Category Archives: All Things Operatic

From Austria with Love

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In the opening scene of Puccini’s opera La Bohème, we find a couple of starving artists ( a poet and a painter) talking about life and art in their Parisian garret on Christmas Eve. They’re having some trouble paying the bills, so after a witty conversation, they decide to burn the pages of the poet’s latest play in order to keep warm.

Once again, I am living la vie bohème in Salzburg. That doesn’t mean that I’m having trouble with my central heating! But I get to be an artist among artists. I have the privilege of knowing so many talented and creative people in this city.

Here in our cozy Alpine flat, my friends have been hosting a lot of coffee parties, even more than usual. And it’s Christmastime, so we always have candles burning in the window and sweet treats in the kitchen.  We have had honored guests from Stockholm and Vienna, and more local friends, as well.  They all come over to discuss Life and Art over coffee or wine. Most of them are classical musicians, of course, and they tend to quote German poetry and refer to Italian operas in the same conversation, so it always feels like we’re about to burst into song, and sometimes we do.  This week, our coffee table  has become a kind of nexus for artists, where we all discuss and compare our latest creative projects. It feels a little bit like Paris in the ’20s… but for the Facebook Generation.

Of course, Salzburg is much smaller than Paris and I feel the urge to visit a larger city quite soon. Can you guess which one?  (Hint: it’s not Paris.) Stay tuned…

And while you’re pondering that, enjoy this clip from La Bohème:

 

Florence for Beginners: Part III (Music, Books & Food)

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How to eat, drink and be merry in Florence

So you’ve been to all of the museums and parks and now you’re thinking: where can I get something to eat around here?  Well, you’ve come to the right country. There are many culinary pleasures here.

Very often in Italy, I find that the food gets better the further you get from the city center.  The center of Florence is a touristy area and restaurants cater to an international clientele.  You will find that the food is less authentically Italian and also far more expensive than it should be. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t get good food in the center of town.  Here are a few of my favorites:

FOOD

Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco Borgo Sant’Iacopo 43r, Florence

Good traditional Florentine cuisine.

Trattoria Mamma Gina Borgo San Iacopo, 37, Florence
I like the lasagne and the desserts.

Moyo Via de Benci 23/R
If you’re looking for a big fresh salad, this is your place.

Taverna Divina Comedia Via Cimatori 7r
This café is based on the works of Dante. Very funny. I prefer the Purgatory Pizza.

ICE CREAM

You shouldn’t have trouble finding wonderful gelato in Florence. It’s everywhere. But if you’re in search of the very best ice cream, try:

Vivoli Piero Il Gelato Via Isola Delle Stinche, 7/R – near Santa Croce
–quite possibly the best gelato in Florence. Certainly the most interesting flavors. But always crowded!

runners up:

Gelateria Carabe’ Antonio Via Ricasoli, 60 – near the Duomo

La Bottega Del Gelato  Via Por S. Maria, 33/R. – near the Ponte Vecchio

So now you’ve had lunch but you also need something to read? Never fear:

BOOKS
I include bookshops for two reasons: 1) bookshops are cool and 2) bookshops have public restrooms.

Paperback Exchange (near the Duomo) – Via delle Oche, 4R

English books and good service

Feltrinelli International
Via Cavour 12-20/r (near San Marco)

Libreria Edison
Piazza della Repubblica 5

So you’ve picked up an Italian phrase book and some British paperback novel, and now you’re looking for some ear candy.  I can help:

MUSIC

Florence is the birthplace of opera.  It was a group of poets, musicians and thinkers called the Camerata who invented the art form in the late 1500s. And 400 years later, it’s still a great place to see a show!

This site gives you a bit of the history of the different theaters, as well as the famous opera festival, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

When I lived in Florence, I sang with Concerto Classico.  The company performs at St. Mark’s Anglican Church (Via Maggio 18), just steps away from the Ponte alle Grazie. Easy to overlook from the outside, the building houses an ornate and hauntingly beautiful chapel. The church is part of an old Medici Palace that was once owned by Machiavelli and later renovated in the neo-renaissance style. Concerto Classico offers classical concerts and full-length operas. You can get up-to-the minute information here.

My Favorite Room

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Do you have a favorite room?  A favorite place?  A favorite opera house?  (Come on, you’ve gotta have a favorite opera house. )  If so, I have just the aria for you.

