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January 20, 2003
Greetings to all from my home planet, Texas! Although Texas must share that distinction with New Mexico, where I was originally hatched, Texas does at this moment, feel very much like home. The Houston Grand Opera has been my artistic home for most of this season, as I did the wonderful David Alden production of Händel's Ariodante in the fall. That was quite an experience: not only was it my first time in the role (and my 2nd Händel opera ever), but the extreme physicality of the production made it an Olympic event in itself. It's challenging enough sometimes to just stand there and sing all the pyrotechnics in some of those arias, for instance Con l'ali di costanza, a 7-minute scene of jubilation, with some of the most difficult coloratura passages that Händel ever penned. I think it's more like a clarinet concerto, with its irregular intervallic leaps done at breakneck speed. I think that no aria has ever had me more terrified. So on top of all that, Mr. Alden invited me to run around the stage, shed clothing, slide onto the floor, roll around for a while in the King's discarded red satin robe, don the robe, shed the robe, then jump up on a table for the big finish. Oh, did I mention the smashing-a-glass-into-the-wall bit? And that was just the first act!!! Whew... I'm exhausted even remembering it!
So it's quite a relief to be back in Houston to do... THE MERRY WIDOW!! Polar opposite-to say the least. It's a joy to make a grand entrance in a beautiful red dress, with a hat the size (and shape) of Oklahoma. Very Hello, Dolly! I dance and sing all night, surrounded by lovely men all wanting to marry me... I mean, marry The Widow... led by the terminally charming Bo Skovhus. What's not to love!?!
The weather is great, I can ride my bike down here, the theatre is wonderful with great working conditions and a wonderful staff, the colleagues are very NICE, musical standards are high... Do I sound like an ad for HGO? There's something wonderful about being welcomed, finally, in your "home." I've sung all over the world, and now, 15 years into my career, I'm finally making my Texas debut season! I do love it though, and am happy to return in future seasons. Stay tuned, Texas fans!!
Another great benefit of singing here, is that so many old friends hear about the performances, and sometimes after a show, I see faces at my dressing room door that I haven't seen in 20 years. It's amazing and certainly gratifying to get re-connected with a lot of old friends. It's an interesting psychological phenomenon as well; when I know that a lot of people are in the audience who haven't EVER seen me sing in an opera, and the last thing they saw might have been The Sound of Music in high school, I sometimes have to consciously prevent a certain kind of "regression" from happening! It's like a part of me suddenly wants to be 16 again, and then I start to feel a bit self-conscious and wonder what THEY are thinking about "Little Suzy" up there on the opera stage!! I must admit, more than once when I was wildly rolling around on the floor in Ariodante, the thought crossed my mind! Only fleetingly however, since there were much more important tasks at hand, like getting through that cadenza!
In any case, this is a very exciting season since I'm in America so much. I do love performing in Europe of course, and there are a couple of engagements in Paris in Feb/March, but the North American recital tour is very exciting and takes me to a lot of places that are very dear to me: Kennedy Center, Davies Hall, Chicago, Carnegie... and a lot of beautiful places I've never been before: Ann Arbor, Quebec City, Indiana Univ, Princeton. I hope to see many of you there! It's a varied but meaty program: Brahms, Debussy, Berg, Poulenc, Messager. And the inimitable Malcolm Martineau will be right there with me!
So Happy New Year to you all, and may 2003 be rich in blessings, personal and musical!
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