Wow, it's been a long time since I wrote a blog entry. It's probably been since before my folks arrived on the 26th of November.
Last week I had a nice audition in Cologne (more on that in a minute), and as my parents were here in Brussels on an extended visit, they watched the kids for us, and gave us the present of a nice two days by the seaside. Oostende and De Haan are on the sea, just across the channel from the UK, and are hopping places in the summertime. Maggie met me in the train station, and we skipped town together...
Since we were visiting in early December, De Haan was almost completely deserted, particularly in the hotel and beach house portions of the town. It was nice to walk around the village, which was rebuilt just after the Second World War, and we collected a few shells and tested the water (it was a bit cold).
We bought 10 Euro three-day tram passes for the Flanders transit system, and visited Oostende and then Brugge, where we perused the Christmas Market, climbed the famous belfry tower, and then had dinner before going back to De Haan. On our way back to Brussels we stopped for the afternoon in Ghent, picnicked there, window-shopped a bit, and made note of some things to see next time, when we come for a longer visit, and bring the kids.
COLOGNE / KÖLN
It was a stressful day to get up early, get dressed, and get on the transit at 7:00 am just to get to Köln in time for a 12:30 audition, not to mention the lack of a place to warm up. This stress was reduced quite a bit by the generosity of Keith Boldt, a tenor colleague and friend from Canada who is living in Köln himself and continuing to develop his European career. Keith met me at the train station, took me to lunch at a great little Italian restaurant close to the agency, walked me over to the agency building, and then offered to meet me after the audition was over.Like all auditions, you never really know what is going on in the minds of the auditioners, what they are hearing, or what they are looking for, but I sang reasonably well, and was satisfied
with how it went. This despite my almost complete lack of German... I had memorized a few phrases suggested by friends, and was able to explain that I didn't speak very much German, describe which pieces I was going to sing, and ask politely if we might speak in English. The auditioners were very accomodating but were adamant that I has to start speaking German if I wanted to be successful working in Germany.I met a German mezzo-soprano named Vera at the audition who had some time to spend waiting for her late afternoon flight back to Münich. She asked if I was heading back to Brussels immediately, and as my train didn't leave until 3:40 that afternoon, we ended up going together to meet Keith at the cathedral, and the three of us hung out together for a couple of hours.
The Cathedral was gorgeous! It was staggeringly big, a mountain of stone and glass, and very beautiful. There is currently a furore over the new rose window on one side, which is a pointilistic abstract design of very vivid, modern colours. I don't personally think it does much to amplify and extend upon the shape of the window itself, the way the older rose windows do, and I find the colours a bit artificial, and not entirely to my taste.
This past Monday I had another audition, this one in Brussels for an agent here. As well, I've had some discussions with a Brussels conductor about a potential performance with his choir and orchestra in December of 2008, and he suggested an agent in Antwerp. I'll find an agent when it happens; in the meantime I have my own calls to make, and more auditions to sing, for La Monnaie and elsewhere.
SCHOOL IS GETTING BETTER...
If you've read the earlier blog entries you'll know that we were really worried about Malcolm and his problems in school, specifically "tuning out" during lessons, and his feelings of isolation and loneliness. I've tried to really sit on top of him as far as homework is concerned, especially since I got back from Toronto, and it is really paying off. He got a 15/15 on his Flemish test last week, and has had several "Bravo!"s, smiley faces, and even a star for a math test! His demeanor has changed completely, and I make sure that I check in with his teacher as often as I can, and make sure that I get a face-to-face report from her about his comportment, work habits, etc., and reward him accordingly. He has made a couple of friends too, so that's making it easier for him socially, which goes a long way towards making him feel less isolated.
Duncan has started switching back and forth between French and English, by throwing French words into his sentences... he was eating a Saint Nicholas cookie and after he ate the hat off the figure, he said to my father, "Look grandpa, I ate his whole chapeau." Yesterday he came home and said, "I want to manger, I'm hungry!". He isn't aware that he's doing it, but it is happening. Malcolm on the other hand is nattering away like crazy, watching movies in French, reading BD (comic books) in French, and talking up a storm with his friends. It's really working for them both. Duncan hasn't eaten any more cat food, that's a good sign!
(SEEMINGLY) ENDLESS RAIN
Here in Brussels it's rained every day since I got back from Toronto, or so it seems. The good thing is that there are frequent periods of gorgeous blue sky, with fluffy gold and pink Rubenesque clouds, but these don't last very long.
On the eve of December 6th, the boys were excited to take part in a Belgian and northern French tradition of the Feast of St. Nicholas. They put out their shoes, and leave a glass of beer for Saint Nicholas, and a saucer of milk or a carrot for his donkey. Black Peter is Saint Nicholas' accomplice, and helps fill the shoes, with chocolate, toys, oranges etc. The boys were thrilled to awaken to a trail of chocolate money that led down the two flights of stairs to the dining room, and to the promised treasure. Strangely for us, they went off to school at the normal time, it being a Thursday.
Having had Saint Nicholas visit our house this past week means that, in a way, the kids will get TWO Christmas mornings (although traditionally here the gifts on the 24th/25th are from family members to each other, not from Santa Claus).Good thing, too. It was important for my parents to be here for St. Nicholas, as they will be in Canada for Christmas, celebrating with the rest of the family, the first time that Maggie (and of course the children) haven't got together with my parents over the holidays since 1995. My folks had a great time spending time with the kids and with us; for example, we all went to the Brussels Christmas market together, rode the big ferris wheel, and watched the kids on the carousel. We also had a chance to eat frites from a street vendor, drink mulled wine, and walk around doing our window shopping.
ON OUR OWN AGAIN
My parents took the train to Paris yesterday morning, and will spend a few days there before returning to Canada. The boys had been so excited to have them arrive for their visit, and were really very sad to see them go back to Canada, after the world-class spoiling they got! We consoled them with promises that we'd be back to Canada for a visit in the summertime. We plan to put Malcolm in camp again this year, and maybe we'll do another Algonquin trip, this time with the kids?
Bruce is coming on the 13th for a good long stay; he'll be here over Christmas and New Year's Eve, and we all plan on heading back down to Glons, at the very least for the Christmas party at Mami Cloes' house on the 24th. Malcolm and Duncan were excited to hear that he would soon be here, and of course I'm looking forward to the visit from both a personal and professional perspective, since I hope to do some singing with him during his visit, along with the eating, drinking, and antiquing. Maggie I know misses the regular Toronto routine of dinners, drinks and conversation with Bruce, and has already said she's looking forward to cooking with him while he's here. Most likely I'll be too busy to blog while he's here, too!
Speaking of blogs, check out Maggie's latest post, on our first cocktail party.
P.S. I just got off the phone with the Consulate of Belgium in Montreal, and our passports with visas enclosed have been sent via UPS and should arrive any day now. Good news for us, and I'm sure I'll have lots more to write about our adventures in obtaining a carte d'identité from the Maison Communale.
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