Here is a link to my friend Natasha's blog post from when she stayed with me in Vienna. Scroll down to the bottom and you'll see videos of us spontaneously jamming with the gypsy musicians in a wine tavern. Unfortunately the camera battery dies right before my money note.....
I am delighted to announce that I will be performing Marcellina in the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Wien's production of Mozart's classic opera "Le Nozze di Figaro" (The Marriage of Figaro) on January 29 and 30, 2013. Performances will take place in the historic, gorgeous Schlosstheater Schönbrunn, where Haydn, Mozart and Gluck all conducted performances of their own works. Can't wait to get my "buffo"on!
This spring I had the good fortune of participating in a Masterclass given by Sir Thomas Allen, as part of the Concours Musical International de Montréal. We worked in front of an audience for 45 minutes on one of Idamante's arias from Mozart's opera Idomeneo. As a world-renowned Mozartean, Sir Thomas Allen's stylistic sensibilities are fine-tuned to this repertoire, and he was able to give me some great tips to propel my performance and interpretation to the next level. Here is a clip of the fruit of our labours, from the masterclass itself.
It all started as a way to get out of the Schengen Zone for 8 days. (Because of my arrival in late June, I was risking out-staying my 90 day tourist visa before my Residence Permit comes into effect on October 1). So I decided to escape to Manchester and the Peak District to visit my sister, and then hop up to Scotland to enjoy some of the Edinburgh International and Fringe Festivals. What started as an 8-day jaunt turned into a 2-week adventure of couch-surfing, spontaneity, and pilgrimages. Part of the reason for the extended stay is that I neglected to double-check the date of my flight back to Bratislava. Probably my sub-concious telling me I wasn't ready to leave yet ;) With an extra week on my hands, I had the chance to add the Isle of Arran and Glasgow to the original sights on my itinerary, which included St. Andrews, North Berwick, Stirling and Edinburgh. Thanks to the amazing couch surfing community, I didn't have to pay for accommodation the whole time I was away, and I met some amazing people and made some incredible memories! The picture of the top is the Peak District in England, and below is Haggis, Neeps and Tatties in Deanston, Scotland.
I was lucky to be selected as one of 10 participants in a week-long masterclass programme with Prof. KS. Christa Ludwig in August. The masterclass was part of the Academia Vocalis program, and was held at the Hotel Panorama, in Bad Häring, Tirol. What a gorgeous setting for a summer program! I wish I could have afforded to stay at the Hotel itself, but I was quite happy with my Pension and couch-surfing experiences in Wörgl.
We spent the week preparing for a final concert, which was performed at the Hotel, with Christa Ludwig acting as Master of Ceremonies. The programme consisted of Opera favourites and German Lieder. I opened the concert with Prince Orlovsky's aria, then sang two Mahler lieder from Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit, and a Brahms duet (Die Schwestern) with my friend Jenifer Lary, another curly-haired singer. It was very cute.
I learned some very valuable lessons during this program - but not the ones I was expecting to learn. Instead of gaining insight on German diction, lieder style, or vocal technique, I was surprised to learn that Frau Ludwig, as well as the other program participants, consider my voice to be that of a soprano, due to it's "light colour". I had never claimed to have a particularly dark voice, which is why I call myself a "lyric mezzo" rather than a "dramatic mezzo". However, according to the Austrian aesthetic (or at least that of Frau Ludwig), my voice is more interesting in my higher register. Indeed, I never heard true Mezzos until I arrived at this program. I didn't know such rich voices could exist in singers so young. I sounded like the Queen of the Night in comparison. All this to say, that I am rather confused at the moment, and eager to gain the opinion of other European pedagogues. Perhaps I will have to market myself differently in Europe than I do in North America. Or perhaps a "Zwischenfach" or "Falcon" classification will someday be in order. However, these fach classifications seem to be rather sensitive, and a little old-fashioned, so I may have to just choose - soprano, or mezzo.
In the mean-time, I continue to be inspired by other "lyric mezzos" with a lighter voice colour, who have been accused of being "lazy sopranos" - Frederica von Stade, Susan Graham, Magdalena Kozena, Anne Sofie von Otter, Angelika Kirchschlager, and Joyce Didonato. Ladies, give me strength!
