Libiamo!

Hello all you wonderful people! (Br)enda signing in today, here to tell you about the past week's excitements. I believe the weather gods of Frankfurt were trying to help me ease back into German life, because every single day was absolutely beautiful. Pretty great, considering we didn't get a very warm summer in England! I wasn't able to spend too much time outside during the week, since I was so busy rehearsing, but I did manage to enjoy a few coffee breaks outside! One especially nice coffee break occurred along the banks of the river Main, watching the swans swim by. I would like to say they swam peacefully by, but they kept hissing at some dogs who also didn't seem pleased by the swans' presence...

Rehearsals for La Traviata have been going extremely well, and I can barely express the excitement I feel to sing the role of Violetta for the first time! It's one of the operas that first made me fall in love with opera, and it's just a huge honor to sing it at Oper Frankfurt! We open the show on Saturday, so we'll make sure to let you all know next week how it went!

During the weekend, I busied myself with relaxing with friends. :-) After rehearsal on Saturday, I went over to Marlar and Florian's place, where they let me read on their sunny terrace while Marlar baked and Florian studied, and then we had what will probably be the last barbeque of the season. Florian grilled all the goodies, veggie and meaty alike, and Marlar provided freshly baked savory muffins. She made them specifically for a party, but hey, we had to try them and make sure they were edible! And boy, were they!!

On Sunday I went to my new gym to have an appointment with a sports doctor. The gym takes people's health very seriously, so they make you see one of their doctors to test your vitals, flexibility, strength, and stamina before you can even work out there! I'm happy to report that I'm in normal/above average health! Later that evening I went to an opera premiere at Oper Frankfurt. I had many friends in the show, and they all did such a fantastic job! The opera was in French, and included much dialogue in French, and they really nailed it in my opinion! Speaking on stage can actually be a lot harder than singing for opera singers, so this was quite an accomplishment. The rest of the audience seemed to share my enthusiasm! Bravi Tutti!

On Monday, Germany celebrated the Tag der Deutschen Einheit, which commemorates their reunification in 1990. Since it's an official holiday, most stores were closed, but more importantly, we didn't have rehearsal! After sleeping in (it may have been a late night...), I went with Florian and Marlar to a village near Frankfurt called Erlenbach and had coffee and cake at the home of another singer in Frankfurt, named Juanita. We were also joined by Anna (another singer!) and her two gorgeous sons. Sadly, their papa Simon had a show that night so couldn't join in the fun! After the snack at Juanita's beautiful place, we walked to an apple orchard nearby -- the same apple orchard I had visited last year with Marlar and Elza actually! We had a great time just chatting, snacking and drinking apple wine and juice, and were amused by the antics of Anna's boys. You'll see the hay scattered behind Anna - they used to be in nice neat stacks! Ahh good times at the orchard... The boys confessed to being a bit itchy after their romp in the hay...

Anna, Thomas and James

Juanita with the Apfelwein Bembel (pitchers)

Mmm fruity!

Don't worry, they're just pouring him some apple juice!

They don't start them THAT young here!

So that was my week! Chad's week was filled with... wait for it... Studying!!! I know, hard to believe. He did spend the weekend at his parents' house, (where he still studied a lot) and I know he always loves seeing his family! We still Skype every day, and seeing each other's faces while we're talking seems to make the distance a little less difficult! As you can see from this following picture, we do enjoy making faces together...

Have a great week all!