Il Trovatore Bites the Dust!

It's now officially over...both Il Trovatore and my opera career, unless I'm asked to return, of course ;) What a ride it has been, and I can't thank Jamie, Steve, and everyone else connected with the production enough for putting up with my rookie mistakes. Last night's performance was over the top in every respect! The only sad part is that we didn't pack the house full every night. Was there anything better going on in town? I doubt it. But many thanks to all who did make it. A large, enthusiastic audience is a very good thing indeed for all concerned!

For everyone who hasn't had enough opera to suit them, don't forget that Piedmont Opera and the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts will have a "debut" of sorts this Saturday, Oct. 9th at 1:00, the first Live from the Met HD transmission in Winston-Salem! The opening production is Das Rheingold, the first opera in Richard Wagner's epic Ring Cycle, starring the hunky Bryn Terfel as Wotan. Tickets are selling fast, so you'd better call the HanesBrands Theatre box office at 747-1414 to grab yours. I have mine, and I don't care how much you offer me, you can't have them! A total of twelve operas will be shown, at least one per month, through May of 2011.

And if you haven't already bought a calendar for 2011, get one and put down these Piedmont Opera dates:

Feb. 12 at 7:30pm,  Love Scenes at Hayworth Fine Arts Center on the High Point University campus
Feb. 13 at 3pm, Love Scenes (repeated) at Brendle Recital Hall on the Wake Forest University campus

March 25 at 8pm, H.M.S. Pinafore by Gilbert and Sullivan at the Stevens Center
March 27 at 2pm, ditto
March 29 at 7:30pm, ditto

May 21, Magnolia Ball fundraiser at Forsyth Country Club

Support the Opera! Call the opera office at 725-7101 for more information on any of these events.

I'll be signing off for now, but I might reincarnate as a new personality ere long. Stay tuned, and thanks for following my opera adventure!

Judy/The Diva/La Zingarella/Mother Superior/Head Monk

The Show is On!

What a weekend! With opening night on Friday and the second performance on Sunday afternoon, things have been busy with the opera plus family and friends visiting. How wonderful it all is, though. And the flowers...my sister and brother-in-law arrived on Friday with flowers in hand, my nephew and his family sent flowers to my dressing room on Friday night, and friends from Blowing Rock brought more flowers after the performance yesterday! I don't get to participate in the final bows (for good reason), but these flowers make me feel like a little bit of a diva anyway.

I can't tell you how much fun it is to be on stage with a large audience reacting to the beautiful singing going on all around me! Luckily that audience is pretty much a big blur from the stage. I could tell that most seats downstairs were occupied, but that's about it, so I don't have to worry about someone making a face at me. Now I'm wishing that there could be a DVD done of this production, so I can keep it close by for a "fix" after Tuesday night's final show. Many of the arias simply take your breath away with the beauty of the music combined with its presentation by the exquisite voices of our cast and the fantastic symphony musicians led by Maestro Jamie Allbritten, not to mention outstanding work by the chorus!

Some have asked to see pictures of me in full costume, so reluctantly I comply:

La Zingarella in the flesh...I don't think I'll be dying my hair black any time soon!

And Mother Superior, don't I look pious (it's all an act.) I didn't get a photo of me as a monk, just envision a hooded dark brown, well, monk!

And best of all, the beautiful flowers sent by my nephew Keith, his wife Jan and their children Corinne and Jacob!
One more performance coming up tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7:30, your last chance to see (or re-see!) a great show!! Special thanks to Ken Keuffel of the Winston-Salem Journal for a fine review in Saturday's paper.

See you at the Stevens Center,
La Z

Tonight's the Night!

Well, it's finally here, opening night of Il Trovatore! After a great final dress rehearsal on Wednesday night and a day of rest, everyone should be pumped up to give it their all. It was fun having an audience to play to, and happily they were sitting far enough back that I couldn't see a single face! I try not to look out into the hall, afraid of seeing some people I know making faces at me (you know who you are, don't do it!)

Speaking of the dress rehearsals, I must pay homage to Terry Allen and his crew of OPERAtors and Piedmont Opera board members, who so deliciously fed the cast and crew both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Here is a photo of the kitchen crew from Tuesday night. Chief Terry, also known as Chef Terry for bringing three sumptuous pecan pies each night plus many other goodies, is second from right. I found the pecan pie irresistible, so much so that I felt like Scarlet O'Hara getting laced into her corset when it came time to put on my gypsy dress. Relief came with a change into Mother Superior's forgiving robes!

Sharing a dressing room with Amanda Moody has been a real privilege. Not only is she beautiful and extremely talented, she's a really nice person! I've learned a lot about singing and the life of the performer from her. Here she is (above) in her beautiful costume for the role of Leonora's confidante, Ines.

Next door to us is Shannon Magee, aka Azucena, the wild gypsy woman! One of the joys of being "on the hall" with most of the principals is to hear the warm-ups going on all around. I can attest that Shannon's voice is really stunning and powerful! Here she is, looking especially ferocious, but note the cell phone in her hand! She was probably checking in with the baby-sitter for her son, aged 2 1/2, who travels with her wherever she goes. After the photo, she invited me in to view a very large spider in her dressing room and to determine whether it was dead or alive. When it started crawling toward us, we both knew the answer, it had to perish, and I was the one asked to do the nasty deed. Luckily I had on substantial shoes. We all have our special calling.

I have special guests arriving this afternoon, my sister Elinor and brother-in-law Billy from Columbus, Georgia. They will attend tonight along with my long-suffering but patient husband Bill. (The rehearsals do take a toll on your at-home life.) On Sunday my nephew Keith from Atlanta arrives, along with several friends from Blowing Rock and environs. That doesn't help in the nerves control area!

But on with the show, be there!!
La Z, M. Superior and H. Monk