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Carrie Hennessey
Back in Sac!
Well, the 7 week run in over! "Figaro" was well received, we are sad to be done, but all glad to get home! Thank you to everyone in the cast and crew, it was tough leaving. It was more bittersweet to me, not knowing if this particular show will be picked up again and who knows when I'll get a chance to work with all the great people from Mpls!!!!
The next few months will definitely be filled with a lot of rehearsal time. I know that the time in Berkeley helped me to hear and feel my voice and where it's going. I now move ahead with confidence to the next level...whatever that might be! Who knows? I'll just do the work, do the auditions and see what the next thing is!
Farmer's Market Fun!
A beautiful thing about being in CA is the FOOD! Every Saturday there is an amazing farmer's market right near the theatre. There are people of all kinds. Today there was a choir singing, a guitar player and many interesting folks to see. My favorite was a young man that was definitely a college student. He had a black Jansport backpack with a baguette sticking out of the back that he had purchased from one of the booths. He was wandering around just enjoying tasting peaches and strawberries while nibbling on his fresh baguette. This would have evaded my eye, except that this young man who was perhaps East Indian with beautiful dark skin had an obvious contrasting ring of flour around his mouth from chewing the baguette. It was as if he were a young 8 eight year old boy chewing with his mouth agape at the wonder of the market and not a care in the world! Every time I encountered the young man, the ring of flour got bigger! It was very sweet! I love the farmer's market! Woo Hoo!
An audition...sort of.
Barbara and David Sloss from Fremont Opera were at the show tonight. They are the couple that I auditioned for last weekend, and this was a bit like a second audition. I was really happy that they were able to see the show. They really enjoyed it, too, which was great to hear! They loved the idea of making Marcellina an old woman and said that I sounded great. I am relieved that they saw what I do on stage. I know that I have some great things to offer them, I just need a shot!
I am celebrating with a glass of wine, and then to bed!!!!
Pit fall...
Oh my! Tonight's show was going well and the audience was having a great time! Before the show we had a short rehearsal going over the Act 1 Finale and the Sextet that is nearly at the top of Act 2. So far, the Finale went smoothly without so much as a hitch and we were on to the Sextet. So far so good. Other than one character with no shoes that usually had shoes, we were good! So we get to the point of the scene where I get pushed downstage in my wheelchair to be caught before anything happens...
Not so much tonight. I was inches away from thrusting my head into the conductor's keyboard. I caught myself with my foot and unbeknownst to me, most of the cast onstage had lunged toward me until I was also caught! Scary and it ended up being pretty funny! At least I didn't end up on You Tube with all the crazy "falling off stage" videos!!!
Tilden Regional Park
It was an absolutely beautiful day here in Berkeley. I didn't think that it was going to be quite as lovely as it was. One of the cast members had a car for today and we took advantage of it! We first went to Cafe Fanny for breakfast, which was lovely. It's the best place I've found so far to have a a Cafe Au Lait, normally I just drink plain coffee but this is quite a treat! Then it was off to Tilden Regional Park. It is amazing to me how far away from Berkeley and the city you feel, and yet it's only a drive of a few minutes.
We drove into the hills with a poor map and and worse directions to find Inspiration Point. These winding roads turn into other roads as you drive, and the names change constantly.We drove higher and higher and finally got out at one point, because it would've been a waste not to enjoy this view. The view was absolutely unreal! We could see the Golden Gate bridge and over near Marin. The only thing that could spoil this view was excessive PDA. That's right people, EXCESSIVE Public Displays of Affection. Yikes! Early afternoon PDA at a scenic overlook was not the best, but soon they made their way back to their vehicle and we could enjoy the actual view.
We did finally make our way to Inspiration Point and went for a lovely walk. At every turn the landscape changed from prairie grasses to Redwood groves. We were also able to pick and eat some black berries and eat them. They should be ready quite soon, there were a few teasers that were ripe.
We even saw some great critters. We first saw a cute lizard that scurried across the trail and then over a hill we saw 3 huge wild turkeys. On the way back to the car we then spotted something else moving up the hill, it was a snake, a black and white striped snake. It was great!
A perfect afternoon before the Wednesday evening show!
Figaro talk with San Francisco Opera general Director
We had the distinct pleasure of going to the theater last night to attend a free discussion on "Figaro". Those speaking on the panel were Dominique Serrand, director and actor, Bradley Greenwald, music adapter/arranger and performer, and David Gockley who is the General Director of the San Francisco Opera Co.
It was a great intimate setting and the audience had many well-thought out questions to ask of the panel. It was also incredible to hear the input from David of how he interpreted the melding of play and opera and his admiration for Dominique's artistic vision. Perhaps they will work together in the future. That would be quite a spectacle.
