I haven't written much lately. I have been mostly focusing on trying to enjoy the life I have, which includes singing, but for better or worse is not spearheaded by it.
I have, however, been practicing diligently in preparation for tomorrow's (and Thursday's) recording sessions.
I am sounding much better than I did, even at October's concert. My upper register is darker and rounder, thanks to my being able to maintain the low larynx position. Sometimes it feels "straight", and as if I'm not going to be able to make it up there or maintain any kind of space, but according to my teacher it sounds much better than even a few months ago. It seems to be all about the low larynx position, the raised ribcage, and the buoyant midsection.
I seem to keep getting bigger around the middle and in fact have gained about two pounds since last year, but I am not going to worry about that now (although yesterday I was late to a party after trying on two pairs of pants and finding that they no longer fit me). When I began singing again at age 54, I promised myself that I was really going to give myself my best shot at this which I never had before. And this would include not starving myself and feeling weak around the middle, which seemed to make it harder for me to sing.
So here's what's on the agenda for tomorrow:
"O Mio Fernando" from La Favorita: always a good showpiece for me. OK, I sing only one verse of the cabaletta and a high A at the end, while I know some mezzos do both verses and add a crazy cadenza with a high C. But that is not necessary. The main issue here is not to let myself get tired at the end, which I shouldn't, as there are plenty of breaks.
"Amour Viens Aider" from Samson et Dalila: the long run going up to a high B flat and down to a low B flat seems to be OK!! I now find a B flat as easy to sing as an A (did I mention? I've been vocalizing up to a high C in arpeggios every day?) and my voice doesn't hit a "speed bump" above middle C when I come down that run.
"Stella del Marinar" from La Gioconda: I could sing this in my sleep. Now I wish I were singing it a little better (there are some spots in the lower middle register that I probably just "croon" through the way I did when I was 30) but it will do for now. I just need to come in in the right place in the recit.
Last but not least "Liber Scriptus" from the Verdi Requiem. This is sounding much better than when I recorded it before. The lower passages sound more "sung" and less "talky and squawky".
Tonight I didn't want to over-sing, so I just did the long run from "Amour" and the cabaletta from "O Mio Fernando". I was pleasantly surprised by how they sounded.
So wish me luck tomorrow!
In other news, I have a real audition in January. After that terrible experience with that Carmelites production, I stopped looking for audition postings. But this is something someone told me about, for a dream role. I don't want to say too much, until I know whether I got cast (either in that role or another leading role in the same opera, which is an older character, but for a voice that's lower than mine), but I am going to do this. My partner will probably be angry, so I am not going to mention it until after Christmas, which I want to keep pleasant for us (neither of us has anyone else to spend Christmas Day with anyhow). I tried to look online for information about this but couldn't find anything. I don't know, for example, if the opera is in concert. If it is, it would make me a more attractive candidate as my inability to easily walk up and down stairs would not be an issue.
Lastly, I am not singing a solo on Christmas Eve (the choir director says he doesn't want solos) but I am going to sing "Expectans" from the Saint Saens Christmas Oratorio this coming Sunday. He wants me to sing it in English, which is fine. Even not singing a solo, though, I am happy to be singing on Christmas Eve. I used to feel depressed about Christmas as a person with no religion and no money, but now I can be a Unitarian (albeit one who sings in a Lutheran church) which means I can celebrate all holidays or a melange of any that I choose. And the Lutheran church (and other people) are advocating abstinence from gift giving unless it's to people who are needy. It's nice to be in an environment where the spiritual message of Christmas (whether or not you think the birth of Jesus story is true) is what is important not the material one.
No comments:
Post a Comment