The Best So Far

Yesterday's concert went really well.  All the technical progress I made held and I wasn't even affected by nerves once I got past the sustained high A in the Bolena recitative.

A number of people from the choir, whom I was not expecting, came, which touched me very much.  Several of them had never come to anything I sang in.

My teacher was pleased, and a neighbor of his, who had heard me sing in the Verdi Requiem and told him I didn't sound all that good, told him I sounded much better.   And considering that she had been Marilyn Horne's nanny and traveled all over Europe on the opera circuit, that is saying something.

One big disappointment is that there is no video.  The one woman who usually does things like that apparently left her phone at home.  My teacher recorded it, and will burn a CD, so that means that I can make mp3 files from it, somehow (either my sound engineer friend can do it, or he can explain to me how to do it, or he can tell me where to take it to have it done).

So now I have to work not to fall into postpartum depression.  I think I had such a big letdown after Carmen because the woman who produced it was angry that not a lot of people came, and then when I got back to choir all the buzz was about  Little Miss's recital.  She is doing something again (with the company that rejected me for not being a "future investment") but at least since five people came from the choir (no one from the choir came to Carmen although two women from church whom I knew from the writing class did) there may be some buzz.

The pianist (the same one who played for Carmen) was pleased with how things went and when I spoke with him about doing the Carmen piece again (I said I thought it had "legs") he told me to contact him because he might be able to find out a way to produce this in schools (he works as an accompanist and coach at the conservatory where Little Miss is a student and I know they produced Hansel and Gretel in schools).  So I will do that.  Also, apparently my Don Jose spoke to my teacher (they are friends and colleagues) and said he had gotten my email about the Mozart Requiem and that he would get back to me.  (The performances are in February so they may have more auditions.)

And the choir is singing a choral piece from Elijah again so I will see if I can sing "O Rest in the Lord" on the same day, or perhaps the Schlosser piece "He that Keepeth Israel".

And here's a photo of me and my teacher, which his wife took.