Wow, the week has just flown by! The last week and a half of classes have been fantastic. Voice lessons are fabulous, my coachings are going well, I couldn't ask for more - except for things to slow down a bit. It's really shocking to think that I only have two more weeks left of the program. But WOW, what a couple of weeks it will be!
Most students went out of town to Vienna or Salzburg last weekend, but I chose to stay in Graz to relax, refocus and catch up on sleep. On Sunday I went to a spa about an hour away and basically spent the day in a hot tub. Not a bad way to spend a free day. :) I'm finding that rest is just as important as the work, as a lot of students are starting to get sick. There are so many things to do, and us singers are pretty social folk, so it's tough to say no and stay in my room. I've taken naps over the past week as I've needed them. This is mentally and physically exhausting work, and I certainly don't want to get sick.
So...updates on concerts! I was cast in 3 of the 4 operetta concerts with piano AND 3 additional operetta concerts with orchestra!!! We had our first operetta concert with piano this last Wednesday at the Graz Casino, and it was an intense experience. I had little time to memorize the music (with all of the other work I'm doing), so I felt incredibly nervous. The show went really well, considering how anxious we all were. There was one terrifying moment when I forgot about 4 measures of words and had to make up some German nonsense lyrics until my memory kicked back in, but I just had to keep going. Oh well. My other duet went really well so overall I felt good about the experience, and I have two more opportunities to perform the songs. I'm singing a different piece for the orchestra operetta concerts, so yet another song to learn in record time. This song is a duet and I can't wait to perform it with the orchestra! Our first orchestra concert will be at the top of the Schlossberg, which will be so cool.
Tomorrow is a really big day for me, as it's the first round of the Meistersinger Competition! 45 students signed up for the competition, and then 24 will proceed on to Round 2, and then 8 for the final concert. We all had to list 3 songs for the competition, but will only be singing 1 of the 3 tomorrow. My three are "Caro Nome", "Depuis le jour" and "Ach, ich fuhl's." I really wanted to get "Ach, ich liebte" in a good place, but it's just not competition-ready yet. And I guess it's a good thing, as I saw that four other women listed that song as one of their three competition arias. I feel really good about my three arias, and have chosen to sing "Caro Nome" tomorrow. I've had lots of time with that aria this week and feel confident I can rock it for tomorrow's competition. It's hard not to get all worked up about the competition, and wonder what other people are doing, but again, I just need to keep my focus on doing MY very best. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers!
Today was a very special day, as it was Abby's 8th birthday. I've never been away from her on her birthday, so I felt a bit of sadness throughout the day. I did get to Skype her this afternoon and send her my love and kisses, as well as a special happy birthday recording from me and my friends here at AIMS. I love her so much, and can't wait to see her in a week!
Okay, bedtime for me! Time to get in the zone and become Gilda (the character that sings Caro Nome). Gute Nacht!
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