Performances!

Tomorrow we have our first performance of Suor Angelica. Actually, we have two performances: one in a place called Kloisterbuch, which was originally a real convent, and one here in Freiberg, in the theater's small black-box space which they call "the Bib" (I have no idea why). Although the roles of Suor Angelica and Suor Genevive (my role) are double-cast (two people sing each of those roles), the Angelica's are singing another small role when not singing Angelica, and the Genevive's sing in the chorus on their off nights. So everyone has two shows tomorrow, as well as travel. And we had a rehearsal tonight as well...it's 10:30 and I just got back to my hotel, and we leave tomorrow at 9 am.

The schedule here is very demanding--actually, more demanding than any I've ever had or heard of for professional or community performances--but I'm feeling pretty good in spite of it. And I'm excited to perform tomorrow. My friend Melissa and I will be singing together in Kloisterbuch. Apparently it's a small space and since I have a pretty big voice and Melissa's is pretty huge, I'm hoping we might bring down a brick or two of the old building. Now that would be a souvenir! But she and I will perform in Freiberg at the end of June with orchestra during the Bergstadfest (Mountain Town Festival). This is apparently a major music festival and tourist event held here every year during the last weekend of June. So I'm looking forward to that!

If I have any energy left on Sunday after tomorrow's marathon, I really want to go to Leipzig. There is an a cappella group performing that I would like to hear and possibly meet. However, most of our group has another performance on Sunday night, and the few who don't will probably be too tired from tomorrow to do anything. I'm a little afraid to go by myself...I think I can make myself understood and understand German now if I need to, but my sense of direction is still utterly hopeless. I'm quite confident that, even though I spent an entire afternoon just a few weeks ago walking around Leipzig, if I go alone I will become hopelessly lost, miss the last train back, and have to call someone from our group to come pick me up with one of the rental cars--probably around midnight.

Is that melodramatic? Maybe...but I'm also very tired!

I'm feeling pretty good about how I'm singing, though. Most of all, I'm getting good feedback from everyone here, and I'm trusting my own judgement a lot more. (It's funny...as soon as I stopped trying to please anyone but myself, everyone started telling me how well I was singing. There's a huge lesson in that, and it doesn't only apply to singing!) It looks like I'll be singing Quando m'en vo for one of the orchestra concerts, which should be fun. At least it's short and sweet (or sassy, as the case may be). Anne, the voice teacher here, told me I sounded spectacular on it--but I'm still not completely satisfied with how I'm singing it. However, that performance won't be for several weeks yet, so I hope I can finally fix the things I don't like about it. I've been singing this aria for years--ever since I was in undergrad--and I've never felt completely comfortable with it, although I think I've always sung it pretty well, taking into account my growth over the years with it. Now, just these past few weeks--these past few days really--I've finally stopped waiting for someone to tell me why it doesn't feel right or seem to work quite right for me and I've asked myself those questions. And somehow I'm surprised to find I know the answers. So I'm trying to work through the technical bumps in that piece so I can give a performance that I'll be proud of.

Meanwhile, though, my role for tomorrow is not too difficult, and it does have a few moments of glorious music. Melissa sings the title role beautifully and has made me cry several times in rehearsal. And the part that makes me cry is after I'm done singing but not before I'm done acting, and my character does actually cry. It would be really wonderful if I could really cry on stage--but I've never been able to do that when I wanted to. We'll see if I can break through THAT barrier before the summer ends.