Maybe I never got around to mentioning this, but I never felt culture shock in Germany. Actually, I didn't expect to. I've wanted to go to Europe for years. I've also been saying that when I did finally go, it would be to sing, and that I wouldn't want to come back.
Both true.
Although I noticed some things that were different, they didn't bother me. Actually, I liked them. There were even a few things I noticed that I might prefer about America--but those differences in Germany still just intrigued me.
But I think one of the biggest differences is how people react to opera singers. Here in America, when I tell people I'm an opera singer, I get one of two reactions. The first goes like this:
Long blank stare.
"You're an opera singer?? I love Phantom of the Opera."
I actually had this exact conversation with an American flight attendant on the way back. And if you're reading this and you DON'T know, Phantom of the Opera is NOT an opera. It's a Broadway musical. And I've never heard anyone sing it in a way that would, as my teacher says, "do battle with a 100-piece orchestra and win."
That's the good reaction. Here's the bad one:
Long blank stare.
"You're an...opera singer?! I hate opera."
Seriously? I hate what you do, too, and your little dog as well! How rude do people have to be?
Meanwhile, in Germany, when I told people I'm an opera singer, I got this reaction:
"You're an opera singer?! This is amazing! Why are you in this tiny little town? Where are you singing? When can I come hear you sing?"
Is it any wonder that I didn't want to come back? Today I spent some time in downtown Harrisonburg (which I do actually like, by the way) and talked a little with some very nice people about my trip. But even my friends don't really get it. I don't have words to explain it, any more than I could explain to my German friends how, as an opera singer in America, I have three degrees for which I paid thousands of dollars, and I'm qualified to work as a teacher making less than $15,000 a year...or to wait tables. (And the Germans wondered why we Americans were so nice and friendly to all the waiters when we ate out.) As a singer in Germany, you can get a job where you get a salary that you can live on and benefits and paid vacations (six weeks a year!), and you're working in a theater and singing all the time, and you work from 10 am to 2 pm and then from 6 pm until 10 or 11, unless you aren't needed for that day's rehearsal.
Is it just me, or does that sound like a perfect life? Plus the food is amazing (did I mention that?).
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Back home
Well, I know I've been MIA here for a while. The last few days in Germany, I was so busy with performances and wanting to spend time with people (knowing I'd be leaving soon) that I didn't want to take time to write. But now I'm home safely.
After the Bergstadfest, we had one final performance of Suor Angelica (scheduled just a few weeks before that) and the Wolf Lieder section of the course. We each coached one, two, or three Lieder with Eckhard Sellheim, and we had concerts the final Saturday and Sunday. By this time, everyone was so tired from everything with the operas we'd performed that none of us had as much energy for the Lieder as we would have liked. And no one was able to memorize their Lieder (except those who were doing pieces they already had memorized). I had expected to have a little time to work on my Wolf Lieder during the first five weeks of the course--but no. I did try to memorize them, but in the end I used music (like everyone did!) for the concerts.
In the end, though, this did not matter. The Lieder section of the course was, in some ways, the most significant for David and Andrew, our collaborative pianists. I (having volunteered for extra work before arriving) was able to work with both of them. With David, I sang one short and not-too-difficult piece: Er ist's. With Andrew, I did two pieces. One was hard and the other nearly impossible--especially for the pianist. We, however, rose to the challenge and were able to perform both Charwoche (on Saturday) and Der Feurerriter (on Sunday). Der Feurerriter is the one that is almost impossible to play--and it's not easy to sing either--but it was really worth the effort. This song tells the story of a legend from the Black Forest about the "fire-rider"--a mysterious figure on a dark horse that appears whenever there is a fire. It's long and dramatic, and after a lot of extra rehearsal, we were able to really perform it, and we had a great time with it. Melissa actually recorded it, so I may be able to get that from her and post it in a few weeks.
The last Suor Angelica performance was almost a new production because of casting changes. Kathryn Green, our Principessa, had already made plans to leave immediately after the Bergstadfest (which was originally the last SA performance). So Corinne, the big-voiced young mezzo who was singing the Mistress of the Novices, was asked to sing the Principessa for that performance with piano. She's young yet for that role, but when she gets older her voice will be perfect for it. However, this left the role of the Mistress open. Since it's not too low or too high and the performance was with piano anyway, and since I knew I wouldn't be singing Genevieve (the other Genevive had had one less performance than me--or would have if we hadn't been rained out at Kreibstein)--I volunteered to learn the Mistress of the Novices. It's short, and that gave me the opportunity to get one more role on my resume before the summer was up. So, Corinne and I learned our new roles--music and staging--and we had one run-through of the show on Friday (before the Saturday performance). Everything was good...and then Kristina got sick. Kristina was singing the Moniter, the bigger mezzo role in the first half of the show. On Friday she got a stomach bug and was able to sing and walk through the rehearsal, but barely. We were concerned, then, that she might not make it to the show. So, when Bill (our conductor) asked if anyone would like to learn the role of the Moniter just as a safety net, Katherine (one of our girls from MBC!) volunteered.
Still all good, right?
But wait--there's more.
Sarah and Lauren were the Two Tournieres. Both of them knew both roles--Lauren suffered from illness this summer and they'd been switching between the two roles. In several rehearsals, when Lauren was sick, Sarah sang both parts. In performances they'd alternated, but Lauren had been so sick that she'd never really sung either one strongly. On Friday we learned that Sarah had an audition on Saturday (scheduled before this performance of SA was scheduled), and she might not be able to finish it in time to get to the performance.
No problem.
Let me reiterate: Corinne, who's been singing the Mistress of the Novices, is singing the Principessa.
