Happy New Year!

Greetings from the frozen north! When I woke up today it was was -13 fahrenheit outside and it felt like -34. Clearly we're not in Germany, although we will be soon. More on that in a minute.

I became a licensed attorney in the state of Minnesota last week. My parents were kind enough to drive up for the occasion, which took place in the Minnesota State Supreme Court's courtroom. State Supreme Court Justice David Lillehaug swore around 17 of us into the bar during a 15 minute ceremony.

Swearing the oath.

 Me and the Justice.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, Brenda was singing up a storm. She made an extremely successful debut at Teatro alla Scala (often referred to as La Scala) in Milan on the 21st, which, in the classical music world, is a very big deal. La Scala is widely considered to be one of the best opera houses in the world (many people would no-doubt argue it's the best), and it's really wonderful that Brenda made her debut there. The music she sang, Mozart's Exsultate, jubilate and the first soprano solos in Mozart's Mass in C minor, gave her a good opportunity to show her vocal talents. As I mentioned in a previous post, the performance was live streamed over the internet, but unfortunately I told you all the wrong time because I mixed up my time zones. The good news is that the performance was broadcast on Italian television and someone was kind enough to record it and post it on the internet. If you'd care to watch, you can do so here (Brenda starts singing around 9 minutes in).

Unbeknownst to Brenda, our friends Andi and Monika were at the first performance. They surprised her at the stage door after the show, and then the three of them went out to dinner (they ate Italian of course).

On her day off between performances, Brenda went to visit conductor Corrado Rovaris and his family at their home in Bergamo. They gave Brenda a tour of the town that included a stop at composer Gaetano Donizetti's tomb and the library where Brenda saw the original second act score of Donizetti's The Elixir of Love.

Brenda in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore next to Donizetti's tomb.

Brenda flew back home on Christmas Eve, and Rowan and I were thrilled to be with her once again. I should mention that I was very spoiled while she was away. Brenda's parents came to help me take care of Rowan for several nights and a couple days later my parents came to help out (and to see me get sworn in). Christmas morning Brenda, Rowan, and I all got up early, and Brenda decorated the tree while I got a fire going in the fireplace. Later that day Brenda's parents came to town and we had a wonderful dinner with them, Drew, Drew's girlfriend Rachel and her daughter Iris (who is just one month older than Rowan!).

Brenda can transition from diva to Christmas elf very quickly.

Several days have passed since I started writing this blog entry, and I'm hoping Rowan will nap long enough for me to finish it. We flew to Berlin yesterday for Brenda's next gig (Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Staatsoper unter den Linden). Unfortunately, we all started feeling sick yesterday so our travels were rather unpleasant. I got thrown up on twice during the long flight, once by the cute two-year-old sitting in front of us and once by Rowan. A couple years ago that probably would have bothered me, but I live in toddlerland now so I'm used to most things that toddlers emit. After a good night's sleep we all seem to be on the mend today.

I should go wake up Rowan so we can get him on a normal sleeping schedule. I hope you are all having a happy new year so far, and we'll talk to you next time!