Busy busy busy

 

Well here we are Im wunderschönen Monat Mai, finally ready to do the Brussels premiere of this incredible work, Die Schöne Müllerin.  It's my first performance collaboration with Peter, and I would suppose my first Brussels lieder recital.  I find Peter's playing to be very intelligent, and his german coaching makes a big difference.  We've been working together for three years now at least, primarily on the german repertoire, and now our preparation sessions have taken on a comfortable and efficient flow...  I never get tired of exploring this, Schubert's first cycle, and while I have performed it first in 2000 (with Fran Harkness) and since 2006 many times with Dina Namer, the chemistry that results between pianist and singer is different each time, and I am very happy that we do it here in Brussels.

As well I have been making use of the dramatic and linguistic expertise of Sylvie, Duncan's drama teacher, to help uncover the natural melody inside the spoken french text, and to help correct any pronunciation errors from english habit that might creep back in.  Singing a language convincingly is far easier than speaking it, as the necessary openness of vocal production and the rhythms of the melody help disguise accent; if you've ever heard an interview with Mick Jagger then you'll know what I mean.  So as usual for me as a singer, just as it was for La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein, I've laboured over the spoken text far more than the sung.  We shall see how well this allocation of time and resources has worked to make the work really sing for a francophone audience...

Speaking of Sylvie and Duncan's La Mélodie de Bonheur, he recovered sufficiently from his illness to perform his Von Trapp twice, and he was a roaring success, with a consistent and very convincing characterization of the stern, tyrannical father... I can't imagine where he got his inspiration for the character, it must have been the film?

Then this past weekend he had the school spectacle, which was much less individually challenging for him, and was sung, not spoken.  That same evening we threw caution to the wind, and invited four other nine year old boys to come for his birthday sleepover, rescheduled from the week before.  

 

They had custom pizzas, and played compulsively on their respective iPod touches, before watching School of Rock (equally funny en francais) that we projected on one whole wall of the living room.

We've left the streamers and decorations up, because Malcolm is getting ready for his thirteenth birthday this week; we are likely going to go see the Avengers movie together on sunday afternoon, and we'll have a nice meal together that day.  We have a guest from Canada who will drop by later this afternoon and stay until monday morning, Greg Wilson, who is visiting friends in Stuttgart, so he will come along to the film as well.

Tomorrow I was to go with the boys and Maggie to church for Florists' - er, I mean Mother's Day - but the director of Le Nozze di Figaro has called a production meeting at 11h tomorrow so I will have to meet up with them afterwards.  We will learn of our cut list and the rehearsal schedule, which is of necessity rather tight, since I leave on June 12th for Canada and John Burge's The Auction at Westben.  It means that I will miss Gerald Finley's Brussels recital, but maybe I'll get a chance to see him at Westben?


Okay, now it's time for me to get going, I have to have a shower and vocally warm up a bit.  The technical rehearsal for the show is at 14h, while the accordeur tunes the piano, then we have some photography at 15h and a top-and-tail.  Then it's resting and keeping quiet until 19h30 or so, when we head over for a 20h start.  Maggie and the boys are going to the choral festival service at St. Andrew's at 16h30, so that should give me a little head-space to prepare myself for tonight.

Have a good weekend!