Inspiration

I have been listening to a lot of opera lately. In addition to listening to recordings of "Le Nozze di Figaro" and "La Traviata," (Traviata goes up with Dicapo Opera in a few weeks and then I jump into two different productions of "Nozze" first with St. Petersburg Opera, then Bel Cantanti Opera in DC), I have been trying to catch the MET's Radio Broadcast (online) and any other gems of the operatic nature when I find out about them.

Part of my listening is purely to understand how various artists handle certain arias, phrases, recitatives and part of it is to remember the sheer joy and beauty that comes from great singing. It always puts me back in focus and reminds me that the music, the drama, the character and the text are the most important things and what one does with them are what keeps us coming back to these great works of art over and over again.

Last Saturday I listened to the MET's broadcast of "L'Elisir d"Amore", Donizetti's bubbly score with wonderful characters, a lovely story of blossoming romance filled with complications and some of the best artists in the world singing. Juan Diego Florez's "Una furtiva lagrima" brought down the house with the audience calling for an encore, so he repeated it adding a little different twist here and there. (A rare event at the MET.) Besides loving what the singers were doing vocally and dramatically, I was inspired by the sheer joy that was coming through the broadcast and that the singers seemed to be excited and happy to be there.

A few days later, I heard the Lyric Opera of Chicago's "Rising Stars" Concert which featured members of the Ryan Opera Center (the professional training program) in arias and ensembles from the Bel Canto, French, German, Russian and American arsenals. It was a great oppotunity to hear some exciting young singers who are well-trained and making great strides in becoming well-rounded performers. Again, I felt inspired to refine, practice, interpret and rethink all of the music I am so fortunate to get to sing.

The pressures of making a living, being prepared, understanding one's place in the business and balancing one's professional and personal lives can make it seem like being an opera singer is all about just trying to stay on top of things and that can be exhausting. Sometimes we have to look outside of ourselves for inspiration and not only in the amazing singing of others, but in film, art, music of all styles, fashion, dance and other art forms where an artist is able to transcend just doing enough to get by and really truly sparks something within us that makes us not only feel something, but makes us want to have that same effect in our own art-making.

We give so much as artists and we need to replenish oursleves through absorbing other forms of art in which we can draw inspiration. So get out there and listen, see, hear, feel and react!

Peace,

Eric