Thursday, January 24, 2013

Back into the swing of things

I have to start off by saying thank you to all the people that wrote to me while I was in Europe. Those letters really were a great help to just keep me going. If you didn't write me, I forgive you. That's a joke. As the title would suggest, I am back at my beloved Brigham Young University and this Californian Baritone is loving every bit of it. I went back the Monday after I got home and it was pretty crazy getting readjusted to college life, but you know I think it was better that way than if I had just waited and sat at home doing nothing for a semester. So I'm right back in the thick of it singing in opera scenes. The best of it all, we're doing Wiener Operetten!!!!!! That's Viennese operettas in case you didn't catch that. I will be playing Populescu in a scene from Kalman's Gräfin Mariza. This is a typical place for a baritone to complain. It is really simple music, but all of a sudden Kalman expects me to sing Gs and Fs all over the place. What's up with that? The other scene is the trio from the first act of Die Fledermaus where I will be singing the role of the prison director Frank. I even get to slide a little bit of Wienerisch into the mix. Leiwand, ge? Later on in the opera scenes I'll also be singing Falke in the Fledermaus chorus scenes. Brüderlein, Brüderlein und Schwesterlein. I'm so excited. We're also doing Die Fledermaus for the Fall opera next year, so I'm just way excited. If you really want to hear a good recording of Fledermaus, there is an excellent one from EMI with Hilde Güden, Erika Köth, and Walter Berry. Walter is my favorite Falke. He just brings so much Viennese charm and awesomeness into the role. I hope you're all ready for me to get back to making posts on all things Baritone. There's a lot to be said.