Die Treppen nach Himmel sind viele und schwierige.

My hiking partner took off for Budapest this morning, instead of going hiking with me, so I decided to finally test the strength of my ankle, and go for a run. My heartrate has been far too constant since coming to Austria. I set out for Mariatrost, a church not far from here, with about five miles of winding roads, and up many hills. I managed to run for about half the distance, I think, though after about a third of the way, I was alternating running and walking. At the end, though, I came to the church, set upon quite an impressive hill, with many, many, many stairs leading up to it- 228, to be exact. The architects must have wanted everyone to know just how much work it takes to get to heaven. When I got to the top, I quietly entered the church, as a service was taking place, and stood at the back for a while. It was all I could do to keep from sticking my head in the holy water, I was sweating so much. The church was a sight, though. Ornately painted ceilings, golden alters, and such. Not my favorite Graz church, so far, but still worth the run up the hill. Eventually, though, I had to sneak out the side door and go looking for a WC with a faucet to stick my head under. There are no water fountains here! As I came out, the service had ended, so I explored the church a little more thoroughly, and then came outside, where the priest was giving some sort of a blessing on everybody's journey home. Telling a parable about somebody meeting someone along the road, and Jesus saying, go with him, he will lead you right... and he did... I missed the beginning, and wasn't patient enough to stick around for the end. But it makes me so happy that I can understand things and basically get the gist of them. The view from the church grounds was lovely. I wanted to make it to a masterclass (which starts in abou 15 minutes), so I took the bus back, but I feel great for having gone on a run, and I'm happy to know that while *I* may not be in the best shape, my ankle seems to be able to handle it okay.

One other point of interest: inspired by Daddy's entry about Scottish mexican food, I went out and bought chips and "salsa-dip" at the BP last night. The chips were okay, though kind of flavoured. The "Salsa-dip" tasted like BBQ sauce.

The dinner group split up tonight to do various different things, so I made myself pasta and homemade marinara sauce for dinner, since I needed to use up a few tomatos. The produce here is really tasty, when you get it... Our lunches are provided at the school where we have our classes, and their idea of vegetables seems to be shreaded lettuce. But I get it every day. I don't know what I would have done for food if I hadn't decided to explore meat options while I was here. PBJ every day, or something.

The past week has been more work, work, work. I had a coaching with Andrea Huber today, and it was really nice. We actually just talked, mostly, cause we hadn't really gotten a chance to chat much, since I've been here. As she said, I've basically had the rug pulled out from under me, here. For the past year, I've felt like I was missing something essential, and when I got here, about 50 different people told me what it was. I'm eternally grateful to them, but I'm also a little unnerved and uncertain... I won't bore you all with technical mumbo-jumbo, but it's basically something that I don't think I ever completely understood. It's not that my voice teachers have been doing the wrong things with me. I think it was just explained in a such a way that I didn't really understand what was going on. Also, people here work with you for six weeks only, so they're a lot less invested, and can afford to be completely honest with you. I sang in the Artist Recital on Wednesday, and when my coach, Semyon, came up to me afterwards, he said "very good, very good... BUT... you're diction..." and I wanted to give him such a big hug for his unabashed honesty. As Tracy said, If I was really doing everything right, I'd be at the Met right now/.

Another interesting thing that happened this week: I was buying postcards in the Hauptplatz the other day, and I was just about to go buy an ice cream, when I was approached by a girl from Amnesty International Austria!!! She was trying to sign people up, and wanted to tell me about "Frauenschneidung," the German term for Female Genital Mutilation. I told her that I was already a member in the US, but we talked a little bit about terms for various human rights abuses. People are always coming up to you in this town asking for money or trying to give you funny magazines, so I asked Tomas, a student (actually from Slovenia) who lives in Graz about it, and his answer was incredibly interesting: Apparantly the black fellows who are always trying to sell you magazines about this and that are refugees from Africa. In Austria, they basically live in these places set aside for refugees or asylum seekers until they get their official status, and then, because it is so difficult to get work here unless you are an EU citizen, they are employed in selling these magazines. Supposedly, they earn a Euro for each one they sell. It's an interesting system... It sort of results in this funny network of people trying to sell you magazines... but it's a hell of a lot better than throwing the asylum seekers in jail, and then randomly turning them loose, like we do in the US.

