The Time of Visitation

Following Melanie's Jewish escapades, we began to get lots and lots of visitors. Krysta and Kenneth arrived in mid May with lots of Reese's peanut butter cups, snickers and peanut m&ms (thank you!). Also they were nice to have around. We did touristy things, ate sausages (well Kenneth and I did), and generally had a great time.

During their visit, and the two weeks after, we were gearing up to our big performances of Così fan Tutte. Rehearsals had moved into the Odeon Theater, a very very pretty, church-like venue, and we were getting our final few dress rehearsals in before the big day(s). Shortly before our first performance, Chuck and Andrea (Melanie's parents) arrived from their travels across Europe. There was much merriment had by all.

For me, Così was a great, difficult, great experience. It was nice, if a little weird, to perform with Melanie on Monday (one [necessarily, I think] distances oneself while preparing and doing something as nerve-wracking and demanding as an opera role), and Monday night was a really good performance. For me, though, I spent much of the time trying to get laughs and it wasn't really natural or fun. After a couple of days of thinking and recovering, Wednesday night was just what I wanted it to be. I had fun, I actually got the laughs I had been trying to force from Monday's audience, and a good time was had by all. I spent a lot of Monday making sure I was doing everything right, and Wednesday I just enjoyed myself. (Melanie would rightly point out, a second performance can make a big difference all on its own, just from the repetition). Anyway, it was a great experience, and I learned a lot. Looking forward to the next time.

On Wednesday afternoon, Noah arrived from London to visit for a few days. We went to Schönbrunn gardens to relax a bit before the show, drank heavily after the show, and spent the next few days tiredly doing touristy things with Chuck and Andrea. 'Twas lots of fun (I believe Noah might still be travelling, currently in China now!)

Since the opera, things have been somewhat slow. To me it feels a little like graduating; things go slowly and awkwardly and there's a touch of postpartum depression going around. This will last for, say, a week or two, since then the Summer of Insanity begins, which will end in late October.

The Summer of Insanity begins on June 13th, when I fly to Los Angeles for Josh's wedding. After a very busy time at home, I fly to Italy to study Italian in Perugia for 2 months. This will be cut short because I need to be in Vienna in late August to rehearse for Rigoletto chorus, which will put me touring throughout Japan for 5 weeks in September and early October. As soon as I get back, I fly back to Los Angeles to have a big meeting of the parents to discuss our own wedding, and then I fly back and start catching up on the month+ of school that I've missed. Oh yeah, and Melanie will be in Venuzuela, performing Così fan Tutte in June.

Insanity.

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