China, here I come again!

Great news! In my previous post, I wrote about singing in the NYIOPs. Through that, I was invited to a second audition for the Savonlinna Opera Festival and for the Macau International Music Festival. I am still waiting to hear from Savonlinna, although my agent tells me I have a good chance of getting the lead in a world premiere next summer about the fire of La Fenice. I did, however, get a gig singing Ännchen in Weber's Der Freischütz in Macau this fall!!! My contract runs from October 16 through November 5, with three performances. Before I auditioned, I was told that for this production they were looking to hire "singers with considerable international experience" and that Kurt Rydl would be singing Kaspar. When I was in Beijing in 2008 covering Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Kurt Rydl was singing Baron Ochs, and I am so honored to be able to share the stage with such an amazing performer. I am excited to see who is in the rest of the cast!

A few notes about the audition for Macau....In addition to Warren Mok (who is the casting director for Macau, Shanghai, and Hong Kong), also in the audition was Brian Jauhiainan, who is the American casting consultant for those companies and Savonlinna, and about five little old Chinese women. Kathy, my agents, couldn't be there, so she sent another woman with the agency, Sandra. Kathy told me to start with one of Ännchen's arias, so I sang one even though it doesn't really show off my voice too much. No high notes, but a lot of good German diction. Warren asked me what else I brought, and looked fairly uninterested as I listed off all of my other arias. The last thing I mentioned, which I really didn't think made any sense in this situation, was Madame Mao's aria. Brian immediately turned to Warren and said "You have to hear her sing this, oh my God, I mean, you just have to hear it." Warren looked at me and said "Well, you are a dead ringer for the dead wife of Mao Tse Tung!" After telling him that's why I picked up the aria in the first place, I then, in front of a room filled with Chinese people, sang the second half of "I am the wife of Mao Tse Tung." Brian seemed thrilled, and I am so happy to have him as a supporter of my singing! I can be fairly certain that if he is ever asked to help cast a Nixon in China, I'll be the one he calls for Madame Mao. Warren seemed very impressed also, and asked how high the last note was (a D). Oddly, he seemed surprised that I could sing that high, even though my resume is filled with Queen of the Nights. A couple of weeks later, I got the offer! Macau looks like a fabulous place, and I even know the lead trombonist in the orchestra because we went to USC together. It'll be great to have a friend to show me around and point me in the direction of good street food.

Daughter of the Regiment is definitely a go at Opera in the Heights in Houston this September. I'll actually be heading to Houston in June for a weekend to sing in a fundraising event for the company. I've asked to stay an extra day so I can see some of Houston, and not just have a quick turnaround. I'll be singing Glitter and Be Gay, which is always a fun party piece. Opera in the Heights has just gotten a new artistic director/conductor, and I am very excited to work with him. His name is Enrique Carreón-Robledo, and he has worked all over. I spoke with him yesterday about the fundraising event, and I can't wait to collaborate with him on Daughter of the Regiment. It looks like we'll be doing the version with spoken dialogue, so I will have my work cut out for me.

I have just recently started rehearsing in New York for Mozart's Mitridate. It is one heck of an opera, with very difficult music for every singer. There are no low voices in the cast - there are sopranos, a tenor, and countertenors. No mezzos, no baritones, no basses. I find it very funny that the two brothers who are in love my my character are played by a man singing in a woman's register and a woman dressed as a man. I had previously thought that I'd be duetting with a countertenor, but instead it's a pants role for a soprano. While it would have made me giggle to sing a duet with a countertenor, it now makes me giggle that the "man" I'm in love with is a woman who is about half a foot shorter than me (maybe more) and skinnier than me, too. Hopefully the stage will have some platforms on it so she can stand taller than me on occasion! We had a musical run-through last week, and the singers are terrific. I'm looking forward to more rehearsals! I have the performance dates and the location on my website at www.ericamillersoprano.com.

Tomorrow I get to judge my first competition. Every year at Westminster Choir College, they have a competition for all of the non-graduating students for scholarships for the following year. This year, they have decided to have three alumni as judges. When I was in school, the members of the voice faculty were the judges, and I can imagine that it was very difficult to be impartial when making decisions. The three of us, who don't know any of the singers, will rank the students in each class from 1-10 (and give a score of 11 to all the ones who aren't in the top ten) and then the scores will be added up. We are not allowed to discuss the singers with each other, so it will be about as fair as can be. I'll be hearing singers from 9am to 5:30pm, with an hour for lunch. It's going to be a long day! Wish me luck!

I'll keep you updated as things progress. Happy Spring!