I had the great fortune of meeting someone this summer at an opera training program who thought I might do well in France and was willing to share a great deal of information and assist in making contacts, so I figured how often do you have someone who helps you that way, and you'd be a damn fool if you didn't somehow act on it. So one purchase of Rosetta Stone French 1-3 and 3 months later, I'm actually here. I have arranged some coachings for myself with French coaches, who ideally will help me improve all of the little technical things that don't always get addressed in a voice lesson: diction, style, those seemingly obvious markings of forte or piu mosso. But other than that I'm on my own. No one is planning this crash course for me, and it's actually pretty scary that I'm in charge of this when I feel drained from so many other things in life.
One month ago I moved myself and my belongings from Baltimore, MD back to Denver, CO where I'm originally from and most of my immediate family still lives. I graduated from the Peabody Conservatory about 2.5 years ago now, and I, as seems to happen to many people, got sucked into Baltimore for longer than I planned. Sounds silly given its terrible roads and notorious crime levels, but Baltimore is actually a very easy, comfortable place to live. It's just big enough to feel like a city but not overwhelming like DC or New York can sometimes be. I
knew I didn't want to move to NYC, where so many young opera singers (and other performing artists) go simply because that's where all the auditions are. I could go on about my reasoning and why I stayed in Baltimore, but that's not necessarily relevant to the whole Paris trip thing. I've been adrift for a while now- moved 4 times this year alone- but that's not stopping me from trying to improve my personal artistry and find more opportunities to sing.
I got here this morning, after a sleepless transatlantic flight. My hope that the No-Jet-Lag pills would have the miraculous effect they'd had on my trip to Ireland earlier this year was in vain. Pills made of dandelion and chamomile can only take you so far I suppose! I'm going to give this day up to finding groceries, napping, and talking another walk, but I have my first coaching tomorrow so I've got to get ready for that too. Who scheduled this?!? [looks sheepishly at self].
I apparently landed myself smack dab in the middle of what is becoming Paris' Chinatown. My grandmother would love it; there are two Chinese groceries and so many restaurants within a block of me. And I can buy all the cheap leather goods and cubix zirconia I want!
