I'm back!

I know, I know. It's the procrastinator in me.

Brussels. I've been here now for about 10 days. Another new Mozart role for me. Idomeneo. I'm so glad I never attempted to tackle this when I was younger. This is an incredible role in every sense. Great arias, great recitatives, and just a fantastic character who runs the whole gamut of emotions.

I'm very lucky to have a wonderful cast as well. Two singers I did not know before I arrived Malena Ernman as Idamante and Ingela Bohnin as Ilia have proved to be great finds. Two Swedish singers who are both superb. Ken Tarver I've known since our Donna del Lago recording in Scotland a few years ago is the same as ever...excellent as Arbace, my chief-of-staff (more on that later) and one of my very favorite artists ever, Alexandrina Pendachanska as Elettra whose voice still continues to amaze and delight.

The conductor is Jeremy Rhomer. He is young and full of enthusiasm and I think will do very well. The stage director is Ivo van Hove, a Dutch based theatre director. In my first meeting, I found his concept a bit off-putting as is is my first Idomeneo and I arrived with some pre-conceived ideas of how I wanted to play him. I'm glad to report that I am enjoying more and more his way of working and even looking forward to the outcome of the show.

Without giving too much away just yet, let's just say that instead of taking place in ancient times, the show has been updated to take place in present day. Idomeneo is a returning soldier who re-takes his role as President of his country. And instead of dealing with Neptune the sea god, we are thinking of Neptune as more of a power-brokering terrorist who makes unreasonable demands on Idomeneo. When those demands are not met, the price he and his countrymen pay is quite high.

We've not reached the end of the piece yet in our staging rehearsals, so I'm not sure of how the ending will play out. Let's just say that the production will certainly be a spectacle in the good sense of the word. Special effects, video screens with both live action shots and "flashback" pre-recorded shots will keep the audience completely engaged. I promise to keep you updated.

Next time, I'll talk about what you missed in the last 3-4 months...lots!

Good to be back.