First Morning in Salt Lake

Oh man, I had a dream right before I woke up this morning, that the company meet and greet was here at this hotel, THIS morning. Like, everyone came here to partake of the free coffee in the lobby and so we used that as a "get to know each other" kind of thing. Except I was in pajamas or something and was going, what the hell are all you people doing here?!

The first night in a hotel, or any new place, is always less than restful as you get used to the peculiarities of your space. I slept ok, but there are lots of different kinds of noises to get used to. Or maybe it's that it's mostly so quiet, compared to all the ambient noise in New York. But the bed and the room are pretty great. I think that tonight I will sleep long and hard.

The first point of business today is getting to the grocery store in order to make sure that I get started immediately eating good food and not having to resort to restaurants. Then if I can, try to hit the gym before heading over to the first rehearsal! So excited for it!

Added later - Oh wow, I forgot how good the grocery prices are here, sweet! And I saw this on Main Street today

Added still later - First rehearsal. It always feels really good to come back here, feels like a second home. I know everyone and they know me. Great to catch up. And I know where everything is.

This show is going to be really good. This cast is great, very strong all around. The tempos are really fast. I should have played around with tempos in my practice. The Three Ladies sound very good together. I forgot how singing the Third Lady can make you feel like your voice is small. You are working with two sopranos singing in the super sweet part of their range and you have to remember not to try to out-sing them at every turn.


I know I should love everything Mozart wrote. But I am not crazy about The Magic Flute. I know, I know, crucify me. But long slow aria after long slow aria, even when sung beautifully, can feel so tedious. There are some moments that I just love, tonight especially I remembered how much I love the duet with the two Armored Men, and there is a Priests chorus that is quite touching.

Got to see the layout of the set. I think the set it so fascinating and I would imagine the audience thinks so, too. Here is the rehearsal room flat of it, so we can rehearse accordingly.

I bonded a little with the other Two Ladies, which was great because I often have social anxiety. Both of them made it really easy for me and I think we talked pretty comfortably. Plus they offered to give me rides when I need them, which is GREAT because walking from the Production Studio at night is taking your life into your hands.

Oh, during rehearsal tonight, I realized that The Magic Flute was my first professional opera gig, almost 20 years ago! The opera company in Spokane did it in the summer of 1993 and I sang chorus in it. What a trip.