A Look in the Met’s 2012-2013 Rear-View Mirror

The end of another opera season has arrived. In my house, there are mixed feelings. My mother, who is in the orchestra, is very happy that the season is over because for her, it has been a long year. I, on the other hand, am very sad that the season has come to an end. However, my being sad is a good thing because that means that this Metropolitan Opera season was so great, that I did not want it to end! Here were some of my highlights of the Met’s 2012-13 season, including my performances.

In my last season in the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus I performed in two operas: Turandot and Parsifal. If you’re asking yourself, “Well, why didn’t I see her on stage?”, that is a good question. I sang backstage in both operas.

Turandot includes offstage children’s chorus in all three acts, as we represent the voices floating around in Turandot’s mind. We sing directly off stage right, just barely missing sight of the audience and the red velvet of the Met’s seats. There were 11 scheduled performances of Turandot, but one performance was canceled due to Hurricane Sandy. All 10 performances were a blast, as my colleagues and I played multiple games of cards between the acts, and seeing the Zeffirelli Act II set of Turandot up close is something to behold. Just because it was backstage with no costumes did not mean that it was boring. Backstage operas can be the most fun!

Turandot was going on at the same time as Otello, so here is a photo of me pretending to be Desdemona on a rehearsal set of Act IV in the 5th Floor Studio at the Met, during one of the breaks…

I also had the honor of singing in Wagner’s Parsifal, in a new production with an HD telecast and an amazing cast. This opera also had a children’s chorus offstage, but in a different way. We did not sing off Stage-Right, we sang six floors above that in the “Domes” of the Met. We were so high up from the stage, that our voices sounded as if they were coming from the heavens. It was a life-changing, heavenly experience to be part of that Wagnerian masterpiece, along with a cast combination that may never be found again: Jonas Kaufmann, René Pape, Peter Mattei, and Katarina Dalayman.

During that time, I had the chance to meet Jonas Kaufmann, my favorite opera singer of today, during the Parsifal rehearsal and performance period. I also had the opportunity to talk to Katarina Dalayman, Peter Mattei, and other Wagnerian rock-stars involved in the production. Here are Jonas Kaufmann and me at a C-Level rehearsal of Parsifal in late January.

Parsifal was also my last opera of my career in the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus. It was a bitter-sweet goodbye with tears, but also hugs and support from my colleagues. It was an experience that I am thankful for having, and one that I will never forget. I am also thankful for my leaving the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus, because that is why I started my blog. By, getting my feelings out through writing and receiving encouragement, my sadness was cured.

Now, I did not just perform during the Metropolitan Opera’s 2012-13 Season, I also attended several performances. MetOpera Radio encouraged its fans to write in their votes for their “Three Favorites” of the Met’s season. The top three broadcasts that were voted for were: 1. Parsifal, 2. Maria Stuarda, and 3. Les Troyens. I got 2/3, as I voted La Clemenza di Tito in place of Les Troyens. Here is why these were my three favorites:

Parsifal

 

Parsifal was my #1 pick because everything about it was perfect. Jonas Kaufmann’s debut of his role as Parsifal was perfect. It was focused, clear, and his “Amfortas! Die Wunde!” was heart-wrenching. Katarina Dalayman’s high notes as Kundry were like bullets, so solid and clear. She handled so well the jumpiness of the role of Kundry. Above all: René Pape and Peter Mattei as Gurnemanz and Amfortas. Pape returned to the role better than ever, and Mattei did not leave a dry eye in the 4,000 seat theater in his portrayal as Amfortas. I even had some tears way up in the Domes when he uncovered the grail.

The production was also interesting, something new. It took place in a Post-Apocolyptic world, where there was much suffering including on the part of Amfortas and his men. The second act took place in the actual wound of Amfortas with blood everywhere. As scary, creepy, and disgusting as it sounds, it really worked! My favorite part ended up being the 1600 gallons of blood on the stage in Act II, with the flower maidens and Parsifal dancing around in it. It was dramatic and also intriguing.

