The void
My first performance of Pirates is over, as well as the concert version I did. I have one more show on December 7 and then that’s it.
That’s really it. I’ve had all engagements all year, some booked many months in advance and some extremely last-minute. This is the last show on my calendar. I have a smattering of probable/possible shows in 2009-2010, but nothing definitively booked, no dates set.
How do I feel? First off, a little panicked. Is this the end of my lucky streak? Were the signs that my career was really getting off the ground just a series of flukes? Is my de facto boycott of auditions coming around to bite me in the ass? (It was when I finally got fed up and decided to stop auditioning for things- at least where I didn’t already have an “in”- that I suddenly started getting bookings.)
Here is my maybe calendar, in order of probability:
1. Viva la mamma, January 2010. This one I’m told is definite, but I don’t have dates yet, nor a decision on which version of the score we’re using, so I can’t really start learning it.
2. Suor Angelica (Genovieffa), Spring 2010. I don’t officially have the role, but the director told me she thought it would be a great role for me and to remind her later when she officially does the casting.
3. Ariadne auf Naxos, June 2009? We’ve been planning this production for a couple years now, but it keeps getting pushed back- first because of funding, then because the company wants to do it in English and can’t find a singing translation. They had a plan to get one, but I haven’t heard back from them in ages on their progress. I keep meaning to call them, but the guy’s number is on the sim card on my old phone and I need to dig it out.
4. The Sorcerer, Spring 2009. The company I’m currently performing G&S with is still making decisions about their upcoming season. People keep asking me if I’m going to do the next show, which will probably be the Sorcerer, and I can’t say yet. Because I have a big important church job, and many of their shows are on Sunday afternoons, it will only work out if the casting works out like the last two shows I’ve done with them: I’m double cast and don’t have to sing chorus on my day off. That way my double can do the shows I can’t get to. However, they haven’t chosen the director yet, and that’s the person I would have to talk to about this.
5. Something, maybe Nozze di Figaro, July 2009. The company is still trying to figure out whether or not they have the budget to produce a full opera this year. What it would be is not sure, but Figaro was mentioned by the main sponsor. If they do I show I’m sure they’ll have a role for me, they are very good to me.
Of course there are several directors who have promised me a role next time they have something up my alley- some of them I have to keep on to remind them, some I know don’t have anything coming up for me next season as it is.
It would be nice to work with someone new- maybe I’ll have to put a few auditions out there after all. It just feels like such a waste of energy, as a soprano.
So how am I dealing with this void of suddenly not having any upcoming shows? The first time I went to practice after my opening night of Pirates, I was at a loss. I didn’t know what to sing, and I was really unmotivated to pull anything out. I finally decided to start with Messiaen’s vocalise, which I hadn’t looked at since Paris. This piece would surprise anyone who knows anything by Messiaen- it’s totally tonal, melodic, very similar to those of Rachmaninoff and Gliere, or Sirenes from Debussy’s La Mer. You can hear the Messiaen in some of the instrumentals, but it’s more like the free toy in a box of cereal than the cereal itself. (Interesting side note- all the recordings on iTunes are arranged for instruments, no voice. Maybe I’ll make the first vocal recording!) It turned out to be the perfect thing to start back with- vocally exposed enough to make me really concentrate on my vocal technique, beautiful and interesting enough to keep me happy.
Then I worked on “a Serpina penserete.” I’m tired of all my over-used Italian arias and was thinking of changing out for this. Benefits: It shows legato without being too long (if you don’t do the da capo, which is not indicated), it shows acting to the extreme, it is light enough that no one will criticize me for singing something too heavy. (People are extremely opinionated about these things, yet no one agrees on them.) Drawbacks: People never do La serva padrona, and I’m not particularly looking to do it again (I totally would but it’s not a priority)- I usually like to sing something that I’m either literally or theoretically auditioning for. Also, I don’t want to be labeled a soubrette, because that’s just not what I am. Also, it ends really awkwardly if you don’t either da capo or continue on to the following recitative. Plus I don’t want people to think I’m an early music specialist, or if there are any style points I might be missing because I’m NOT an early music specialist. But I think I sing it really well vocally and I love that I can really, really act in it- honestly, most audition arias don’t lend themselves well to hardcore acting in an audition situation. It’s very awkward, and many people either don’t want to see your acting or don’t want to see you gesticulating or moving around. So to really be committed to your acting in an audition, you need to sing something that FORCES you to act. I’m not saying that’s the right path for everyone, but for me, it’s my acting that really makes me what I am, even moreso than those silly high notes- whatever the reason I get hired, it’s what really sells me to my audience in the end.
OK this entry is long enough, away with me. Talk atcha later.
Love always,
Amanda
