Congrats to you; now what about me?

I am always excited when I hear that a friend in this business gets a fantastic engagement. I like it when someone I know to be hard working, super-talented and dedicated gets an offer that will showcase their abilities. As of late, many of my friends have been getting offers and as thrilled as I am, there is a small part of me that thinks: “what about me?”

First of all, I have had a phenomenal season with no less than 8 new roles in every language and some fantastic debuts and great reviews, so please know that even I am sort of looking at myself like “What you talkin’ about, Willis?” But I have also been auditioning my butt off and it seems like I’m always the bridesmaid, but never the bride.

As an artist, I’ve learned not to take “no” too personally, although I am “sensitive “ every time I hear it. I also know that every artist has heard “no,” and that every artist has to have a tough hide in order to stay focused on the present and what could be and not spend time and energy on what is not. However, the goal is to be an amazing artist so I need to give amazing auditions in order to get amazing work.

I do a lot of reading about how to envision what I want out of life. I read a fantastic passage about the law of attraction and it said that if you see great wealth, success, love or whatever it is you are hoping to attract surrounding you, instead of seeing it as “ why does everyone have it ?”, one must rethink it as attracting it on all sides and if it surrounds you and you are seeing it constantly, then surely you are on the same plain. I think it is similar to the people we attract. If you find yourself surrounded by great friends, then you, in turn, must be a great friend. If you have an amazing partner, then you are indeed a great partner. If it seems that everyone you know is getting hired here and there, then you are in the same realm of possibility and great things are en route. One can call it faith, the law of attraction or new-agey poppycock, but the more aware you become of the great fortune of others, the more you will begin to allow it to come to you. Another way to think of it is if I am surrounded by singers of a high-level, then I too, must a high-level singer.

So my goal for Spring is to stop worrying so much about what I have been passed over for and become very aware of the success of those around me. Even in the face of "no", I am still seeing many a "yes" all over the place, so my many "yeses" are just around the corner. I will continue to be overjoyed for their success, just as I know they are with mine.

Peace,

Eric

On the road again

Today I am getting ready for the dress rehearsal of Verdi's La Traviata with the Harrisburg Symphony in Harrisburg, PA. I am having a fantastic time because all the singers are wonderful, the orchestra sounds fantastic, the conductor Stuart Malina is a dream and the Symphony staff are amazing!

The trip to this wonderful place began as usual on the LIRR (Long Island Railroad.) Here I am excited about departing.



And here I am few moments later after they announced that we will be delayed in our departure.



But no worries! I have learned that while NYC never sleeps, she sometimes runs late so leaving early in order to get where one is going is essential. I made it into Penn Station where I would take the Amtrak to Harrisburg, PA. A quick three-hour trip. We made a stop in Elizabethtown, PA made famous by the film starring Orlando Bloom. What is he up to these days?



The trip was ideal with large and comfy seating, working wifi and kind conductors. As we got closer and closer to Harrisburg, the final stop, this one took a brief rest as he must have worked a long shift and needed a little shut-eye. I won't tell anyone, sir.



Downtown Harrisburg is charming and quaint. The company has been nothing, but extraordinary and I highly recommend that any singer that can, make the trip and audition. They treat you like royalty!! And did I mention that the hall is beautiful and singing in it feels great?



And here is the view from my lovely room at the hotel. The hotel is conveniently located near food and is in a cool neighborhood downtown. We are in walking distance of the theater, but the staff has insisted on picking us up and taking us to and from rehearsal. I also like that the rehearsal process has been fun, fast and filled with great music making. Well played Harrisburg, well played!



Peace,

Eric

Behind the curtain

The magical land of Britten’s opera “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” comes with several challenges: the complexity of the score, the sheer number of forces it takes to sing it ranging from fairies to six rustics, two sets of nobility and two pairs of lovers; and finally two people to wrangle the orchestra and singers.

For the opera to succeed, one must have an Oberon who is ideally ethereal, mysterious, masculine and also able to sing Britten’s role with great clarity and warmth. Did I mention that he must also be a countertenor? Countertenors are men who sing in the same range as altos, mezzos or sopranos. Alfred Deller, who created the role of Oberon for Britten, began a revival of the voice type as opera purists wanted to replicate the sound that must have been what castri sounded like (without the “chop chop.”) Opera Naples has found a thrilling Oberon in countertenor John Gaston. Here he is posing before rehearsal.



To add to the atmosphere of this production, we are performing in an unconventional space which allows the audience to be in the midst of the production. I am a huge fan of this as the audience gets to experience the world of Shakespeare and Britten from all angles. Director Cecil MacKinnon has brought this world to life. Here she is giving direction to one of the actors who will be singing from the second level and here she is finalizing details with stage management.






