It's amazing how many things you take for granted. My dishwasher broke a few days ago and we've been washing everything by hand. It's so much time and effort! I feel bad for people who have to do this all the time. I am such a spoiled brat. The worst part of all this is that my Mom's skin problems have gotten really bad lately from it. :(

This lack of convenience was the worst part of being in Europe. It was so different to live there! I thought I'd already gotten my dose of "you take this for granted" but I guess it's not over yet!

I just finished watching Das Rheingold, the first part of Wagner's Ring Cycle. The last ten minutes were filled with such incredible music. Wagner is NOT all screaming crazy ladies with horns and spears. To be honest, it wasn't even what I was expecting. It was so fantastic. I can't wait to see the rest of the cycle.

There's a character in it named Fricka and I love her. I want to play her! When I was in Austria, my teacher said (on more than one occasion) that I'd play her. That's crazy! Very few people can handle that part. You need to be a Wagnerian mezzo-soprano. I almost fell over the first time she said it. Me, a Wagnerian! I never dreamed it would happen but you never know!

And now, because I love them: ( Music Meme )

Kim = safe and sound and fighting jet lag

My European Adventure was wonderful but I'm so glad that it's over. It was certainly an adventure in the grandest sense. We had our rough patches and our moments of breathless glory, but it's all over now. I learned a lot (A LOT) and I'm so grateful for the experience.

Now it's time to look ahead. I'm excited for the new school year. There's so much to look forward to! Incoming freshman, music department politics, a whole new opera production (in which I have my first real role!), junior recital (!), friends, loves, anti-loves, quasi-loves, and the normal surprises of life. Oh, and surviving both German 3 and Italian 3. This semester is shaping up to be a challenging one (as always).

The freshman have just started moving in. I love watching gaggles of teenage girls -- all with the same pencil-thin figure, pin-straight hair, and Prada bags -- mosey over the quad like they own the place. Just wait until the upper-classmen arrive. They won't be so sure then...

Ah, I love being a junior! I love it already. I hope we get some freshie recruits for the opera company. I'd love to see someone come in who's really into it. I have a goal -- I'm going to try and find one freshman who knows who Renee Fleming is. That shouldn't be too hard considering that Renee Fleming is poster-child of the Met and of the opera-world in general. And she's a soprano! Every aspiring soprano knows Renee Fleming. Can't wait to hear all the new vocal majors! whahahahahahahahahahaha

So, all is well. I miss the Austrian coffee already (and the slow pace) but I definitely don't miss the dorm room. Ahhh, my beautiful bed, how I love you. :)

And just to prove what a nerd I am:

Yes, that's real. And I own it. On the back, it says, "Weapon of choice: pure musical genius!" I LOVE IT.

This is by far the creepiest thing I have ever seen in real life.



This guy, a count from forever ago, is enshrined in the middle of the altar at the front of a church. And it's not just any church; it's the church where they filmed the wedding in The Sound of Music.

Um, ew.

Here he is with his buddies in the altar.


On a happier note: sunsets are so much prettier in old cities.


Check out all my pictures here. I visited a fortress (Helmsdeep, anyone?) and other famous Sound of Music spots.

A recap of Vienna, the city of music:

First of all, I want to show you some pictures of the locals. (Uncle Bob, this is for you.)



The main streets of Vienna were a lot like a circus. There was always something going on. Below are some (rather interesting) street musicians.

The square group (playing Chinese music):


The triangle group (playing "Non piu andrai" from The Marriage of Figaro with a Spanish flair):


Here's a video of the triangle group:


And, last but not least, the creepy street musician:


Now, onto the sights. My favorites had to be the Stephansdom (the huge cathedral where Mozart was married), the Vienna State Opera House, and the Hofburg Palace.

First, the Stephansdom. Here's a taste:




You can see all my pictures of the Stephansdom here.

The Vienna State Opera House was interesting because on the outside it was bigger than I expected but on the inside it was smaller than I thought it would be. It only sits about 2000 (the Met sits 4000). It seemed small to me because I'm used to the Met. I'm spoiled, what can I say?




You can see all the pictures of the Vienna State here.

And the Hofburg Palace. This place was crazy. It was beyond huge and it was covered in marble. Floors, walls, ceilings -- all marble. It blew my mind.

