Hello everyone, and Happy New Year!
It's going to be a busy one...two operas, an audition in Montreal, the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival.....
My most immediate project is Pacific Opera Victoria's production of Handel's Semele, in which I'll be appearing in the chorus. Rehearsals are well under-way, and it looks like it's going to be a fabulous production with lots of beautiful Handel music sung in English. The chorus has a lot of stage-time, which is great for me! Performance dates are February 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, at 8 pm. See the POV website for details: http://www.pov.bc.ca/
Next up is the VCM Opera Studio's production of Handel's Giulio Cesare in which I'll be playing a lead role - Sesto, a young man full of passion and eager to avenge his father's death. This role is traditionally played by a mezzo-soprano and I'm extremely excited to add it to my repertoire. Performances are April 1, 2, 3 and 4. More details coming soon!
I've entered 6 classes in the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival this year: the Rosebowl qualifying class, the concert group, the Canadian class, the Opera class, the French art song class, and the 21stC class. Class dates, times and venues are yet to be determined, but I'll keep you updated as I receive more information.
And the biggest news is that I've decided to audition for a Masters degree in Vocal Interpretation at L'Univesite de Montreal for the fall of 2009. Preparations are underway - the application is in, the date for my French placement test is set, I've booked a flight to Montreal to audition live in March, and I'm looking into a French immersion program for the summer to get me up-to-speed for studying in French. It's all very exciting, and a little scary!
And now for a little backtracking. In recent history I sang my Opera Idol People's Choice aria and a little light musical theatre for the Victoria Rotary Club, at the request of Terry Jones, their entertainment coordinator. That was a lovely experience, indeed, and I hope to sing for them again in the future.
I have now uploaded the video clips for Opera Idol, posted December 23rd (two posts ago). Please check them out!
Thanks, everyone! Check back soon!