Hello? Is this thing on??

Hello Dear Reader!

I have been away for a while blogging as my alter ego LazyGirl over at my book blog while I've been dealing with sickness/the real world/figuring things out with my voice etc. things like that!! But fear not, noble reader, I am back!

I'm slowly getting back into gear and hoping to make this year my best opera filled year yet! So far, I have some auditions on the horizon as well as a recital series. The first will be Feb. 27th. Full details on that very soon!! I've actually just finalized my program and I'll post it when it's super duper finalized :)

Short updates:
I was featured in O Magazine in January 2011 as an opera singer who needed a makeover. Because I mean, why not? It was so much fun. We shot it in October on the day of the first rehearsal for my gig with Light Opera New York! 











I met Roberto Alagna at a CD signing of his, and as you can tell from the picture, we totally hit it off haha!






 Thanks for reading. I look forward to blogging to you all again soon :)

Very Musically Yours,

Der Doppelgänger, Schubert, Heine

What would I have done if I were in the audience while this GORGEOUS singing happened?! Ooh em geee!!

Inspiration: "Simple Song" by Bernstein

Such a *gorgeous* rendition. I bet this would be an amazing encore in a recital! Hmm..note to self...

Thanksgiving Wishes from La Toya

Wishing the Happiest Thanksgiving Wishes to all who celebrate!

Very Musically Yours,

Night at the opera

It is very rare that a struggling artist like myself gets to indulge in an opera at the Met (sad but true!) So when a friend called me hours before curtain, I jumped at the chance!

I was lucky enough to see the opening night of Don Carlo! I didn't get a chance to see who was playing whom so I was presently surprised to see Marina Poplavskaya as Elisabeth!

I had previously seen Poplavskaya's Liu and I remember being so incredibly inspired by her choices for the role! Seeing her in a completely different role was a treat. I also got to witness the sheer power and force of her brilliant voice. At times, she appeared to sing directly into the wings and I could still hear her.

All in all, it was a very cool night. My first viewing of Don Carlo! The only thing I wished was that there were more younger people there.

Very Musically Yours,

Stephanie Blythe: Wesendonck Lieder "Im Treibhaus"

Oh my!! ::swoon::

And now for something completely different...

What's up everyone??

My most recent perf was "The Desert Song" with Light Opera of New York [or LOONY which always makes me giggle!]. I played Clementina, the very spicy Spanish girl that opens the 2nd act with song and dance. I also did some stuff in the first act ensemble [including marching in as a solider]

We worked in CAP21, a space with which I was previously unfamiliar. There were a lot of musical theater and straight play actors that used the space. So it was really cool to get to be around that again.

Since this is "Light" opera, there's LOTS of dancing and dialogue. The prospect of dialogue was thrilling because I got to recycle my West Side Story Spanish accent. How often do I get to use that?? I told them they're gonna be sorry if they give me too many complex dance steps, however. I like to get down on the dance floor like any girl but as soon as you start counting step, I grow two left feet! Fortunately the director Gary was brilliant enough to keep everything simple to do but interesting to watch.

The rehearsals were spaced out until "Hell week" which consisted of 3-4 hour rehearsals Mon-Wed and a quick run through the day of the show. We didn't get to walk in the space until the day of! This isn't uncommon but, we had to dance!!! Haha! Luckily the process wasn't stressful or tedious. I think that everyone was so happy to be singing that there wasn't time to worry about anything.

We performed in the lovely church Landmark on the Park at 76th and Broadway to a full house! I had a great time doing something a little different for a change. I also felt like I learned a lot more about acting and how your acting can serve the music. An eternal student, I am!

Check out LOONY's site to check out the rest of their season: http://lightoperaofnewyork.org/

Very Musically Yours,