 

Maria Stuarda

 

My #2 pick was Maria Stuarda because of the incredible singing from Joyce DiDonato and Elza van den Heever. I attended the dress rehearsal of Maria Stuarda and I remember leaving Act I saying that it was like “Diva Demolition Derby”. The best scene in the opera was the confrontation between Queen Elizabeth and Maria Stuarda. Joyce rattling off “Vil Bastarda” was worth the price of admission. Joyce’s interpretation of “Deh! Tu di un emile preghiera” also brought tears to my eyes. She really made the audience feel sorry for her, and that Queen Elizabeth was being too harsh. The audience did not want Joyce to walk to the chopper because they wanted her to keep singing! Joyce DiDonato and the debut of Elza van den Heever made Maria Stuarda a season favorite.

 

La Clemenza di Tito

 

La Clemenza di Tito was my #3 pick because of Elīna Garanča, Kate Lindsey, and the debut of Lucy Crowe. The Mozart of the 2012-13 season at the Met seems so distant, because it was all done in the Fall: Clemenza, Nozze, and Don Giovanni. Garanča’s portrayal of Sesto was so moving, and her “Parto, parto” was the cherry on top. Kate Lindsey succeeded in yet another pants role, as the comrade of Sesto. Lucy Crowe’s debut as Servilla was marvelous. A lush voice with a bloom at the top, her duet with Lindsey in Act I gave me the chills. Of all the Verdi and Wagner this season, this Mozart opera came out at #3.

The 2012-13 Metropolitan Opera season was a success. I finished my career in the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus. It celebrated the 200th birthdays of Verdi and Wagner, while it also brought back regulars like Mozart, and also uncovered more rare operas like Maria Stuarda. The opera season will be missed, but the Met will open its 2013-14 season four months from now with a new production of Eugene Onegin.

Have a great Summer!

Mysteries of the Ring Cycle

For the past month the Met has held Richard Wagner’s epic Der Ring des Nibelungen on its stage. I have attended an entire cycle (Ring Cycle 2), along with one extra of Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, and Siegfried. As I watched those Wagnerian rock-stars perform on the stage of the Met, it occurred to me that the Ring has several unanswered questions. Either Wagner did not include detailed text about how characters completed certain tasks, or he simply made up if and how characters could complete tasks to make the four operas flow more easily. For example: How does Brünnhilde know that Sieglinde is pregnant? Some of the other unanswered questions can simply be due to stage direction. For example: The Rhinemaidens are unable to stop Alberich from taking the gold, and yet he walks right by the Rhinemaidens when he leaves the stage (at least in the Lepage production).

Yes, I know that the Ring is based on Norse mythology and that none of the characters are actually real people. Because of this, Wagner was able to play around with his characters, and tell the audience certain details, while he left some behind. Here are some unanswered questions:

Why do the Gods look alive when Wotan and Loge return from Nibelheim?

This question first occurred to me just last night when I was watching Das Rheingold. The Giants have taken Freia and they still have her in their grasp. Wotan and Loge let Alberich go back down to Nibelheim when they gain all the gold, and the other Gods: Fricka, Donner, and Froh come out to greet Wotan and Loge. When Wotan and Loge left earlier in Scene 2, Fricka, Donner, and Froh were all lying down and aging due to the lack of Freia’s golden apples. The apples give the Gods youth and life, thus, they felt weak when Freia was taken away. However, when Wotan and Loge return, they all walk around, healthy as ever, and gleefully welcome them back. Froh launches one of his few lines excitedly and with energy, “Sie kehrten zurück!”, or “They have returned!”. Froh could not have hit that high G when he was lying on the rocks moaning because of his lack of golden apples, likewise for the others.

Why doesn’t Wotan know what Valhalla means?

(The Rainbow Bridge in the Lepage production of Das Rheingold)

After Donner has stormed the sky and Froh has made his Rainbow bridge, Wotan sings his monologue and the Gods are ready to enter their new palace: Valhalla. Before they cross the Rainbow, Fricka asks: “Was deutet der Name? Nie dünkt mich, hört’ich ihn nennen”, meaning approximately “What does that name mean? I have never heard of it before”. Wotan responds saying, “Was mächtig der Furcht mein Muth mir erfand wenn siegend es lent, leg’ es den Sinn dir dar”, meaning “What my spirit has found to conquer my dread, when triumph is won, making the meaning clear”. Does that really answer Fricka’s question? Has Wotan even “triumphed” yet? He barely gave up the Ring to save Freia, making Fricka very upset. Fricka doesn’t even think that Wotan has triumphed, thus, confusion exists when Wotan replies confusingly about the name of Valhalla…and 14 hours later we still don’t know what Valhalla means.

