As always, these items are in no particular order and really don't have a whole lot in common. They are just things that happened to my family and I in 2014.
10. The Mustache Moves In
My opera career sometimes takes me well outside my comfort zone. Take for example my experience with Encompass Opera's "A Wake or a Wedding." My director and I had a meeting early on in the production of this new work where we talked about our goals for my character, Raimondo Vecchiofaraone. In collaboration with our outstanding costume designer, we looked at the text of the show, my characters motivations and tried on potential costumes. The character was a romantic lead in terms of the music but as a character he was definitely "buffo". Raimondo was a wanna-be suave lover who was mostly infatuated with being the greatest operatic tenor in the world.
We decided that he should have the look of a faux-exotic Clark Gable. In other words, I grew a pencil-thin mustache! Additionally, Raimondo dresses up as Cupid during the opera within an opera. At that point, we went with some truly bold costume choices that directly contradicted the suave, mustached man.
In the end, I was challenged to play the fool while singing as beautifully as I possibly could. ] The collaboration of character work was the most intricate and detailed of my career so far and has inspired me to work even harder on creating memorable characters, no matter what the genre.
9. Going Home to Work
The year started out with a trip to my home town, Rochester, NY. I had the opportunity to sing with the relatively young company, Rochester Lyric Opera. I worked with a stellar cast on a one-act opera by Haydn, "Lo Speziale" (the Apothacary). It was a comedy where I played the assistant pharmacist assistant in love with the Apothacary's ward. The music was truly delightful and our cast put together a performance that I could share with many of my friends and family from home.
8. Play Pool
My family and I discovered a recreation center near our house that has the most wonderful swimming pool for kids. There are nets to climb, water slides and spraying pipes. It has become one of the highlights of my day to take The Spud, LHB and Baby Maraca out to splash and play.
7. Public Life
As I look back on 2014, I realize that some of my favorite experiences of the year involve "public" things. Our public library system is incredible and my family and I can sometimes end up swinging by twice a day to attend activities, pick up and drop off books or just play at the playground.
Likewise, public land such as Central Park, neighborhood parks and playgrounds and open spaces have become a large part of our lives. I love to experience so many different locales and sights and the variety of our country and the collective commitment to public spaces have a larger influence on my happiness than I've ever realized before this year.
Within those public spaces, I realize that I love the discovery of public art. You will definitely be hearing more about sculpture and other public arts events as 2015 rolls along. Keep up at my instagram account where I'll be posting photos of things that make me happy. www.instagram.com/eapenleubner
6. The Creation of the Universe
Ever heard Haydn's Creation? I knew only sections of it when I was contracted to sing it with The Concord Chorale. What I did not know was that I would grow to love the message and story of this towering piece of music. Kristofer Johnson elicited a stunning performance from the orchestra and chorus and, as a bonus, I was able to bring the whole family up to the gig. We spent a fun-filled week in a house by a lake.
5. My Haydn Year
Seeing a trend? With Lo Speziale and Haydn's Creation as part of my Haydn year, I rounded it out with some good friends in Harrisburgh, PA to sing in Haydn's Theresienmesse. I rejoined some good friends from previous productions and spent a lovely weekend making music with this fine chorus.
Considering I have not sung any Haydn in my career, I was amused to have the chance to discover music that I had only studied briefly in undergrad. There is so much wit and humanity in all three of these works.
4. Playing the Circuit
I was surprised to find myself singing at the Metropolitan Room, one of the last and legendary clubs of New York with my friends at Light Opera of New York (aka LOONY). Our performance of French Operetta was well-received and I had a great time singing new repertoire that fit like a glove. (More on this for 2015!)
3. Schnitzel at 2 a.m.
The Viennese Opera Ball. Where do I begin? I made music with a hugely talented cast. I chased a horse-drawn carriage through the Waldorf-Astoria. And the opera singers all joined in at the Tanz that followed. There were three rooms of buffets including Schnitzel and Sausage and cabbage at 2 a.m. You can see clips of the folk dancing on my facebook fan page.
2. Saying Goodbye
After 9 years of adventure, we learned that life had to move forward. Our little one bedroom apartment in a brownstone was finally too small for our growing family and sprouting children. There were countless adventures that we have had:
LHB became the most "liked" member of the family
When the world gets tough, a girl's gotta keep on pushin'.
Posted by Humans of New York on Thursday, May 9, 2013
We became one of the faces of a NYC Health Campaign
Kitty, The Spud and LHB became a face of Fulton Street (can you find them)?
Those are just the iconic photos. There were so many experiences that could not be captured on film. You can read about some highlights on the blog.
1. Starting an Adventure
And now, here we are in Colorado. Say goodbye to the Murphy Bed and hello to a little slice of suburban heaven. There is a killer rec center nearby (four of them actually). There is a whole world of exploring ahead of us. Sometimes our adventures happen in our little back lawn or while walking the Spud to school and sometimes it involves a trip over the mountains. When I look back a year from now on 2015, I know that the experiences are will be totally unlike those we had in New York City and just as exciting.
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