Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The business of underestimating

Sometimes it's easy to underestimate the effort needed to accomplish your mission successfully.
"Oh, I can do that!" you think to yourself, basing your assumption on past events that might be similar, in your mind, to what is coming up. And then, alas, you realize that somewhere you were just so wrong.

Doing a song recital on a Sunday and singing Carmen in concert the following Sunday,even if on a different continent, seems a fairly easy task to accomplish.
But I haven't taken into consideration that the recital would be so extensive, emotionally and physically exhausting, and would demand a tight and pretty consuming rehearsal schedule. Looking for the right things to wear is another mission one often tends to forget as the much painful and tiring thing that it truly is. (Walking for 2 days around town, hysterically trying to find gowns. Yikes)
I also didn't consider the long flight to Europe a day after, the stomach virus I caught that day, which lasted all through the week and into the big concert,(so, working with hardly any food in the system), the busy rehearsal schedule once arrived in Munich , the constant singing (even if marking, still , using the voice and the energy), the jet lag, the nerves, and of course, the fact that this concert was a stand-up version ,(no sitting really, yup, on high heels. 3 hours...) as it was recorded for the radio live, so no moving, with only 20 minutes of one intermission.

I am now in the Munich airport, about to faint of exhaustion, waiting for my Lufthansa flight to board.
I think I managed pretty well with both my events, as well as I could, under all these circumstances , but next time I would know better how to mentally prepare for it a bit better, if I have to agree to it at all.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Travelers tip (#2)

I am a very light sleeper, and being extremely sensitive to noise, made me go on an insane quest for the perfect earplugs. But whichever plugs I found, never ever did it. They always flew out of my ear, or not quite expended enough, or simply hurt me after a while. One flight, some time ago, I got a pair of earplugs on the plane, and they worked SO well for me, that I actually kept them in their package, and googled them, and ordered 200 pairs more.
These stay right inside your ear canal, they never pop out, they don't hurt, and they seriously block sound, as they promise. Check them out, and enjoy the quiet: M3 Earplugs

Friday, April 17, 2009

One moment please

Just when I thought I couldn't be more occupied, (I am preparing for a recital), I got a call to jump in for a Carmen in concert, in Munich, fly the following day after my said recital, rehearse, perform, come back, pack again, and fly to Israel (Carmen).
I was going back and forth between Philadelphia and New york, in order to rehearse for this Alumni recital, an old promise I made to my wonderful old school, as a humble "Thank you" (and a kept promise it was, when I had to decline not one but two different jobs that appeared for that same time. What can you do, ye faithful).
But Curtis has been probably the one single entity in my life that actually put me in the place which made me a professional singer, and the one of the main corner stones in my life, to which I owe so much and more.

A recital was just the thing, and for that I have been planning and rehearsing lately, as much as I can (all crammed into a week and a half... as you can see, until then I was away and filled with Carmencita adventures).

This Sunday I will rejoin my special, old tutor and mentor, and one of my best friends- Mikael Eliasen, to present a melange of songs and arias that were all part of my years at Curtis. We will start with the three pieces I sang for my audition (Voi che Sapete, Schumann's Widmung, and a Sacha Argov song in Hebrew).
We will present some of the first arias I learned and performed there (like Dido's lament) and which I sang professionally
(while still a student) with the Opera Company of Philadelphia (Zerlina was the first, one of many roles I would end up singing there).
The recital will include some of my favorite songs ( Like Poulenc's Hotel, or Ravel's vocalize) , some Rorem (a Curtis alum himself), a couple fantastic chamber pieces (Ravel's Chansons madécasses and Brahms Viola songs), and plenty more.

So between x-xrossing Manhattan looking for a gown (I finally found the one and only!), polishing up my technique (lessons and coachings), fixing my aching back ( snap-crick-crack ), working out, filing tax, memorizing stuff, buying flights...
... I feel alive!....

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

My type!

For the past month and a half, I have been developing a new relationship with an old lover: Food.
I have always loved food, and it always loved me back, but not in an unconditional way; Food has always threatened my physical and emotional well being, by making me dependent on it and afraid of it at the same time. If I wasn't exercising and watching every little spoonful I put in my mouth, I gained weight. That's it. No buts, no howevers.
So like so many other people in this world, I have become obsessed and depressed by something which I must do in order to live, and so life has turned into a daily battle.

A month and a half ago, I was introduced to a looney idea, that some random foods are good for me and act like a magic potion in my body, like good fuel, and some even more random foods act as a poison.
This is called " The blood-type diet ".
I actually can't prove anything of it, and as far as I am concerned, it could be one big bull, however, just out of curiosity, I started to follow it. (I am O+ and by that diet, I should eat some very specific lists of organic meats, fish ,veggies and fruits, and absolutely avoid wheat and dairy).

What happened was, that food and I are talking again. I have been eating what's (generally) is on my diet list, and food has been going through me, never leaving an unwanted ounce of residue in my fat cells.
I actually stopped fearing food. I started to believe in it and in its honesty with me, and I am feeling like a whole new woman.
I am about to go to Germany next week, the land of unbelievable baked goods,where I would blink and gain a kilo. But my darlings: I am not scared anymore! I will hold on to food's arm, and we will waltz through it all as a wholesome unit!

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

pass time

At the same time that allows me to catch my breath at home, I find my self happily doing housewife-y activities that make me really happy; I cleaned the entire place, dusted, scrubbed ,washed an astonishing amount of laundry, organized the closets, shopped for groceries,looked at some new furniture and window treatments, and cooked more than a few very successful meals. I am possessed by some suburban spirit! scary ! :-o