Who is the mother of the Wälsungs?

(My family tree that I drew depicting the characters in the Ring. Notice the Question Mark as the mother of Siegmund and Sieglinde.)

The mother of the Wälsungs is never mentioned in any of the Ring operas. The only relatives of the Wälsungs that we know are Wotan being the father, and Hunding being the husband of Sieglinde. When Fricka rides up the mountain to confront Wotan about the incest between Siegmund and Sieglinde, she refers to their mother as a “she-wolf”, based on my sub-titles, and also a mortal. If Fricka can mention those two characteristics, why can’t she say the name so we can know who the Wälsungs’ mother is?”. The lack of a name or face does not affect the story, however.

There is another question mark in the paternal spot of the Norns. We know that the mother of the Norns is Erda, but we do not know who fathered them. Their father is never referred to in any of the operas. When the rope breaks, they say “Zu Mutter”, and not, “Zu Mutter und Vater”.

How does Brünnhilde know that Sieglinde is pregnant?

This one has stumped me for a long time. There is no evidence in the four operas that Brünnhilde has a doctoral degree, or has X-Ray vision to see if Sieglinde is really pregnant. She simply says to Sieglinde: “Rette das Pfand das von ihm du empfing’st: ein Wälsung wächst dir im Schoos!”, meaning “Save the pledge you got from him [Siegmund], you bear a Wälsung’s life”! Brünnhilde knew that Sieglinde was sick and delusional because of seeing her lying on the ground during the “Todesverkündigung” in the second act, and also when she carries her aback Grane when fleeing from Wotan. Brünnhilde sees that she is sick, but how does she know that she is pregnant? We may not know how Brünnhilde diagnosed Sieglinde’s pregnancy, but at least we leave Die Walküre looking forward to Siegfried’s arrival.

How does Brünnhilde know what has happened while she has been asleep?

Wagner did not make it clear whether Brünnhilde was psychic or not, but it seems that she is when she wakes up in Act III of Siegfried. She states two things that do not make sense due to her lack of being awake. First, she says to Siegfried: “O wüsstest du Lust der Welt, wie ich dich je geliebt” meaning “I know you, joy of the world, I have always loved you!”. How can you love someone if the last time you saw them, never really, was in a woman’s womb? This is the first time they have ever met, and she is only about six pages ahead of “Heil dir Sonne”. Slow down, Brünnhilde. Slow down. The second strange thing that she says is in response to Siegfried’s question about his mother. Siegfried asks: “So starb nicht meine Mutter?”, meaning “So my mother did not die?”. Brünnhilde responds with, “Du wonniges Kind! Deine Mutter kehrt dir nicht wieder”, meaning approximately, “You wonderous child, your mother no longer lives”. How does Brünnhilde know that Sieglinde died in childbirth? She has been asleep! She should be the one asking him, “How is Sieglinde doing? Are you two getting on well?”.  Wagner must have forgotten to tell us that Brünnhilde is psychic.

Why does Siegfried go to the Gibichung Hall?

Siegfried journeys down the Rhine and arrives at the Gibichung Palace, why? Brünnhilde just let him go on a journey and let him take Grane, she never told him to go there and he never said he was going there. When he arrives, Siegfried asks who Gibich’s son is, and says that his fame has spread down the Rhine. Siegfried has obviously heard of the Gibichungs, but we have not. In Die Walküre, Wotan says that Alberich found himself a woman and planted a Nibelung seed of evil in her womb, but he did not say that the woman was a Gibichung. Maybe Siegfried just stopped at the Gibichung Palace because he thought it was a nice looking rest-stop?

