...is something I often need to remind myself to participate in when things have gotten a bit hectic. If I can manage the breathing part, the rest will likely follow. Last SATURDAY I was in Minneapolis for my husband's "triumphant" conducting of "Casanova's Homecoming" by Dominick Argento (what a brilliant score and LIBRETTO!!). SUNDAY found me flying to San Francisco to rehearse a few hours for my recital on MONDAY night to a wonderful crowd of my west coast "family". 6:00 AM TUESDAY morning a car arrived to whisk me away to the airport to fly to Los Angeles to begin my rehearsals for my LA Opera debut in Barbiere ... after getting lost on the freeway system several times, I had my 2 1/2 hour costume fitting, (3 costumes x 5 layers each = 15 hemlines to stand tall and motionless for whilst they take exact measurements!), followed by 6 hours of staging rehearsals. WEDNESDAY brought another 6 hours of staging and I whisked myself away (not getting lost this time, thank god!) to LAX for the red-eye flight to New York City. Arriving at 7:30 AM on THURSDAY, I had more fittings for gowns, a brief nap (which wasn't productive at all, since I couldn't stop the ol' mind from spinning off it's axis with the list of things I needed to accomplish in the next 10 hours!), and before I knew it I was standing at a podium thanking the world for the wonderful "Opera News Award." (Much more on that later) No after parties for me, for I had to get home to finish lining up things so that our apartment would be ready for it's first renter, not to mention being sure I was awake and packed for the car that was coming at 5:15 AM FRIDAY morning to whisk me back to JFK to catch the plane that would whip me to LAX and into my 6 hours of piano dress rehearsals for the day.
SATURDAY I stayed in bed until 4:00 PM.
So we've crossed off the "Break a leg" mantra for me, and now any of those jokes about divas staying in bed all day eating bon bons? They're off limits, too!!!
Sadly, a full-fledged weekend doesn't seem to exist in my world, so it's back to the theater for orchestra stagings today, BUT I kept breathing, took all my vitamins, and look - I'm still standing!!! And breathing.....
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15 comments:
What's that song from A Little Night Music? Hi Ho the Glamorous Life!
Still standing, maybe due to appropriate shoes, um? :)
Obviously, you can't say that life is boring! I'm telling you, teleporters would be SO useful!!!!! Enjoy your rehearsals and your stay in LA, and please, don't kill yourself, we need you here ^^
Take care, Joyce, that sounds too stressful !!!!
By the way, what a nice photograph, where is that ? :)
OMG, this is a tight schedule...!
I hope you can enjoy a relaxed thanksgiving with not planes at all...
Take care...
PS: This time I got the real CD for your signing next year...
Bless you and sending lots of positive energy to you. Remember to breath.
Giusto ciel, Joyce. I'm shocked you are still alive! I seriously doubt you have had the time to take photos properly. Not a good thing! ;)
Congratulations on the 'Opera News Award' :D You truly deserve it!
I wish you have the chance to stay in bed a bit longer a bit more often. In my opinion, your own bed is one of the best places in the world to be breathing in ^^
Dejà vu: I am pretty annoyed about the Colbran not being available in Spain yet. Actually, not only is it still unavailable but you can't even order it because it is not in the databases of the stores *grrrr*
Take lots of care and some rest from time to time!
All my love,
Irene
Oy. Take care of yourself. (Or pay someone else to do it.)
I don't know how y'all do it.
I was in the Herbst on Monday--you were lovely. Hoping to hear you do the Rossini Otello someday. The Willow Song took my breath away. (And the shoes were just fine.)
I am amazed at the amount of time opera stars have to spend flying from city to city and continent to continent. I presume one can nap during the flight? What a contrast with opera before plane travel became common. Ponselle sang only at the Met aside from a couple of trips (by boat?) to London. Melba, if I am not mistaken, sang almost exclusively in London. Singers then could stay in one place and put down roots. Not easy today.
Take care, there is such a thing as burnout, you know?
I've been having a great time listening to the Colbran CD - Irene, order it from amazon.co.uk, that's where I got mine from.
Congrats (again) for the Opera News award. Breathe, and have fun (and the occasional nap). Hugs.
Piano: Schroeder; Vocals: DiDonato...what a concert! Is there a record of this ?
Congratulations on the Award, and many thanks for the beautiful Rossini disc - what a joy !
Thanks for the advice, Gi, I will... This is nerve-wracking! I should just do it fast before people starts ordering Christmas presents!
By the way, Joyce, I got the recording of your San Francisco recital and it was AMAZING!
I'm super excited about seeing you again. My friend Marion will come to Barcelona and stay at my place, so we will see you together :D
What's your favourite flower? ^^
All my love,
Irene
PS: What shoes will you wear in January? LOL
I'm SO glad you were able to visit an unusually temperate St. Paul (for November) and the lovely Ordway Theater, home of the MN Opera and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (my peeps). I wondered if you would be able to fit in a show. I went to the final performance and thoroughly enjoyed it. Maestro Vordoni appears to have a command of many different opera styles and composers, judging by his recent and upcoming productions. How a conductor - or a singer - masters solid hours of music is beyond me!! So sad I don't live on either coast so that I could catch one of your rare recitals stateside. Perhaps you'll do a tour someday . . . .
Dear Joyce:
Congratulations on the Opera News Award - look forward to hearing more about it.
Hope you have a very nice and relaxing Thanksgiving with your loved ones!
Congratulations on the award! And WOW you must have a TON of "sky" miles.
Congratulations for the award!And for the new CD.
I wish that "beam me down, Number 1" could be real. Just to be able to go to all the places you sing. 3 in particular. Wigmore Hall, Salzburg for that Norma and Milan for Il Barbiere as I loved the ROH one.
Good luck with your future projects. You make so many people happy!
Happy holidays!
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