flying solo (almost)

And just like that we're back in Germany. It's amazing how quickly things go once Brenda's shows open, at least when the performances are as close together as they were in Philadelphia and London. Thank you to everyone who came to see Brenda's opera. It's always wonderful to have family and friends in the audience. I was able to see the show last Wednesday and I absolutely loved it. 

Our flight back to Germany was quite short (just over seven hours) and almost empty. I've never been on a plane with so few people. It worked out great for us since it gave us plenty of room to take care of Rowan. Flying with him is getting a little harder as he gets older because he wants to crawl all over the plane, but he's still a good traveler. This was his twelfth flight. Not bad for an eleven-month-old.

All the passengers were on board when I took this picture.

After we got back to Germany yesterday we took a nice long nap and then Brenda went to rehearsal. Her next role is Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, which is a new part for her. Just like her roles in Tancredi, Lulu, and The Magic Flute were new parts for her. And much of her Carnegie Hall recital music was new too. So Brenda's been a music learning machine lately, and I think she'll be relieved when she can return to a role she already knows. That will happen in Santa Fe this summer when she sings Lucia di Lammermoor.

We recently made a new website for Brenda. Feel free to check it out, and if you have any suggestions about how we can improve it just let me know. You can send me an email (chadcgraham@gmail.com) or just comment on this post.

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

welcome visitors

Greetings for the last time this year from Philadelphia! Tancredi opened last Friday at Opera Philadelphia, and by all accounts it was a great night of opera. (A very excited opera goer even recognized Brenda at the Gap a few days later.) I get to see the show tonight thanks to some babysitters we shipped in from a few states over (it's tricky getting a ship from Iowa to Pennsylvania). My parents arrived a few days ago, and they looked after Rowan last night while Brenda and I went to dinner. They'll look after him again tonight so I can go to the opera. I'm quite excited to see it. If you'd care to see a few production photos from the show, you can do so here (just scroll down a bit). 

Brenda, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, Opera Philadelphia General Director David Devan, and tenor Michele Angelini

The Academy of Music

(Photos courtesy of Brenda's dad)

We had a wonderful time with Brenda's parents who flew back home yesterday. Unfortunately, I don't think they were able to enjoy themselves as much as they would have liked because they were both under the weather. In spite of that, we still got to enjoy a lot of time with them. Rowan loved his playdates with grandma and grandpa.

This time next week we'll be back in Frankfurt. Brenda begins rehearsals for her next opera, Rigoletto, about five minutes after we step off the plane. We'll be spending over three months in Frankfurt, which will be the longest we've been in one place since mid-July. We're looking forward to it.

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

a big happy birthday chorus

Hey all! Sorry for the radio silence. It's been a busy few days here in Philadelphia. Brenda's parents arrived two days ago, which was just in time to celebrate Brenda's birthday yesterday.

 Unfortunately the cake was rather bland, but at least it looked good.

I'm happy to report that the sprinklers did not go off.

The birthday girl spent a good part of the day yesterday at the final dress rehearsal for Opera Philadelphia's Tancredi. Final dress rehearsals often have audiences (which makes them performances, doesn't it?) and the audience yesterday was largely comprised of high school students. They learned about the opera ahead of time and were very enthusiastic about the performance. As a surprise treat for Brenda, all of Brenda's castmates, the chorus, orchestra and audience sang happy birthday to her during the curtain call. Opera Philadelphia posted a short video of the "happy birthday" on Instagram. There is also a short video of Brenda being peppered with questions in between rehearsals one day. The show opens tomorrow.

It was a lovely sixty degrees in Philadelphia yesterday. Joanne, Rowan, and I strolled over to the public library for story time, and we didn't even need coats (although I foolishly still brought mine). Then in the night Philadelphia was hit by a snow storm. We awoke to a beautiful winter wonderful, which has turned into a lovely sunny day with quickly melting snow. Hopefully the weather won't prevent any of our friends and family from arriving in Philadelphia safely and in time for Brenda's performances.

