well, i'm just back from dropping my family off at grandma's house. i have to sing at church tomorrow and then opera rehearsal, so i didn't get to have a sleepover. oh well. but since i had the car to myself on the ride home, i took the opportunity to work on the opera i'm working on -- lucia di lammermoor.
i'm really excited about it, cuz it's my first repeat opera. unfortunately, the last time i did it i sang alto & now i'm singing soprano. for most of the show, it's not a problem. but occasionally the chorus has a random interjection that's in 4 parts, and my brain goes to what i know, and not what i'm learning. it's amazing what your brain remembers! :) and of course, i'm practicing in my car, which has always been my favorite practice space, so i'm not looking at the score. i've got my handy note-cards with me & using passing headlights to see the words i can't quite remember, but i've got no way of seeing the notes. so most of the time i'm cool with what i'm singing, but every once in a while, i'm not quite sure if i've done the soprano part or the alto. oh well. i guess i'll find out in rehearsal tomorrow :)
and i had my costume fitting on friday before rehearsal. this show is awesome cuz we've got fabulous corsets that are REAL corsets. they hook in the front & tie in the back. 8 years ago, when we last did this show, we had a fabulous dresser in the ladies dressing room, and she could really yank on those corset strings. i felt like i was in gone with the wind or one of my books holding on to my bedpost so my maid could get me into my corset. and we looked FABULOUS! it's amazing what proper foundation garments can do. :) but i was surprised this time, becuz it's been 8 years & 2 babies since i last did this show. it's the same production, so we have the same costumes, but i don't have the same body. but once i put on the corset & had the dresser cinch it up tight, YEE HAW! :) the do have to do some alterations, but they told me that if they don't let the skirt of my gown out a little bit, christopher will never let me do another show :) sometimes it's not good to work in the same company of your husband. :)
Showing posts with label pittsburgh opera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pittsburgh opera. Show all posts
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
who's that girl?
i've spend a significant portion of today in the kitchen. so much so that i have my practice disc of lucia di lammermore set up in the kitchen cd player & my music stand with my opera score set up right next to it. i never imagined a life where i'd bake my own bread and granola on a regular basis. and i've actually even graduated from using my bread machine to making the bread with my kitchenaid stand mixer & kneading it by hand. hunh?
any of my roommates from undergrad could tell you that the kitchen was never my domain. i was always the last to take care of the dishes or cleaning up of any sort. and i think joanna had just about given up on me ever actually washing the silverware. she once commented that i was the only person she knew that could wash dishes without getting my hands wet :). and here i am now with 2 kids, baking artisan bread on a weekly basis and making gourmet granola on request -- special with nuts just for my husband to take to school for breakfast.
even though i never actually had clear picture of what the future held for me, i know it wasn't this, and it's taken me a while to be comfortable with it. my husband and i are still in the process of redefining our roles. i don't think i will ever be a typical housewife/stay at home mom. i was raised by a mother who routinely tells people to "bite me." it really does make you feel better, even if you don't say it out loud. my husband, on the other hand, was raised as one of 8 by a good catholic mother who took in sewing. so we have very different images of what a mother should be doing during the day. my vision includes surfing the web and tending to my online business. his vision includes pearls & and apron, meeting him at the front door with his nightly scotch. :) needless to say, we've still got some work to do to find the middle ground. but we're getting there.