Vice-versa, it is never said how the Gibichungs, or Hagen really, know about Siegfried. Hagen tells Gunther and Gutrune that Siegfried is the strongest of men and that he is the son of the Wälsung twins: Siegmund and Sieglinde. Most likely, Hagen knows about Siegfried because his father Alberich told him about him. However, Wagner never tells the audience how the Gibichungs know Siegfried’s history so well.

Those are some questions that I have been pondering over for the last month when I’ve watched the Ring. Wagner wrote a magnificent epic, but some parts are missing, none of which are key to the outcome of the story. If you can answer my questions, go ahead and try (If you can, you’re psychic). If you have any questions that I have possible answers to, please ask and comment away! Hojotoho!

Melanie Spector sings “Lydia” by Gabriel Fauré

I had the pleasure of singing at my school’s World Language National Honors Society Induction Ceremony on Wednesday night. My French teacher invited me to perform, so I chose a French art song to represent the French language. The four languages being represented were French, Spanish, Chinese, and Latin. I had a wonderful time! My French teacher said she had tears in her eyes. It was an honor to perform, and it was fun to perform in front of such a large audience.

Traduit en français:

Avec plaisirs, j’ai chanté à la langue nationale honore la cérémonie d’intronisation Société mondiale de mon école, mercredi soir. Mon professeur de français m’a invité à chanter, j’ai donc choisi une chanson de l’art français pour représenter la langue française. Les quatre langues sont représentées étaient français, espagnol, chinois et latin. J’ai passé un moment merveilleux! Mon professeur de français a dit qu’elle avait les larmes aux yeux. Il a été un honneur d’accomplir, et c’était amusant de chanter devant un grand public aussi.

Der Ring des Nibelungen Family Tree

Voilà! I drew an entire family tree of the Ring Cycle! If any of you are confused about character relationships, plot twists, or incest, have no fear! My drawing will help you get over your confusion and enjoy Wagner’s masterpiece at ease. Enjoy!

A Rant on Opera Audiences

I could not get this out in words, I had to vent. Opera audiences are terrible as of late. We need to reinforce the discipline that should be found in your seat at the opera house. Hear about my many awful experiences due to the carelessness and ignorance of other opera-goers.

Wagnerian Encounters at Siegfried

     Today was another amazing day at the Metropolitan Opera! I attended the matinée of Siegfried at the Met with my Dad, and my Mom was in the pit playing under Maestro Luisi. The cast included Jay Hunter Morris as Siegfried, Gerhard Siegel as Mime, Mark Delavan as the Wanderer, Eric Owens as Alberich, Hans-Peter König as Fafner, Lisette Oropesa as the Forest Bird, Meredith Arwady as Erda, and Deborah Voigt as Brünnhilde. It was a fabulous performance with some fun in-between backstage action.

Photo: Me and Jay Hunter Morris, who was Siegfried this afternoon! I went backstage during the second intermission to the Met Cafeteria, where all the singers hang out. He came through carrying a coke and an apple, and positively glowed at the sight of my horns. He said he was happy to take a photo!

     Jay Hunter Morris sang and played a fun, boyish, young Siegfried…and he MADE IT! So many Siegfrieds have dreadfully crashed and burned before Act III even begins, not this guy. Mr. Morris has stamina and still had a full-tank by the end of the opera. He was entertaining to watch as well, especially around Mime. In the first act, Mr. Morris actually started to mouth the words of Mime’s lecture, making it look like he had heard it billions of times before. It was hilarious and I laughed out loud! I also felt as if he was more comfortable in the role of Siegfried than last year, but I am sure that many singers feel that way when returning to a role that they have already premiered. 

     Gerhard Siegel was a hilarious Mime. A little more toned-down than last year, it was still fun to watch. His scene with Mark Delavan was hilarious, especially with the height difference between the two. Delavan sang a powerful Wanderer, more powerful than his two previous Wotans. At some points Delavan was covered by the orchestra, especially in his scene with Erda in Act III. Other than that, he was fantastic!

     Photo: Me and Eric Owens, the Alberich of the afternoon! He came back to the Cafeteria after Act II to hang out, so we chatted for a bit. I actually know him through my Mom, because he and my Mom both studied at Temple University and they both studied oboe! How about that? He loved my horns by the way…

     Eric Owens played a selfish, frustrated Alberich. He did not want Wotan messing his plans up again! His voice has grown so well into the role of Alberich, along with his acting. He is a joy and is positively hilarious not only offstage, but onstage as well, and brings that happiness to the audience.

     Hans-Peter König played the drowsy Fafner, hilariously passing off Siegfried’s threat saying, “I’ll devour him”. His deep voice rang through the house and created a resonance. Lisette Oropesa was a lovely forest bird. Her voice was light and clear, just like her Gilda. Speaking of that: She has a double-day today! She not only sang the Forest Bird today, but she is singing Gilda in Rigoletto tonight for the Saturday night show! Go her!

     Meredith Arwady was a great Erda. Her voice, along with her dress, flashed all around the house. That scene of the Lepage production is beautiful. It is dark blue with shiny rocks surrounding Erda’s hideaway. Her dress is covered in black agates that reflect light all over the house. Wotan also blends well with his long white hair and….oh it’s just so beautiful! 

Photo: Act III of Siegfried with Patricia Bardon (last season). Isn’t it gorgeous?!

     Deborah Voigt did wonderfully as Brünnhilde. Her high notes were shot all around the house and were particularly ringing today. I believe that this performance was her best yet of her times singing Brünnhilde.

     This performance of Siegfried was fantastic, even without Bryn Terfel and the others of the original cast. Having more encounters backstage was also fun. Even with my retirement from the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus, it has been a privilege and an enjoyment to still be able to go backstage at the Met. There is nothing quite like seeing Siegfried walk through the Met Cafeteria in costume, carrying an apple and a coke. 

     PS: I had the opportunity also to meet the cast of Dialogues des Carmelites! I got to talk to Maestro Louis Langrée and tell him that I was in La Bohème. He chided that I was wearing a beret then, not viking horns! I also got to say hello to Patricia Racette and Elizabeth Bishop! My Dad and I got to tell her how wonderful she was as Didon when she replaced Susan Graham back in the Winter. She was touched. Not only am I looking forward to my ‘Ring Cycle 2′, but I am also looking forward to seeing Dialogues des Carmelites for the first time.

How Do You Spell “Die Walküre”?

     As of late, the opera world has been buzzing about the Met’s revival of the Ring this month and next. It is a true masterpiece that was created by none other than Richard Wagner. It is so great, that I actually have to thank Wagner and the Ring, because both of them turned me on to opera!

Photo: Six-year-old me with my Brünnhilde hat and Ring shirt…and cowboy boots

     Opera has always been a part of my life. My mother, Susan Spector, is the second oboist of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra, and my father is a huge opera fan. Opera and classical music was and is always playing in my house, but I never thought I would get into it. I went to one dress rehearsal when I was four years old of Hänsel und Gretel in 2001, but I could not stay through the whole thing. At this point, I was focused on my career of becoming a dolphin-trainer at Sea World, not an opera singer.

     This is how it began:

     It was the Summer of 2003, I was five years old. My father was working downstairs so I just decided to wander down to his office. When I walked in the office I heard a very loud tenor forging a sword. He had on live radio broadcast of Siegfried from the Bayreuth Festival (Wagner’s own festival). I remember saying, “Daddy, what’s that?”

     Not half an hour later, I was sitting upstairs with my parents watching the Metropolitan Opera DVD of the Otto Schenk production of Siegfried. I was hooked, and I could not just stop at Siegfried. Each night after that, my family and I watched the entire Ring, act by act. It was fascinating! I remember thinking that Hagen was the most evil villain that I had seen, beating out all of the evil villains in Disney Movies and the Powerpuff Girls. First Grade started and I remember not being able to stop thinking about the Ring. I would write journal entries about it. I even asked my teacher how to spell “Die Walküre“…she was helpless/speechless.

Photo: Six-year-old me dressed as Wotan

     April of 2004 came bearing the Ring season, and I was going! I even got to skip a few days of school (Those were the only days I missed). My first Ring opera was Die Walküre. My mother played in the pit, and I attended it with my father and my teddy bear. I remember sitting down and people staring and whispering, “What is a six-year-old doing here?”. I loved it. My parents had organized that I could get a ride home with one of the other orchestra musicians if I was tired or bored. That did not happen. My dad said, “Do you want to stay?” and I responded saying, “I want to see Brünnhilde!”. 

     I could not stop smiling seeing Brünnhilde walk out on to the stage and launch her “Hojotoho”s. After seeing the DVD, she was my idol. I had even memorized her staging and lines. Jane Eaglen, who was singing Brünnhilde in 2004, walked off a different way in Act II than Hildegard Behrens did in the DVD. I whispered to my Dad that she walked off the wrong way and that “the words were wrong”. His jaw dropped to the floor.

     Next was Götterdämmerung. Yes, that Götterdämmerung, the one that is six hours long. I sat through it and loved it. At one of the intermissions, I went back to the Met Cafeteria where I got to meet Alan Held who was singing Gunther. He and my mother were friends in college. He came dressed in the full Gunther costume and all. It was like meeting the Disney Princesses, but better.

Photo: Me and Alan Held backstage at the dress rehearsal of Götterdämmerung 

     The next day was Das Rheingold. My father and I encountered an elderly woman when we were in the audience. She tapped my dad on the shoulder and said, “Don’t you realize that this is one two and a half hour long act! How can you bring this child here?”. He sent back a great retort, “Well, she sat through six hours of Götterdämmerung yesterday so I’m sure she can handle this”. The woman sat back without saying a peep. I loved Das Rheingold. I did fall asleep for a part of it, but woke up for Donner and the Rainbow Bridge.

     The last was Siegfried: The opera that had started it all. I remember actually seeing Siegfried tame the billows and bang on the sword. That part I had heard on the radio had finally come alive!

     So now, here I am! I have been going to the opera ever since, and have still been fascinated by everything that I have seen. I believe my next opera was Otello, and that I was scared of seeing Desdemona choked. My dad could not understand this considering I had just seen multiple stabbings, blood, and mythical horror. The Ring has made me who I am today, an Opera Geek! Thank you to my family, Richard Wagner, and the Ring. 

Photo: Me and THE RING

Wagnerian Encounters at Die Walküre

Yes, that’s me. Yes, I am wearing viking horns. Yes, they light up. What the heck was I doing? Going to today’s matinée of Die Walküre at the Metropolitan Opera of course!

Today I attended ‘Ring Cycle 1′ Die Walküre with my Dad, and my Mom played in the orchestra. The cast included Deborah Voigt as Brünnhilde, Simon O’Neill as Siegmund, Martina Serafin (debut) as Sieglinde, Mark Delevan as Wotan, Hans-Peter König as Hunding, and Stephanie Blythe as Fricka, with Fabio Luisi on the podium. As I usually do at the Ring operas, I wore my viking horns. I wear them to every Ring opera except Das Rheingold, because there are no valkyries in it. I got many “Hey, nice hat!”s and “Where did you get that hat?s” and others even wanted to get their pictures taken with me. After several meet-and-greets, I went to my seat. A couple next to me greeted me and told me how much they loved my hat. Two minutes later, I was telling them the plot of Die Walküre. They had never seen it before, so when I told them that Sieglinde and Siegfried are siblings and that they fall in love with each other, they looked freaked out. You should have seen the woman’s face when I said that Sieglinde gets pregnant! It was fun explaining the plot of a Ring opera to people who were at least twice my age.

The opera was wonderful. Martina Serafin’s debut was a success. She has a gorgeous voice that will hopefully return to the Met after her next two performances of Sieglinde. Hans-Peter König outdid himself as usual, playing the unimpressed, almost comical Hunding. Act I was overall smooth except for a Siegmund exchange. Simon O’Neill had started off the performance with an announcement from Peter Gelb, saying that he had suffered from an allergic reaction but that we would still be able to sing. Well, once Sieglinde and Hunding left the stage in Act I, so did he. Out went O’Neill and in came Andrew Sritheran from Stage Right. I noticed first off that it was a different Siegmund because Sritheran was much taller. I also noticed because Sritheran was wearing Jonas Kaufmann’s Siegmund costume from when he did it last season, while O’Neill was not. He did a fine job, especially since he came in right away to sing the two “Wälse”s, “Winterstürme,  and pull Nothung out of the tree. It was a light voice but a fine one.

Mark Delevan and Deborah Voigt created a loving father-daughter relationship for the audience. They created loving duets throughout the opera, and then a bitter-sweet goodbye at the end. Stephanie Blythe outdid herself. After she made her first entrance in Act II, my Dad and I whispered to each other that her voice was as solid as a rock. As Fricka, she acted desperate to be heard by him, and for him to finally obey her. Erda had come between them, and she knew it. Stephanie Blythe sang an outstanding and solid Fricka.

Now, the opera was indeed wonderful, but I experienced something in between that actually surpassed it. I got to hear the eight valkyrie sisters warm up for Act III!

Photo: Me with the eight valkyrie schwesters!

Wendy Bryn Harmer, who sang Ortlinde in today’s performance, invited me backstage to hear the valkyries warm up in Studio 203! It was an incredible experience, and a LOUD one, to hear all of the valkyries warm up together, and sing through their parts. All of them posed for a picture after they were done, and they told me that they liked my horns! This was the highlight of my day! (Thank you, Wendy).

I will be attending Die Walküre again on April 26 because I have tickets to ‘Ring Cycle 2′. I can’t wait to see it all again! HOJOTOHO!

If you missed OperaGeek meets Operavore…

 

Here is the link to my segment on WQXR:  http://www.wqxr.org/#!/programs/operavore/2013/apr/06/

 

     If you missed my segment on WQXR’s Operavore show, there is no need to fear! You can listen to it through the WQXR website (link provided above) for the next 14 days.

                                      

OperaGeek  (Me in La Bohème)            meets                          Operavore                          

 

    It was amazing to actually hear my own voice on the radio. My mother listened from backstage at the Met, before she went into the pit to play Das Rheingold. I also had family, friends, and teachers listening all over the country. My father and I were at Citi Field to watch the Mets game. We listened to my WQXR segment in our seats watching batting practice, hugging each other and high-fiving (We also listened to Das Rheingold during the baseball game itself). After the segment, I got wonderful feedback via Twitter, Facebook, and Email, including email from the producer of Operavore, Elaine Warner, herself.

     I would like to send a big thank you to all who follow me through my blog, Twitter, and Facebook for giving me such wonderful support. You guys are the best!

OperaGeek meets Operavore

For the past few weeks I have been very excited. Why? The Ring? The baseball season? What? No! I am going to be on the radio this Saturday!!!

Photo: The Operavore logo. I am going to be on its show!

This Saturday April 6th, I am going to be featured on WQXR’s Operavore Show. I was invited to discuss how I got into opera and what my turn-on was, and also how opera can attract younger audiences and fans. The show will air on April 6th at 12:30 PM on WQXR (105.9 FM in the New York area) before the broadcast of Das Rheingold at 1 PM. The show will also feature Metropolitan Opera bass James Morris and opera blogger and critic James Jorden. I am honored to be featured on the radio and would love to share that honor with you by your listening.

If you cannot listen to WQXR or you simply are not available to listen on Saturday, there is another option. Through WQXR’s website, you can listen to archived shows for up to 14 days. The show that I will be featured on will be available for two weeks on the website, so you can listen to it there. Here is the WQXR Operavore website: http://www.wqxr.org/#!/programs/operavore/

Photo: Me recording my segment at the WQXR studio

It was an amazing experience recording in the WQXR studio. I got to know Elaine Warner, the producer of Operavore. When she called my cellphone and left a message that she was interested in doing a segment, I almost fell over because I had heard her voice on the radio for so long! She was very encouraging and gave me helpful tips on how to focus a radio audience. It was also fun to work with Naomi Lewin again, the host of the show. When I was interviewed on MetOpera Radio in March of 2007, Naomi created one of her fantastic Met-cameos for me. It has been on the air several times since I was interviewed. She is a such a creative, fun, and enthusiastic person who loves what she does.

It was a thrill for me to record on WQXR because my love of opera came through the radio (internet radio). Listen in on Saturday at 12:30 to hear the rest of my opera turn-on story and learn how young audiences can get into opera. Tune in!