I sat in on Bodo Igesz's stage artistry class yesterday. He was a staff director at the Met for almost 30 years... so I decided I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I was not disappointed. I'm definitely sitting in on it for the rest of the program... maybe I can even get a chance to sing for him at some point. I'm not "ready," as they say, but... what a connection to have. He seems so intersting and nonpretentious and frankly, brilliant.

Well, I'm not sure what I'm up to tonight or tomorrow, but I'm doing a pretty rigorous hike on Sunday... hope my mountain legs aren't too far gone!!

The past few days...

I've been fairly busy/ uninspired to write, for the past few days, so... here's a bit of an overview:

Thursday was an incredibly busy day, as Monday-Wednesday have also been. A day of Diction. Well, first there was 8am German, after which I rushed back to my room to warm up, before heading off to German Poetry. That was a good class... we analyzed Goethe's "Heidenröslein." Lockermann is definitely an odd creature, but he seems to be pretty brilliant. After that was stage artistry, during which I volunteered to be Master-classed. I sang "Quando m'en vo" from La Boheme, which has gone through many transformations over the past few years, but has tremendous dramatic potential. Professor Dreyfoos worked on me for the entire 45 minute class, which was really great. He definitely gave me some great ideas about movement according to the music, and the necessity of bringing myself into the character. After lunch, a one-on-one appointment to work on Italian and French diction. Oh, how Italian diction makes my head hurt. It's so precise. The difference between a "n" and a "nn" is an entire world. My French diction was surprisingly much better, considering that I have never studied French. It's kind of funny how it almost seems like the way to get your diction right is to get into the character of the language. To be SO ITALIAN or SO FRENCH. Well, then I had German Diction. Unfortunately I fell asleep a bit. In German diction, since most of our class already speaks some, we work on the rhythm of the sentence, and how to inflect a sentence as a German would. After German diction, I picked myself up with a cup of coffee, and then practiced a little. As I was walking out of the practice room, I ran into Kasia, the girl who grew up in Krakow, whom I had planned to meet for help with the Polish aria I'm learning. We had both forgotten, but upon meeting one another, we went and sat outside to work. Or rather, for me to learn how many different kinds of the SH and CZ sounds there are. Yikes. I think I'm getting the hang of one or two of them, finally. Then, the studio class for my coaching studio. Fairly low key. I don't even remember what happened Thursday night, but I'm pretty sure I went to bed early and exhausted.

Friday, I got up for my 8am German class, but Robert Thies, the pianist with whom I was going to have a coaching appointment, was sick, so I didn't have anything for the rest of the day. I went shopping with a group of people, and was quite proud of myself for only leaving with a 10 Euro hole in my pocket, spent on a shawl... as I am determined to learn how to effectively use a shawl. Friday night, we went salsa dancing. I put on my high heels and hiked up my pinstripe skirt, and danced the night away, quite thankful for the ballroom dancing course I took over a year ago. It was in this little restaurant that had live music... the musicians spoke half German half Spanish. Very lively. Tequila is insanely expensive in Germany, and I'm never buying it again. Half a shot was something like 3 Euros, at least. They serve it here with cinnamon and orange, instead of salt and lime. Towards 1:something, my ankle (which I sprained earlier this year) started hurting, so I went outside and put on the ankle brace, which I had brought with me. A few more people came out, and we took a cab back to the Studentenheim, arriving shortly after some, and before others. Either way, we got to observe (and raise our eyebrows at) who went to whose room.