luckily, he's progressive enough to realize that he's got to adapt as well. his mother once mentioned to me that his father never changed a diaper for any of the 8 kids, while christopher will often be the one to offer to take care of that duty. and he's awesome with vomit. my therapist thinks that i have an actual phobia about vomit. thank goodness i didn't have morning sickness with either of my pregnancies. but last night when alexander threw up at the top of the stairs, christopher didn't even think to tell me to clean it up myself. before we had kids i told him that i would do poop forever if he'd take care of the vomit. and there were many instances with isabelle especially where i was called upon to get poop out of all of the nooks and crannies. gotta love that runny breast-fed baby poop! it tends to get everywhere. not so much of a problem with a boy, but a completely different situation with a girl. ick! :)
but i'm excited, cuz i start rehearsal for my next show on monday. it's always nice to slip into a different personna every once in a while. i get to dress like an opera singer and go somewhere with other adults and sing in a foreign language. and i've heard they're the same costumes from the last production of lucia, which involved fabulous corsets. the kind of corsets that go from right under the boobs to your hips & require you to perch on the front of your seat with perfect posture. and last time we had an awesome dresser who really tied us tight into our corsets. we looked fabulous! i can't wait! yay me! :) i just hope our lucia this time is as fabulous as the last one. without an awesome lucia, both vocally and acting, the mad scene really sucks.
any of my roommates from undergrad could tell you that the kitchen was never my domain. i was always the last to take care of the dishes or cleaning up of any sort. and i think joanna had just about given up on me ever actually washing the silverware. she once commented that i was the only person she knew that could wash dishes without getting my hands wet :). and here i am now with 2 kids, baking artisan bread on a weekly basis and making gourmet granola on request -- special with nuts just for my husband to take to school for breakfast.
even though i never actually had clear picture of what the future held for me, i know it wasn't this, and it's taken me a while to be comfortable with it. my husband and i are still in the process of redefining our roles. i don't think i will ever be a typical housewife/stay at home mom. i was raised by a mother who routinely tells people to "bite me." it really does make you feel better, even if you don't say it out loud. my husband, on the other hand, was raised as one of 8 by a good catholic mother who took in sewing. so we have very different images of what a mother should be doing during the day. my vision includes surfing the web and tending to my online business. his vision includes pearls & and apron, meeting him at the front door with his nightly scotch. :) needless to say, we've still got some work to do to find the middle ground. but we're getting there.
luckily, he's progressive enough to realize that he's got to adapt as well. his mother once mentioned to me that his father never changed a diaper for any of the 8 kids, while christopher will often be the one to offer to take care of that duty. and he's awesome with vomit. my therapist thinks that i have an actual phobia about vomit. thank goodness i didn't have morning sickness with either of my pregnancies. but last night when alexander threw up at the top of the stairs, christopher didn't even think to tell me to clean it up myself. before we had kids i told him that i would do poop forever if he'd take care of the vomit. and there were many instances with isabelle especially where i was called upon to get poop out of all of the nooks and crannies. gotta love that runny breast-fed baby poop! it tends to get everywhere. not so much of a problem with a boy, but a completely different situation with a girl. ick! :)
but i'm excited, cuz i start rehearsal for my next show on monday. it's always nice to slip into a different personna every once in a while. i get to dress like an opera singer and go somewhere with other adults and sing in a foreign language. and i've heard they're the same costumes from the last production of lucia, which involved fabulous corsets. the kind of corsets that go from right under the boobs to your hips & require you to perch on the front of your seat with perfect posture. and last time we had an awesome dresser who really tied us tight into our corsets. we looked fabulous! i can't wait! yay me! :) i just hope our lucia this time is as fabulous as the last one. without an awesome lucia, both vocally and acting, the mad scene really sucks.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
busy busy bee
well, i've been very busy lately. between rehearsals for pittsburgh opera (eugene onegin opens on saturday, sept 26th), making jewelry, doing hair, and taking care of my kids and husband, i've been a busy little beaver.
onegin is going to be a fabulous show. we did the studio run on friday, and it was amazing. they really spent their money wisely on the leads for this show. the tatiana is amazing! just amazing. i can't think of words to describe the beauty of her voice. for most of the rehearsals she hadn't been singing, but during the studio run, she finally let 'er rip, and it was so worth the wait. the men, for the most part, have been singing full out most of the time, but it was nice to finally have an opportunity to hear their arias and things we're not on stage for, and so don't get to hear during our rehearsals. and i think we sound pretty damn good ourselves. we've done an amazing job memorizing our russian, and i get to be a featured chorus dancer and am doing a pretty good job dancing our complicated waltz choreography while singing in russian *smile*. and it was very nice of the management to invite us to the opening night party again. now i have to decide what i'm wearing, whether i need to buy new shoes, and what jewelry i'm making for myself to wear *smile*.
