 |
 |
 Back to Archive Menu
July 20, 2001
Welcome to my new website! It has been some months in the making, and I am
very proud of what the many amazing people involved have produced. It's a
mystery to me how these things work, and all the minute details to be
considered. Some people would say it's not unlike singing however: a very
natural thing if that's what you DO, but mysterious and incomprehensible if
you're watching from the outside! I hope you will enjoy our various pages;
even Libby the Wonder Dog had to get in on the act. Now you know who the
real diva is in the family.
So now I'm sending you greetings from the beautiful Austrian city of Salzburg, home of the renowned
Salzburg Festival, and birthplace of our beloved Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
I've enjoyed a few free days upon my arrival, due to the unexpected
indisposition of some colleagues, so the rehearsal start date has been
postponed a bit... But who's complaining!? Gives me time to enjoy the
scenery, and the sunshine.
I just finished the Metropolitan Opera tour of Der Rosenkavalier, and we had
a wonderful time taking it through much of Japan! We performed in Yokohama,
Nagoya and Tokyo, having rehearsed (a bit!) in Kyoto the preceding week.
I've been to Japan a few times before, but each time I go it's more revealing
and fascinating. I was sorry I couldn't bring my pup Libby, but they do not
vaccinate there so they don't allow foreign animals. I missed her terribly
but from what I gather, she barely noticed I was gone (check out HER version
in Libby's Travels)!
It was a great trip and such
fun to do my favorite opera again in an exotic locale with such wonderful
friends as Renée Fleming, Franz Hawlata and Heidi Grant Murphy, and conducted
by Sir Andrew Davis. I even made some new friends within the Met family (the
nature of a tour; imagine over 400 Met personnel all in the same hotel, it
was rather like a VERY extravagant school trip!), and we enjoyed some amazing
Japanese dining experiences and excursions into ancient villages.
That was followed quickly by a recording in Birmingham, UK with the wonderful
City of Birminham Orchestra, built to prominence by Sir Simon Rattle. Yves
Abel conducted the orchestra through a recording of French operetta but
there's not a single NOTE of Offenbach in it! You'll have to wait and be
surprised......and I think you WILL be surprised....!!
And that brings us to the present; a very busy summer season in Salzburg.
I'll be performing the Composer in Richard Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos,"
singing a concert with Sir John Eliot Gardiner including Berlioz' "Les Nuits
D'ete," and a recital with Sir Thomas Hampson as part of his "Hampson
Project." (He's not really a "Sir" but after mentioning all the others I
wouldn't want him to feel left out...but he IS a Kammersänger, so that counts...) The main focus of the project is
American poets set by European composers. We've also bent the rules a little
bit to include European-ISH composers, i.e. those highly influenced by time
spent living/studying in Europe. The project includes three evenings: one
with Mr. Hampson alone, one in which he is joined by Barbara Bonney, and the
last in which I will appear with him. The pianist for the two duo-recitals
is the wonderful Malcolm Martineau.
Whew!! I hope you have a more restful summer planned, and an enjoyable one!
top of page
|
|
 |