Friday night, I somewhat grudgingly set my alarm for 8:40, as I had to be somewhere, in "Sunday dress" at 11am, and didn't want to miss breakfast... but alas: I couldn't sleep past 7:20. It's a combination of the schedule I'm on, and the fact that the sun shines quite brightly through my curtains that renders me completely unable to sleep in. After breakfast, I put on my polka-dot dress and my high heels (despite the fact that my feet were still hurting from dancing in them), and headed over to the Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, for the official ceremony celebrating the opening of AIMS. What a funny experience. First, the orchestra was supposed to play, but someone had given the people with the instruments the wrong address, so the whole show didn't start until about 45 minutes later than it should have. But it finally got going. Many speeches were given, each one reitterating what the previous one had said. Each one about 2/3 German, and 1/3 English... some half and half. I was pretty impressed with my general comprehension of what was going on and being said. It's amazing how when people switch from their dialects into Hochdeutsch, they become understandable. Then the choir (of whom I was not a part, as I didn't sign up in time) sang, of all horrfying things, America the Beautiful. Then the Styrian (Styria is the part of Austria we are in) national Anthem... Then the snare drum in the orchestra got going... and you know what came next. The good old Star Spangled Banner... the music was printed on the back of the program as "The National Anthem"... as though none other exists. Oh, America. As the second verse of America The Beautiful says, "America, America, God mend thy every flaw. Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law." Hmm. Well, those are nice ideals, even if we don't live up to them. Anyway, THE National Anthem was followed by the Austrian National Anthem. Which was nice. Finally, the dignitaries (board of AIMS) exited to the tune of Prokofiev's "March and Scherzo from The Love of the Three Oranges." I'm not sure what the context of the piece is, but it sounds positively sinister. The grand exit of the evil occupiers... Really, though, I definitely was given the impression that AIMS is most welcome in Graz... the American arrogance is just generally something I can't get over. But... one must have these ceremonies, mustn't one?

After the ceremony was a free lunch, and then I went home to crash for a while, before getting all dressed up for the evening festivities, which were to take place in the Hall of Planets at Eggenberger Palace. I put on my purple recital gown, and... yes... the high heels, once more. I made my hair all fancy, and practiced using my black scarf stylishly, and... all of the rest of that kind of business. Just barely got there before the busses took us all away... and upon the Palace Eggemberger we descended. I have to say that after almost 24 hours in high heels, my feet were not thanking me for the walk over the pebbles, and on the pointy rocks... but the castle was lovely. Peacocks in the yard- one of them albino... and all of us petty-bourgeoisie littering its grounds. There was definitely a funny sense of all of us middle class types who on any other night might be salsa dancing or drinking and making raunchy jokes or doing other sorts of things considered inadmissable in the 16th century... us occupying this magnificent place. Oh, my, how times have changed. This also strikes me when I see these buildings all over the old city that were once Palazzos... and now they are businesses. It's definitely a sign of where the money is these days, as opposed to a hundred years ago. I don't mean this as a grand social statement, or a great judgement of our times... but being in a place with so much history that is so visible is really something remarkable for someone who grew up in America.
In the castle, we had another reception with people making speeches (After all, speeches must be made!!!), and then complimentary wine and käsebrot (that is, bread with all sorts of interesting toppings... quite the popular thing in the German-speaking world). The Hall of Planets was definitely an interesting place. It is called thus, because of many paintings depicting roman scenes, representing the Gods and Planets... they were really quite violent looking, actually. After walking around the courtyard a few times, I (and a couple of others, I daresay) got itchy feet for exploring, and I found that one of the doors from the hall of planets was unlocked. So I slipped in, with about four others following, and quietly we traversed the off-limits hallways of the Palace. Everyone behaved themselves very well, and we managed to restrain ourselves from sitting on the chairs or jumping on the bed... mirrors were everywhere... Looking in one with my gown and shawl and glass of wine, I felt like Violetta in La Traviata... not that I think I'll ever sing her, of course, being a Lyric and not Coleratura Soprano. But still... the fancy in the twilight made my heart beat a little faster. We made our way through all of the dark rooms of porcelain fire places and silk walls, feeling ourselves to be very adventurous and lucky. Eventually, we made our way to the other side, and slipped back into the room unnoticed. As if we had just traveled through the wardrobe to Narnia. Upon coming back into the Hall of Planets after such an adventure, there was nothing left to do but waltz. There was no music playing... but it's unavoidable- that dress and petticoat were meant to be swirled around by a well-dressed man. At 10:30 or so, the busses were ready to take us back, so we made our way outside, down that horrific driveway of pebbles that hurt my poor feet so badly... And of course I was too late getting on the bus to get a seat- well that's the price you pay for dancing, I guess, and it was worth it. By the time we got back, the only thing for which I was in good shape was putting my jeans on (oh, how wonderful they are) and putting my feet up. I am not getting into those heels again for at least another week.

