We are at crunch time for Magic Flute and that is eating a lot of my creative energy–but here is a tantalizing preview of what is to come of all of this work: the Saltnote Stageworks choreography of the famous Papegeno/Papegena duet is based on hip hop. Papageno is dressed in high hip hop fashion, and Papagena’s look is based on that of Avril Lavigne. In this duet they are meeting without interruption or disguise for the first time in the opera. We know at this point that they are destined to be together because they are similar in all ways. In their duet they talk about how much they are in love, and how many “Papagenos” and “Papagenas” they will have together. Imagine all that, and some hip hop!

Inspirational Quote:

Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same. -George Bernard Shaw

See the slideshow of images from Saltnote Stagework’s Carmina Burana, Suor Angelica and Pagliacci.

All of the images for these shows can be found here at Lionel’s Public Gallery.

PS: here is Soprano Tiffany Robert’s (Suor Angelica’s) professional website.

Inspirational Quote:

Marriage is a fine institution, but I’m not ready for an institution. -Mae West

• My own mug, knife, fork, spoon, plate, grocery bag

I really dislike the consumptive lifestyle of traveling–eating take-out that comes in Styrofoam boxes, eating each breakfast using 2 Styrofoam cups (one for hot water, one for juice), 1 Styrofoam bowl or plate (depending on whether breakfast is oatmeal or a waffle), and 1 or 2 plastic utensils, all of which I throw away at the end of the meal, not to mention shopping and having to use plastic bags.

• Several good refillable water bottles

Singer’s are obsessed with drinking water–for good reason in this climate–and 1 use water bottles are everywhere. I’ve started refilling a huge 33.4 ounce bottle of SmartWater (a spending folly–SmartWater tastes very nice but I hate paying for water. Now I only drink tap).

• One more formal dress

The number of concerts I was in which required my formal dress was enough that I wore my choral performance dress (from Ms Susan Nace’s Cantilena concerts). And I definitely have enough pretty black dresses to have avoided wearing the same dress for 3-4 concerts in a row.

Anyhoo, time to practice,

Inspirational Quote:

“If we only had some God in the country’s laws, instead of being in such a sweat to get him into the Constitution, it would be better all around.” -Mark Twain Letter to W. D. Howells, 9/18/1875

Saltnote Stageworks got a bad review from the Washington Post. Now, as a singer I am finding that professionalism dictates that I don’t have anything good to say I shouldn’t say anything at all. (Not that this advice is well followed). But I have seen that some of the best artists here at Saltnote Stageworks are polite, hard working and don’t gossip.

However, I am writing this blog to my family who deserve to read the reviews, good or ill, of my performances and to the people whose family or friends are in those performances, or who may want to attend a future year of Saltnote Stageworks. And to fulfill that responsibility I should report what else is being said.

Here is the initial critical review from the Washington Post done before the program even started.

Here is a much more flattering, and complete, article from the local newspaper South Maryland News.

Inspirational Quote

Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would seem strange if old friends lacked certain quirks. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I have been having a bit of trouble with my 3rd Genii harmonies in Pamina’s suicide scene from Mozart’s The Magic Flute (properly Die Zauber Floete as we will be singing it in German). My roommate, a wonderful lady who recorded me a study track of all of my Italian lines for Suor Angelica just because she is nice, suggested I input the troublesome lines into a notation program (she uses Sibelius, I use Finale Notepad). This helps me with my harmonies and security in my notes. Also, in the same way that writing down the words to songs I have to memorize gets me to learn the words as they are written rather than as I would like to sing them, copying notes forces me to notice the rhythmic and tonal patterns on the page, which are surprisingly different than the ones I heard when I was learning it by ear. Here is a clip of the scene I am working on from the Texas State University Opera Workshop:

Inspirational Quote:

…the administration of the law can never go lax where every individual sees to it that it grows not lax in his own case, or in cases which fall under his eyes.
- Mark Twain’s Notebook

This is Meredeth Inglesby singing Robert Jason Brown’s “Stars and Moon” from his song cycle “Songs for a New World”:

It is hilarious–Anna Turner sang it beautifully as part of Sunday’s Cabaret (originally scheduled for Saturday). Suor Angelica went amazingly well–so much fun being on stage, knowing my lines and working with amazing singers.

Inspirational Quote:

“I want to put a ding in the universe.” - Steve Jobs

I have had a lot of music to memorize in the past week and here’s how I’ve done it. The basic concept–teaching information to someone by making them say it, see it, read it, write it, hear it, do it–is called differential teaching. The specific suggestion to write out my parts was given by Maestro Tim Leon. Here is how I have been learning the words to my music lately:

• hear it (I bought copies of all of my music off of Amazon)
• read it (Out of my score the first time, then once it is accurately copied into my notebook I read the line I copied as I write the next line for the first three lines. Then put my hand over previous lines to force myself to write them from memory.)
• write it (In my little conference notebook–I fill a page per line I’m trying to memorize)
• say it (About half-way down the page I start reading what I am writing out loud)
• sing it (In the last quarter of the page I start singing the line and then saying it if I am missing syllables while singing)
• hear it (Once I am finished with the page, I listen through the line, to hear how the another singer did performed it)
• sing it (Now I sing it from memory)

I have found this technique anchors the words in my head faster than just reading or writing or listening or repeating. However I may have to redo bits of lines if I get them wrong. Now, to do this for Suor Angelica and Pagliacci Chorus bits!

Inspirational Quote:

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away. - Philip K. Dick

Due the climate, location and venue there are a number of things which it would be a good idea to bring to the Saltnote Stageworks Festival in Indian Head Maryland.

• Bug Spray
• Sunblock
• Picnic blanket/lawn chairs for sitting on during performances
• Car–the entire area is built around three highways (224, 210 301) and you can’t really get anywhere without a car
• Water–I’ve been drinking between 70-100 ounces of water a day during my time here

The most important being:

• Bug Spray
• Sunblock
• Water

Because without those you will probably feel awful and nasty.

Inspirational Quote:

Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.–Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Hey all, so instead of playing The Novice and the Third Sister I am playing a combined role of The Mistress of Novices and the Abess in Suor Angelica. I have a new favorite song:

Off to rehearse!

Inspirational Quote:

Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.
- Friedrich von Schiller

PS: I hit “Save” rather than publish which is why it was originally written on the 9th. *sigh*

So I am playing a nun in Suor Angelica. Knowing next to nothing about nuns, I went to YouTube to watch the only recent movie I could think of (excluding the Sound of Music) with nuns: “Sister Act” with Woopi Goldberg.

And I found this gem:

It is a dance routine done by several hundred men and women to Sister Act’s “Hail Holy Queen”. The catch is: all of them are inmates of CPDRC–Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center. As I found, Cebu is a province of the Phillipenes. See this puff piece for the prison.

I really enjoy finding pieces like this and this one (”Graduation” by Vitamin C) which I picked for my post of Pachebell’s Rant:

I enjoy these videos because, as a musician, I need to know that music has a global appeal. Seeing prison inmates from the Philippines or school girls from Malaysia enjoying and using music I enjoy shows me how connected people can become through music.

It’s a good feeling.

Inspirational Quote:

“The test of literature is, I suppose, whether we ourselves live more intensely for the reading of it.”
-Elizabeth Drew