I am uber-excited about some things, and not so excited about others… It sounds like we will, in fact, be doing Elixir next spring. Yay!!! But unfortunatly the tenor who will be singing Nemorino is about the size of a mountain, and he just keeps getting bigger. Another mountainous tenor of my acquaintance recently commented that he is glad that opera singers don’t have to be stick thin, which I am glad for too, because I am not stick thin. But opera singers also need to be strong and healthy. Eating yourself to the size of Jonah’s whale is not exactly a picture of health. Breath control, stage movement, endurance, etc… All aspect of singing are affected by weight. Not to mention the fact that no one wants to see a romantic lead who looks like a tub of lard. It makes me wish Nemorino was a baritone… I know a couple baritones who would make excellent Nemorinos… If only they were tenors. Sigh.
One of my professors informed me today that I’ll likely have to take yet another course next spring… In the fall I’m taking vocal literature as an undergrad course, and now they want me to take it again in the spring as a graduate course. This is the semester I’m also supposed to be taking my theory course and possibly an opera history seminar. On top of everything else I’ll be doing that semester (like German, lessons, oh, and performing a lead role in an opera and teaching at a J/C two days a week), I’m already getting overwhelmed about next year. And I’m not finished with this school year yet! Ugh!
I suppose I shouldn’t complain… I chose to do this program, after all, and I’m glad I’m doing it and getting these experiences. It’s just all so overwhelming at the moment!
Oh! I went to see Faust this weekend… Awesome! The bass who sang Mephistopholes (Hao Jiang Tian) was fantastic! I can’t wait to read his book, Along the Roaring River: My Wild Ride from Mao to Met.