Photo of Paris Opera found at chameleon-interiors.blogspot.com

A couple of weeks ago, I made a brand new recording of “Dich teure Halle” from Tannhäuser by Richard Wagner.

This is the moment in the opera where Elisabeth bursts into the Hall of Song, overjoyed by the fact that her beloved Tannhäuser is returning to her. She knows he’ll come to the Hall of Song, so she runs in and cries out “Hello, dear room!”

So it’s a love song… to a room. Pretty cool, right? I think so, too. And he music is very exciting:

Here is my translation of the German text:

You, dear hall, I greet you once again,
joyfully I greet you, beloved room!
In you his songs came alive
and wake me now from troubled dreams.
When he departed from here,
how bleak you seemed to me!
All the peace abandoned me,
all the joy went out of you.
How my heart now beats in my chest,
you look so proud and sublime.
He who brings life both to you and to me,
he will not stay away for long.
I greet you, I greet you
You precious hall,
I hail you!

So, the next time you walk into your favorite room, try singing this song.  And if you desperately need some more music right now, you can find more of my videos and audio recordings HERE!   Have a great day, everyone.

Fusilli al Puccini

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When we last left our heroine, she was trying to balance a piece of sausage on a napkin in the Munich train station.  Meanwhile, back in Salzburg, the traveling diva is attempting to cook pasta to an operatic soundtrack…

One of the hazards of traveling around the world so much is that you don’t always take time for the simple pleasures of life, like cooking. I’m not much of a cook.  I blame this on the fact that everyone else in my family cooks quite well, so learning to cook always seemed rather redundant. I have often said that I will take up cooking whenever I get married or move to Paris, whichever comes first.

Well, I am not engaged and I’m not moving to France this year. But since I have already lived in Italy, there is really no excuse for not knowing how to cook.  My friends tell me that cooking would actually go very well with my personality and artistic sensibilities.  I hope they’re right.  Historically, I have been very impatient with long recipes and very clumsy in the kitchen!  But I do like cooking movies: Like Water for Chocolate, No Reservations, Julie & Julia. So with that inspiration in mind, I’ll give it a try.

I decided to start slowly with a nice plate of pasta. One of my best friends just loaned me an introductory DVD & book set authored by the Italian cook Antonella Clerici.  She writes: “Come in ogni preparazione gastronomica, anche un semplice piatto di pasta per essere buono esige che la materia prima sia di ottima qualità.”  (As in any culinary preparation, even a simple dish of pasta — in order to be good —  requires that the raw materials are of excellent quality.)  So I went to the market and selected some raw materials: whole grain fusilli noodles, fresh zucchini,virgin olive oil, garlic, black olives, feta cheese, black pepper, etc. As I reached for the cheese, I suddenly caught a vision for a good pasta recipe.  I was able to visualize the taste of the pasta (I suppose that’s not a visualization, but rather a gustalization?), and imagine different flavor combinations.  This is probably a routine experience for most people, but for me it was very novel and exciting!

As soon as I got home from the market, I watched Antonella’s DVD; she gives some excellent tips, but half of the fun is watching the other Italian cooks argue with each other. “Ma no, fai male!”  (But no, you’re doing it wrong!) It cracked me up. I manage to stop laughing long enough to pick up the book.  I read that the corkscrew “fusilli” noodles are perfect for absorbing a thick chunky sauce, like pesto or bolognese. Good to know. At about this point, I started to get restless.  I felt I had already gleaned enough inspiration to start cooking.

Now, it was time for the most important ingredient: opera! Who can cook without good music? So I cranked up my playlist of Puccini arias on Spotify (“Innamorata di Puccini”), uncorked the pinot grigio, and released the noodles from their plastic bag.  The soundtrack really helped:  I sliced the zucchini to Rudolfo’s declaration of love; the pasta boiled along with Magda’s first kiss; and Butterfly’s distress peaked just as I was throwing the salt and garlic around. Finally — I kid you not — I placed the final olive on my finished plate of pasta just as Pavarotti was singing “Vincerò! Vincerò! Vincerò!” (I shall win, I shall win, I shall win!).

So my fusilli al Puccini emerged victorious.  I did add just a little bit too much olive oil, but I blame that on Enrico Caruso’s velvety voice. And if I turned up the heat a little too high under my roommate’s frying pan? Definitely Puccini’s fault. Perhaps I should actually follow a recipe next time… or maybe not? I am definitely open to suggestions, if you have a tip for me. Buona notte, ragazzi.
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An Afternoon of Opera, Cathedrals & Bratwurst

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More adventures in Munich…

I had an audition in Munich today, so I hopped across the border to Germany with another Bayern-Ticket.

My audition was right in the heart of Munich’s Old Town, not far from the famous Frauenkirche (Dom zu unserer lieben Frau, “Cathedral of Our Dear Lady”). So when I finished singing, I decided to stop by the church for a visit.  The Gothic brick facade and the Byzantine domed towers are just so inviting!

I’m a big fan of European cathedrals, so I spent an hour wandering up and down the expansive nave, peaking into candlelit chapels, and admiring medieval artwork.  A beautiful way to spend an afternoon.

As I was leaving, I was amused to learn that the Frauenkirche now has its own iPhone app! For €3.99, it gives you all kinds of details about the art inside the cathedral; in fact, iTunes offers this “artguide” for several important German churches.  I was tempted to download it, but I had a train to catch.

When I finally arrived back at the Hauptbahnhof, I realized that I had forgotten to eat lunch. Sometimes, after singing German opera, I crave protein. (As opposed to after singing Italian opera, when I find myself ordering gnocchi.) Instead of sitting down at a restaurant, I stopped at a German sausage stand. After all, Munich is known for its excellent bratwurst.

In general, the sausage is served along with a Kaiser roll and a blob of spicy mustard on a tiny paper plate.  But this time, it came without the plate.  My bratwurst was perched on a thin paper napkin.

Balancing a sausage on a napkin can be a little awkward, especially if you are wearing something nice … like an audition outfit. I know that we live in a world where billionaires wear jeans to work. But in opera, even starving artists try to dress beautifully. We represent an elegant art form where taste and style are part of the job description. So spilling mustard on your dress is really frowned upon!

Fortunately,  I avoided catastrophe with nothing more serious than a few crumbs of Kaiser roll on the sleeve of my coat;  I tried to brush them off with dignity. And I still managed to catch my train.  So it was a good day, after all. Tschüß!

that autumn feeling

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Autumn has arrived in Salzburg. You cannot walk through Mirabell Garden without hearing the crunch of red and gold leaves underfoot!

I keep thinking about my favorite fall poems, the ones in English by Donne and Dickinson, and the ones in German by Rilke and Trakl.

And then there are the ageless songs of autumn, like September and Im Herbst … and Autumn in New York.  😉

Since I was once a college student here in Salzburg, that music always reminds me of past autumns in Austria. In fact, it’s sometimes hard to separate the memories from the music. In her wonderful book, The Inner Voice, Renée Fleming describes this phenomenon: “I have lived a life with a soundtrack. So many of my memories have music attached to them.”

And I know just what she means. I would take it even one step further.  Not only do my memories contain a soundtrack, but certain playlists seem to contain my memories!  When I hear a song that I love, I often remember where I was when I first heard it, and what was happening in my life at the time. It feels like my own story is written into the harmony.

The most vivid memories come from arias that I have studied or performed.  After all, learning a piece of music is a very personal experience, and hearing the music again reminds me of that experience – I can usually remember singing the piece for the very first time. I remember the people who were there, and what was happening, and what was said. When you live so closely with music, listening to a song can be like re-reading your own diary.

It’s a little dangerous to live this way, with some of your most personal feelings tied up in standard repertoire.  It means that you can walk into any concert hall and get knocked off your feet by a couple of measures of music. A well-placed chord is a powerful thing, and a single arpeggio can reduce me to tears. The pianist finishes some rich, luxuriant passage and I want to say: “You had me at the G minor sixth chord.”

Oh, the nostalgia. Of course, autumn isn’t just about memories.  There is always fresh new music to sing! And there is much to be excited about this fall. May audition season begin!

Halloween in the Swiss Alps

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A not-so-scary story about pumpkins, opera singers and church history.

