time for a vocal tune-up

Greetings from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts! Brenda and I flew to New York yesterday so she could have a few voice lessons before we head back to Germany, and now I'm hanging out in the library while she sings at Juilliard. We're excited to get back to our apartment in Frankfurt so we can enjoy a little time at home, but when I say a little time, I mean it. The day after we arrive we'll be heading to Munich for Brenda's next gig. Speaking of which, one of those performances will be live-streamed over the internet for free on October 23rd. For more information check out the Bavarian State Opera's website. 

Our past couple of weeks in Wisconsin were great. Brenda's performances in Milwaukee and Madison went really well, and we got to spend a lot of time with family and friends, many of whom we don't get to see very often.

As I mentioned last week, Brenda had well over a hundred people come to see her perform in Milwaukee. Pictured above are several of Brenda's relatives from Illinois.

 Many of my friends and family also made the trip including my cousins Derek and Jessica and several of my parents' close friends from college.

Here Brenda is posing with two of her very proud teachers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A poster advertising Brenda's concert in Madison.

 While in Madison Brenda also gave her first college-level masterclass.

 She posed for a picture with the students after the masterclass.

Did I mention they're performers?

Brenda rehearsing with the UW Symphony Orchestra.

While Brenda was rehearsing on Saturday, I drove down to Iowa for my cousin Laura's wedding. I'm really glad that the timing worked out for me to be there. It was a beautiful event, and I enjoyed seeing so many of my extended relatives.

So that's what we've been up to. I hope you all have a great week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday!

a Così weekend in Milwaukee

Hey all! After two wonderful performances in Milwaukee this past weekend, Brenda and I are currently visiting her parents for a few days before heading off to Madison for her next gig. I know that several of our readers were at the show in Milwaukee, and we can't thank you enough for coming. It always makes a performance more special when there are friends and family there, and we had well over a hundred!

I'm going to keep this short because I'm writing it on my phone, but I should have some pictures and a little more about the weekend up by the end of the week. Until then, have a great week!

Atlanta

Hey folks! It's almost showtime in Milwaukee. Brenda and her fellow castmates have their final dress rehearsal tomorrow night for Mozart's Così fan tutte with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. They've managed to put together an entirely new staging of the opera in a little over two weeks, which is pretty darn quick. Brenda and I are very excited to see all you who will be coming to the performance! If you'd like a sneak peek behind the scenes, here's a short video of the crew putting up the set.

This past weekend I flew down to Atlanta to see one of our best friends, Dan, who is a recent transplant to the city. Brenda and I haven't been able to see Dan and his wife Whitney nearly as much as we would like in recent years, but since we're in the same country for a change, I thought I'd pop down to see how he is liking his new stomping ground. 

Even though Dan has only been there a short time, he has already scouted out some excellent restaurants. I had fun trying a few different cuisines including some traditional southern dishes (e.g. grits, fried okra, and collard greens), Indian street food, and an excellent Japanese meal which was homemade by my talented host. We also made our way over to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum where we learned a little more about our 39th president.

Meanwhile back in Milwaukee, Brenda was busy working, although she did get to go to a concert on Saturday night (Rufus Wainwright performing with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra) and an apple orchard on Sunday.

 I'm not sure what's more fun: picking the apples or going for a ride on the tractor.

 Brenda picked a lot of great looking apples. If only we had an oven in our hotel room to bake an apple pie!

Dan looking presidential in the recreated Oval Office at the Jimmy Carter Museum. You've got my vote, Dan.

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

Milwaukee

Hey all! Brenda and I are currently in the great state of Wisconsin where my better half has been busy rehearsing for two upcoming performances of Mozart's Così fan tutte with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. It's great that Brenda is working so close to home for many reasons, but we're most excited about so many of our family and friends coming to the show next week. By the way, for any of you who will be there, the performance is going to be like a normal evening at the opera. That is to say that the singers will be in costume and wandering around on a set. (Sometimes operas are performed with the singers just standing in formalwear at the edge of the stage with the orchestra behind them, which I expected in this case.) There will also be supertitles in English just in case your Italian is a little rusty. If you'd like to learn more about Così fan tutte before the performance, you can do so here.

Besides a trip to the airport, I've never spent much time in Milwaukee. I've always heard good things, though, and so far I really like it. Our hotel is downtown and close to where Brenda is rehearsing so, with the exception of the grocery store, we've been walking everywhere. There are a lot of beautiful old buildings downtown and the lakefront is easily within walking distance from our hotel. We're planning on a long walk by the lake one these days.

We haven't been good about taking pictures this week, but we do have this picture from last week that features our adorable niece, Beatrice.

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

on Wisconsin

And we're back in the Midwest! Brenda's recital in Austria last Wednesday went really well. She performed all 23 songs from memory (19 of them were totally new to her), and the audience seemed to love every minute of it. After the recital we had dinner with our friend Andi and his family at an excellent restaurant not far from the concert hall. We had a great time catching up with them.

Brenda and pianist Wolfram Rieger during the recital.

The quaint restaurant we dined at after the recital.

Andi and me at dinner.

We've been hanging out at my parents' house since arriving in the U.S. on Sunday, but we head to Milwaukee tomorrow for Brenda's next engagement. We're really excited that she gets to work in her home state for the next few weeks.

Until next time, have a great week!

a week abroad

Greetings from Austria! After a wonderful and relaxing vacation in the U.S., Brenda has started rehearsals for her next engagement which, by the way, is tomorrow. The Schubertiade, a world-renowned Schubert festival, kindly asked Brenda to perform a solo recital of Schubert songs this summer at their beautiful recital hall in Schwarzenberg, Austria. Brenda appeared with the festival two summers ago as a part of a clarinet and piano recital, and she jumped at the chance to return again this year.

We were able to enjoy almost twenty hours in our apartment in Frankfurt before we had to leave again. Brenda snapped this picture of our balcony early Sunday morning after her jet-lag woke her up.

Schwarzenberg is nestled in the mountains in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg. According to Wikipedia the population is around 1,850 people. Brenda took this picture of me yesterday shortly after we visited the town's new grocery store.

Horses grazing in the middle of town.

While I went home with the groceries, Brenda headed off to rehearsal.

We're looking forward to spending a few days in Frankfurt after we head home on Thursday. As it turns out Brenda's second engagement of the season is with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra so we'll soon be flying back to the midwest. We're trying not to get too accustomed to the German time zone.

Until next time, have a great week!

vacation recap

Hey All! Brenda and I are back in Iowa visiting my family and enjoying the last few days of our vacation. We took many pictures during our time in the U.S. Here are a few of the highlights:

 Brenda is very focused when playing pirate-themed mini-golf. She has a very convincing pirate voice, too.

 We always enjoy seeing the double feature at the drive-in movie theater in Door County.

 We canoed for a couple hours one afternoon and managed to stay dry. We weren't so lucky on one of our previous canoeing trips.

 The room at our bed and breakfast in Door County.

We even got a little beach time.

 Our first night in Santa Fe we tailgated before the performance as is customary at the Santa Fe Opera.

 We also took a hike on the Aspen Vista Trail, although we took it easy because we weren't completely acclimated to the high elevation.

This time next week Brenda will be back at work in Austria. I'll fill you in on that gig next time. Until then, have a great week!