One month later...

Sorry for the 2 week absence...there hasn't been too much to report, so I got lazy :) But these last 2 days were eventful! We had our first rehearsal on the set...we open next Thursday. :) This set is awesome and huge and awesome. I arrived at rehearsal Wednesday evening...we were having a technical debriefing of sorts to make sure we all knew how the set worked and moved and watch out for things. It was of course all in German-I caught about 5-10 words... (most of them were "und") the crew is so nice-everyone at the opera house is, so they translated for me after. Of course, the technical director announced that he would translate the information for me after the meeting-to which I responded with a fist pump and a "go USA" type of comment-I felt a little silly, but they are all so kind and I know they understand the language barrier. After the technical meeting (and translation) as well as a walk on the set to get a 30 second feel for it, we started rehearsal. A little bit about this set: it is a circular ring that separates into 4 single rings signifying the 4 parts of the Ring Cycle. The set moves and turns and it is the steepest rake I've ever been on...my upper thigh muscles are angry today. It's a total body workout-so I can check cardio off the list. This is also a very active show, so a lot of movement and running about and crawling...it's a wonder I make it through these kind of shows alive given my tendency to trip and fall over. I'm a little clumsy. (I included this link if you wanna read about Wagner's Ring Cycle) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Ring_des_Nibelungen So rehearsal Wednesday evening went well, although it was intense. At one point in Act 1, the stage beings to turn and the outermost ring separates away and I have to climb up the ring and retrieve my tenor colleague Frank and get the sword and what not and we stopped briefly to go over it technically. It was at this point I realized that I was a good 20 feet in the air-standing on a ring about 5 and 1/2 feet wide...the "I'm scared of heights" kicked in and I had to focus so I didn't look like an idiot-like the time I parasailed and cried (yup) or went on a hot air balloon ride and clutched the basket so hard for dear life that the captain (is that what you call the guy who flies the balloon?) asked me if I was gonna be ok...anyway...I focused and a) didn't fall and b) didn't cry. So-win, win. The rehearsal was invigorating though. I'm running around on the set-sweating profusely...sweat is dripping in my eyes-I couldn't see the conductor at one point...but it was all so amazing. The set is so grand and the staging, while intense-is really awesome. I feel so lucky to be a part of this production!! By the end of the rehearsal, I had shed my cardigan (part of my costume is a cardigan) and my hair was on top of my head in a bam-bam like pony tail. We got through Act 1 on Wednesday night and did Act 2 and 3 yesterday. Quick side note about rehearsal attire: often you rehearse in skirts or parts of your costume so you can get used to how it feels and how you move in it-especially when you are on a set like this one and it requires a lot of moving and action. My rehearsal "costumes" for this show include a slip (yup) and a cardigan and a pair of thick, brown socks that have those little rubber gripper feet on the bottom of the sock. The original "dress" that I was given to rehearse in didn't even fit around me-and when I tried it on and realized it only covered my back basically, I thought-"really?!" Folks-you measured me up in wardrobe. What's this piece of fabric supposed to cover?! So then they brought some slips in...nice and snug and in European sizes so I can't tell what size it is...what does 36 mean?! (Forgive me-I'm being very American right now.) Anyway-I found a slip that had enough stretch (which required me to shed any care that I looked like a sausage coming out of it's casing) I was really worried about the socks...this set is SO steep and I was worried about slipping...but those ugly little suckers are awesome! They definitely do the job! Ok-enough about rehearsal attire :) Yesterday we went over Act 2 and 3. Act 2 is the most physically demanding act...Sieglinde has a "mad scene" of sorts-I run laps around the ring...super cardio :) There is then a scene between Siegmund and Brünnhilde and I am on the stage "sleeping" (I pass out after my mad scene cause I got myself so worked up)....this scene requires me to sleep walk...and move about with Siegmund...which proved to be a huge challenge for me. How does one get up and move about on stage with your eyes closed? It was tough-and I of course expressed my frustration to Hans...I told him during notes how much I HATED that scene and he told me "enjoy it! it's an opportunity for you as an actress to communicate to the audience"....and he's right. It is an opportunity to stretch myself-yet again...to look as graceful as possible while being dragged across the stage while I'm "sleeping"....as my tenor colleague Frank so delicately puts it: "you are a piece of meat in this scene" :) Yesterday's rehearsal went really well-I felt like I jumped a major hurdle yesterday. I shared in my first blog about how I really was being stretched when it came to my acting and yesterday I felt like I accomplished something grand and personal for myself. I let go of my inhibitions and prudish stage manner and gave into the character-I mean it really is demanded of me in this role. I have a safety box on stage though...I don't like to be pushed too far, but Hans (our Director) has really pushed me and encouraged me and called me out on some habits that I have (apparently I look at the floor a lot when I sing and I have a tendency not to commit to physical touch with my colleagues on stage) and it's been hard, but I am SO grateful for it. And yesterday night when he congratulated me and complimented me, I knew I was starting to make some progress in this area of acting. So I'm stoked! And excited!! Also-this has been a show where the conductor has been very involved. After the rehearsal on Wednesday night, Maestro and I spent an hour going through the score and talking about text and phrasing and he has been so attentive and invested in this-I told him how grateful I was for his insight and time...it's been amazing....to sit me down and talk with me about diction and phrasing and teach me about this piece-it is INVALUABLE to me as a singer! I know that this piece will forever be a huge milestone for me...for many reasons. But wow-such generosity from the conductor has overwhelmed me and taught me SO much. I am beyond grateful!! On top of all it, he has a great sense of humor-so I've enjoyed laughing with him and getting to be myself in rehearsals! Another joy in this process has been my colleague, Susan. She is singing the role of Brünnhilde and she is hilarious and has been so kind to me and looked out for me and given me advice...it's been really awesome getting to know her and work with her. I'm incredibly grateful for her presence in this show and how gracious she is...having good colleagues makes all the difference!! Yay for Sue!!! (and all my colleagues-truly everyone has been awesome!!) We open next Thursday...we have 2 more rehearsals on the stage before we open. I of course would have loved more time on this amazing, huge set-but I am learning to adapt quickly. I walked around a bit last Saturday and got some pics...it was a really beautiful day-I also tried my first bratwurst! Yay! Super yummy. I can't believe I've been here for a month! The time has gone quickly. Missing home and family and friends-missing my husband A LOT. I have been so fortunate-I've talked to him quite a bit even though he is in Rwanda right now...they got him a cell phone and apparently it's very cheap to make calls. Also-skyping with loved ones really helps. Somehow it makes me feel closer... Lots of love to you all! Thank you for all the encouraging words and prayers and love...means SO much to me!!