Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Broadening my horizons

I am currently a bit inundated with reams of notes and words being sung into a very perceptive microphone, all which will hopefully be for the benefit of your listening pleasure in a few months, so my writing capacity is a bit dimmed for the moment.

I CAN, however, easily post a few photos from the most lovely of trips to Istanbul. It was a magical trip, and one which captivated me from beginning to end with its mystique, exotic charm, abundance of history, and warmth of people.

Not to be missed, the Hagia Sophia ~ dedicated in 360 - first as a church, later a mosque, and currently a breathtaking museum:

GREEN!

Shadows

Majesty

Having the great honor and pleasure to sing at the St. Irene 6th Century Basilica took my breath away. It's hard to imagine a more mystical setting to sing "Amarilli", or enter into the drama of Desdemona's Willow Song:

6th Century Atmosphere

Domed Platform

As a side note to all concert presenters, both present and future hopefuls: thinking of EVERYTHING really, REALLY counts! A 6th century church may not be too modernized, but with the help of portable units, any and all emergencies can be accounted for:



A short trip to the Grand Bazaar did not disappoint, as I found some fabulously exotic lamps to bring home with me as the perfect souvenir for this lovely trip. But that wasn't the best part. I luckily had a local negotiator, and now dear friend, with me who assured that I would be given the best price and be well taken care of - this was a definite bonus. But I never, ever could have been prepared for what happened the next day: having exchanged business cards with each other, this lovely salesman called my guide to say that his boss had negotiated a better shipping rate and that he would like to refund me €35. Cash.

I don't think anything in Istanbul impressed me as much as that, and considering the wealth of beauty and discovery waiting there, that's saying quite a lot.

A few minor updates:

*the re-launch of my newly designed website is looming, which will affect the design of my blog and various other undertakings! Don't let it throw you - once all sorted, it will still be me, and I'll be writing and posting as usual - when I can, and when I have the time!!!

*In case you don't know of it, there is a "Fan Page" on Facebook - for those of you brave enough to face the chaos of Facebook, you'll find it a very fun and interactive place to quickly catch up on things - like the announcement of the theme of my new disc I'm currently recording!! Feel free to come join in the festivities ... although this, too, is soon to be revamped a bit!

That's it for the moment! I must now go spend more time with Orfeo! Poor me!!! ;-)

3 comments:

Vanette said...

Thank you again for such beautiful photos. They remind me of our trip to Istanbul several years ago, also magical. Just a note about Hagia Irene: the wikipedia article you point to does state "often erroneously rendered in English as St Irene".
We're looking forward to both your new recording and your Rosina in Berlin next month.

Gi said...

And what a pleasure to see you take over the Facebook fanpage. Hope you enjoy it there.
Lots of news to be happy over :-)

Sarah said...

I was wondering when you might discover Gluck . . . I am a total geek for Gluck. David Daniels is singing in Orfeo here next weekend!