Level up!

I'm going to start this post with something I haven't really talked about in a while - language.  Last night I was working at the hotel (my "rent" job) when a gentleman walked in looking for a room.  I explained to him that we did not have any vacancies and he asked if I knew of any other places that did.  As I was talking with him he asked me to speak slowly because he did not speak English very well.  Being the naturally inquisitive person that I am, I asked him where he was from.  Then it happened; he said he was from France.  I immediately proceed without hesitation to speak to him in French while calling around to other hotels in the area looking for a room.  Our conversation ran the gamut from talking about why he was in Rochester of all places, to me giving him directions, to finally talking about my career as an opera singer and me giving him my website.  All in all we probably spent 20 minutes conversing solely in French!  Those of you familiar with Moses McCormick would call this a "level up!"  Towards the end of our conversation he gave me his card so that I could reserve a room for him at another hotel.  I noticed he had an Italian last name and he told me that he is actually Italian, but lives in France.  I proceeded to tell him that I speak Italian as well and we went on for another few minutes talking in both Italian and French.  This is the reason why we learn languages:  to communicate with people!  As a singer, I obviously learn these languages so that I know what I am singing (which is another form of communicating), but in a larger sense it events like last night to happen.  I have set aside working on my language studies for a while due to financial and personal obligations that force my hobbies to take a back burner, but things like last night really make me want to get back into my studies.  Perhaps in the next few months I can get back to it.

In other news, now that my time with Finger Lakes Opera has ended I have begun my focus on Cosi fan tutte, which I will be performing in Detroit this September.  I have learned all of the music and am in the throes of attempting to memorize an entire role for the first time.  I took some advice from my friend and colleague, Gregory Kunde, and have made cue cards of my part.  Already, this has been very helpful in getting some of the text down.  I also have an upcoming audition in Pittsburgh and some other big pending news that I will have to wait until next month to unload on everyone.    

I Love It!

Remember the old McDonald's jingle "I'm loving it?"  That is how I feel about being on stage performing.  I am currently in rehearsals for a production of Carmen with a local opera company, Finger Lakes Opera.  I am not singing a lead, or even a comprimario role; I am in the ensemble.  While that may not sound compelling, the amazing thing about it for me is how I feel during and after rehearsals, even when talking to people about how rehearsals are going.  I am so full of energy, life, and excitement, that I can barely contain myself.  This is how I know what I am supposed to be doing with my life.

We are reading and discussing The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything by Rev. James Martin, S.J. in a young adult group that I facilitate at my church.  This is my second time through the book and the primary thing that has struck me both times through is that God plants your deepest desires in your heart and they are God's way of showing you what you should be doing in life.  There has rarely been much question about the desires on my heart, but it seems to have magnified in intensity over the last couple of years.  I now not only desire to be performing, but I long for it.  When I am not in production I often feel like something is missing in my life.

Part of this new excitement when performing comes from my experience last year.  Since my time with the New York Opera Studio I have continually become more comfortable in my body on stage.  This ability to open up on stage has allowed me to really explore things and let me fall into the characters I am portraying, even in an ensemble situation.  While rehearsing for Carmen, I am also preparing for my debut as Ferrando in Detroit next month in Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte.  These months of being able to immerse myself in the world of opera have shown me how I need my life to be if I am to be truly content with my occupation.  My goal for the coming "year" is to find more ways to envelop myself in this world and make this desire a reality.