Back in May 2009, on a whim I auditioned for Opera Fairbanks. It's a very young opera company, which means lots of opprotunities for pre-professional singers like myself. I wasn't sure what would happen, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to at least audition.
They wanted me to do a callback for a specific role: Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni. I was SO excited! It was a great roll for me, and it would be an excellent opprotunity. However, I never quite made it to callbacks. The first time, I came down with the flu (I was so disappointed!), and the second time the conductor I was auditioning for hit his head during Tosca and couldn't hear my audition. So I never managed to do my callback before heading back to Alaska.
I still had some hope as I returned to school, however, but soon it was November and I still hadn't heard from them, so I assumed I wasn't being considered.
Well, yesterday I recieved an email, and as it turns out they've hired out the roles of Donna Anna, Don Giovanni and Leperello to Metropolitan Opera singers. However, they've asked me to cover (be the backup) for the role of Donna Anna! This means I will attend all the rehersals and learn the roll, get paid (cha-ching!), and if something should happen to the Met singer, I would perform in her place. The best part is that Alexandra Deshirties (the woman playing Donna Anna) is going to be 5 days late to rehersals, so I get to rehersal with these Met singers during that time!
I know this may seem like not such a big deal: I am not garunteed a chance to perform, but the opprotunity to work with these world class singers and learn from them is such an awesome opprotunity. My goal is to go into this as prepared as possible and to work really hard, and if I do well I will hopefully get hired in the future to be actual lead roles. I'm STOKED!
So I have to be in Fairbanks by June 19th which will be interesting... I'm waiting to hear when the actual performance will be, but I'm almost positive it will be sometime in June. For now, it means I have a TON of music to learn. My graduate recital is in early May, and then I'll have to get this role memorized, and then off to rehersals!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
My Christmas Pearls
So, one of the traditions Jordan's started last was to create a scavenger hunt in order for me to find my presents! This is such a great tradition for two reasons: #1- I love games and #2- I'm fairly certain Jordan gets a kick of me running around the house, back and forth, trying to figure out his clues.
Anyway, this year we were at his parents house for Christmas, and I got my first clue: a jacket. It took me forever to figure out, but my scavenger hunt wasn't at this house: we had to go out to Metro to get them! Metro is an apartment above a shop where Jordan and I first lived right after we got married (we were there for a month). So, at 9am on Christmas morning, we got into the car and drove to the unheated metro for our tradition!
Jordan had such cute clues! He used funny stories from our first month of marriage to get me running around the apartment. For instance, once when Jordan was home alone, he thought he heard a noise, so he went looking around the apartment. In one of the bathrooms he thought he saw someone, but it just turned out to be his reflection in the mirror. I had to figure out which mirror it was in order to get the next clue.
Beyond that, Jordan totally spoils me and got me a beautiful set of pearls for Christmas (he hid the earring and braclet under the bed, and the necklace in a closet). They're perfect for my recital I have to do this year, and so far I've already worn them to a singing competition earlier in January.
Jordan so great at making each Christmas special. Even if I didn't get such grand gifts, the whole scavenger hunt is so sweet. If I was just going around finding candy I would be so happy. Thank you Jordan!
Anyway, this year we were at his parents house for Christmas, and I got my first clue: a jacket. It took me forever to figure out, but my scavenger hunt wasn't at this house: we had to go out to Metro to get them! Metro is an apartment above a shop where Jordan and I first lived right after we got married (we were there for a month). So, at 9am on Christmas morning, we got into the car and drove to the unheated metro for our tradition!
Jordan had such cute clues! He used funny stories from our first month of marriage to get me running around the apartment. For instance, once when Jordan was home alone, he thought he heard a noise, so he went looking around the apartment. In one of the bathrooms he thought he saw someone, but it just turned out to be his reflection in the mirror. I had to figure out which mirror it was in order to get the next clue.
Beyond that, Jordan totally spoils me and got me a beautiful set of pearls for Christmas (he hid the earring and braclet under the bed, and the necklace in a closet). They're perfect for my recital I have to do this year, and so far I've already worn them to a singing competition earlier in January.
Jordan so great at making each Christmas special. Even if I didn't get such grand gifts, the whole scavenger hunt is so sweet. If I was just going around finding candy I would be so happy. Thank you Jordan!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Haystack Mountain
On Tuesday during our Christmas trip to Alaska, we decided to go sledding down Haystack Mountain. Now, this is no pansy sledding trip: this about a mile trail down a mountain, through the woods. The car drops you off at the top, and then meets you at the bottom to take you up again. It's AWESOME. And even though it was like -15 in town, it's up in the mountains so it was a balmy 15 degrees above zero.
