As I have gotten so many supportive comments and affirmations about this, I have decided to post it here.
http://youtu.be/CfCejvnM_aE
It already has over 60 hits, and when I went to the general Youtube site and googled "Wagner" and "Angel" it was in the top 12.
Bravo! Some really good singing there. And to boot, you looked most attractive.
ReplyDeleteI wish it was a better quality recording! Nice to hear your voice after reading your blog for a while :)
ReplyDeleteHi Genevieve. Are you a follower? I don't remember your commenting. Are you a singer? How did you find this blog? (I am interested in where readers come from so I can get more!)
ReplyDeleteI used to read your Livejournal blog (I don't quite remember how I came upon it in the first place though...). I am a singer, although not doing much currently at all :(
ReplyDeleteDear Genevieve,
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember you. You probably found it because I was a friend of one of your friends. I deleted it because, as I was writing pseudonymously, I felt free to write about bad feelings, and people ended up being really cruel to me about it. Here I am a little more careful. It was through LJ that I met "real" singers, which I think led a great deal to my discouragement. Before that there was just me, as one of the better singers in a choir, and real high level professional singers that I heard at the Met and read about in Opera News. So I wanted to be part of a peer group with these singers I met through LJ and of course they were not a peer group at all (ditto "the Forum"). 30 years ago (when I didn't sound as good as I do now) I was able to get cast in roles with no pay community opera groups, but the bar has been raised way too high for me now. The people who get cast in leading roles in those groups sound as good as professionals. The combination of my lack of 100% polish, my age, and my lack of recent experience are a non starter. If I want to sing opera scenes or opera in concert I have to produce it myself. So I mostly sing church solos. Everyone likes the "Angel" video, which is how I sound as a "church soprano" when I sing pianissimo. On my profile page there's a sound clip of me singing one of Dalila's arias, where I sound like a dramatic mezzo. My voice is pretty versatile but I have a limited range, which doesn't seem to want to expand much in either direction, no matter what I do. The great thing about oratorio arias is that I can be a "second soprano" without having to sing very high or very low. So it seems to be what I do best.
I am in admiration of your drive and passion, as well as your voice. "Angel" is beautifully sung. I also want to say brava for putting together Verdi's Requiem yourself. It takes a lot of energy to find the space, the pianist, the singers, set up rehearsals and learn the music. I am a latecomer opera singer too, just like you but don't think I'd be able to organize the enitre thing like that. Keep following your passion; you are an inspiration to me.
ReplyDeleteDear LateLyric, I am touched that you admire me. It is things like that that keep me going. I put things togethr myself because as I said to Genvieve, living in the middle of Manhattan (two blocks from the Met, actually) there are no other opportunities. Anyone singing a role I might be interested in in one of the no-pay community opera groups here is already a polished professional with an impressive resume, not to mention at least 20 years younger (very young singers don't sing my rep). So this is what there is. I am lucky that the church where I am an (unpaid) soloist is open to these fundraising concert ideas. As for other singers, I am extremely flattered that the other singers I have gotten are singing with me and I hope I will hold my own with them. So far so good.
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