Lyon

I just got back this evening from Lyon, and am feeling very positive these days...

Not only did I have a great time in Avignon, last week, but just yesterday I took the TGV down to Lyon in about four hours, and holed up for an overnight stay in a hotel while watching "Qui veut gagner une million?" / "Who wants to be a millionaire?", which actually wasn't too difficult to follow, until we got in to French pop songs of the 1970s. I crashed quite early (travel takes it out of you) and rose early, warming up in the hotel, then went to the Opera house, which was renovated in 1993 and has an interestingly "updated" look. You can see a modern-looking black half-cylinder in the photograph above, but at ground level it has lots of the old opera house still intact, as you can see in the photo below.

I met the pianist, we rehearsed and then I went off to have lunch and try to stay calm, then returned for 1:30, and sang a very good audition. I was a very tiny bit intrigued by the video camera, as that is the first time I think I've been taped in an audition, but I wasn't terribly jittered by it, and feel quite satisfied in my vocal characterization(s) and performance. I had a chance to sing Zurga's aria from the Pearl Fishers, and then they asked for the Count Almaviva aria from "Le Nozze Di Figaro".

It was actually a lot better to sing it second today, as I felt a lot more warmed up than I have previously, starting with it. I had a good listen to my own audio recording of the audition, and I have nothing to be ashamed about in how I performed, and lots to celebrate, which is a good feeling. Now we wait and see, as usual, and start to think about the next one... (For anyone out there wondering if I ever get offered a job immediately after an audition, the answer is no, I don't, that's not how it works in the opera biz).

Lyon is very large, the third largest city in France after Paris and Marseille, and can claim up to almost two million inhabitants. It lies at the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône rivers, and has been inhabited since pre-roman times. The most notable landmark is the Fourvière Basilica in the hill overlooking the town, which was completed in 1896. It's staggering; I took the metro and funicilaire up to have a look, and the mosaics in the church are quite remarkable, although quite modern by european standards.

The roman founding of Lyon was in 43 BC, and as Lugdunum it became the capital of Roman Gaul, giving birth to two roman emperors, including Claudius. There are some roman ruins still extant today, most notably the large amphitheatre on the hill near the basilica. I'm not sure, but I have the feeling that some sort of spectacle is still performed there regularly, as they were rebuilding the stage when I was there for a visit this afternoon.

I'm here in Brussels for a few days and then am off again to the south of France, this time to visit with and sing with my teacher's teacher Monsieur Fleta, who lives with his wife near Montpellier. This will be the first time I visit them for quite a while, so I am very excited to make the contact again. We talked quite extensively on the telephone recently, and they sound in good humour and health, and he was highly complimentary of my french. I think travelling around France alone, and trying to make yourself understood, ask for directions, order a beer and even explain why you are there at all does wonders for one's confidence. I'm sorry to keep coming back to the language thing but it is a big deal for many people, and I'm proud of our progress as a family.

Anyway after a couple of days visiting with Monsieur et Madame Fleta, I will also be auditioning for the Opera de Montpellier, before returning on the 30th. I'll be spending some time with my sister Emily who is stucturing a Brussels visit around an Italy trip, and there will be some more opera seen during that period (Medée at La Monnaie), plus the celebration of Duncan's fifth birthday... then it's Malcolm's 9th, and then Queen's, and then we're getting close to coming home to Canada for our vacations...

So it's a busy time right now, and there's lots to do. Until next time...