New York, Day 2

A few unfortunate incidents with printed music in the last couple of days. I always think that we do a good job of reminding singers to mark their music clearly, but I’m repeatedly surprised by failures to do so. The biggest problem is cuts. Even the best audition pianists can’t read minds (actually, they do, but that’s another story). Faint pencil marks or grayed-out Xeroxed marks won’t do it. We need huge big old black lines through the music to be cut.
Today’s aria : Je suis Lazuli from Chabrier’s L’etoile. This one is a huge winner. If you’re a lyric mezzo and you want to distinguish yourself from the pack singing Siebel’s and Stephano’s arias, you really should check this out. In addition to showing off line, agility, and fabulous French language skills, it just plain puts everyone in a good mood.