As for today, I managed to sleep until 8:20, before getting up for breakfast... Then I puttered around the dorm for the morning, and Cat and John Thomas made a lovely brunch for everyone around noon, complete with french toast and eggs and mimosas... a few too many mimosas, I dare say. After some dishes were washed, however, Jesse and I made an excursion to Gössing, to hike up the ruins of a castle there. The walk was shorter than I might have liked, though steep enough to make me wish I had better mountain legs. The ruins, however, were beautiful. No security cameras, and very few guard rails... you're free to explore as you like, and then visit the little cafe for a beer or glass of wine. The view was unbelievable... All of Graz, and more. It really is a large city. And... oh... there are the Alps. Totally unforgettable. If only I could just spring off of my feet and float over to that peak.

Something that strikes me so much about life here is that there is such trust. People expect you to behave yourself. When we were walking through that section of the castle, I was half expected some lasers to catch us, and security alarms to start blaring... but nothing of the sort. I have seen maybe a total of five policemen since I've been here. And yet, this city feels completely safe. This culture of trusting people to behave reasonably is really something incredible, because for the most part, they do! I sincerely doubt that this kind of system would survive in America, because of the general propensity of Americans to break whatever rules they possibly can... but it's lovely to see a place where doors don't have to be locked, and big brother isn't always watching you. In this day and age, it is an experience, both unique and refreshing.

Es scheint, dass ich Micaela zu langsam singe.

There is a choir rehearsal tonight, as well as a concert, so my dinner cooking group is taking the night off, and I'm having rice cakes with cream cheese (I actually thought it was something else when I bought it), tomatos, and avocados (leave it to me to find avocados in Austria). For dessert: granola and yoghurt with peaches.

Highlights from today:
** Some early hour in the morning, when I got up to go to the WC, and it was still dark... I opened the first door (our rooms have two) to walk into the hall... and walked smack into the second... I'm pretty shocked I don't have a bruise and a bump on my forehead.

** Deutschklasse um 8 Uhr, wie immer. Much new vocabulary to study. "The verb is the heart of the German language" says our teacher, a native Grazer, which correllates with what Lockermann, our crazy poetry/diction professor said... that the emphasis of a German sentence generally falls on the last word, which is quite often a verb. (More than in Romance languages, anyway.)

** Audition Training Seminar... those who are auditioning for agents and/or the Intendent of the Wiener Staatsoper get to practice auditioning first. I have decided, upon arriving here, that I am nowhere near ready for that business. They talked about the importance of introducing yourself and shaking everyone's hand, and not showing them your backside, while talking to the accompanist. They said: "You are the most important person in the room at that time, because without you, they don't have anyone to fill the part." It's kind of a lie, but if it gets me through the audition withoug breaking into uncontrollable shakes, I'll take it.

** Voice Lesson: Yes. Making sense. Thank God. He said my high notes are spectacular right now, and the placement is just right, and we need to bring that into the middle and bottom. I have ignored that part of my range for too long, and it's biting me in the ass now. My words, not his. But seriously: he does not let me get away with anything, and while it's a little unnerving at first, it's also so refreshing. Because I hear great thing happening already.

** Vocal Coaching: Speaking of people who don't let you get away with anything... Semyon Rozin's comment about a couple of measures of recitative from Micaela's aria: "You make this phrase so slow, everyone will die... a\nd then before the next, you take an incredible coffee break!!" He's so thorough, and it's wonderful. Making pretty sounds is only half the battle... getting into the rest of the nuances is really the most fulfilling part.