Soprano Heather Buck plays Tytania, Oberon’s fairy wife. She is vocally beautiful, physically alluring and dramatically assured. Here she is entering with the fairies.



The role of Bottom requires a singing actor who is able to be comedic, dramatic and at the same time endearing. Bass-baritone Andrew Gray excels in this tour-de-force role. Here he is exploring the space before rehearsal begins.



Puck, the servant of Oberon who sets much of the confusion in motion is played by dancer David Tanciar and the lovers, soprano Julia Ann Humula, mezzo Adrienne Blanks, tenor Evelio Mendez and baritone Michael Scarelle sing some of Britten’s most haunting and sensuous music as they fall in and out of love like teenagers with ranging hormones.

The beauty of the opera is that there are three separate stories and yet they weave in and out of each other. The lovers are affected by Puck, the rustics perform for the Duke and the Duke (Theseus) and his soon-to-be wife Hippolyta grant the lovers permission to drop all of their teen angst and get married. Here is a shot of the rustics, the group that performs their play for the Duke of Athens (me), all assembled.



And here I am ready to “reign” over tonight’s performance. What an exciting work to perform and in such a unique space.



Bravo to Opera Naples for producing a 20th century opera in a fresh staging that allows the audience to become enveloped in the changing lives of fairies and mortals.

From Blizzard to Beautiful

Many of my non-singing friends think I lead such a “glamorous” life with travel, dinners, special events and performances all over the country. I do admit that every now and again, I marvel at some of the opportunities my voice has afforded me. But for every great singing engagement I get to do, there is always the “just getting there,” story that seems to balance it out. This is one of those stories.

The night before leaving Long Island (I just moved here for love), we were met with Blizzard Nemo that brought cold temperatures, gusting winds and tons of snow.

10:00 am I called to get a cab to take me to the LIRR (Long Island Railroad), but was greeted with a prompt “we’re closed.” Things weren’t starting off well. Luckily, I was able to find a ride to the train and only had to walk through knee-high snow to get to the car that picked me up.

The train was set to leave at 11:35 am which I had to take because the next train out was at 1:35 and I had a 3:00 flight to catch. While sitting on the train, I was able to capture another shot of the extraordinary amount of snow that fell.

I had a chance to snap this shot as I waited for an additional 25 minutes as the train was delayed because of weather conditions.

1:00 pm, I arrived at the Jamaica train station in order to take the E train.


Somewhere between the chill of the train, the chill of the subway station and the chill of waiting outside for the Q33 bus to take me to the airport, I caught a glimpse of the sun which reminded me that I was heading to sunny Florida. This helped warm the tips of my fingers which felt as though they were getting a little numb.

2:15 I arrived at the airport, checked-in, (very easy!) and got through security in plenty of time to board my first flight. I arrived in St. Louis and had just enough time to snap this pic of my connecting flight in mid-air. Just kidding, this was just to show that I was getting warmer (literally and figuratively) to being in Florida.

5:30 pm I took this photo of my cute boots which I would be happy to put away for a couple of weeks as I was about to enjoy 70-80 degree weather. Who knew this photo would later mock me once I arrived in Ft. Myers, FL.


9:20 pm We hit the ground from flight number 2 and I was excited to meet my driver (yes, they sent a car service). I got to baggage claim and was looking forward to my suitcase filled with my cute clothes, toiletries and many shoes. But alas, my baggage had other plans. Perhaps it went to Miami.

I arrived at my host’s house sans luggage, but with a nice toiletries bag courtesy of Southwest filled with useful things like a hairbrush and Lady Speed Stick.

My host was kind enough to give me some pasta and I got to bed in hopes of starting fresh today.

9:00 am I awoke and was glad to see this view from the backyard.

And here I am with one of my best friends: coffee.

So after a nearly 11 hour trip complete with a few adventures and a good night’s sleep, I am ready for a great rehearsal (and to quote Shelia E, “The Glamorous Life”).
Peace,

Eric

There are enough shoes for everyone

When the economy turned south, I was working on the administrative side of opera. I loved my job, but it became very stressful wondering if the company could survive, if we would have to take weeks off without pay or if my job would even still exist. It was around the holidays and I was feeling lost, as if I was not doing what I was meant to do. I ran across a listing for an audition for a National Tour of “Porgy and Bess” and as you may know, I came, I saw and I toured. After that I made the transition to full-time performer. I figured if I was going to be stressed about the stability of work, I should be doing what I loved. Even in the most difficult financial periods, I have managed to work and make great strides. In addition to believing in my talent and having the fire in my belly, I remembered the words of a wonderful baritone named Scott Hogsed with whom I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with as a young singer: “There are enough shoes for everyone.”