I', who have been singing Genevive, am singing the Mistress. Kristina may or may not be on her feet, and Katherine (who normally sings Dolcina or chorus) has learned her role of the Moniter. I should add here that the roles of the Moniter and the Mistress are staged together. Kristina knows the staging well. I know it a little--especially if Kristina is helping me. I've done it once. Katherine knows it only by what she's noticed when singing in the chorus, and has never done the staging for this role. And if Sarah doesn't make it back from her audition, Lauren will be singing the first AND second Tourniere--if her voice works at all.
Oh, and we had a Wolf Lieder concert the same day, before Suor Angelica.
Kein Problem. (No problem.)
As it turned out, Sarah didn't make it back, but Kristina's health did, and so did Lauren's voice. Also the space turned out to be so small that we probably couldn't have fit Sarah on to the stage if she'd been there. The show went surprisingly smoothly (Leah of course sang Angelica beautifully, as always), and we had a good time.
After that kind of adventures, is it any wonder that I'm bored now at home? No crisis, no role to learn in two days, no three performances in one day...what shall I do with myself?
But it's been an amazing summer. I feel that I have changed, in good ways, as an artist and even as a person. And I don't want to fall back into the ways I was before.
After the Bergstadfest, we had one final performance of Suor Angelica (scheduled just a few weeks before that) and the Wolf Lieder section of the course. We each coached one, two, or three Lieder with Eckhard Sellheim, and we had concerts the final Saturday and Sunday. By this time, everyone was so tired from everything with the operas we'd performed that none of us had as much energy for the Lieder as we would have liked. And no one was able to memorize their Lieder (except those who were doing pieces they already had memorized). I had expected to have a little time to work on my Wolf Lieder during the first five weeks of the course--but no. I did try to memorize them, but in the end I used music (like everyone did!) for the concerts.
In the end, though, this did not matter. The Lieder section of the course was, in some ways, the most significant for David and Andrew, our collaborative pianists. I (having volunteered for extra work before arriving) was able to work with both of them. With David, I sang one short and not-too-difficult piece: Er ist's. With Andrew, I did two pieces. One was hard and the other nearly impossible--especially for the pianist. We, however, rose to the challenge and were able to perform both Charwoche (on Saturday) and Der Feurerriter (on Sunday). Der Feurerriter is the one that is almost impossible to play--and it's not easy to sing either--but it was really worth the effort. This song tells the story of a legend from the Black Forest about the "fire-rider"--a mysterious figure on a dark horse that appears whenever there is a fire. It's long and dramatic, and after a lot of extra rehearsal, we were able to really perform it, and we had a great time with it. Melissa actually recorded it, so I may be able to get that from her and post it in a few weeks.
The last Suor Angelica performance was almost a new production because of casting changes. Kathryn Green, our Principessa, had already made plans to leave immediately after the Bergstadfest (which was originally the last SA performance). So Corinne, the big-voiced young mezzo who was singing the Mistress of the Novices, was asked to sing the Principessa for that performance with piano. She's young yet for that role, but when she gets older her voice will be perfect for it. However, this left the role of the Mistress open. Since it's not too low or too high and the performance was with piano anyway, and since I knew I wouldn't be singing Genevieve (the other Genevive had had one less performance than me--or would have if we hadn't been rained out at Kreibstein)--I volunteered to learn the Mistress of the Novices. It's short, and that gave me the opportunity to get one more role on my resume before the summer was up. So, Corinne and I learned our new roles--music and staging--and we had one run-through of the show on Friday (before the Saturday performance). Everything was good...and then Kristina got sick. Kristina was singing the Moniter, the bigger mezzo role in the first half of the show. On Friday she got a stomach bug and was able to sing and walk through the rehearsal, but barely. We were concerned, then, that she might not make it to the show. So, when Bill (our conductor) asked if anyone would like to learn the role of the Moniter just as a safety net, Katherine (one of our girls from MBC!) volunteered.
Still all good, right?
But wait--there's more.
Sarah and Lauren were the Two Tournieres. Both of them knew both roles--Lauren suffered from illness this summer and they'd been switching between the two roles. In several rehearsals, when Lauren was sick, Sarah sang both parts. In performances they'd alternated, but Lauren had been so sick that she'd never really sung either one strongly. On Friday we learned that Sarah had an audition on Saturday (scheduled before this performance of SA was scheduled), and she might not be able to finish it in time to get to the performance.
No problem.
Let me reiterate: Corinne, who's been singing the Mistress of the Novices, is singing the Principessa.
I', who have been singing Genevive, am singing the Mistress. Kristina may or may not be on her feet, and Katherine (who normally sings Dolcina or chorus) has learned her role of the Moniter. I should add here that the roles of the Moniter and the Mistress are staged together. Kristina knows the staging well. I know it a little--especially if Kristina is helping me. I've done it once. Katherine knows it only by what she's noticed when singing in the chorus, and has never done the staging for this role. And if Sarah doesn't make it back from her audition, Lauren will be singing the first AND second Tourniere--if her voice works at all.
Oh, and we had a Wolf Lieder concert the same day, before Suor Angelica.
Kein Problem. (No problem.)
As it turned out, Sarah didn't make it back, but Kristina's health did, and so did Lauren's voice. Also the space turned out to be so small that we probably couldn't have fit Sarah on to the stage if she'd been there. The show went surprisingly smoothly (Leah of course sang Angelica beautifully, as always), and we had a good time.
After that kind of adventures, is it any wonder that I'm bored now at home? No crisis, no role to learn in two days, no three performances in one day...what shall I do with myself?
But it's been an amazing summer. I feel that I have changed, in good ways, as an artist and even as a person. And I don't want to fall back into the ways I was before.
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