Liz comes to visit

Business at Hotel Humphries is booming!  Liz was able to come down from England for a couple of days to see Anna Netrebko's role debut as Tatiana in Eugene Onegin at the Staatsoper.  Boy, was the 4-hour wait for standing room tickets ever worth it!  Especially when Liz got a picture with Anna after the show!  We also saw Boheme at the Staatsoper with Piotr Bezala, and Liz came to our opening night performance of Béatrice et Bénédict.  Here's a picture of us at the Opening Night party with the stars of the show, Malena Ernman and Bernard Richter.

Béatrice et Bénédict

I'm thrilled to be performing in the chorus of Béatrice et Bénédict by Berlioz at the Theater an der Wien.  Berlioz's music is simply stunning, and the story is a charming excerpt from "Much ado about Nothing" by Shakespeare.  One of the biggest thrills for me is sharing the stage with Malena Ernman, our dynamic and hilarious Béatrice.  I feel so lucky to be able to stand backstage and listen to her aria "Dieu!  Que viens-je d'entendre....Il m'en souvient".  Another thrill is the costumes.  Think "belle-époque" era.  Here's a picture of the party scene.  You can sort of see me behind Somarone's right hand.  I'm wearing pink :)

Highlights from the production: 

Dad comes to visit!

One of the great things about Europe is how easy it is to get around!  My dad was recently in Amsterdam on business, and he was able to pop up to England to visit my sister, and then pop down to Vienna to visit me!  We had a great time over the Easter week-end (despite the snow!), did some sight-seeing, and hosted an Easter brunch.  He was even able to attend our closing night performance of Fidelio.  It was Dad's first time in Vienna, and I really enjoyed getting to show him around.  Here's a picture of us in front of the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt.  (Taken after our unexpected sojourn into Hungary...) 

 

Fidelio

I recently had the great pleasure of performing in the chorus of "Fidelio" at the Theater an der Wien, the very same theatre where it was premiered 199 years ago, and where Beethoven actually lived for a time.  The great Nikolaus Harnoncourt was conducting, and I was honoured to share the stage with such stars as Michael Schade, Juliane Banse and Anna Prohaska.  O, welche Lust!

Check me out at 4:44!