Sadly, I am really, really bad at it. Ok. Let me give you an example. My first run down, everyone passed me. I could sled for about 100 feet before I inevitably biffed it. My problem was that the trail would turn, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to turn in the direction I wanted to go, so either I would run into a snow bank or I would bail out when it looked like I might hit a tree. Anyway, so I'm trying to get down the stupid mountain, when suddenly I see people... climbing toward me... it's Tyler and Orin, who apparently had time to go down to the bottom, get people worried enough that they sent someone to start climbing back up the mountain looking for me... to make sure I hadn't been trampled by a moose or eaten by a wolf, I suppose.... by the time I got to the bottom, I stumbled out of the woods and there was Jordan, who started laughing at the fact that I'm utterly covered in tons of packed on snow, and he asks me, "Wait, is that bark on your nose? How did you get bark on your nose? Did you run into a tree?" No, I didn't run into a tree! That's why it took me so long, because I was trying to not run into trees!
So, on the next run, we all decided that for every one time I make it down the hill, everyone else would go down two times. This turned out to be hauntingly true. I would be trying to get down the hill (I did get faster every time, in my defence), and Jordan and his brothers would pass me. Twice.
On the last run, I finally managed to get down before the guys made it down twice. VICTORY FOR AMANDA!
It really was a lot of fun. Painful, cold, but fun.
Sadly, I am really, really bad at it. Ok. Let me give you an example. My first run down, everyone passed me. I could sled for about 100 feet before I inevitably biffed it. My problem was that the trail would turn, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to turn in the direction I wanted to go, so either I would run into a snow bank or I would bail out when it looked like I might hit a tree. Anyway, so I'm trying to get down the stupid mountain, when suddenly I see people... climbing toward me... it's Tyler and Orin, who apparently had time to go down to the bottom, get people worried enough that they sent someone to start climbing back up the mountain looking for me... to make sure I hadn't been trampled by a moose or eaten by a wolf, I suppose.... by the time I got to the bottom, I stumbled out of the woods and there was Jordan, who started laughing at the fact that I'm utterly covered in tons of packed on snow, and he asks me, "Wait, is that bark on your nose? How did you get bark on your nose? Did you run into a tree?" No, I didn't run into a tree! That's why it took me so long, because I was trying to not run into trees!
So, on the next run, we all decided that for every one time I make it down the hill, everyone else would go down two times. This turned out to be hauntingly true. I would be trying to get down the hill (I did get faster every time, in my defence), and Jordan and his brothers would pass me. Twice.
On the last run, I finally managed to get down before the guys made it down twice. VICTORY FOR AMANDA!
It really was a lot of fun. Painful, cold, but fun.
The Tom-Tom Knows!
While using our new Tom-Tom, we couldn't help but think of this video. "The Tom-Tom Knows!"
WE LOVE IT. It's amazing. As we flew into Idaho Falls and then had to drive to Provo, we used it the whole way. Ok, ok, of course all you have to do between Idaho Falls and Provo is stay on I-15... the whole way... but nonetheless, we did some practice runs where we made up side-trips to Missouri, planned our trip moving to Hartford with a side trip to Missouri and Indiana, found out how long it would take us to driving to Fairbanks (first we had to make a U-turn), and finally I followed its directions faithfully from Kaitlyn's dorm to our apartment, just to see which direction it told us to go (we were very impressed when it suggested we go by the Smith Field house). And, apparently, the Tom-Tom knows a faster way to get from I-15 to Center Street... weird. But awesome.
But, seriously, when we were hungry and I decided I wanted Wendy's, you could go and look up the closest Wendy's. The speaking voice is mildly annoying, but you can turn that off. And now Jordan has something new to play with in the car. What an great Christmas present!
WE LOVE IT. It's amazing. As we flew into Idaho Falls and then had to drive to Provo, we used it the whole way. Ok, ok, of course all you have to do between Idaho Falls and Provo is stay on I-15... the whole way... but nonetheless, we did some practice runs where we made up side-trips to Missouri, planned our trip moving to Hartford with a side trip to Missouri and Indiana, found out how long it would take us to driving to Fairbanks (first we had to make a U-turn), and finally I followed its directions faithfully from Kaitlyn's dorm to our apartment, just to see which direction it told us to go (we were very impressed when it suggested we go by the Smith Field house). And, apparently, the Tom-Tom knows a faster way to get from I-15 to Center Street... weird. But awesome.
But, seriously, when we were hungry and I decided I wanted Wendy's, you could go and look up the closest Wendy's. The speaking voice is mildly annoying, but you can turn that off. And now Jordan has something new to play with in the car. What an great Christmas present!
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