Armida in Amsterdam, day 1

It's a strange life we lead.  Yesterday, on the plane from Newark to Amsterdam, I was told to be on the lookout for my Armida as the administration here said she would be on the same flight.  I thought I spotted her before take-off, but I wasn't about to go asking.  What if it wasn't her?  Then I'd have only about 230 other people to choose from.  Anyway, I spotted her again in baggage claim.  It was a good guess.  After introductions and a reassurance I wasn't a stalker, we ( she, her fiancee and I) shared a car to our hotel.  This is rather normal in this life.  Meeting new people everywhere you go and working together as if you've known each other for years.  In some cases, you have known each other for years and the more I do this, the more times you see the same colleagues, which is really a blessing.  

So, to day 1...rehearsal day 1, that is.

This is always a somewhat tense day.  Especially if you don't know the people you are singing with.  Luckily today, everyone turned out to be quite good.  The only disappointment today was my performance.  It must have been jet-lag or something.  I just wasn't able to concentrate.  Even after three weeks at home of preparation, I felt like I was seeing the music for the first time.  I was embarrassed to say the least.  It's just not like me.  I'm always well prepared.  It's what I do...but not today.

Oh well, onward and upward.

Tomorrow, we begin rehearsals with the orchestra.  And at 9:45, no less.  I am not a morning singer.  

More tomorrow.  Time for bed.

All the best,

Greg

Welcome to "...of Arias and Cabalettas"

Hi everyone.  I'm Gregory Kunde and welcome to my blog "...of arias and Cabalettas".  I've been an opera singer (tenor) for the past 32 years and I've been fortunate to have sung in most of the major cities and theatres in the world.  For those of you not familiar with "arias and cabalettas", those words pretty much describe what I've been doing with my life since I began singing the "bel canto" operas back around 1989.  So, what's that, 20 years ago? Wow, hard to believe it's been that long.  Anyway, arias are the "solo songs" I sing in the operas I do and in most bel canto operas the aria is followed by a cabaletta or a more brisk passage with lots of opportunities to show off your high and fast notes that usually ends in a really long high note.  I thought I'd use the title since when I'm on the road, they're what occupy most of my time.  

I've thought about doing this for a while, so bear with me as I learn how.  Mostly, I'll be talking about everyday stuff, things that we singers do while we are on the road, like rehearse, learn new music, rehearse, call our agents, rehearse, talk to our spouses and kids on Skype, rehearse, eat too much, rehearse, drink too much coffee, and...rehearse some more.  Oh, and then we have our performances, too.  When we get closer to that time, I'll explain more.  It's not a very glamorous life, but it's what we do.  And as I said to one of my colleagues this evening, we are privileged to be able to do it.

Hope you enjoy and I look forward to your comments.

All the best,

Greg Kunde