** Special seminar on early 20th century Italian singers... listened to a recording from 1909. I felt like I was in a time machine... what the woman singing's (Geraldine Ferrar) life was like... the world she lived in. How Graz looked back then... probably not incredibly different from how it looks today, except that people lived in the palazzos, and not grocery stores. On the bus on the way home, I talked to Beaumont and Evangeline Glass, this beautiful old couple who are coaching... they have such presence. Maybe I can work with them, too- I have this funny feeling that if I don't, I'll really regret it.

And that's all from my corner of the world today. Bis bald!

Noch ein Tag ist fast vorbei.

In Austria, there exists a law against practicing with the windows open... no matter how pretty your voice is, or how interesting your oboe concerto, or how much you may be suffocating in your little practice room, you are considered a noise disturbance. When I first read this in the AIMS handbook, I thought it was ganz wahnsinnig!!! (Completely crazy). Now I understand. People practice here at all hours of the day, and some are not such law abiding citizens. Just try to take a nap at 5pm when oyu finally get back to your room after having class all day since 8am. There is always someone who forgot to close his or her window. Your best bet is to just drown them out with some music of your own.

The level four German class today worked out quite well. I also had German Poetry and German Diction, both taught by a man who I'm not sure isn't a little cracked... in the best possible way (or the worst? Hard to tell after one day). He starts class off on a low note, coming off as a gentle, intellectual old man. Then he gets going... and boy does he. Half-stumbling around the room going on about the need to simplify German poetry, and not add what isn't there. Don't imagine things!!! They teach it all wrong in schools today!!! You must pay attention to the rise and fall of the German sentences... it is from there that you get the context and the meaning. Somewhere around 4/5 of the way through class, his gradual crescendo reaches such a climax that one worries that a blood vessel might expload in his brain. It's actually somewhat spectacular. Then... the denoument. And study this poem for homework, boys and girls.

Stage Artistry is basically an acting class- which is great. I really hope he can teach me something. Because so far, no acting class has ever done this. And it's not because I'm any great shakes at acting, believe you me. I will try to work on Quando in this class, as it is so dramatic.

After lunch, I found an empty room with a piano, in which to practice... exploring those things we worked on in my voice lesson and coaching. Things are starting to maybe make sense. The whole concept of support is so illusive. How do you support without tension? The room was so accoustically live, I couldn't get that accurate an idea of what it sounded like... In some ways it felt complicated, in others easy. I am glad that I have another voice lesson tomorrow, so that I can ask about these things. Micaela is also coming along. I can't wait to coach the Dvorak with R.T. on Friday. If what I did today was correct, it may revolutionize my concept of singing. And if not... oh well.

One of those ridiculous things about learning and studying more... it's a bit like subtraction soup. The longer you study, the more you realize you know nothing at all.

Mein Kopf ist ganz voll!!!!

It certainly has not happened in recent memory that I have had SO MUCH information thrown my way in such a short period of time. I got up at 7am this morning, after really not enough sleep, and I stumbled downstairs for some coffee and breakfast before stumbling back upstairs for my library meeting- I am working in the AIMS music library as part of my work-study scholarship. I then stumbled up a couple more flights of stairs formy German class, which runs from 8am-9:10. The one which I selected seems to be a lot of grammar review, which I don't really need, so I think I will go to the next level up... I might be the least advanced, but the challenge will probably be worth it in the end. After class, I had a couple of hours, during which I showered, practiced a bit, and scanned faculty bios for potential European contacts. A few leads were found, though I am realizing more and more that I can't rely on recommendations alone to find me a teacher... Semyon, my fantastic vocal coach, adamantly declared today that I should wait until I am living in Germany to go teacher shopping. And really, it's practically impossible to argue with a Russian.

