The bells of St. Anne's

Yesterday Simon, Jeff and I walked up the hill to St. Anne's church here in Cork, climbed the tower and rang the bells; Jeff chose "Kumbaya", Simon did the first few notes of "Eri tu" (his aria from the show) and I picked out the first bit of "O Canada". The view of the city from the tower was quite lovely, and we spent a good time wandering through the streets on our way down the hill.

We finished up with a trip to the English market for some roast beef, green beans, sweet potatoes and other roast vegetables, and some bread and cheese for afterwards, then settled down for another "Heroes" marathon while the roast was cooking.

This morning I had a coaching with Ciara, the principal repetiteur, and we worked on a few of my audition arias. She's really very perceptive and had some helpful and insightful things to say, so I'm feeling good about the pieces, and hope to get some auditions in during the next couple of weeks. There are a few companies here in Ireland that I've already contacted, plus I've started the process of following up with French and Belgian companies that I either spoke with or sang for last year.

Now it's off to the rehearsal hall; this afternoon is the first time for the soloists to work with the orchestra, so it should be good. We have another session this evening with the chorus as well, so it will be a full day; I think we are in the theatre tomorrow, so time is rushing on, and it's all coming together. We ran the show on Wednesday for the first time, and it really is going to be very good.

Have a good weekend!