Working / Cold

I said to someone recently that I have not ever worked as hard as I am now here in Lille.

I think between my work-aholism and an adventurous and intensely fun visit with Jeremy this weekend, I’ve pushed myself a little too hard, as I now find myself at home with a nose that is running like a faucet.

My comment about working so hard wasn’t a complaint, actually. I have really been enjoying toiling away on this role, because it is the scariest thing that I will ever sing. It is high, it is fast, it is slightly uncomfortable, and it is a lot of singing. Technically, it requires me to walk a very narrow tightrope in order to pull it off, all the while trying to be expressive and run around on stage. Working diligently on it everyday both in my practice room and in rehearsal is how I deal with my fear. It’s a great feeling to confront my fear – it’s like lifting a fog that pervades my mind, and I see more clearly and proceed more confidently with every step I take. As the days go by, I find that I am learning to enjoy myself as I negotiate the technical traps that riddle the piece – my fear begins to give way to fun.

The most enjoyable aspect of rehearsal has been getting to rehearse in the theater itself. Oftentimes, either for expense or budgetary reasons or simply because the theater has so much going on, rehearsal time in the theater is severely limited. Oftentimes we only get about five or six rehearsals in the theater itself, and we spend almost a month in the rehearsal room. Here, we have the opportunity to have almost a month of rehearsal time in the theater, on the real set, with our real props. It is great to be able to get to know both the physical space of the set and the theater’s acoustic so well, especially because the theater here is such a gem.

Now I wish my cold would hurry up and go away so I can get back to working this music into my body and voice.

*The top picture is a picture of the exterior of the opera house in Lille. The second picture is the view from my dressing room (which is also functioning as my practice room while I am here).