I had Audition Training Seminar at 10:30, so I made my way to the bus stop, and then to the school where we have most of our classes. We share a local school with the students there... who seem pretty young- it is not a Gymnasium, anyway (German/Austrian version of high school... kind of...). There are a lot of Crucifixes around... which does not necessarily indicate that it is a Catholic school... it could be... but I have observed that separation of church and state isn't such a big deal in this part of the world. When I was in Bavaria three years ago, I remember the Gymnasium I attended having crucifixes in every room. The ATS contained a bit of logistical information, and then our lovely teacher got down to business: What special quality do you bring to the stage? Oh, Christ. I don't know- and maybe that is why I am not so wonderful at auditioning. I don't even know the product I'm selling. I have to come up with something by tomorrow, anyway... so if any of you have ideas, let me know. Cause I'm at a loss as to what there could possibly be that sets me apart from the others. But... the overall message of the class is: Love what you do: LOVE IT!!!!

11:15 voice lesson with David Brock. We talked about "who I am" a bit... Voice teachers love getting under your skin. Then we talked technique, and did some vocalises. Growing posture, instead of weakening throughout a phrase. Bringing the voice forward in the middle and lower ranges, not swallowing vowels from C1-G1. Support (the most loaded of all words). Have Deh Vieni and Micaela's aria ready for Wednesday. I think I am going to really like him. He is going to address and and approach things Dr. DeMent has not dealt with... I am seeing that you can learn different things from different people, and this is incredibly important.

Lunch. I plopped down next to Elisabeth Bice, our ATS teacher, for notes on the hearing I had earlier this week, and ended up talking about my intentions of moving to Germany. She said it might be better to go somewhere with a dialect like Munich, because it trains your ear to understand certain colours... and then you can deal with any sort of dialect. As per my hearing, she said I presented myself well (except for the shakes, which we must deal with), and I should work with Italian diction coaches. Also, my voice is "disconnected" in the lower areas... Everyone has a different perspective on what I should do with my life, but the technical advice seems to be about the same from everyone.

After lunch, Ih ad my coaching with Semyon Rozin, a Russian who is diminuitive in stature, but not in personality. He is incredibly knowledgeable, direct and to the point, and, like so many Russians I have encountered, damn opinionated. I think I will really enjoy working with him. He didn't have a student after me, so we ended up spending 90 minutes instead of 45 working on Mi chiamano Mimi, spending about 20 minutes just on the first phrase: "Si, mi chiamano Mimi, ma il mio nome e Lucia." His approach is so text-oriented, and he really pulls it apart... sure makes me want to hit Puccini in the face, though, for putting so many high notes on unstressed syllables. What's a soprano to do? By the end of it all, my head was so full of information that I couldn't really process anything very well. I took the bus home, and lay down with the intention of thinking about it all, and fell asleep with my head at the foot of my bed.

I woke up around 5:30, and found Emily where she was chopping mushrooms in the kitchen. I have gotten together with a group of about 7-9 people to fix dinners. Someone cooks for everyone, and works out how much the meal cost... Usually it's something like 2.50 or 3 Euros. Tonight it was a puff pastry filled with different kinds of mushrooms sauteed with scallions and garlic and onions and soy sauce and olive oil... and some sort of yummy apple dip. We've got some good cooks here, anyway.

After dinner, there was the faculty Gala, which was just fantastic. A couple of the singers were a little old, and their voices were not in top form, but *everyone* put on a good show. There is a really wonderful feeling of community here. Everyone on the faculty is here to help you. They may be world class, but they are completely approachable and just so happy to sit down with you and talk shop. Andrea Huber can work a scarf like nobody's business... and I want to learn how. The Wagner song she sang was like one entire phrase. Incredible. There were also some really fun pieces... great opportunities to ham it up. Robert Thies, the pianist who offered to coach me, played a Brahams intermezzo... and I almost cried, it was so beautiful. Altogether, an inspiring evening. On the way back, I met John Thomas and Wayne at Margit's (the small cafe near the Studentenheim), and had a lovely evening, just chatting over a couple of Biere. Margit always brings Schnapps at the end of the meal to clean your pallate. Wayne is going to coach me at some point while I'm here... I might see if he can get together next week, as this one seems like it will be a little overwhelming... and I'm planning on getting together with Robert Thies also this week to work Rusalka.

