Sunday, September 26, 2010

September is almost over...

So apparently I've dropped off the face of the earth since school started. So sorry! It's been a busy September, what can I say?!

So last time I left off, Krysta had arrived but now Tyler is here too! Welcome to the "east coast". Apparently I have an east coast accent. Never noticed until I was made aware of it. Thanks Tyler. The poor guy got here to an empty, un-furnished apartment so the first week was all running around.

Opera rehearsals are going pretty well. The Traviata is always a great joy to sing and I feel very confident in its delivery. Still needs lots of work, and that's where Kim comes in! The Ariadne on the other hand is not so easy. The role is actually a dramatic soprano role, but the scene we are singing is totally do-able. I get to chest a low G which is so much fun. The learning of it is not all that easy. I had a frustrating rehearsal where I made mistakes and I HATE nothing more than being unprepared. Les understands because A. we were just assigned this role a week ago and B. its Strauss. We are all still scrambling a bit to learn it accurately and quickly.

On another note, Tyler and I are currently learning the final duet in Eugene Onegin, to be performed at the final Opera Diploma recital. It is honestly one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard. It is so full of passion and intensity. The scene itself is so intense. Basically, after having rejected Tatiana when she confessed her love to him, Onegin decides (six years later) that he actually loves her and wants to be with her. This is of course after she has become a woman and is now graceful and mature. I won't give away the ending, but its not really happy one. It's a great "inner-struggle" scene. Can't wait to get that on its feet.

The other night we had a surprise party for Krysta because she mentioned NOTHING on the day of her actual birthday. I had no idea it was her actual birthday. I felt terrible. SO....I decided we needed to have an impromptu surprise party. She had no idea it was coming and it was an amazing night. I feel so lucky because this year has been filled with so many wonderful people. My roommates are amazing, Tyler and Krysta are my two new fantastic friends. These people have honestly lit up my life (cue the song) for these first two weeks and made it so positive. I feel that positivity was something I was lacking in previous years. This year is going to be filled with memories.

Speaking of amazing times and great memories, last night we all went to Toronto to see Kim in Tapestry Opera's Opera Briefs in the Distillery District. What a show.

The concept: 4 composers, 4 librettists and 4 singers. And what do they do? The create opera. They created about 10 different operas from which they each did a scene. It was amazing to watch. The theatre was very black box and intimate so everything was up close and personal. Theatre like that is SO exciting. Now, I could be biased, but I don't think I'm wrong in saying that Kim stole the show. Her amazing attention to detail and great dramatic presence was just there. She is a force.

I also really enjoyed how much this sort of opera relied on good acting ability. Every scene was a small piece of theatre and if you took the singing away, it would be just as glorious.

Backtracking now. Before the show, we walked through the distillery district and went into some art galleries. WOW. I saw beautifully stunning art. Taking time to appreciate beauty like that cannot be compared with anything else. My favourite gallery housed this set of photographs printed onto stainless steel. The show was called "Carnaval" by Nicolas Ruel. All the works were carnival/masquerade scenes all in a Venetian setting. They were dramatic, operatic and full of life. Three things that I like very much ;) Here are a few of my favourites below:




To look at the rest of the collection you can go to thompsonlandry.com and view the photographs.

After wandering for a bit we went to the Mill St. Brewery for dinner. I tried the Raspberry Beer. Mmmm. Delicious but dangerous because it is like juice. It was honestly such a wonderful night. Here is a photo of this beautiful group of people at the restaurant:



Well, I think that's about enough for now. If you haven't already, check out the rest of the Carnaval collection. It's beautiful.

Stephanie

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