Four days out

I leave on Sunday, and I have not started packing yet. I'm not really the type who packs this early anyway, in no small part because we don't have room for a giant suitcase sitting out for days on end in our little apartment. I am the type, however, who makes lists.

Why is it that big a deal? Well, besides regular clothes and things for eight weeks (yes, I'll have access to laundry - yay!), here are some items I can't forget:

1) One or two gowns for performance
2) Jewelry and shoes to accessorize those gowns
3) A cocktail dress or two (probably for donor events? That's my guess, anyway.) (Also, I don't think I own a cocktail dress, so I'm going to have to be creative.)
4) Stage makeup and stage shoes
5) Musical scores
6) Hot rollers! Curling irons! These are important beautification tools for sopranos!
7) An overnight bag for our education tour (besides the giant suitcase I'm packing with all of the above).

Okay, so technically I don't have to pack that last thing - I can pack more things in it.

Have I told you about this education tour yet? I don't know much about it yet, really, other than we will be singing for school children. I am actually kind of excited about this, because kids ask really funny questions. I still remember when some singers from Opera Iowa came to my school when I was in third or fourth grade: one of the kids asked the soprano how high she could sing, which I'm guessing is a pretty regular question. Frankly, most adults want to know that, too. What else will the kids want to know about opera, do you think?

A little introduction

I've decided to start this blog for the purpose of updating my family and friends on what is happening in my performance career. Specifically, I'm leaving for my first long-term (well, relatively long-term) gig in a few days, and I don't know if I'll be able to email all of you very often (not that I do anyway...) with details about what exactly it is I'm doing.

Okay, let me try that again: I'm leaving for an eight-week gig at Opera Omaha soon, and this blog exists for these purposes:

1) Documenting what I'm doing at Opera Omaha, and giving you all an idea of what this job looks like from day-to-day,

2) Explaining a little bit more to opera novices about opera, singing as a career, and other tidbits that might help you understand exactly what the heck Chandler and I (and so many of our friends) do, and

3) Keeping in touch with all of you! Please feel free to ask questions in the comments section, or to email me - I might have a lot more time for email than I think.

A note for opera friends: I think much of this blog might be an introduction to our job for a lot of my family and non-singer friends, just to let you know.

And now, I just have to let you all know that this exists!