An Open Letter to My Voice.
Sweetie-pie,
We've had a big year, haven't we?
You sang your first leading role in an opera. (Dido loved you to pieces; I meant to tell you!) You've sung a high A natural and a high B flat in performance for the first time, which I'm sure felt like a death-defying feat. Unlocking these notes means that Strauss's Composer's Aria may now be within your grasp. You've learned how to burble through coloratura as well as how to bloom with warmth and color through sustained notes. You've been a trooper through all the church gigs, sight singing, the bouts of laryngitis, the freaky auditions, insecurity, dehydration, insomnia, and early music repertoire that you had no business singing. (It was like trying to stuff you into a spandex tube dress, and it wasn't fair or right of me to do it.)
You become more beautiful with each passing year. I worry that I've started too late down this path to help you achieve your full potential, but I am committed to finding the very best repertoire for you to perform and record. You know what you want better than I do. It's my job to try on the songs, roles, and arias so that you can let me know what fits best. I have to trust the daily work and the cryptic learning process and know that in the end you'll always be there - spinning with clarity, richness, and heart.
In this coming year, I promise to take care of my body - your chassis - in the way that serves you best. It's time to learn about all the things that I've been afraid to explore or see. It's time to discover new ways to stand and walk. It's time to test my endurance and my ability to persevere. It's time to forgive myself for my limitations and to celebrate the things that I'm learning to do very well. I promise to share the things you've taught me with students farther behind me on the singer's path, because articulating technique is the best way to learn it. I promise to learn music well enough so that you never have to feel scared or second-guess on stage. I promise to practice my sight singing and piano skills so that you have many tools to use as you're assimilating new lines.
Lastly, I promise to foster and nurture a spirit within me that matches your beauty. I want my compassion, tenacity, courage, humor, optimism, and warmth to ring out as clearly as anything you sing.
Our light is going to shine even brighter this year. I can't wait to continue this adventure with you!
With all my devotion,
Your beloved mezzo-soprano
We've had a big year, haven't we?
You sang your first leading role in an opera. (Dido loved you to pieces; I meant to tell you!) You've sung a high A natural and a high B flat in performance for the first time, which I'm sure felt like a death-defying feat. Unlocking these notes means that Strauss's Composer's Aria may now be within your grasp. You've learned how to burble through coloratura as well as how to bloom with warmth and color through sustained notes. You've been a trooper through all the church gigs, sight singing, the bouts of laryngitis, the freaky auditions, insecurity, dehydration, insomnia, and early music repertoire that you had no business singing. (It was like trying to stuff you into a spandex tube dress, and it wasn't fair or right of me to do it.)
You become more beautiful with each passing year. I worry that I've started too late down this path to help you achieve your full potential, but I am committed to finding the very best repertoire for you to perform and record. You know what you want better than I do. It's my job to try on the songs, roles, and arias so that you can let me know what fits best. I have to trust the daily work and the cryptic learning process and know that in the end you'll always be there - spinning with clarity, richness, and heart.
In this coming year, I promise to take care of my body - your chassis - in the way that serves you best. It's time to learn about all the things that I've been afraid to explore or see. It's time to discover new ways to stand and walk. It's time to test my endurance and my ability to persevere. It's time to forgive myself for my limitations and to celebrate the things that I'm learning to do very well. I promise to share the things you've taught me with students farther behind me on the singer's path, because articulating technique is the best way to learn it. I promise to learn music well enough so that you never have to feel scared or second-guess on stage. I promise to practice my sight singing and piano skills so that you have many tools to use as you're assimilating new lines.
Lastly, I promise to foster and nurture a spirit within me that matches your beauty. I want my compassion, tenacity, courage, humor, optimism, and warmth to ring out as clearly as anything you sing.
Our light is going to shine even brighter this year. I can't wait to continue this adventure with you!
With all my devotion,
Your beloved mezzo-soprano