Here's a clip of me singing Prince Orlovsky's aria for Christa Ludwig. You can even hear her voice as she chimes in during Eisenstein's line :)
I woke up wondering what I was going to do today. So I took a look in my guide-book to see what day-trips from Vienna I had yet to undertake. The Wachau valley was the answer. So I hopped on a train to Melk just before lunch, poked around there for a bit (very cute town - I'll have to check out the Abbey some day), then rented a bike and cycled my way down the Danube to Krems (about 38km). It took me under three hours, but I was bookin' it, because it was spitting rain the whole time, and I was afraid of getting caught in a downpour. I did manage to take some pictures of the scenery on the way, and even pinched some apricots from the orchards I was biking through. (Don't tell). If the weather were nicer I would have looked around the cute towns I was cycling by, including Dürnstein (where Richard the Lionhearted was imprisoned in 1193), and Willendorf (where the oldest piece of European Art was found). But I arrived in Krems just in time, as it started to pour. I was able to deposit my bike and break out the umbrella for the rest of my sight-seeing. My timing was great, despite the bad weather, because the day I happened to be in Krems was the day of the Apricot Festival. The cobbled street of the old town was lined with vendors in traditional garb, selling all things apricot. I picked up a Marillentopfenbällchen (little apricot-quark ball). Lecker! I was also tempted by the apricot schnapps and apricot ketchup, but decided to pass. I was starting to get tired, so I hopped on a train and was back home in time for supper! Geschafft!
I am pleased to announce that I will be joining the Stephansdom Vokalensemble this Autumn. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to sing the Mozart Requiem, among other great choral works, in Mozart's own church! I will be participating in the Sunday morning Masses, as well as the "Domkonzert" series. Ich freue mich sehr darauf!
Here's a new perspective on Stephansdom and it's famous coloured roof tiles...from the rooftops of Vienna's Innen Stadt.
I just LOVE the "standing room" concept. I picked up a standing room ticket for Les Contes d'Hoffmann at the Theater an der Wien last week-end, and quite enjoyed it. I paid 7 euros to stand during the first act, then I snuck down to an empty parterre seat for the second act and got the full experience for the rest of the performance. It was a very interesting production - a modern concept (most european productions seem to be), but with some beautiful costumes nonetheless. The Mezzo was dressed in a black pant-suit, and accessorized with red stilettos as the Muse, and red skater shoes as Nicklausse. The soprano (Marlis Peterson) played all three of Hoffmann's lady loves - wow. Canadian John Relyea was the bass - he was excellent, of course. The Theater an der Wien is the only Viennese house that puts on operas during the summer. They have also premiered a new production every month since 2006. Impressive! I'm disappointed that I'll miss their production of La Donna del Lago in August starring Malena Ernmann (one of my favourites!). The good news is that she guests here a lot. I'm so excited for the amazing (and affordable) theatre that awaits this season!
One of the great things about Central Europe is that a completely different country, language, and culture are only an hour away by train! I took the train from Vienna to Bratislava for the day on
Saturday. That was a fun little day-trip. It's a very historic town
that's been ill-used and somewhat trampled upon throughout the numerous battles
and power struggles over the centuries, but they seem to be picking themselves
up and bushing themselves off. It's quite touristy and quaint now. I especially enjoyed the modern art and sculptures that adorn the historic downtown area.
Here are some pics I took during my
adventures biking around the Salzburg area a couple of weeks ago. According to my calculations,
I biked 40K one day. Needless to say, I was soooooore! I made my way from Leopoldskron (the Von Trapp mansion) along the canal which leads south of the city out to Untersberg (a mountain outside of Salzburg) and took a cable-car up to the top. There are some amazing vistas of the
north-east tip of the alps, and the lowlands that stretch into Germany towards
Munich. I came back into town via Hellbrunn, and enjoyed the grounds before taking the Hellbrunner Allee into downtown, where I explored the historic Steingasse and took the elevator up to Mönchsberg for some more stunning vistas. It was one of those good-for-the-soul days :) The countryside
here is so beautiful!
