Temple of Heaven
Scary looking Buddha on display
I only burned a little film.
Beats me.
And I did.
Panda!
Look closely, it's another baby butt!
We decided not to take the pleasure boat.
Well, I'm back in Berlin. The last couple of days in China went well. I didn't have to perform so I basically had the days free. The highlights were the Temple of Heaven, the Beijing Zoo where I got to see the pandas, a fun artsy shopping street, and on the last night, I shared another duck with my friend Stephanie. After the first roast duck, I didn't think it was possible for one to be better, but this one put the first duck to shame. We went to a place off the beaten track that I had read was amazing. It was a beautiful little restaurant, and you could see the oven in back with the ducks hanging and the fat dripping off. This place made its own hoisin sauce for dipping, which I could have drunk straight from the dish. The duck was perfect. Juicy and tender, not one bit of fat anywhere, and the crispiest melt-in-your-mouth skin possible. The waiter who carved it really got every bit of meat off, unlike the other place where we pretty much just got the breasts and the rest went back into the kitchen for someone else's meal. I will definitely miss Peking duck, fresh dumplings, and most of the rest of real Chinese food.
My schedule has been super light since I came back. The big thing that's happened, of course, is my real debut in a non-children's opera. Last Friday, I sang Königin der Nacht in the main production of Die Zauberflöte. Now, let me tell you how things happen around here. When a new singer enters an old production, they don't particularly rehearse. I received two rehearsals for Königin. One was about 20 minutes long, and was about four weeks ago. The other one was two days before the show, about 15 minutes worth. At my first rehearsal, I had the Pamina there, but no one else, and we of course weren't on the stage. Second rehearsal, I had Pamina and Tamino, which was better, so my arias felt slightly normal. I was told what would happen in the final scene, but never got to walk through it. Never got to wear the costume, never got to use the props, never got to see the stage. Well, the night of the show rolled around, and I felt fairly confident about the staging. I was a little nervous about the first aria, since I start by running from the back of the stage to the front, and I am followed by a number of girls in mini black dresses carrying a huge piece of black silk that covers the stage. I'm supposed to grab the knife that's stuck in the floor, collapse, and this piece of silk is brought over me and I grab it and put it around my neck like a big cape. It's a cool effect. Second aria, pretty easy staging, final scene, I figured nothing could go too wrong.
Well, here's how it went down. First off, I put on the 4-inch heels I was supposed to be running in, and I tried to run. They fell off. I got the costumer, who added some heel pads so they'd stay on. I still didn't feel so great about wearing them. Then, I put on the costume, and never in my life have I smelled riper armpits. I tried not to think about it. I was pre-set for the first aria, and ready to run. Somehow the shoes stayed on, but once I collapsed at the front of the stage, I could not for the life of me find the front end of the silk. I finally got it right in time to sing my first line. Not bad. Then the trouble started. The dress (sorry I don't have pictures, I completely forgot) is a long straight dress with about a four foot train. The bottom is wide enough to walk easily, but when you're collapsed on the floor and have to get up, it's not an easy event. My staging was to get up and sit on a chair that was about a foot to the left of me. I had such a hard time getting up! I kept stepping on the dress, or a shoe would get caught in it, and I was afraid that the shoes would just come off entirely. So I kept struggling until I finally made it onto the chair. I was fine for a while, until I had to stand on the chair, which I was hoping wouldn't require hiking my dress up too far, but it did. I almost made it on the chair at the right time. The one part that went perfectly was my stabbing of the life-size picture of Pamina. I think I was getting out my frustration at the costume and the shoes. OK, so the second aria was much better. I again had a hard time getting from the floor to standing, but the tripping was minimal. Then came the final scene. The stage for the show has an extra piece that is in front of the orchestra, it's about a three or four foot wide path. I waited with Monostatos and the Three Ladies in the pit for our entrance. I made it to the middle of the path with not much of a problem (besides hitting my head when I came up the stairs to the pit, oops). While we're singing, the Second Lady hands me a rifle. When the lightning and thunder happen, we all put our guns down and walk to the side. Well, having never done this before, I figured, I'm walking to the left, I'll put my gun down to the right so I don't have to step over it. Good thinking, until I stood up and realized that my gun was on the train of my dress. I was petrified! I didn't know what to do, so I just walked, hoping it wouldn't fall either a) into the pit and kill the conductor or b) fall into the audience and kill whatever rich old person was sitting in the front row. Well, God must have taken pity on me, because the rifle gently rolled off my train and into place on the stage. And that was it! My big debut! I guess you're probably wondering how the singing went. I hit all the right notes at the right time, and according to a couple friends in the audience, the crowd went crazy after Der Hölle Rache, which I totally nailed. All in all, I think it was a success, and I can't wait to do it again now that I have a better idea of how things work. And I will definitely be switching out their shoes for my shoes, whether they like it or not.
Sadly, my Staatsoper gig didn't come through. I came back from China, and a week later received an email that they needed to record earlier than they thought, so they had to hire another singer. Oh well. At least they know I'm around and can hit the high notes, so maybe they'll call me again in the future. I also almost lucked into singing Königin der Nacht at the Komische Oper Berlin last Saturday night. Their Königin was sick, and I got notification right before Friday's debut asking if I was available. They called the next morning saying that they had found another replacement who had already done the production. Maybe next time!
Coming up for me is another Zauberflöte on Nov. 4, rehearsals for the new production of Tannhäuser (which I don't sing until May), and Cunning Little Vixen in December. I'll make sure I take some pictures next time!
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