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.
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.
posted by Natalia | 2:35 PM
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