threw him a Cowboy-themed party, and the kid just had a ball!  Was glad to have been a part of it.  I have learned that one of his birthday presents was Tae Kwon Do lessons…though I think they are less a “wheee! fun!!” present and more a “we need to harness this kid’s energy so he doesn’t drive us nuts at home” present.  Either way, I’m wearing a cup next time I visit him in case he wants to practice any kicks when I walk in the door.

MOVIES

So I decided to catch up on a couple Oscar films, albeit retroactively.  I spent a Saturday afternoon at the Chase Park Plaza seeing two films in a row: The Reader and Frost/Nixon.  The Reader was quite amazing and prompted a lot of moral questions, but for reasons of plot spoilage, I cannot comment why I feel that way.  Nonetheless, Kate Winslet proved once again why she’s one of the best working film actresses today…and I actually feel this role to be Oscar worthy, even though I feel like the Academy pulled a “Scorcese” on her.  Frost/Nixon made me feel as if Frank Langella was robbed—and I loved Sean Penn in Milk.  Now I want to see the actual Frost/Nixon interviews.

GIGS, GIGS, GIGS

Got cast at Union Avenue for the coming season.  They’re doing Il trovatore, The Merry Widow (in German), Lakmé and a Christmastime production of Amahl and the Night Visitors.  I’ll be appearing in the Verdi and Lehár, the latter of which I’m most excited…because any chance to flex my german muscles is worth taking!  We have yet to hear how Amahl will be cast, but I am not necessarily holding my breath.

(Oh, and I entered the Crapshoot Olympics® but didn’t even get the Bronze.  However, I did get a compliment from the judge.)

Last weekend, I solo-ed with the St. Louis Women’s Chorale.  Got to sing some Lehár and Weill, one of which I can sing at parties; the other I can add to my aria list…SWELL!!

As if all that weren’t enough, I got hired at the last minute for a chorus gig in New Opera St. Louis’ season-closer Don Pasquale.  Great director, great conductor, fun colleagues... To quote the great Ethel Merman: who could ask for anything more? 

Valentine's Day, or just another day?

Ok, so I'm cooled off after that last diatribe.  Moving on to happier subjects...

VALENTINE'S DAY

So yeah... uh... it's Valentine's Day.  And I have no sweetheart...so I guess I'll have to love myself before I love another...  How's that for Hallmark-Card sentimentality?  First on the docket of loving oneself?  Buy oneself some sugar cookies with red/pink/white frosting and eat them.  Second on the docket?  Take oneself on a date to the Symphony (Christine Brewer's rockin' out on the Verdi Requiem.  WHEEEE!)...  At said Symphony, one must also take advantage of the 50-Free program, because after all, it's great if oneself is a cheap date.

REALITY TEE-VEE BINGE

I'm on a Reality TV binge as of late.  And so I'm going to take some time to talk about what keeps my DVR nice and chock-full as of late:

American Idol has been chugg-a-lugging along for over a month now, and I'm finding myself actually watching past the auditions/hollywood shows.  I haven't done that since the season Carrie Underwood won.  I am not a huge fan of the show, so I'm very amused by two histrionic, sanctimonious demographics that watch AI: tweens and housewives.  Both groups tend to fiercely support a very annoying, mediocre singer that seems to be "chosen" by the producers to advance (see David Archuleta & Clay Aiken).  I tend to find myself in the camp that wants to be entertained... so I find myself drawn to the trainwrecks that make it to the Top 36.  Thus, I really enjoy visiting VoteForTheWorst.com!  Check it out sometime.

Survivor: Tocantins premiered the other night.  I'm not really feeling this season's locale (the Brazilian highlands), though I will give the producers points for finding such a seemingly desolate place...which they've not really done since the season in the Australian outback.  As for the cast, there are a few loud, wannabe-alpha-males that, in the pursuit of being top dog, ought to make fools of themselves for our enjoyment.  There's a few underdogs worth rooting for, too.  Survivor: Gabon was a hard act to follow...we'll have to see about this season.

The Amazing Race starts up tomorrow night!!!  The cast was revealed a few weeks ago, and I am pre-rooting for both parent/child teams (one of which includes the first deaf contestant) as well as a team of two seemingly strong/competitive red-headed women.  HOLLA, FELLOW GINGERS!  (Ok, so I'm not a ginger...but I was at an early age...) I've heard wonderful things about the race course...but my most anticipated moment will be when the teams go to Salzburg, Austria!!!  Amazing Race Producers: Please tell me you fashioned some kind of task involving the mythical rivalry between Mozart and Salieri!!!

GRACE TURNS 2

My little niece Grace Emily is turning the big T-W-O on Monday.  She's growing up so fast! According to insider reports, she said her first full sentence last week: "I know Pop-Pop like tatos."  (Her brother tried to tell her that grandpa didn't like potatoes, and that direct quote was her merry retort!)  The grandparents, parents, uncle and big brother are all celebrating tomorrow afternoon with a lunch of my momma's famous chicken 'n dumplings followed by Rice Krispie treats.  Unfortunately there will be no ice cream, as my niece is lactose intolerant (hopefully only temporarily) so if the queen of the day can't have it, we all can't...and those are the rules ;)

I Pagliacci

Last week, I was so busy with work, car repairs and my supertitles gig, that I practically forgot I had an internet connection and a blog...

...so here goes.  The highlight of last week was my gig as superititleist for New Opera St. Louis' production of I Pagliacci.  I'd never ran supertitles before, but it was a very simple job of making sure everything was readable on the screen (cleverly built into the set), watching the score, and making sure the running translation displayed at the right moments.  All in all, it was a fun way to make some needed cash...though I don't think I shall miss negotiating the catwalk every night...it's not a very big-guy-friendly space ;)  The best part, though, was reuniting with friends that I've made through the company.  Lots of good times!

Oh, and New Opera St. Louis got its first (and glowing) review from the Post-Dispatch.  Go NOSTL!

Sunday night, after the final show we had the cast party, which doubled as a SuperBowl viewing event.  I don't really watch the game with any great interest, but I did enjoy some of the commercials, including this one (my favorite):

In other news, I'm readying myself for the Union Avenue audition.  Tonight, I'm previewing "This is my Box" from Amahl and the Night Visitors @ the voice master class.  I'm also plugging away at "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz"...a deceptively simple aria, to be frank.

To end this entry, I leave you with a question... What do you recommend as an appropriate gift for a 2-year-old girl's birthday?  My neice is almost freakin' TWO!!