Until next time, I hope you have a wonderful week!

learning some new moves

Hey all! We'll see if our little sleepyhead lets me write this. Rowan went to bed almost an hour ago, but he isn't sleeping soundly. I imagine there's a lot on his mind. He's been developing new skills like mad recently. Even though he's only been crawling for a couple of weeks he's zooming around like a pro. He's also started pulling himself up and standing unassisted for short periods of time as well as strolling around with a toy walker. It's incredible to see his development.

Lately Brenda's rehearsal schedule has allowed her to spend more time at home, which has been great. From what she tells me, the rehearsals are moving along splendidly. She and her castmates have their first run through of the opera this evening, and they move to the main stage tomorrow. Rowan and I sat in on rehearsal Saturday afternoon. It's always fun to watch Brenda work, and her castmates seemed to enjoy meeting Rowan.

The local abc TV station did a short segment about Opera Philadelphia's upcoming Tancredi, and they interviewed Brenda for it. If you'd care to see it, you can do so here.

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

vampire baby

Greetings from sunny Philadelphia! After a few grey days the clouds have parted and we're once again loading up on vitamin D. Brenda missed the first couple days of rehearsal last week due to the flu, but she's feeling much better and has already learned most of her staging for the opera. Not bad for a week's work. The opera opens February 10th.

While Brenda rehearses I've been busy chasing Rowan around the apartment. His crawling has come a long way, and he seems most interested in those things that he shouldn't be playing with (i.e. outlets, power cords, and dust bunnies). He's been waking up more often at night, which we hear is a common occurrence when babies start crawling. And he's also started trying to eat Brenda. When she came home for dinner this evening Rowan tried repeatedly (and often successfully) to bite her. (Apparently I don't taste very good because he doesn't bite me.) He hasn't figured out "no" yet, although he'll shake his head and smile when you say it. It's a good thing he's so darn cute.

I'm hoping to do at least a little bit of sightseeing before we leave Philadelphia next month. We were here on a family vacation when I was a kid, but I haven't been back since. I have vague memories of The Liberty Bell, and it'd be fun to see it again. Brenda's rehearsal schedule is quite intense so Rowan and I may have to be tourists while she works.

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

Philadelphia

Hello! A lot has happened since we wrote to you last. First, Brenda performed a beautiful recital at Carnegie Hall with her friend In Sun, and many of our dear family and friends (and blog readers) were in attendance. Thanks so much to all of you who came to the performance. It was a wonderful evening.

Second, we both got the flu, but luckily Brenda's symptoms didn't fully hit until the day after the recital. We're both on the mend now, and it seems as though Rowan somehow managed to avoid getting sick. I'm very thankful for that.

Next, we travelled to Philadelphia for Brenda's upcoming engagement with Opera Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love will be our home for the next five weeks, and we're really looking forward to staying in one place for a while. We've been on the road a lot over the past two months, and we could use a break from packing our suitcases.

Finally, Rowan crawled for the very first time today. He's still getting his technique down so he's moving cautiously, but he'll no doubt be zooming around the apartment in no time. I'm going to nail all the furniture in place tomorrow.

It's fairly early yet, but Rowan has been getting up around six recently, which means it's my bedtime. I hope you all have a great week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday!

NYC

Greetings from New York! Rowan & Co. arrived in the the Big Apple yesterday after a smooth but long flight. Our little guy took two short naps on the trip but was awake the rest of the time. I usually try to catch up on recent bad action flicks on long plane rides, but that isn't an option now that we're busy trying to entertain Rowan. He did quite well considering his age and that we're forcing him to sit in one place for over eight hours.

Brenda is currently at Carnegie Hall preparing for her recital on Friday. She's put together a beautiful program, and I've enjoyed little previews of the performance as she practices around the apartment. And thanks to BBC Radio 3 I've also been able to hear her sing Lulu again. BBC recorded one of her Lulu performances (just audio) and recently posted it on their website. It's available on demand for the next 25 days or so in case you'd like to check it out. Here's the link.

One huge perk to Brenda singing in the U.S. is that it's easier for our families to come to her performances. We're getting to enjoy time with family this week, and we will again in Philadelphia next month when Brenda performs there. We're really fortunate and thankful that our loved ones are willing to travel to see us.

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