never a dull moment

Hello all! As many of you know, Brenda had her last performance in Munich on Friday (thank you so much to all of you who tuned in to the live-stream!). We got back to our apartment in Frankfurt on Sunday, and it's good to be home. It's also good for Brenda to have some time to recharge before moving on to her next gig. Which happens to be in Bordeaux, France tomorrow night. (She had to recharge quickly.) Brenda was originally supposed to get eight days off at home before heading back to Munich next week, but as we were riding home from IKEA yesterday Brenda noticed that she had a voicemail on her cell phone. It turns out that a soprano who is supposed to sing a concert of mostly Handel arias tomorrow night is sick, and Brenda was getting the call to jump-in. She received the final word that she was needed for the concert earlier today and was on a plane by three. An added bonus to the gig is that she gets to see some really good friends who live in Bordeaux.

Brenda and I had several friends and family members in town for her performance on Friday. Above, Brenda is pictured with our friends Monika and Michael. 

 One of my former law professors and his wife also came to the performance. They moved to Vienna over the summer so they were able to drive over to Munich (at high speeds, I imagine).

 On Saturday we went to Lake Ammer with Brenda's Uncle Ron and Aunt Marilyn. After two overcast weeks, we were fortunate enough to have gorgeous weather on Saturday (those are the Alps in the distance).

 We walked from Lake Ammer up to Andechs Abbey, which is not as easy of a hike as I remember. The food and refreshments made the effort worthwhile.

Brenda's beer was actually just Apfelschorle, which is no less delicious.

Before I sign off I wanted to give you an update on our apartment search. It looks like we've found a place! It's eighteen square meters bigger than our current apartment, not much more expensive, and even closer to the opera house. We're both excited about it, and we'll fill you in on more of the details in the coming weeks. Oh, and feel free to let us know if you'd like to fly to Frankfurt to help us move. We'd be happy to arrange opera tickets and Frankfurter apple wine as payment.

Until next time, have a great week!

live-streamed opera

Greetings from Munich! It's been very cloudy here in Bavaria's capital, which has kept us indoors for much of the week. Of course, we did venture out a few times for food, Brenda's rehearsals and performances (one of which is tonight), and I went for a couple of jogs through the English Garden, but the rest of the time was spent indoors looking for vitamin D supplements online. Ok, not really, but we did spend a lot of time online searching for apartments in Frankfurt. We've discovered, however, that it's not that easy to find a place from a couple hundred miles away. In spite of the challenge, Brenda managed to make contact with a few landlords, and we'll be seeing at least one apartment when we're back in Frankfurt next week. We've been mentioning up front that Brenda is an opera singer with the hope that we'll find a landlord who is a huge opera fan, and then maybe we could get a discount on the rent. Although, having an opera singer for a tenant could mean more noise since singers tend to be pretty loud when they practice. We're crossing our fingers for a music lover.

Brenda's first performance in Munich on Saturday was excellent. I had never seen this production before, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The audience obviously did too. I thought about buying another ticket to see the show again tonight, but it's sold out. In fact, the whole run (i.e. the performance last week in Paris and the three in Munich) is sold out. It's really great to see people enjoying opera so much. And speaking of which, here's my last plug for the live-stream this Friday: you too can see a sold-out performance of this opera, Ariadne auf Naxos, from the comforts of your own home (or wherever you can find an internet connection) by going to the Bavarian State Opera's website this Friday (October 23rd) at 1:00 PM central time. We hope you'll tune in!

Brenda signing autographs by the stage door after the last performance.

Before we leave Munich, we are going to take a day this weekend to be tourists with Brenda's aunt and uncle who are currently vacationing through Europe. I foresee a picture of me with a Munich-sized beer in my hand in next week's blog entry. Until then, I hope you all have a great week!

an American (and her husband) in Paris

Bonjour tout le monde! Brenda and I are currently on the super-speedy TGV train to Munich after spending a couple of nights in Paris. There wasn't much time to sightsee because Brenda was busy rehearsing and performing at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, but I did have a chance to explore Paris on my own for a few hours. What a beautiful city! Even though I've been to Paris before, I was still struck by the gorgeous architecture. I tried to get into the Louvre but the line was ridiculously long (I should have bought my ticket ahead of time!) so I wandered around the city instead and got to see many beautiful sights.

 The Seine

 The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel (not to be confused with that bigger Arc de Triomphe down the road).

The Luxor Obelisk. 

According to wikipedia it's over 3000 years old!

Brenda's performance last night was great. The cast, which, except for the tenor, is the same for the three upcoming performances in Munich, was excellent. The Bavarian State Opera Orchestra was superb, and the conductor, Kirill Petrenko, was fantastic. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better presentation of Ariadne auf Naxos. On a related note, Brenda's show-stopping aria during the second half literally stopped the show. The audience went nuts for what felt like minutes, and Brenda took several bows before the performance got underway once again. I always love being in the theater for those moments.

 The front of the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.

 The curtain call.

Brenda with tenor Jonas Kaufmann and soprano Amber Wagner after the performance.

This seems like a good time to remind you, dear readers, that you too can see a performance of this opera live-streamed for free (with English subtitles) via the Bavarian State Opera's website on Friday, October 23. The role Brenda sings is one of her favorites, and the one she has performed the most. The live-stream begins at 8:00 PM Germany time, which is 1:00 PM US Central time. We hope you'll tune in!

I thought you might like to see how fast we were going on our speedy train. 313 kilometers per hour equals around 194 miles per hour. So why don't we have an extensive high-speed rail system in the U.S.?

The fall colors are in full effect in Munich's beautiful English Garden, and Brenda and I plan on enjoying them in the coming days. I hope you are all enjoying the changing of the seasons as much as we are, and until next time, have a great week!

false alarm

Hey all! Chenda is back in Germany once again. Our time in New York flew by, and now we're in Munich fighting jet-lag and getting settled in our home for the next few weeks. Truth be told, we wish this Munich apartment could become our new apartment in Frankfurt because we're looking to upgrade and it's really comfortable. After living in a one bedroom apartment for over seven years, we've decided to see what living in a two bedroom (or bigger) apartment would be like. The trick, however, is in finding a new apartment - especially when we're not in Frankfurt that often. Wish us luck!

The apartment we usually stay in when we visit New York has an excellent view of Manhattan and the Hudson River. One day last week we looked out the window and saw what appeared to be a boat in distress on the river. There were several ferries circling the ship while smaller boats zoomed up to it. We searched the internet looking for news stories regarding an accident on the Hudson but couldn't find any. Later that afternoon we finally found something. Clint Eastwood was filming part of his next movie on the river, which is about the plane that made an emergency landing there several years ago. Tom Hanks plays the pilot, but unfortunately I wasn't able to see Clint or Tom in this pic...

Brenda's first performance in Munich isn't until next week, but she has a concert performance of the opera with the same cast (mostly) on Monday in Paris. We're looking forward to heading over to France again even though we'll only be there for a couple of nights.

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

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!