Tomorrow I have Deutsch um 8 Uhr, German Poetry at 9:45, Stage Artistry at 11:15, German Diction at 1:45, and Voice Studio at 4. Guess I can practice between Diction and Voice. Maybe also get an ice cream. So it's 12:07am now, and I do believe it is past my bedtime. With all these 8am classes, it sure is going to be hard to get into much trouble... most unfortunately.

Ein mächtige Festung ist unser Gott

A mighty fortress is our God... which might be appropriate here, if Graz hadn't pretty-much rebuffed the Reformation. But the Herz Jesu Kirche made me think of it, anyway. This from my journal, as I sat on the steps of the church pictured here:

This morning I got pleasantly lost in Graz, and I still am. I found a street market where vendors sell everything from fruit and vegetables (Obst und Gemüse) to meat, cheese, bread, (Fleisch, Käse, Brot) and pots of fresh herbs (Kräuter)... and something I could swear was Chantrelle mushrooms (Funghi). I bought some Steierkäse, a mild cheese with flax seeds in it, and a bundle of lavender to hang in my room. As I walked around the city looking for a place to buy a disposable camera (they seem a bit obsolete in the digital age), I stumbled into a used bookstore, where I asked the lady who worked there for "Kinderbücher," which she obligingly showed me. I selected a book of fairy tales with some pretty pictures that seemed to be about on my German reading level, with some new vocabulary. I've read one story, so far, about a poor prince who poses as a pig hearder for the Kaiser in order to disgrace the princess through magical wiles, and get her thrown out, so that she would marry him.

Sometime later, I realized that i was actually somewhat turned around, but it's hard to worry too much about that on such a gorgeous day in a city where all the houses are painted different colors and roofed in red tiles. Right now I'm sitting on the steps of an enormous church. It may actually be part of a seminary- I'm not sure. I can't open the doors, which are twelve feet high at least, and dark wood, ornately decorated with iron leaves and grapes. With my lavender, I feel like Agnes in Milan Kundera's Immortality- she said that when she could no longer bear the ugliness of the modern world, she could walk through the streets of Paris carrying a single flower, and stare only at it, smellign it and takng refuge in its beauty. (My beloved Milan wrote it much mre eloquently, of course). Well, there is still plenty of beauty left in Graz.

Opersängeren sind ganz unehrlich!

R.C., an extremely vivacious soprano from America who has sung in Germany for the past billion years or so gave a workshop this afternoon on Singing In Europe (well, Germany/Austria, anyway). It was really great, and gave me a lot of ideas, such as working for Berlitz to pay the bills while I'm still learning German. She also said that, at all costs, you should lie about your age- which those in Germany are allowed to ask about. Write on an application "See resume" for age, and then don't write anything on your resume about it. Be forever 28, and make sure you remember the year you were born in. Funny. Also, if you are an American trying to move to Germany, and don't have work (which is hard to get as an American), don't get a tourist visa. Don't register. Just sublet, and get paid "under the table" until you have a job. And when you get the job... well... you just got there a week ago, right? So basically... be an illegal immigrant. Brilliant. Luckily, once I get my British passport, I can probably do all of this legally.

In the play category, some other AIMSers and I took the tram into the center of town last night, where there is a Platz (square) with a giant TV screen, showing all of the World Cup games, as well as tents serving Bier und Brot (bread) und Bratwurst, usw. <- (Und so weiter, like... and so on. Deutsch equivilent of "etc"). It was a really great outside gathering of people and fans... there must have been several hundred, at least... supposedly you couldn't even get in for the Germany v. Italy game. I saw a couple of cops somewhere, just in case a soccer riot happens... but altogether, people behaved themselves. The Bier they sold came in reusable cups... they took an extra Euro for each one, which we got back when we returned them- great system! People here are so civilized. Well, go France... Portugal did put up quite a good fight, though. I'm definitely going back on Sunday night, at any rate.