It changed how I perceived the opera industry. We all know the odds are not in our favor if you look at the data. Thousands of singers, hundreds of jobs, and yet his belief (and mine) is that if you work harder, sing better and are a great person to work with, you will work. Will you sing leading roles all around the globe? Perhaps. Will you sing supporting roles at regional opera companies? Perhaps. Will you sing at smaller companies making little money, but hoping to get good exposure? Probably. The point is this: We can only see the “industry” from our point of view. If it is our goal to sing at La Scala, then nothing will matter until we get there. That can be a good or bad thing depending on the person. Some would relish the chance to hone their skills in smaller companies so that when they make it to La Scala they are fully prepared and ready. Others see the “steps” to get there as an annoyance because, until that goal is achieved, they don’t believe they are “doing it.”

As I continue to make strides in my career, I am fortunate enough to see that friends are doing the same. It is as if our “time” has arrived. Granted, not all of us are singing at the same level, but the thing is, we are singing, we are getting hired, and we are auditioning with those we are reading about. In her book, Renee Fleming compares making the transition to the next level to swimming across the English Channel. It can be cold, lonely and hard, but once on the other side, there is great reward. But that swim is what tests most of us. Some stop and go back, some drown, some stop and just peddle hoping to be saved and some keep their heads together, keep breathing and no matter the difficulty, keep going as they see the end goal in mind.

We all have a talent (and there are plenty of folks who want to tell you what that is), we all have a work ethic (only we really know how much we want to put in) and we all have a hunger for the career (again, only we know how much we really want it.) Everyday there are auditions; everyday someone gets hired; everyday someone becomes the “next big thing.” Something that has helped me is aiming to be as good as those who are where I want to be and also preparing as if I want to sing at that level. In my mind, I imagined my Bronx Opera debut as my singing for an international audience in a foreign country. It helped up my game.

In essence, anyone who wants a career as a performing artist has a streak of optimism. We believe that we can and deserve to make our living doing what we love and that we should be compensated well for it. However, a lot of the messages that we hear are that the industry is “hard”, that only a small percentage “make it,” or that if you didn’t go to school X, do program Y or know mr./ms. Z, you can forget about it. And yet, Scott’s words align more with my optimistic point of view. I do believe that there is enough work out there. I do believe that hard work, talent and the fire to be one of the best will take you to a level where you can do this for living. Perhaps I am a bit of a Pollyanna , but this attitude has helped me to become a singer who is working so for me, this point of view works.

There will be things we sing for where we are not hired, that is going to happen (and even happens to the greats) so accepting that allows us to be less devastated when we don’t get it (of course, being sensitive artists, there may be a bit of a meltdown—not that I am speaking from ANY sort of experience.) But we need to have the belief deep within us that we could be hired. We need to believe that we SHOULD be hired and that we are so amazing that they HAVE to hire us! I have gone into auditions and psyched myself out and in most cases, I have NOT been hired, but it’s those ones where I walk in and believe I can do this, I deserve this and I am simply singing as a formality that work out much better.

Just like there are thousands of styles of shoes out there, there are plenty of singing jobs of all types. We may have champaign shoe taste (career aspirations), but only Payless money (limited talent, experience, etc...). But just like those who work hard to pay for those $500 kicks, we have to work harder if we want to have our dream career. I see it a lot like my philosophy of happiness. Happiness must come from within, from inside as opposed to waiting for the exterior things to bring us joy. I see the career in the same way. We have to prepare as if we are already at the level in which we hope to perform instead of thinking well when I get to that level, then I'll...It means that we may have to take some bruises to our ego which might be quite comfortable with where we are, but every singer (even the greats) deal with criticism in order to become their best.

I leave you with a bit of wonderful advice from Ms. Leontyne Price. One must love their voice and be willing to share that love with those listening. One must also block out all the noise that comes with a career and simply focus on the work. That is all that matters. And as she says, her career was “not too shabby.”

Peace,

Eric

Refilling the Well

Last night I had the great privilege of seeing the Metropolitan Opera’s “Le Comte Ory” by Rossini. I haven’t been to the Met in years and the last time I was in standing room and while it was cool, last night’s experience was absolutely perfect! Perfect seats, perfect outfit, perfect show…perfect, perfect, perfect!

A wonderful colleague of mine had an extra ticket to the production so I jumped at the chance to see this cheerful opera starring Juan Diego Florez in the title role. I would have been quite happy, but then I found out that South African soprano Pretty Yende would be making her MET debut that very night. A great tenor + a Rossini opera + a highly-anticipated MET debut only heightened my excitement.

I arrived early and took a few shots before meeting up with mezzo-soprano Juli Borst who so kindly allowed me to accompany her.

