It has been some time since I've sat down to write anything on this and I'm beginning to think it's all for naught since no one really reads it. Maybe someday, right?
I recently came back from a vacation that my pocketbook really couldn't afford, but my soul obviously needed. I went to visit a good friend in Vienna. More specifically, I flew into Frankfurt, Germany to meet her in Mainz, where she will be spending a year as a Fest Soprano at the Mainz Staatsoper. We spent 3 days there and then flew to Wien, where she is readying her apartment for sublet. I spent 7 glorious days there. Although I loved Germany, I REALLY fell in love with Vienna. The city is beautiful, the food, wine and beer is to die for and the people (at least the ones I met) were lovely. And what's more important is that the music I heard was good and peppered with young, (but not too young) aspiring singers who are actually getting work in opera houses. Now I know I'm probably idealizing a bit, but the scene in Germany and Austria seems so much more open to the idea of actually having a career as an opera singer. This revelation is not new, of course. My friend TG has been there for 5 years. Her friends that I was introduced to hail from the U.S., Canada, Germany, Austria, Spain, England, etc. These people were working! (sure, sure, it's not been without hard work and a little struggle, but they're working!)
This all left me with one huge impression: maybe I really need to seriously consider looking to Austria and Germany as a future place to live and work. I've always been a little afraid to leave the States since my family is here, my friends are here...all the reasons one would stay close. But the further along I come in this career pursuit, the more I realize that maybe I just have to do what it takes. And I've always entertained the notion of living overseas, so why not?
Now, I wouldn't be able to do this right away - I feel I still need time here, with the companies here and more importantly, with my teacher, NN. I truly think that what this trip did for me was to open my eyes to other possibilites, in case NYC doesn't work out. Everyone I met there seemed so much more full of life than half the people I meet here. I do love NYC, but the longer I live here, the more I realize how easily the city sucks like out of some people. It's insanely expensive, it's competitive, the weather is extreme, the people have no sense of common sense politeness, and everything seems to conspire against you. It's a miracle sometimes that we can get anything done at all. And yet, we do.
So, what will I do? Not move to Europe just yet. But it's there and I have an open invitation. And better yet, I have a fantastic friend who has offered to help me whenever I decide to come. Sometimes, that's the best thing of all.
