one less role to learn

Hey all! A million apologies for being late with the blog entry this week. Brenda made her role debut as Norina in Don Pasquale last night and, even though I'm not the one doing the singing, I tend to be a little busier on her show days. This past week has been great, at least from my point of view (Brenda prefers the word "whirlwind"). My parents came to visit for a week and while they were here we went on five hikes and saw three operas. Unfortunately, Brenda's rehearsal schedule prevented her from joining us on the hikes, but the four of us were able to spend time together most evenings.

 The four of us after Brenda's second performance of the double bill.

 My parents weren't the only friends and relatives we had in town this week. Brenda's Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Ron also came to the double bill as did Brenda's friend Karen and her friend Margaret. Karen and Margaret saw all five operas that Santa Fe Opera is putting on this season, which meant that they got to see Brenda's debut in Don Pasquale last night.

 After a brief but steep climb, my parents posed for a picture at Tent Rocks National Monument. My dad determined that we hiked/walked over 20 miles during their stay here. Hopefully that was enough to counteract all of the New Mexican food we ate.

 Another hike took us by some mines that date back to the late 1800s.

The big thing on Brenda's mind over the past week was her debut as Norina in Don Pasquale. Brenda learned the role, which is quite sizable and entirely in Italian, over a few short weeks. She only had two and half days of rehearsal to learn the staging and did not get to rehearse with the orchestra before her first performance. In short, the circumstances surrounding her role debut were less than optimal. That said, she was truly amazing last night. Her singing and acting were so polished that it seemed like she'd performed the role a hundred times before. Based on the standing ovation, I think the rest of the audience agreed with me. If you'd like to see pictures of Brenda during the performance you can do so on Santa Fe Opera's Facebook page (Brenda is in the last seven pictures of the album).

 When we went to Brenda's double bill we noticed that the opera house had created a new poster to advertise Don Pasquale and Brenda's part in it.

 There was another poster up last night to let the audience know that Brenda was singing the role of Norina.

The director of Don Pasquale gave Brenda these beautiful flowers before the performance.

So that's what we've been up to. Our upcoming days will be busy with more performances and the company's annual gala, and we can't wait for Brenda's parents and twin to arrive next week! Until next time, have a great week!

a great night of opera

Hello once again from Santa Fe! I'm happy to report that Brenda's show on Saturday went smoothly and the audience loved it, which didn't come as a surprise to me because this is one of the most enjoyable productions I've seen in a long time. As I mentioned last week, the show is made up of two operas: Mozart's The Impresario and Stravinsky's Le Rossignol. The first opera is hilarious - in large part because Brenda gets to fully release her inner diva - while the second is more serious and contains some incredible set transformations and stunning music. And to top it off, the performance only lasts two hours and fifteen minutes including the intermission. It doesn't get much shorter than that in opera. As far as I'm aware, these two operas have never been put together in one performance before, but after the successful performance on Saturday I wouldn't be surprised if this production starts making the rounds to opera houses around the country.

An odd couple that makes for a great evening of opera.

 It was a nice night to be in an open-air theater.

 The cast, conductor, and production team at the after party. Note the dueling divas (Brenda and her friend Erin) front and center.

While Brenda was neck deep in opera last week, I found time (surprise surprise) to go hiking. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed exploring a trail I'd never hiked before.

 The trailhead is near a local college and you have to hike for 30-45 minutes before you've completely left the city behind.

 These rocks at the peak make for a good lunch spot.

 Go land trusts!

Don't let my pictures fool you; the weather hasn't been perfect everyday. We had a brief hail storm last Thursday (hence the little white balls in this picture).

Now that Brenda's opera is up and running, it's time for guests to come and see it! Our first guests are my parents who arrive this afternoon. It's hard for me to believe that I haven't seen them in person since December. We can't wait for them to get here. We're also excited that Brenda's Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Ron are coming into town today. Brenda will certainly have a lot of supporters in the audience for her performance tomorrow. Speaking of guests, I should probably clean the place up a bit before they arrive. I hope you have a wonderful week, and I'll talk to you next Tuesday!

double duty

Hey all! It's almost showtime. Brenda's first performance of the double bill, which includes Mozart's Impresario and Stravinsky's Le Rossignol, is on Saturday. She has one of her final dress rehearsals this evening, and I'll be heading over to see it as soon as I'm done talking to you. This will be my first time seeing the show with the cast in costume, although I have had a sneak peak at a couple of Brenda's outfits [spoiler alert]...