Meet Brünnhilde, the operatic jack-o-lantern! I put Brünnhilde on my doorstep last October and she was a very successful singing pumpkin. She could even sing “Ho-jo-to-ho!” with a candle in her mouth. I almost sent her on her own European audition tour! 😉

Holidays are fun. When I lived at International House in New York City, we made a point of celebrating every holiday in the world.  This was not an attempt to be hyperpolitical or pantheistic, but just to truly appreciate every unique culture… and to make sure that life is a constant party!

So I hope you’re having a happy Halloween. But I just have to ask: has anyone wished you a Happy Reformation Day today?  Because 494 years ago today, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Schlosskirche in Wittenberg. And soon afterward, Huldrych Zwingli  began working on the first German translation of the Bible in Zürich. These guys were radical Protestants.

As the daughter of a church historian, I have a special place in my heart for these cool historical details.  I can’t stroll through Zürich without thinking about all the other people who have walked on the same cobblestones — not only great composers like Honegger and Wagner, but also great theologians like Zwingli and Bullinger.

So when I was invited to sing at the International Protestant Church of Zürich on Reformation Sunday, in the very church where Bullinger and the Huguenots worshipped, I was pretty stoked. I bought a train ticket and embarked on a “Reformation Road Trip” to Zürich!

Watch a short clip of me singing Gabriel Fauré’s Pie Jesu in the église reformée française in Zürich on October 30, 2011:

Of course, knowing too much about church history can make things awkward for a soprano.  You see, Zwingli did not actually approve of having musical instruments in worship!  He was an excellent musician himself, but he did not feel that it was appropriate in church.  I disagree with Zwingli on that one (and so did Luther!) but I do admire the bold, exciting way that he loved Christ. So that’s what I tried to convey in my singing, even though we broke some of Zwingli’s rules by using that gorgeous organ. Since Huldrych was a bit of a rule-breaker himself, I hope he’ll understand. I returned home to Salzburg feeling very grateful that I’d had an opportunity to sing there.

Protestants aren’t the only ones who are celebrating this week. There are some beautiful Catholic holidays coming up.  In Austria, we will celebrate All Saint’s Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2).  Hermann von Gilm wrote a marvelous poem about All Souls’ Day (“Allerseelen”), set to music by Richard Strauss.

So that’s my Halloween update from the Alps. I wish you a happy holiday. Just remember to watch out for singing pumpkins in pigtails. Auf Wiedersehen!

Getting Launched

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When I was 20 years old, I ran off to Europe to become an opera singer.  It seemed like a good idea at the time…

Actually, it was a brilliant idea. I have never regretted that decision – that deliciously risky decision – to cross an ocean and follow a dream. Singing had become a physical need for me; I was literally hungry to sing.  I wasn’t sure if I had what it takes to be an opera star, but I just had to try.  And several years later, when I graduated from the Mozarteum in Salzburg with my master’s degree in opera performance, I was ready to conquer the world!

Of course, I had no idea how hard it would be.  Living out of a suitcase, auditioning for every new role, negotiating contracts, dealing with backstage politics, learning a ton of new music, trying to grow as an artist, and taking a LOT of day jobs to pay the bills… it can be a crazy lifestyle.

But it is also a beautiful way to live. I get to spend time in glamorous locations, singing gorgeous music with amazing people. What could be better than getting paid to sing your heart out?  And life is never boring when you are dipping in and out of various languages and cultures. So I want to share some of that joy with all of you, and include you in my daily craziness!

This week, I am singing the role of Leonora in Verdi’s Il Trovatore with Repertory Opera Company in Pomona, CA, while packing my bags for autumn in Austria. You see, I am now based in both Salzburg and Los Angeles, and this year, I have divided my time pretty evenly between the two places.

Salzburg and L.A. are my “home base(s)” while I travel around, performing and auditioning in other cities.  This means that I am a walking dictionary of travel information! Or perhaps a singing dictionary. Anyway, I will entertain you with the latest news about planes, trains, restaurants, museums, attractions and concerts — so that if you’re planning a trip to one of my destinations, you’ll find all kinds of useful details right here on my blog.

This fall, I have some fun travel plans and some exciting musical projects. But as any experienced traveler (or performer) knows, there may be some unanticipated hijinks. In fact, that’s all part of the fun! I’m sure that this blog will include plenty of hilarious adventures and misadventures as I sing my way around the world.

So sit back and enjoy the ride!