Inside the Palace, there were three museums. We went to the musical instrument collection, the arms and armor collection, and the ancient Roman ruins collection. Here are some of the highlights:




See all the Hofburg Palace pictures here.

And of course, as always, you can see all the pictures here. For just Vienna, you can start here.

Now, a special section: FOR THE MUSIC GEEKS.

There were many *squee!!* moments during my trip to Vienna. Here are some of the highlights. :)

1. On the streets of Vienna, I started to notice these stars on the ground. I looked and behold - each one was dedicated to a different composer or important music person! You can see them all here.


2. It's Mozart Land II. Here's another beautiful statue of him and more paraphernalia.






The BEST part of it was standing in his apartment at 5 Domgasse. I stood in the rooms he lived in and stood at his windows and saw the things he saw (the street outside his study window was preserved!). I had goosebumps standing there knowing that he and his family had romped around in that living room, that Haydn and Leopold Mozart had stayed in that guest room, and that Mozart had sat in his study composing The Marriage of Figaro, my favorite opera of all time. They didn't kill the apartment by adding modern things to it like they did to the other two Mozart houses (in Salzburg) and the bare shell of the house made it all the more exciting. There was so much room for imagination and speculation. There are no words to describe my feelings.


3. This piano was given to the Schumanns as a wedding present by the maker. The Schumanns used it until Robert's death at which time Clara gave it to their good friend Johannes Brahms. Brahms used the piano until his death and he always treasured it as a precious gift. I TOUCHED that piano! How cool to think that less than 200 years ago, it was used by three great composers. How absolutely fantastic.



What else is there to say? The place was bursting with music and I loved it to death. I want to go back.

This is a real picture that I look in Vienna, Austria.

Hello! I finally got a stable internet connection and I couldn't be happier. Things are looking up.

I have tons of pictures to show you. I have a story to go with each of them; if I told all the stories, this post would never end and my fingers would fall off. So I'll tell you a few of my favorites.

Today we visited the Mozart Geburtshaus -- this is the house where Mozart was born. His family lived there until 1780 when it became too small for them. It's actually the third floor of this bright yellow building. It was so cool to stand in the room where he was born! They had two locks of his hair. He had dirty blonde, wiry-ish hair just like me!



Last night we had dessert in the Mozart Cafe. I had to try the Salzburg Nockerl, a dessert that has been famous forever. It was really fantastic. It reminded me a lot of Yorkshire Pudding -- it was a cream/whip-filled baked thing with raspberries on the bottom. It was different than anything I've ever had before but it was really good.



As you can tell, this town revolves around Mozart. You'll see the various store windows and cardboard cut-outs and so on. It's really crazy and I love it. His name and face are EVERYWHERE. <3



My master classes are unbelievably amazing. Edda Moser is a fantastic teacher. She's so patient and she knows exactly how to access and attack a problem. She has such a reverence and love for Mozart. I know exactly how she feels and I love it! She teaches in three languages: German, English, and Italian (depending on what the student wants). The best part is that I can follow them all! I was shocked after the first day when I walked out and said to myself, "I understood everything!" That is just so cool. I love being in an environment where I'm surrounded by language.

I'm the youngest one in the class and I'm the only mezzo. It's really interesting to hear all the sopranos and watch Ms. Moser work with them. I'm learning a lot about coloratura and singing high notes just from watching.

In other news, Gheorghiu has canceled 6 out of her 8 Carmens at the Met. Elina Garanca is taking her place. I’m actually tempted to buy tickets now…

Well, there's still plenty of stuff to do and see. You can see all the pictures here.

Guten Abend!

It has begun!

Check out my adventure blog every day for updates!

I shall be ranting and updating over here, too, but the first entry is up over there.

I've come to the conclusion that my job is actually that of a modern-day page.  That's a good title, right?  Page to the VP.  I like.  Much better than assistant to the assistant of the assistant to the VP. 

Concert tonight, Euros tomorrow, and flight on Saturday!  I'm really chomping at the bit to leave (even though I still have to pack and do laundry and other such nonsense).  I got my power adapters in the mail and the T-shirts that I ordered for my Mom and I.  Yes, I am an absolute geek.

And if there's anyone out there that feels like life is beating them up:  I just read this fabulous article about a mezzo-soprano who battled 29 tumors on her brain and survived!  It's a wonderful, wonderful article about music and friends and the power of hope.

