Sorry I have not written in a while. I've been trying to get to bed early and not spend so much time on the computer because I am starting to get sick and am needing to sleep and drink water. I was still able to sing this week, except today I'm just not feeling like my voice wants to do it. Though, I think I could still practice a bit.
I need to spend so much more time in a practice room. I got some of the best advice the other day. So remember how we sat in the masterclass with Christa Ludwig and there was this awesome Chinese baritone and Turkish mezzo who sang? Well we ran into them at the bus stop. They happen to ride the same bus as us and get off at our stop as well. Angelina asked them who they'd recommend for voice teachers, since both of them studied in the US. They said that in the end you are your best voice teacher. Then they went on to recommend Barbara Bonney who they said explains things so clearly and is such a caring person. But that really struck me, I am my best voice teacher. I'm the one who has to work at this and make my voice better. Teachers are only there to give suggestions. I then considered this in all aspects of my life. I'm the only one who can make myself better. The people we meet along the way are just inspiration or they introduce us to things. The next day I had one of the best practice sessions I have ever had. What used to happen was that I would just sing through things and memorize and then go find what i need to fix at my voice lessons. Instead, I started a new aria and found the things I needed to fix in the moment of learning the piece. I need to be a set of ears like my teachers before I get to the lesson, so much more can be accomplished. So I was super knit-picky when learning the aria. I sang through each phrase on my most resonant vowel 'ee' and focused on line and constant moving forward then sang just the vowels in the music, and then finally added the consonants, if it wasn't just right I went back and did it again. It took so much more time, but it was totally worth it.
The next morning I went to my voice lesson. I asked to sing the aria I had worked on ("Kommt ein schlanker bursch gegangen" from Der Freischutz) This was my first time bringing it to a lesson. It was going very well. When the accompanist came in to play, my teacher said to her "She's singing the poop out of this piece." I really liked it. So now I'm trying to memorize it for the final. That is, if my voice holds up. I actually don't have to do the final since I am in one of the opera scenes. But my opera scene is quite short and was a breeze to memorize, so I don't feel I qualify to take the free ticket out of the final, since i could easily do both.
Yesterday I bought more cherries from the outdoor market in front of the University Church. I am on fresh fruit withdrawal and bought nectarines and cherries. Which will both be gone by the time I get home. So yummy!
The last couple days we had masterclasses with Mary Dibbern, one of the leading French diction experts. The diction coaching can get a little tedious, but it was very helpful. There were a number of diction things with French that I had been taught incorrectly. When Mary explained how things should be pronounced, like the schwa, etc. it actually made it easier to sing French. It's not as closed as we think it needs to be.
After yesterday's masterclass, Lindsey, Ryan, and I went to dinner at Cafe Republic, the popular place to go after the day (just down the street). Lindsey and I were heading to the concert/opera and Ryan was heading to see Romeo et Juliette (he payed 390 Euros for a return ticket, but it was 4th row center). I went and saw the Vienna Philharmonic perform and evening of Bartok. They first played his Four Pieces for Orchestra, then the Cantata Profana: The Nine Magic Stags, then the second half was his only opera Bluebeard's Castle. It's a one act opera. The soloist, Michelle DeYoung, is an American dramatic soprano and will be singing Isolde this year for the Met. The production was very minimalist, especially since it was on the giant stage and all the action was on the front central part of the stage. there were one black backdrop with light shining through, three dresses, and Duke Bluebeard was in a wheel chair. That's all that the set was. But the music painted an even better picture. It was amazing when he opens the 5th door and she sings some bombastic high note and the brass pulls out all of the stops. It was so cool especially since they had the trombones up in the balcony for that moment, where we were sitting. Of course it's going to be good, it's the Vienna Philharmonic. Though, I was surprised that there were only 5 women or so in the entire orchestra.
Today Michelle came to give a masterclass. The first half was a question answer session. She was so much fun to listen to speak, good personality. I liked that she joked around too.
Tonight La Traviata, the Netrebko and Villazon production, is playing on the large screen in the domplatz. I might just not go, but I do really want to see it, it depends on if I feel well.