One place I have had as a venue to strut my stuff for the last two years (2009 and 2010) was, believe it or not, the old Unitarian church where I found God, my voice, and The Mentor Who Shall Not Be Discussed.
Not as a choir soloist, but as a guest artist in a cabaret entitled "Divine Drag" and I forget what else, to raise money for an LGBT youth shelter.
The first year I decided to sing the Habanera from Carmen. Yes, there's more drag for mezzos in opera than you can shake a stick at, but I've been there, done that, and, to quote something a colleague said in another context - I'm done. Meaning I'm done playing the LGBT card. I'm a big buxom girl with a big voice and I ain't playing any more boys. So I laughingly decided, well, for a WASP-y looking girl to put on a black wig and some gypsy duds is drag enough. As I mentioned here, I was once told I was too, well, white to play Carmen and something about that stuck with me.
Well, divine drag it was and it was on Valentine's Day and I got to make peace with himself.
And singing was only half the fun. Even more fun was getting to have a professional makeup job done by the "lady" sharing the photo with me. I know many women get to experience that sort of thing, not just performing artists, but gals who have had formal weddings, even Bat Mitzvahs. But when your mother's a communist, that sort of thing is just not in the culture (hence my love affair with dressing up?)
Well, the following year, even though I had had the perm from Hell and was definitely having a bad hair day, I upped the ante and went for Sappho's "O Ma Lyre Immortelle". This is a somewhat obscure mezzo aria that is quite lovely, and has a scenery chewing coda complete with a high B flat. I don't know why, but I've never had a problem with that particular B flat. Maybe because she's screaming before throwing herself into the ocean.
I sang well. Not my best (the backstage area was full of incense dust) but I hung onto that note for dear life and got thunderous applause. The audience was full of gay men and they love a scenery chewing diva. And I milked it for all it was worth, curtesying in the traditional diva way, what? seven times? Well, I was on a bill with pop singers, folk singers, dancers, and comics. So I had the diva moment all to myself.
But getting back to the "snub". The person hosting this event year after year is my bass friend, the one who sang in the nursing home concert with me. Both years I sang in the event because he invited me (a nice change from constantly feeling I have to do it all myself). Well, this year there was no invite, which I didn't dwell on. I think I had told him I was doing Carmelites and anyhow there might not have been a cabaret this year as the church has a new music director. Well, this morning I searched my email for the bass's address because I wanted to tell him I had a copy of "Ich Habe Genug" for bass solo (long story, not worth detailing here)and did he want it. And when I searched my email for his last name, it came up in the church newsletter, which I still get, saying he was running the cabaret again (it was this past Saturday). Now true, an earlier mentioned asked for volunteers, but no. I am not volunteering for that sort of thing. I expect to be asked. So what was the deal? I didn't mention it in my email to him because I want to see if he mentions it but still I wonder. Did the minister at the church (who deserves Barbara Bush's epithet that rhymes with rich) say "I don't want Babydramatic here again?" I know both times I sang in the event she said nothing other than to ask me how my partner was. (Yes, this is one of the reasons why I have stayed at the Lutheran church. Even though I'm not a parishioner, the pastors always say something nice when I sing.) Well, I can't brood about this. It's what AA calls "the luxury department" meaning it's a luxury to scratch your brain trying to figure out why someone did or didn't do something.
As for the second half of my post title, I had a really good practice. I can hit the dreaded note in "Condotta" if I use the portamento and I even had a good run through my nemesis, aka the ascending phrase in the Amneris/Radames duet, which I haven't looked at in several months. And "Erfreute Zeit", aka Cantata 83, really rocks. I never was that into making a big show out of low notes before but as this piece doesn't have any high notes, I will milk them (and the rapid fire fioratura) for all it's worth.
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