I must be doing something right

I'm feeling more than ready for Grimes this week and our run-through last Sunday was a huge part of that. Making a conscious decision to concentrate, focus and have a solid intention really does help - duh!
As a result, I sang better than I have in a long time (without giving it all up - gotta save some for the actual performance), and think I may have even done some decent acting for once in my life. You see, although I've probably been better than I think I have as a singing actress, I have always been very hyper-critical of my own acting performances. It's always been difficult to find that line, but not cross it, so to speak. As an opera singer, we really cannot completely give in to the emotion, particularly if it is something that will make us cry. Crying makes singing almost impossible. You do, however, want to attempt to go to that line, so that you can convey the emotion of your character to your greatest ability. In the past, it has always been hard for me to even get to that line. In recent years, I've had the opposite problem of going a little too far. Ellen Orford is teaching me how to find the middle - and even more so, my Peter Grimes is helping me to bring it out. Throughout the course of rehearsals, I have developed a huge admiration for his intensity as an actor and am thoroughly elated to be working with him. Rock on, CS!!

In other news, I had the chance to eat at a lovely newish restaurant last night for my good friend EK's 50th birthday. The place was Insieme and the food was divine. Not to mention the wine list, which was one of the most interesting lists I've seen in NYC in a long time. The cooking is Italian-based, but very innovative and very fresh. We had some gorgeous homemade fettucine with venison & pomegranate ragu, among many other things and a 1996 Barbaresco that they were serving by the glass. Yum! Although it's a tad expensive to warrant going back multiple times, I really want to check out their other restaurant called Hearth and their new wine bar that is supposed to opening summer-ish. The sommelier is a Riesling fanatic and promises to have multiple Rieslings by the glass, whether customers like it or not. So there!!

All in all, her birthday was a fantastic experience - one in which ER and I tried to span her decades of experiences with NYC locale visits and appropriate presents at each stop. Needless to say it was fun and fruitful. Great friends are a blessing, indeed!!