Paris

Hey All! My parents, Brenda, and I are in Paris at the moment. We will be heading back to Germany tomorrow and they'll be off to the states the day after. I will write you the blog you deserve then. Have a great couple of days!

Back to Vienna

Hey All! I don't have a lot of time this evening so let's get right down to it. Brenda's debut at the Vienna State Opera was a huge success. She hadn't sung the role in two years and yet Brenda was able to remember it and perform it at one of the best opera houses in the world (I'm sure there are some who consider it THE best opera house in the world). And as it turns out, the soprano who was scheduled to do the next two performances cancelled due to illness. The Vienna State Opera called Brenda and asked her to jump in again so she will be getting on a plane tomorrow and heading back to Vienna. 

Brenda outside of the Vienna State Opera. 

 Brenda bowing with a few of her fellow cast members

Brenda shifted gears on Sunday and sang in her last performance of the season at Oper Frankfurt. Here she is in her helmet and breastplate.

Don't mess with a valkyrie.

My parents, Brenda and I are in Hamburg right now. We came up to get a feel for the city and to see where I'd be living and studying in the fall. The city seems great. We're headed to Berlin tomorrow and as soon as we get there Brenda will get on a plane to Vienna. Ah, the jetset life. Please cross your fingers for Brenda's next two performances in Vienna. I look forward to sharing more pictures with you and filling you in on other things that have been going on, but that's going to have to wait for now. Until next time, have a great week!

Brenda is jumping in again

Hey All! This morning Brenda and I were getting ready for a day filled with cleaning the apartment and dinner with friends. I brewed the coffee, got a bowl of cereal, and was going through my morning routine when Brenda's phone rang. The number that popped up had a country code that I didn't recognize. Brenda said, "Should I answer it?" And I said, "Sure." As I watched Brenda talk to the mystery person on the phone I knew it must be good news because Brenda was jumping up and down with excitement while trying to keep her voice as professional as she could. It turns out that the Vienna State Opera is doing a performance of Lucia di Lammermoor tomorrow night and their Lucia is sick. They asked Brenda if she would be willing to do the performance and she said yes without a moment's hesitation.

So Brenda is now on her way to Vienna and I am stuck cleaning the apartment all by myself. Poor me. We're cleaning up the apartment because my parents are arriving tomorrow morning for a two-week visit. I called them a few minutes ago and asked them how they felt about hopping on a plane to Vienna shortly after arriving in Frankfurt. They happily agreed although that may be because they had just woken up and were still a little groggy. They can't change their minds now, though. We have three tickets to Vienna.

I had better do some cleaning. We will try to take a few pictures in Vienna. I hope you all have a great week, and I'll give you a full report next Tuesday at the latest.

Pretty Perugia Pics

Hey All! Brenda and I got back from Italy a few hours ago, and we are re-acclimating to Germany with a traditional Hessisch meal. We were both sorry to leave Italy, but we had a great time, and we look forward to going back again soon. Our days in Perugia were mostly spent retracing Brenda's footsteps from her college days. We found her old apartment building (we think), we walked by her school, and we ate at several of her favorite restaurants. Truffles are commonly used by restaurants in Perugia so we got to have them on pasta, pizza and bruschetta. Yum! Below are a few pictures from the trip.

I hope you have a great week, and I'll talk to you next Tuesday!

Bloghetto

Hey all! Brenda and I are in sunny Italy. We arrived yesterday and will be here until Thursday. We've been having a great time wandering around the city and eating as much pizza and pasta as our stomachs allow (which is actually quite a lot). I wish I could share a few pictures with you but Brenda and I packed light and we didn't bring the technology needed to do such complicated things. I will write another post later this week and include some pictures then. Until then, have a great week! Arrivederci!

the valkyries are on break

Hey all! I'm sitting in the Oper Frankfurt theater during a rehearsal of Die Walküre. Everyone is on break right now so I thought I'd take this opportunity to write to you. Brenda is a valkyrie in this opera, and she has the helmet, breastplate and spear to prove it. Brenda doesn't sing in Wagner operas that often so this is a treat for me. If you want to look at pictures of the production (although Brenda isn't in any of them) you can do so here.

 Brenda has been busy with performances and rehearsals lately, but things will be winding down soon. Next week Brenda and I are going to Perugia, Italy for a few days. Brenda studied there in college for a summer, and she's always wanted to go back. She's going to let me tag along on the condition that I leave her alone if she meets a cute Italian guy. That works for me. I can always drown my sorrows in pizza and gelato.

 Early tomorrow morning Brenda and I have to go to the foreigner's office in Frankfurt to get our visas renewed. Oh joy. Hopefully the German government will let us stay in the country for a few more years. I really want the US to join the European Union so we Americans can move to Europe without all this rigamarole. Although then they'd have to rename it since, last I checked, the US isn't in Europe. I think these minor details can be overcome.

 Well, the break is over and Brenda is about to sing "hoyotoho" in my direction so I had better wrap this up. I hope you all have a great week, and I'll talk to you next Tuesday!

Frolicking through the forest

Hey All! I hope things are going well in your neck of the woods. Things in Frankfurt have been just dandy. We've had beautiful weather everyday for the last week, and Brenda and I have been taking advantage of it as much as possible. We've been going jogging in the Frankfurt city forest which is just a couple of kilometers from our house. (A kilometer is like a mile but shorter. For some reason Germany still uses the silly metric system despite my assurances that it's a passing fad.) Today Brenda and I ran a 10k - the first one she's ever run. I'm very proud of her.

Brenda has been busy with performances of The Rake's Progress. This week she had 3 performances in 5 days which is a lot for opera. She's also been learning Die Walküre, which she is doing right now in the other room. I've been making sure she relaxes, too. We saw Men in Black 3 a few days ago. When we got to the theater there were people outside protesting. Apparently people who work at movie theaters in Germany are part of a union, and they'd like some more money. 

Some of Brenda's relatives were in Germany last week visiting their daughter who is studying abroad, and they decided to come see Brenda perform. I don't think either one of them had ever been to an opera before. We had dinner with them after the show, and they told us all about their travels through Germany. It sounds like they had a great trip.

Brenda's relatives, Bob and Vicki.

After Brenda's show last night, the cast, some colleagues and I met up in the canteen in the opera house.  Here are a couple pictures taken last night:

Representatives from four different countries gathered around one table. It was basically an international beer summit.

The American representatives were in top form.

Oper Frankfurt made a little video about The Rake's Progress. You can view the video, and hear a little of Brenda's singing, here.

Well, I had better go check on Brenda and make sure she is learning her Wagner. I hope you all have a great week, and I'll talk to you next Tuesday!