A Sort of Homecoming

 

One of the parts of the whole tour I was looking forward to the most was the return to Ann Arbor for a series of concerts appropriately entitled “Experience Blue Lake.”  An overwhelming swath of campers for the program comes from a 100 mile radius of Ann Arbor and one of the feathers in the tour’s cap are the performances at gorgeous Hill Auditorium. This was my first time being back in my home for four years since I moved last August and it was a treat to be back.

 

Just like last year (LINK), the Brahm’s Requiem was broadcast live on Blue Lake’s very own public radio station (LINK) for the entire WORLD to hear. 

The back of Hill with the satellite and equipment trucks parked in full view (with a bit of bell tower in the background thrown in for good measure)

 

Joining us once again to conduct the Requiem was Carole Dr. MaestrA Ott.  She had the thankless task of preparing the choir and orchestra for the European tour without the benefit of actually getting to conduct us while overseas.  Needless to say it was an immense pleasure to get to work under her baton again, not only because her musicality and expression were unrivaled by any of the guest conductors in Europe but because I consider her a dear friend as well.  Even though she conducts and teaches in North Carolina I am dependent upon the very small musical world that we live in to bring us back together collaboratively in the future. 

Three very content divas

 

Sabrina and I were also joined by a very special guest in the audience in the form of John Nevergall, who long time blog readers will remember was the tenor soloist in last years Elijah (broken glass during his aria, anyone?!).  Though he lives in Ohio he drove up for the concert and I am so grateful to have gotten to see him, if only for a short time after the performance.

“Bist du’s Elias?!?!?!”

 

I also must give a special shout out to my host “moms” for this portion of the tour.  Mom of course being in quotation marks because they were actually my friends Kristin (who, though a mom in her own right, is absolutely nowhere near near near old enough to claim that title over me) and then later Cynthian. 

Like John before, some of you may remember Kristin from our sharing the stage in Le nozze di Figaro, Armide, and Albert Herring as well as, you know, being kind of a kick ass friend.  Unnnnnfortunately I was stupid and failed to get a picture with her and her darling Alyssa before getting away so I leave you with a picture I pilfered off of her facebook profile. 

 

Cynthian and I have also had the pleasure of performing together in Albert Herring and Eugene Onegin and is also a member of that wundermusical family the Brundages—as in, Julia of the Singing Seargeant’s fame and Mary Anne and David of my utterly fabulous vacation weekend to Washington D.C. this past February.  Cynthian actually commented that I had basically seen everyone in her family more recently than I had seen her, so I’m glad we could rectify that situation!

Enjoying sangria at Ann Arbor’s popular summer drinking destination, Dominick’s

 

Artist: U2/ Album: The Unforgettable Fire

Brush Up Your Shakespeare

 

There comes a point in one’s life when a person must forgo the tried and true “crashing on a friend’s sofa while on vacation in order to save money” shtick and start staying in hotels like an adult.  For most people that comes after college graduation.  As you may well know… I am not like most people.  The joys of being a starving artist, however, means that you get a certain pity-induced BONUS ROUND of sorts.  Except in this instance it’s not so much a friend’s sofa as it is a friend’s parent’s guest room.  One day I’ll grow up, but I’m not so much seeing it in the near future.

As such, I was picked up at the airport by my friend, Cynthian’s, mother Mary Anne.  I had met her a couple of times before when she came to Ann Arbor for some opera performances and we got along absolutely famously. (Don’t even get us started on pear martinis).

After treating me to a fantastic dinner they were headed to see Shakespeare’s oft forgotten play, Cymbeline, at D.C.’s Shakespeare Theater Company while I planned on meandering about the Mall area taking in a good, long monument stroll until the show was over.  At least, that’s what I had intended on doing.  When checking to see what time the show was going to finish I found out they had $15 student rush tickets. So with my trusty University of Michigan badge in tow I snagged a seat!!!!

 

The play itself is a veritable Cuisinart of Shakespeare-isms: star crossed lovers, mistaken identities, impending war, prodigal sons, gender bending camouflage, royal bloodlines, etc… and it. was. FANTASTIC!!  I’ve extolled my love of the Bard here once before and you can bet your donkey headed fool it’ll probably happen again.

(photo via the company’s website)

 

My only previous knowledge of the show was that of a certain portion of the text that has been set by numerous composers over the years, most notably Gerald Finzi, Roger Quilter, and more recently, Stephen Sondheim.  I actually performed one of these versions on my Masters recital a couple of years ago when doing Quilter’s set of Five Shakespeare Songs.   (Forgive the medial quality of the video… it was thrown together for this post so dealz with it.)

Translation: E’rybody dies and ain’t no one better than the next. And with that, dear readers, I bid you goodnight until the ‘morrow!

Artist: Cole Porter/ Album: Kiss Me, Kate