Mmmmm...chocolate
Here's another great advantage to being in Berkeley, CA...Scharffen Berger Chocolate! It is quite delightful! The small factory is here in Berkeley. Another cast member and I walked the 2 miles it took so that we could go on the free tour. We arrived a bit early and decided to have a cup of coffee in the cafe. Well, as luck would have it, they had some sweet samples made with Scharffen Berger chocolate for us to enjoy! Our palettes were primed for a yummy experience! I made sure to run to the restroom before the hour-long tour began. It was as if I were dreaming...the restroom didn't smell of must or perfume, and not even a HINT of air deodorizer, but simply of DARK CHOCOLATE! Dreamy! I was sure to acquaint myself with an Oompa Loompa on this adventure, I just knew it!
We got to the tour and the guide was funny and sweet, and I think that she was a bunny rabbit in another life. She twitched her non-existent whiskers the entire time, which made her even more endearing. We learned about and saw the whole process, and of course, tasted some chocolate. The amazing testings left us in a drunken haze. We were drunk on chocolate, people, that's right! Unreal...
It was a great day!!!!
1st Audition....done!
Saturday is over, thank goodness! 
No, it was actually pretty fun! I got up at the CRACK of dawn, 6am, after being up until 1am from the "Figaro" show the night before. It was a little sketchy to say the least but I was up, I made the coffee ready the day before, I got some food for the day and I had programmed a local cab company or two in my phone. I was ready!
No, it was actually pretty fun! I got up at the CRACK of dawn, 6am, after being up until 1am from the "Figaro" show the night before. It was a little sketchy to say the least but I was up, I made the coffee ready the day before, I got some food for the day and I had programmed a local cab company or two in my phone. I was ready!I got on the train around 7:40am and arrived at Fremont around 9:00am or so. A taxi was waiting for me, hooray, and brought me right to the venue for the audition. I arrived and was the first there. Soon after I arrived, some of the volunteers arrived. It was so lovely to meet them! I met Joan and Art. Joan told me that her father was an incredibly huge supporter of the arts and that she and her husband had built a room in their home specifically for that use. Last year they held rehearsals for "La Boheme" for the the Fremont Opera in their home. It was great to meet such people!
I also spoke with the accompanist who was absolutely lovely! He had been a coach at San Francisco Conservatory for several years and we are very much of like mind. I hope to see him again soon. He was great.
Once all the rooms were opened up, I helped carry tea and such into the check-in room. It was like being at a family event and was nice to be able to chat with people that are involved in this new endeavor. I was soon able to get into a practice room and warm up and as soon as I was in there, it seemed that it was time for the audition.
Of course I was nervous, but it was nice to break the ice and know that both the conductor David Sloss and his wife the general director Barbara Sloss were coming to "Figaro" and were both excited to see the show. Thank goodness! It was a good thing to chat about while I fumbled nervously for my head shots and resumes for the audition.
I went down to the bottom of the recital hall and got ready to sing. I chose the first song and sang an aria from Carmen. They then were wondering about my choice of arias. It was a mix of mezzo soprano and soprano arias. I told them that I was still finding my full voice, and being on tour was not expecting to do auditions and only had 2 books of music with me. They laughed and then asked me to sing one verse of one more aria, "L'altra notte in fondo al mre" from Boito's "Mefistofele". It wasn't perfect or even NEARLY as good as I rehearsed it, but that's alright. I was happy to get through it and not feel like I wanted to be sick! I will only get better at auditioning, and I hope that they heard glimpses of the unique quality of sound that I have to offer and the connection that I have with an audience. We'll see!
Audition preparation
I have not ever auditioned for an opera company before...but here I go! I don't have any fear about it, it's just a mind shift after being out of the music scene for such a long time, to get a feel for what's going on. I know that many that are in it have sage advice for me, I just don't know if it will work. I am basically going to be shooting from the hip, which happens to be something that I do really well.
The company that I am auditioning for, the Fremont Opera Company, sounds really exciting to me. It's a brand new company as of last year and they do semi-staged performances as of right now. The great thing is that it is a husband and wife team. Barbara Sloss is a singer and is the managing director of the company. Her husband David Sloss has been conducting the Fremont Symphony for 25 years. It just seems like their mission statement really lines up with what I want to be involved. They want to do interesting and dramatically engaging works and performances through opera, chamber opera, recitals..etc. It just sounds like a good fit! I am really excited!
The thing that I have struggled with this week is "Where do I fit in?". There is so much talk about WHAT KIND of soprano or mezzo or singer you are. I have a difficult time putting myself in any specific category. I know that I have an interesting instrument and want to try some things on for size...and just see what happens. I know that I am a smart enough musician to know when something doesn't fit, but I also don't want to throw myself in the ring with millions of "sopranos". What is my brand?
Yes I need to try and brand myself. It's an interesting philosophical journey, that's for sure, especially being out of it for so long. Going into this audition, I am bringing sort of a random list of 4 arias. In most circles, they wouldn't make much sense, but to me I think that they do. The four arias make me feel confident in showing different parts of my talents and dramatic sensibilities. It's going to go well, and I am looking forward to it!
Skype!!!
Skype ROCKS! I actually got to do video calls with family members today! It was nice to see their faces.
Now, off to a show!