We took a few photos before the opera started and met a lovely woman who offered to take our photo together. She couldn’t quite figure out how to do it from my IPod so we just let her take one with Juli’s IPhone (insert comedy routine.) She asked if we were from New York and we said yes. Keeping the conversation going she told us she was from California and was with a group that came out to NY to come to the MET. “Are you a Juan Diego Florez fan?” I asked. Without missing a beat she responded “I love the San Diego Chargers.” I decided that I would end the conversation there, get in position for the photo and get myself prepared for the opera. Thinking of her response, I certainly didn’t have any trouble smiling as she took the picture.

The seats belonged to Juli’s friend’s father who was unable to attend. Here is a shot of the stage from our wonderful seats.

The production began and we were off, the director opted to stage the overture and give the audience more detail on what would lead up to the opening of the opera. Soprano Pretty Yende fell as she was leaving the stage during the overture and an audible gasp was heard throughout the house. Of course, by the time she came in to sing her opening aria, she had clearly resolved to throw caution to the wind and lit the house on fire. She and Juan Diego had a palpable chemistry and were able to milk all the humor while tossing off long lyric lines, runs and high notes like they were nothing. I also have to say that mezzo Karine DeShayes (a voice new to me) showed herself to be a lovely singing actress as Isolier, the male page of Ory, with a beautiful, rich voice and fantastic coloratura!

During the intermission, Juli and I made our way down to the lowest level to see the MET’s wall of fame. It’s actually quite large and includes singers of yesterday and today and was inspired by the photos that hung at the old MET. It was quite stimulating to see so many great artists including a photo of young Jessye Norman that must be seen. Here is a shot of just a segment of the wall.

Act II seemed to fly by and when this international cast (Pretty Yende, South Africa; Juan Diego Florez, Peru; Karine Deshayes, France; Nathan Gunn, USA; Nicola Uliveri, Italy; Susanne Resmark, Sweden and conductor Maurizio Benini, Italy) took their bows, the crowd went wild. Soprano Pretty Yende generated the kind of applause that seems to guarantee that she is on the road to superstardom!

I am always looking for inspiration in the music, text and stories of the characters I am singing. I also find it necessary to seek out inspiration from other sources including listening to other singers so when a free ticket to MET comes my way, I know I have to go. As an artist we are asked to give and give and give. Our well of inspiration does run pretty deep, but we must refill it with experiences that move us, challenge us and ultimately fill us. Last night’s performance gave me more drive, more joy and more excitement about my career path. I see amazing, wonderful talent everywhere around me and am grateful to be performing alongside them. I am also grateful when I see great art in front of me and am able to just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.

Peace,
Eric

The calm before the Rossini storm

Rossini is one of my favorite composers because his operas make me smile and challenge me to be a better singer. I have enjoyed performing Figaro, Dandini and Taddeo, and tonight will add the role of Fernando in La Gazza Ladra to my list. I have always had a great love of Bel Canto operas especially ones that explore how to create a character through the repetition of text, cadenzas and vocal colors. It is a big challenge to keep this music fresh and interesting, not because it is “boring,” but that it takes a great deal of concentration, imagination and study to find the nuances. Rossini was very clear about accents, coloratura phrases, dynamics and tempi, but there is still the matter of the cadenzas (a series of notes that allow the singer to “improvise” in order to enhance the character.) And after all of that, the singer must address what the text is all about.

I love doing the work of fusing the musical and the dramatic and have truly enjoyed getting under the skin of Fernando Villabella. He is a soldier on the run, a father trying to protect his daughter and in disguise as a beggar. It makes for fantastic theater and a world of dramatic choices. I have to say I love his music and his character and look forward to bringing him to the stage.

One of the first things I learned as a young singer (even when I didn’t have control over my technique) was that coloratura was not just a way to showcase how fast you can sing a series of notes, but an expression of the character’s emotional state at that moment. It took a while to learn how to sing and act together and even longer to understand how to color text, especially in coloratura passages. Musically Fernando combines lyricism and dramatic moments. It feels like a Verdi character plopped in the middle of a Rossini opera. The role is a complete musical adventure with a heavy Bel Canto flair. Act I provides lyric and dramatic singing, some great cadenzas and wonderful drama. Act II is even more challenging with his aria that alternates between a breathless fear and powerful determination, then is immediately followed by a long and exciting (did I mention “long”) Quintet with chorus that has Fernando going from lyric to dramatic to full-on coloratura and back. Finally the Act II finale demands coloratura brilliance and ends on a fun and light note (actually a lot of notes.) The tone of the opera is comedic to serious to light and offers each character plenty of show-stopping moments.

If you know any Rossini pretty well, you’ll also enjoy hearing snatches of melodies from other Rossini operas and marvel at how they fit perfectly into this piece.
Peace,

Eric