And just to continue my quest to make people understand what opera is actually like, here is Cecilia Bartoli, one of the smartest, most lovely, most talented mezzo-sopranos around.  And who said that opera singers can't be chic?




Mission101 Update

13. attend one of Morgen’s performances 7/29/09
37. write to Justin while he’s away I've written a lot already!

So, everything's all set. I'm going to Salzburg, Austria to study opera with Ann Murray. OMGOSH I CAN HARDLY BREATHE RIGHT NOW. And I'm not even there yet. When I land in Salzburg and walk into town, I think I'm going to have a heart-attack. You have no idea. Mozart was born and raised (mostly) in Salzburg. Sure, they've destroyed the house he was born in by making it into a flashy museum, but I can walk the streets that he did and see the things he saw. Time has changed things, but a place is a place.

After the classes, I'm taking short trips to Vienna (another I'M GOING TO DIE OR FAINT place) and Stuttgart (Germany). I should try to get to Zurich (Switzerland); we'll see.

Honestly, though, I cannot wait. That plane ride is going to be the longest plane ride of my life -- well, actually literally -- because I'm going to be waiting to get there. I'm super-psyched. I can't even explain what this means to me.

Why is it that we find so much importance in place?

I could go on about this forever. It goes both ways: good and bad. There's a rumor that Tammy is going to move her studio into Beck's old room. So I'll be taking voice lessons with my new teacher in the room that I'd taken lessons in with my old teacher who passed away last Christmas. Is it going to bother me? I don't think so, but I'm not sure. It's going to be weird, I know that.

When Tammy told me that she might be moving, she asked if it would bother me. (I'm the only one it would affect.) I told her "no" and I believed it. But I guess you don't know until it happens. It's so much easier to move on when you're in a totally new setting. Places hold things: memories, smells, feelings. Can a person fight that?

I didn't mean to end this on such a sad note. I'm really excited and happy for my trip. I can't believe that I'm able to do this. It's a huge step. I'm ready. :)

This always happens! I have so much to talk about but then the second I get on here, I can't think of anything to write! UGHHH...

I had three finals today and it's the last day of class. Hallelujah. I survived! I only have a thousand more finals and a project and a paper left. Oh, and two juries. I'll be fine. :)

It's so rainy out. I'm so glad I waterproofed my boots. My feet aren't wet! I'm so glad that that stuff actually worked.

It's really funny how when it's rainy, everyone is so tired. Myself included, unfortunately. I forgot to put makeup on this morning. Whoops. OH WELL. The vocal majors can deal.

So this Germany trip is really starting to fall into place. I have a partner in crime now (HURRAY! x 100000) and we're starting our real planning. I have to sit down and calculate costs (ugh). Loans and much groaning ensues... But I'm SO excited. So excited. Hopefully I won't miss anything important while I'm planning. There's so much I want to do! I really hope it all works out.

It looks like it's going to be 2 weeks in Germany and 2 weeks in Austria. SALZBURG, Austria. MOZARTLAND, Austria. I am PUMPED! I was talking about it to Rachel (the fellow opera-geek who's going with me) and my sister's like, "Why is your face all red?" I had gotten so excited just talking about Salzburg and the Mozarteum (the conservatory built in Mozart's memory) that I was getting all worked up. So funny.

I never thought in a million years that I'd be studying at the Mozarteum already. OMGOSH! I don't know how to convey to you what this means to me. Mozart is my absolute favorite opera composer. Last summer, I read at least 8 books about him and his works. I can't stop! Right now, I'm reading a book about Nannerl, his sister. It's a bit biased, but I'm enjoying it for what it is.

We had a meeting for Poppea (the full-length opera) yesterday. I'm really excited for where things are going. The director, Isabel, talked a little bit about what she's doing conceptually in this production. I was expecting something weird/different so I wasn't surprised when I heard that our set is going to be a construction site. The opera's supposed to take place in Ancient Rome, but what the heck? She mentioned WWII...I don't know. You can't really have a sky-scraper being built in Ancient Rome. Somehow that just doesn't work. WHATEVER.

This opera is going to interesting, if nothing else. I can tell you THAT.

Ok, I have to go to my jury rehearsal now. Too-ta-loo!