Audition today

Thursdays and Mondays seem to be the time for reflection, so here's today's post.

As I may have written before, the homeowners are living in Washington DC for a year, but one of them has a private psychotherapy practice that she carries out in the front office of the house, and has arranged to return for four one-week periods over the course of the year. We're almost through the second of those periods this week. It's been a challenge, mostly in the evenings, to keep the children quiet; during the day it's been fine because the kids are at school, and Maggie is at work. I've still managed to get in singing practice, warming up over a longer period of time, in between clients, but I'll definitely be happy when we are on our own again, to reestablish the routine; the children are happiest when there is stability and predictability at home.

This afternoon I have an audition at La Monnaie as a soloist, so I hope everything goes well. One good thing is that the accompanist will be David, who I have worked these arias with already, so that's confidence-building, and helps puts me at ease. I've met and spoken with the General Director before, so that helps as well. This audition isn't for any particular part, just to give the casting team a sense of what I look and sound like; just getting the audition is a small triumph for me, since I had to really be persistent in soliciting it. I already sang one audition for the chorus master of the house last week, so I'm feeling relaxed in the rehearsal space.

I had another bit of good news this week; Hilary (a friend of Bruce's who I coached with back in September) is a repetiteur in Liège with the Opera Royale de Wallonie, and she let me know that they were auditioning next week for the roles of the Flemish Deputies in Verdi's Don Carlos. These are small or comprimario roles but the audition gives me a chance to be heard by the new director there, and if I were to get a role, it would be a chance to sing with the company, something that would please me enormously. Of course there will likely be a long line of singers vying for those roles, but as before, one has to take the step and put oneself out there for consideration. As I said before, it really is a success just to get the audition.

Interestingly the arias I present have to be all Italian, and I have to learn a Verdi aria for the audition. I haven't sung any Verdi arias before, although I did play several parts in a concert version of La Traviata a few years ago, and did the Rigoletto quartet in a staging of opera excerpts, so I'm scrambling now to get something ready.

I had an interview last night with Sara Beck, and journalist, writer and and old friend of mine. She writes for the Queen's University Alumni Review, and is doing a podcast on me and my singing adventures in Belgium for the electronic edition of the Review. It was fun to talk to her again, and she tells me that podcast will be published in a couple of weeks.

It's been great to get the attention and encouragement of my friends, family and colleagues, not to mention the confidence boost of actually getting to sing some auditions.

Talk to you on Monday!