Yesterday was The Liederkranz Foundation Vocal Competition (wow that's a mouth full) and I sang for it around 4:30pm. I felt that I did pretty well, except for one tight high Eb at the end of Spargi from Lucia di Lammermoor. It's not that it wasn't there, I just felt that the note was a bit shrill...but who knows, it could have been just fine. The second aria they selected was The Laughing Song from Die Fledermaus...haha...I think they were truly entertained and didn't know what they were asking for when they chose it...no one milks that song like I do...if nothing else, it's a fun and boisterous piece with lots of places to garner a laugh...let's just say I did my job. At the end they wanted to know where I got my translation for the piece from and I had to owe up to the fact that I "borrowed" it from the Lyric Opera of Chicago's performance way back in the 1990's starring Ruth Ann Swenson. The judge who was doing the talking seemed excited and relieved by that answer...beats the heck out of me why, but no one does that translation, so I think the uniqueness of it gives me a plus...besides it's funnier than alot of the other translations out there. Now I have to play the dreaded waiting game until Friday to see if I get a call for the finals. Not that I'm being pesimistic, but my chances are slim...I'm being a realist here. Sopranos are the largest group of singers out there and I'm competing not only against a ridiculous amount of those who share that voice grouping, but with the whole lot of vocal fachs down to the Basses...and alot of them are already singing at the Met, so I've got stiff competition. Besides, I really wanted to just sing MY best and I feel I pretty much did that and gave them a memorable performance. That's all a singer can do...their best. The rest is based on opinion, what they're feeling that day and who they like. You can be the best, most polished techincal singer with great performing skills, and one judge just may not like the tambor of your voice or the piece you selected...it's all relative. So who knows where I or anyone stands? But let's just say, I'm not counting my chickens.
As for the ever steady quest of physical health. I'm sticking to my diet, but I feel that I caved a bit with eating a bit too much lo carb / no sugar added ice cream last night. I hadn't had much in the way of a real meal yesterday, so when I got home I had veggie soup w/a lean burger patty and then followed it up with the afore mentioned ice cream. Oh well, I've just gotta keep trying and watching what I do put in my mouth. Today I have a date to work-out at the gym, so I think I'll probably hit the Elliptical for 30 minutes or so. It's such a lovely day outside, I may try to convince my friend Nakeeta into perhaps walking outside for our lunch break...it's not every day that we have a day in January where it's sunny and in the 60's, crazy huh? Pshaw, Global Warming indeed...hmmm?
Tonight I've got my second hypnosis session. I really didn't like the first one, I just wasn't comfortable and it was hard for me to relax and let go of control, but hey that's me...lol. I do have to say however, I've been singing really great since, and have had one successful lesson and coaching after the other...so something really may have sunk in. So I've opted to give it another go. I'll let you know what I think of it once I go through it and roll it around in the ol' noggin.
Alright, back to the grind. Have a great Tuesday and good luck on your endeavors :)
1 comment:
I think I am going to have my daughter read this post - she needs the reality check of realizing that you can be really amazingly good and still not be picked...it's very rational and sane to be able to not take it personally! (Rational and sane are not her strong points, at almost-16. Heh.)
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. A lot of competition, indeed, but you never know!
As for eating...well, after that amount of pressure, going a tiny little bit overboard is not that bad. It's not like you ate everything in sight! :-) You probably did very well overall actually.
I am also following the hypnosis saga with interest, it will definitely be cool to see where that goes.
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