Quarterbacking

So this evening I sang in one of the group get togethers. For once my partner didn't pick a fight over it, so I didn't have that dragging me down. I haven't been sleeping well because I am very upset about my little dachshund. He has a herniated disk and a few days ago was stumbling and unable to stand and I really thought we were going to lose him. He has rallied somewhat now, although it's really a case of having to be cruel to be kind because he must be confined as much as possible, not allowed on the bed, where the soft surface will make it hard for his back to heal, not allowed to wander up or down the ramp. So he's confined to the floor under the bed, which is made easier since he's stoned on painkillers. He can't have toys, either, because he shakes his head when he has a toy in his mouth.

Anyhow, I managed to warm up to a high C and then went off and sang "Stella del Marinar" from La Gioconda. Not my best singing, I seemed to have a lot of phlegm and took some breaths in really stupid places (I have been singing this aria for 30 years, and in the past, when my voice was smaller, I seemed to have more breath control)but nailed the ending. Then I got to vamp it up with "Mon Coeur", which I hadn't sung in about 9 months, because I'll be singing it in the nursing home concert with my bass friend. For my last piece, I was going to do one of the Dvorak songs, but since I have never even heard it with an accompaniment, I didn't want to fumble through it. If it's one of the ones the choir director likes, I can try to find it on You Tube. So for my last piece I did Dalila's extended monologue right before the Vengeance Duet. It's four pages of singing, so it was a respectable thing to do in this setting. I need to brush up on entrances etc.

One really exciting thing is I found a soprano to sing duets with. I have a bass, and a few tenors, but no sopranos. This is a woman with a big dramatic voice, so we can do duets from La Gioconda and Aida which will be great.

The most important thing is, I haven't been feeling very sing-y lately, as a result of my anxiety about the dachshund, so it was a good discipline to just get up and sing anyway. If I were a real pro I would have to do that, right?