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!