The Maestro

Well, we met our maestro tonight. He is the same one who did "Tosca". He is not my favorite. He is from New York and is Italian heritage, so he talks with an accent and also he mumbles, so we can't hear him. He doesn't lead with a strong downbeat, so his conducting style takes some getting used to. But the Stage director is also the same one from "Tosca" and she is a dream to work with. I also can't remember her name, either. She is pretty good about standing up to Maestro. Rehearsal went well tonight, but would be better if I had the whole thing memorized. It will come.

Facebook vs. Blog

I just realized that I have spent hours on facebook and have almost ignored my blog site. My bad. I am battling to finish memorizing the opera. Tonight is our first night with Maestro, so it will be fun, I hope. I called in sick to work today, mostly because I have a bad cold and am still feeling tired and sneezy. I have wasted over an hour on facebook, playing Farmville. Now I need to get going with my day. I have peaches to can, tomatoes to can, windows to wash, yard work to do and memorization to finish. I had two cd's of the opera, but I can't find either of them right now, so I may need to burn another one. I think I am at the point that singing with a cd with cement the words in my brain. I also need to balance my check book, too, but I want to get away from the computer. I have to tell about a great dinner I made last night. I made Chicken Helper, Alfredo Fettucini. But I added some tomatoes that I had slow cooked in the oven for about 6 hours. These tomatoes are my new secret ingredient in food. Real quick, you put a baking paper on a cookie sheet, cut large tomatoes into 4-6 wedges apiece, or use small tomatoes whole, coring them first, of course. I heat up 1/4 C olive oil and add about 1/2 teaspoon of thyme, rosemary and then a bunch of basil leaves from my garden and let this heat up so that the flavors mix in the oil. I drizzle this over the tomatoes and put in oven at about 225 for at least 2 hours. Then, I eat them off the tray, or add them to pizza, or Chicken Alfredo. So good and so easy. I would encourage anyone and everyone to try the tomato thing. It's from one of Julia Child's cookbooks and so good. Bon Appetit!

Salsa, salsa, salsa

I started to make some salsa yesterday, but accidently put in twice as much jalapeno peppers as the recipe called for. It was so spicy hot that I can't eat it. It was even hot for Dana, who usually can put up with a lot. So, last night, I put another 5-6 cups of tomatoes in my crock pot and let it cook all night. Then I mixed it with the other salsa to dilute the hotness. It helped quite a bit. So, now I have to go to the store to get more lids and then process it. Does anyone want salsa for Christmas??? I also got my "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" book in the mail. I can't wait to try some of the recipes. Let me know if anyone wants my salsa recipe. It's a good one.

Costumes!!!

I went to the PS (practice studio) today for my costume fitting. I have 4 costumes for Macbeth, the most I have ever had in one opera. First is the witch costume. It weighs 10 lbs. if it weighs an ounce. There is a huge poncho-type outfit which hangs to the floor, with all sorts of unraveled cloth hanging on it. Then there is a mask, which covers my face, except my mouth and chin. Then a big hood over that. The last part of that costume is a pair of flesh colored glove with 3 inch fingernails on them. I can't even take them off by myself. I look pretty ghastly. Next is a lady's costume, with a brown skirt, an over jacket of brown velvet and a necklace. I wear black ballet type slippers with that. Then there is my "sleepwear" costume. Same brown skirt, but with a different tunic over it. Lastly, there is the refugee costume, which is the same as the sleepwear, but with a shawl and an hooded shawl, (both) over the sleepwear. I wear boots made of cloth, laced up the front with that one. It's going to be hot, to say the least. I have heard that we are going to braid extensions into our hair. I will definitely take pictures when I am in full dress. Tonight was our first rehearsal with Suzanne. She is so good, but so stiff. The lady leading the rehearsals last week was more fun, and we got a lot done, but probably not as nit-picky as Suzanne is. I like the nit-pickiness, but I wish she was just a little more fun. Oh well. I plan on blogging this opera experience, so expect a lot more.