but i've been working really hard on my jewelry as well. i'm doing a flea market at my fri
end michelle's church, mt. hope, here in penn hills, pa, on saturday, october 3rd. it should be a good time, but i'm not sure how much business i'll do. i've started making some new designs that're simpler, but a lot of fun, so i'm hoping they'll do well. bu
t i've also gotten into using a higher quality of materials, which makes my stuff more expensive. so we'll see. even if i just get ppl interested in my stuff and get them to come to the website, that'll be cool. but i'd also like to sell some things *smile*. i made some earrings for my friend kellie's niece who has a very serious allergy to silver and gold, and she's
ordered some more, which is cool. and i'm getting a lot more hits on my etsy site, which is also cool. i know it's slow in the beginning, and it's all about getting my name out there right now. it's working. blah *smile*
and i just had a glorious weekend. chris had an event to go to in youngstown this weekend, but i had work, rehearsal and church, so he took the kids with him to his mom's house and left me home alone all weekend! i had forgotten how quiet our house could be *smile*. it was the first time i've been away from isabelle overnight ever, and i missed them like crazy, but it was nice to have a break. of course i was late for church this morning cuz my alarm clock, alexander, was in youngstown, but it all worked out *smile*. i'm going to miss them a lot this week, too, cuz i've got rehearsal monday, tuesday, and wednesday for onegin, and i won't be home til after 11 each night. oh well. it's a nice paycheck, even if it isn't steady *smile*
onegin is going to be a fabulous show. we did the studio run on friday, and it was amazing. they really spent their money wisely on the leads for this show. the tatiana is amazing! just amazing. i can't think of words to describe the beauty of her voice. for most of the rehearsals she hadn't been singing, but during the studio run, she finally let 'er rip, and it was so worth the wait. the men, for the most part, have been singing full out most of the time, but it was nice to finally have an opportunity to hear their arias and things we're not on stage for, and so don't get to hear during our rehearsals. and i think we sound pretty damn good ourselves. we've done an amazing job memorizing our russian, and i get to be a featured chorus dancer and am doing a pretty good job dancing our complicated waltz choreography while singing in russian *smile*. and it was very nice of the management to invite us to the opening night party again. now i have to decide what i'm wearing, whether i need to buy new shoes, and what jewelry i'm making for myself to wear *smile*.
but i've been working really hard on my jewelry as well. i'm doing a flea market at my fri
end michelle's church, mt. hope, here in penn hills, pa, on saturday, october 3rd. it should be a good time, but i'm not sure how much business i'll do. i've started making some new designs that're simpler, but a lot of fun, so i'm hoping they'll do well. bu
t i've also gotten into using a higher quality of materials, which makes my stuff more expensive. so we'll see. even if i just get ppl interested in my stuff and get them to come to the website, that'll be cool. but i'd also like to sell some things *smile*. i made some earrings for my friend kellie's niece who has a very serious allergy to silver and gold, and she's
ordered some more, which is cool. and i'm getting a lot more hits on my etsy site, which is also cool. i know it's slow in the beginning, and it's all about getting my name out there right now. it's working. blah *smile*and i just had a glorious weekend. chris had an event to go to in youngstown this weekend, but i had work, rehearsal and church, so he took the kids with him to his mom's house and left me home alone all weekend! i had forgotten how quiet our house could be *smile*. it was the first time i've been away from isabelle overnight ever, and i missed them like crazy, but it was nice to have a break. of course i was late for church this morning cuz my alarm clock, alexander, was in youngstown, but it all worked out *smile*. i'm going to miss them a lot this week, too, cuz i've got rehearsal monday, tuesday, and wednesday for onegin, and i won't be home til after 11 each night. oh well. it's a nice paycheck, even if it isn't steady *smile*
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