Tonight there was a presentation on travel possibilities... I need to wait to see where I need to go to sing for potential teachers, before I spend big money going to Budapest (ooh, how I want to, though) or Prague. I'd very much like to make it to Poland at the end of this, but it really depends on if I have any money at the end of this. I need to start economizing, anyway. Which, I guess, means getting up for breakfast tomorrow, as tempting as it is to sleep in, when I don't have anything until at least 10. It'll be worth it for the coffee, anyway, which I can now only get at breakfast, unless I go out and buy it. For alas, I am senza coffee maker.

Interestingly enough, I didn't suffer from jetlag at all, but at 11:23pm, I'm still pretty tired after a completely full day of master classes and practicing and hearings and workshops on how to lie on your resume... so I think I'm going to head in the direction of my hard bed. I'm sure it's good for the back, anyway. Bis morgen!

Herzlichen Grüsse aus Österreich

Graz is one of those European cities that is so beautiful you can't imagine that millions of people live there. It's all old palazzos (converted into department stores... geeze) and Monasteries and a cathedral and... a lovely river with a cafe in the middle. Ice cream. The streetcar and some of the shops have "kein Eis" signs on them- an ice cream cone in a circle, crossed out. I don't know how everyone is so thin here with all the ice cream and bier and schnitzel and what have you. I live in the "Heim," or domatory. My room is on the Dritte Stock ("third" floor... if the ground floor is zero), and it's pretty small, but adequate. It's maybe 6x12 feet, and contains cabinets, a desk, a closet, a lovely big sink, and a particularly hard bed. It kind of makes me think of Raskolnikov's room, only maybe (hopefully) less falling apart.

My travel to Graz was fairly uneventful, and it didn't seem too long, luckily. When I arrived in Frankfurt, I was overwhelmed by little things that didn't really strike me last time, for some reason. The different signs. Finding "Passkontrolle" was a bit of an adventure. Maintainance guys rode bikes through the airport. There were little stands where you could smoke. The flight from Frankfurt to Graz was really great. Looking out over the kleinen Dorfs- little groups of houses surrounded by farmland. Definitely gave the impression that Austria is not a place suffering from overpopulation, and would be most happy to take me in. Then we were over a cloud cover... and I watched as we slowly descended, until we were skimming it like over a shining sea, and finally became immersed. The Graz airport is extremely small, and charming.

Now, for a description of AIMS. Quiet hours are from 8pm-8am, and 12pm-3pm. They are relaxed right now, because of hearings (mine is at 4:30 today). So... it's pretty likely that I will at most any time hear someone or everyone singing in their rooms. It's going to take some getting used to. I'm not at the top or at the bottom, here. It's giving me some perspective- today I had a really great conversation with Roberta Cunningham, a soprano who has been singing in Germany and Austria for decades. She said there is no point in trying to get a job in Germany if you don't already live there. Also, she said that graduate school there is a great option, because it costs almost nothing. Definitely a thought to consider. Try to live in North Germany when you first get there, because that is where Hochdeutsch is spoken. I did a master class today with Gabriella Lechner, a singer with the Wiener Volksoper, and my reaction was mixed. She had good technical advice, but I really hate when master class teachers do only technique. I sang Mi chiamano Mimi... and she sang it back to me like Isolde. What??? I do need to let go and share more of myself with people. That is clear. But... argh. She wouldn't even discuss Mimi's character with me when I asked her about it after the masterclass. She kept just telling me I had technical problems. I have very little use for someone who does not at least respect the idea that the singing comes from the character. Without an idea of who the character is, you cannot possibly sing it well. She probably sings every character the same, and has no piano. But I could also be bitter. A little of both, perhaps. Focus on what I can control. I'm going downstairs right now for a lecture about singing in Europe, and then I'm coming back upstairs to warm up for my hearing. And decide if I want to take Gabriella Lechner's advice seriously. I need to get over my distrust of technical advice... but I also treasure my grains of salt. More about Graz some other time.

Altogether, I can't say that I'm missing the US or Delaware very much.