Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Revisiting Marlboro

Waking up in my own bed this morning was heaven. At the end of yesterday's delayed, excruciatingly long (14 and half hours door to door) and turbulent journey, I was rewarded with the best night's sleep I have had in a while. After a breakfast at the local diner and a morning spent unpacking, I ran off to my first rehearsal for the Marlboro tour.

We started with warm hugs and some catching up, and then dove right into Haydn. We set off into the world of Nisa and Tirsi, a world that we only briefly explored two summers ago, opting to focus on Schumann's duets instead. We reminded ourselves of the twists and turns of Haydn's music, trying out ornaments and decorative flourishes as we went. After a while, we shifted our eyes to Schumann, revisiting these pieces that we performed two summers ago up at Marlboro. At one point, I joked that I was experiencing a bit of déjà-vu, Lydia replying that she felt just like we were in the dining hall up in Vermont even though we were in wintry New York City. We finished our second Schumann duet, and I sighed, realizing how much fun it was to be making music with this group again. It not only felt good to sing with friends, but also to make music on such an intimate level again after months of singing opera - music at it's most flamboyant. It felt like putting on a beloved t-shirt – familiar, happy, and comforting. It made me realize just how much I am looking forward to the next two weeks.

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