That's a big hat. It might even fit my head.

Brenda posing with the costume designer.

As you can imagine, Brenda has been very busy rehearsing the double bill lately. But that hasn't been the only thing on her mind. The company has asked Brenda to take on another role this summer in addition to her double bill duties. Brenda will be making her role debut as Norina in Don Pasquale at the end of the month. That's right, role debut. As in, Brenda has never sung the role before and thus must learn it before she can perform it. Brenda is very excited to learn and perform this role, but it means that when she isn't working on the double bill, she's working on Don Pasquale. Luckily, she's a very quick study. If you're interested, you can read the company's press release regarding the cast change here.

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset the other night before seeing another opera.

Brenda has gotten into a morning routine in which she sits on our patio with a cup of coffee and works on music while I sleep. One recent morning Brenda looked up from her music score and noticed a furry little creature staring at her. She immediately fell in love with this adorable little bunny, and since then we've seen it hopping around the backyard several times. We also enjoy watching it chew on plants around the yard, but that's probably because the plants aren't actually ours. You gardeners out there probably have a different reaction when you see rabbits on your property.

Brenda wants to keep it as a pet.

It's time for me to head over to the opera house. I hope you all have a wonderful week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday!

climbing our way to the top (literally)

Hey all! It's been a busy week for Brenda and a hike-filled week for me. With the first performance only a week and a half away, Brenda and her castmates have been busy with orchestra rehearsals and run-throughs of the opera. They move from the rehearsal hall to the stage for the first time tomorrow, which can be a big transition depending on how closely the rehearsal set matches the real thing. 

Last Friday Brenda and I, along with several of her colleagues, went to see one of the other operas playing at the opera house this summer.  Before the performance one of Brenda's castmates and his wife treated us all to dinner at their house. Their house is beautiful and the property has gorgeous views of the area, which you can see for yourself...

 Kevin (one of Brenda's castmates), me, and John (one of her castmate's husbands).

On Sunday Brenda let me take her on a somewhat challenging hike. Even though it was only her second time hiking this summer, Brenda completed that three-hour hike like it was nothing. I guess we'll have to go on a longer hike next time.

 After hiking for an hour, and after increasing our elevation by 1200 feet, Brenda enjoyed the views from the top of Picacho Peak.

 There were butterflies waiting for us at the top.

On the way back down we took a short break at Castle Rock.

Today was the first day since we've been here that the weather prevented me from going out for a hike. And truthfully I probably could have gone after all. I shouldn't let huge, dark clouds and lightening prevent me from enjoying the outdoors. Where's my sense of adventure?

So that's what we've been up to. We're looking forward to more of the same this week as well as the final match of the World Cup on Sunday. Go Germany! I hope you all have a great week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday!

tailgating time (tuxedo optional)

Hey All! I'm happy to report that we have settled into our Santa Fe routine, which can be summed up as follows: Brenda works all the time and I, well, don't. I think we're both pretty happy with it. Brenda loves rehearsing and I love hiking, something I've done several more times since I wrote to you last week. Brenda was extra busy over the weekend because it was Santa Fe Opera's opening weekend. In addition to going to three operas (we saw one of the operas twice), we took part in the opening weekend festivities. The most memorable event was probably the tailgating contest in which Brenda served as a celebrity judge alongside Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales. Tailgating before the operas is a big a part of the SFO experience for many opera-goers, and the company decided to recognize the most serious tailgaters with an annual tailgating contest. To determine the winner, Brenda, the Mayor, and I were chauffeured around in a golf cart to the various tailgating contestants. The winner had quite the set up (and they bribed us with food and drink). 

Brenda and I went to a black tie dinner shortly after the tailgating contest.

Brenda, Mayor Gonzales, and our chauffeur (who also happens to be the Artistic Coordinator at SFO) tallying up the points to determine the winner of the tailgating contest.

I've gone on a couple of longer hikes since last week that involved climbing to the top of this hill. They took me around two and a half hours roundtrip, and I'm hoping I was so winded on the way up because of Santa Fe's high elevation and not because of my level of physical fitness. 

The view from the top.

Brenda and I went out for her first hike of the summer on Sunday. As you can tell, she enjoyed it.

So that's what we've been up to. I hope you're having a wonderful week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday!