Summer!!

I am en route to the Windy City today! Headed to Chicago for the Classical Singer Magazine Convention. Follow this blog for all the updates as I travel this summer to NYC and Italy and as I begin my adventures in Orem this fall at UVU. I saw the first two operas in the Robert Lepage Ring Cycle at the Met Live in HD encore broadcasts. Deborah Voigt is an increadibly talented singer and actress. I am hoping it comes out on DVD soon. Can't wait to see Siegfried and Götterdammerung! It is truly amazing what they did with the stage and set. This link is to an interview with soprano Audrey Luna who is playing the role of Ariel in The Tempest next year at the Met. It sounds like a a really interesting opera and role. She does some really new classical music but also has a lot of standard roles in her repertoire. Stay tuned! Pictures and updates to come from Chicago! Also visit my youtube channel www.youtube.com/eloisesant. I am also interested in vloging this summer during my travel too. You can always ask questions or let me know things you'd like to hear about in my updates by emailing operadivaeloise@aol.com.

It's OK

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-rivera/shouldnt-you-be-fatter_b_1474908.html

Recently, I ran across this wonderful article and it got wheels in my head turning...  What would our world look like if more people gave opera a chance?  I'd like to think it would be all rainbows and lollipops, which is unfortunately not true, as there are many performers who even themselves don't learn the lessons taught by the stories they enact.  However, I do think people who live in their heads might build some emotional intelligence.  This is something art, and music in particular, has taught me, for which I am truly grateful.  Music has made me more aware and accepting of my feelings.

My voice teacher recently gave me the assignment to emote and be more aware of my feelings.  During that week, I learned that I am much more comfortable showing how I feel to my family and friends than to strangers and that, even with family and friends, it is easier for me to show positive emotions than display or express negative ones.

Why?  I think we are better at glossing over the negative things than ever and maybe that's why "feelings" have gained such a negative connotation, because we just simply don't want to deal with them.  I realize this is a huge generalization, but I think maybe that's why as Rivera observes "most people don't think of opera singers as people they can relate to."  The best singers I have ever encountered are those who have absolutely no pretense about them and are also people who absorb other's emotions like a sponge.  I wonder if this makes some people uncomfortable, having someone around who has accepted that it is ok to not always be ok.  Just my 2 cents...

I'm headed to Wagner's Ring Cycle at the movie theatre here in Park City.  Looking forward to this epicness!!

Violetta's Valentine

I was recently asked what sparked my desire to sing opera.  As I really started thinking hard about that question, I thought back to my first opera.  When I went to the Utah Opera's performance of La Traviata at 16, I was instantly captivated.  Violetta, a courtesan, sings this beautiful piece after Alfredo declares his love for her.  She declares she will live "sempre libera," always free, and is reluctant to let anyone get too close.  However, her character grows tremendously through allowing Alfredo to love her.  Enjoy the video of one of my favorite sopranos, Anna Netrebko singing.  (Be forewarned the staging is rather modern!)

Allow those who love you to love you and give your love to everyone, as we are dependent on each other for love and support!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Glorious Fall Morning

I just woke up this morning to the crisp fall Park City weather.  There is nothing better than leaves turning and nights getting chilly.  It is getting closer to my favorite time of year.  People look at me like I'm crazy when I say winter is my absolute favorite season.  I love fires, snow, family, an everything else the holidays entail.  I think it wonderful that we have such a beautiful time of year to keep our loved ones warm and focus our energy where it should be focused.  Not to say we can't spend time with family year round, but everyone is less busy than normal during the holidays and less bogged down with life.  Enjoy the fall weather today and make a leaf pile to jump into and mess up!

Clowning Around

It is essential that everyone become acquainted with his or her inner clown.  In my acting class this week, we did some clowning. However, this was not at all what I thought of as a traditional clowning class.  We would come up in pairs and say the worst insults we could think of to each other.  Our teacher stressed that the most essential feature of a good clown is his or her refusal to let humiliation or insult keep them down.  After the bead drops, the clown finds his or her way out of the negativity and has the grace to regain self esteem without becoming angry at or resentful of the person who put him or her down.  I believe it was Eleanor Roosevelt who said, "no one can make you feel inferior without your consent."  Strange as it may seem, these words never rang more true for me than during clowning class!  The strength also to not become angry and sink to a bully's level is also inspiring to me.  Many times, I have allowed my energy level to rise to that of someone who was intentionally being spiteful or hurtful towards me.  One challenge I am giving myself this month is to more consciously bring myself out of negative emotions or hurt I feel as a result of others' actions (intentional or unintentional).  

Oldies but Goodies

Last night I watched Meet Me in St. Louis for the first time in at least a decade.  Judy Garland singing "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" makes me ball every time.  There is something about old movies that is just so much more uplifting and powerful than the airy teenage movies or romantic comedies we get today.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good teen movie and am a sucker for The Notebook and Pride and Prejudice.  However, I think the movies Hollywood churns out today are indicative of a very fascinating cultural shift we've undergone.  Society today is scared senseless of emotions.  Why?  Because they are associated with all things feminine and irrational.  They are not at deemed masculine or rational.  I think this is why many (though not all) movies we get today are generally less emotionally charged than older films, or if they are, they are rarely the most popular movies.  For instance, many more of my friends have seen the latest Harry Potter movie then have seen Winter's Bone, The King's Speech, or True Grit.  Even The King's Speech, however, does not depict the depth and range of emotions that The Godfather Saga or Doctor Zhivago do.  This is why I have much stronger reactions to older films and I can't help but wonder if it is the negative reputation emotions have suffered at the hands of their association with femininity that is to blame.  

Spring Cleaning

I enjoy creating order out of chaos.  It gives me a sense of accomplishment.  This week, I have been exceptionally meticulous about cleaning my room and keeping things in order.  The result?  I am so much better able to focus on my work and have been more active in general.  Why this matters?  I have been able to devote a lot more time and energy to my own wellness and my ability to maintain balance in my life has greatly improved.  So my number one reccomendation for the day, clean something!  Do anything that gives you control over your situation.  I gaurantee that if you focus on the doing those things you can control, you will be so much more prepared to take the big tasks head on and perservere in the face of life's more daunting hurdles.