Brenda's alarming singing

Hey All! Brenda and I are in the kitchen at the moment while our sleepy house guest dozes on the couch. Brenda's twin, Drew, arrived earlier today and has done an incredible job of staying awake. Brenda's aunt and uncle also arrived today, and we enjoyed seeing them for a little while this afternoon. We're all planning on having dinner tomorrow night and maybe even going for a walk in the city forest if the weather cooperates. Beyond that, Brenda's aunt and uncle, along with some other friends, will see Brenda's opera on Thursday, and Drew and I will go on Saturday.

Speaking of which, the Don Giovanni premiere went very well on Sunday. Unfortunately, a lingering cold made the performance less enjoyable for Brenda than it would have been otherwise. She sounded fantastic nonetheless, and I don't think anyone in the audience had any idea that she was a little under the weather. If you are interested in seeing some photos of the production, you can do so here (just scroll to the bottom of the page).

One very memorable (and unexpected) thing happened during Brenda's second aria: an alarm went off in the opera house and a recorded voice told us all to leave the building immediately. The conductor kept conducting for a few moments until it became clear that the alarm wasn't going to stop and that the audience was leaving. Everyone in the building filed outside (probably 1700-1800 people) and waited about fifteen minutes before getting the OK to head back in. Apparently there was some kind of technical issue with the system, but no one seemed to know what the exact problem was. Once the audience had returned to their seats, the opera began again at the beginning of Brenda's aria. The rest of the show went off without a hitch, and the audience seemed to really enjoy it.

Brenda has a little break between performances starting on Sunday, and we decided to take a short trip to Vienna. Drew spent a semester there in college but hasn't been back since. Brenda and I have been there a few times but only for short periods, so we're looking forward to Drew showing us all the best spots. I'm afraid the blog entry will be a day late next week because of our travel plans, but at least we'll be able to include some pictures from our trip. Until next time, have a great week!