The Return

We open Return of Ulisses tonight at the Harris Theater at 7:30, and while I am excited, I am also exhausted. These past few weeks have been a very intense birthing-process, so to speak, mostly because the piece is so bloody difficult. Part of what makes it so difficult, I find, is how close it is to "regular" theater. The piece is largely recitative, so we don’t have the easy guidance of set music all of the time. As a result, there are a myriad of choices to be made, and it’s taken a lot of rehearsal to be clear on what they are and can be. Of course, this also makes it all the more fun, as it can always be different and a new thing can be discovered every time we visit a scene.

I look forward to our opening tomorrow – it will be fun to put it on its feet and see where it chooses to go in the coming weeks. I have really fallen in love with Monteverdi these past six months, so I am really excited to perform it again. It feels like a dream come true each time I begin a scene with the continuo group in the pit.

My life otherwise? I am trying to find creative ways to pay my taxes and still survive the next few months financially speaking. It’s funny to me how finances take a lot of creativity and discipline – much like music, in a way. We are still trying to iron out where we will be moving in the coming months – the front-runner right now is New York City. I still hold out for Chicago, secretly, but honestly, at this point, the world is our oyster. We are both still in that, “Where to next?” sort of mindset. We should look for a storage unit in the meantime. I am also trying to put the finishing touches on the Bartok that I am trying to work into my voice for my next adventure, which is some concerts with the St. Louis Symphony.

My best wishes to my wonderful and sweet colleagues here in Chicago for a great run of the show.