Post Created Jun 29, 2010 8:33:03 PM

Greetings from Orchestra rehearsal. Don Giovanni is about to be dragged down to hell.

Things you can do in rehearsal to wait politely:

Read a novel
Use your laptop
Post to your blog
Never stop counting and don't do anything that will make you miss a cue.

Allure

One of my shortcomings is that I can be pretty happy no matter where I am. There is always some potential to pull me from the orbit of my opera career and get me to settle down. In the case of Fairbanks, it is the allure of self-sufficiency. Many of the people that I meet have built there own homes.

They hunt moose and catch fish and can and preseve. It is a very interesting way to live.

Sunday was a big meet the artists party... Fairbanks-style. After singing a couple of arias and ensembles, we were treated to moose bugers, venison sausage and freshly caught salmon and halibut. All of it was caught or killed by one of the board members who then cooked it for 104 guests. The food was incredible.

As it turns out, one cannot buy moose- rather you have to get it as a gift or barter from a hunter. Likewise, you can't buy fresh caught fish at the grocery store. After searching high and low, I finally convinced a local to fill me on the real truth. If you don't know someone with a fish wheel, you can try to go to the corner of Farmer's Loop and Steese and buy it out of the back of any fisherman's truck!

That is the allure for me. To discover the nuances of his town. To adapt to the lifestyle and eventually learn to survive off the land.

Unfortunately, I have no skill with such things and I'd probably end up wintering on the Magic Bus. But for now it is exciting to visit and let my imagination run wild.

On the road with a baby

Traveling with Millie has been interesting. Add in the expense of checking in baggage and draconian weight limits and it could get very expensive.

To that end, we decided to travel as light as possible. The first stop, upon arrival, was Walmart for a car seat for our rental car. Thanks to the Google, we found that there was a thrift shop around the corner called, "Once upon a Child." Turns out the store is by far better than any so called thrift store around. We picked up some new toys for Millie and also a pack-and-play crib.

In our first week, we have found locations around with free wifi. I'm typing this post from North Star Borough Public library. Besides that, I try to type up posts with my thumbs on my i phone and then post them when I get the chance.

I imagine that as we start to travel frequently for my career, we will have to find ways to continue to refine the solutions for traveling lightly and efficiently.

Disorientation

Last night we stayed up a little later than usual watching "up in the air". When the movie ended at 9:30, the living room was bright as day and the sun was shining after a long rainy day.

It took awhile for me to fall asleep and I'm not sure if it was the light or he existential crisis of that poor man.

Fairbanks arrival

After several challenges with travel plans, the family arrived in fairbaks after 28 hours of travel and about three hours of sleep.

As we took our final leg of the journey, a half hour flight from anchorage to fairanks, Millie was sound asleep and I had a moment to look out the window and reflect on the view. I may not be the most seasoned traveller, so looking out of the window I was captiveted by the vistas of the last frontier.

I have driven and flown the width of the lower fortyeight several times and no amount of sprawling wilderness that I have seen in the past could prepare me for the enormous untouched land laid out below me.

After landing, I looked out at all the pine trees lining the roads and my brain started to steam up as it tried to quantify all of the thousands of acres of wilderness that we had just traversed.

Yesterday morning, we had the opportunity to go to the Tanana Farmers Market.
We bought pasteries from a Russian family and chocolates from a candy stall. We also got sticky rice with sweet beans steamed in banana leaves. This is something we frequntly buy in Chinatown. It is usually a bit dry and the earthiness of the banana leaves overpowers some of the other flavors. Usually that is still ok and we enjoy it as a fun "cheap eat". Imagine our surprise when we opened the leaves to find a perfectly moist and fresh ball of sticky rice that had a hint of sweetness and was studded with soft, perfectly cooked beans. I don't think I'll ever be able to enjoy a so-called "traditional" rice tamale ever again.

After our first rehearsal yesterday, Kathleen and I got takeout to celebrate our sixth anniversary. We got to sit down as a family to enjoy our meal and bask in the glow of the occasion in this great new place.

What does "Tenor Eleven Miles away" mean???

There were two old men sitting on a park bench talking to each other when one of them asked, "Can I sing you a song?" The other man replied, "Sure, but only if can you sing tenor." The first man asked, "What is tenor?" The other man replied, "Ten or eleven miles away!"

Read more at Suite101: Top Tenor Jokes: Opera Humor Passed from Generation to Generation http://opera.suite101.com/article.cfm/top_tenor_jokes#ixzz0r2rO2fkJ

Flying out on the morrow...

Well, our lists are made and bags are almost packed. I'm wrapping up work at my day job and getting myself psyched for a red-eye flight from JFK to Fairbanks via Seattle.

I'm sad I won't get to visit any of the Seattle gang. Kathleen and I met there and haven't been back together in years. To pass by without having the chance to say hello doesn't feel right. Gang- we love ya and miss ya! I'll try to place some calls from SeaTac.

Since we leave at 5 p.m. tomorrow, I'm hoping to have a nice relaxed morning and take Millie to her music class. I'm pretty psyched because I have never had the chance to do this-- pretty weird since I'm the musician in the family!

If you all have any questions about life on the road or what it's life to sing opera, why don't you go ahead and post a question or comment below? The comments are moderated (by me)-- sorry to be so particular about that, but this is a family show!

Also, I'm developing a podcast, so I'll also answer questions there. Hope you enjoy all this!

Fairbanks Bound!

On June 17 the family and I will be hitting the road. We are off to Fairbanks where I'll be singing Don Ottavio in a semi-staged concert of Don Giovanni.

We've done a few trips before, but since this the first time I'm zipping off to do a major role, I thought it would be fun to finally start up the travel diary.

I'll be posting some pictures and thoughts while on the road. I'll also add some of the insights into the character of "Don O" as I work with my colleagues.

We are all excited to see the land of the midnight sun. Keep your eyes here or subscribe to the blog for all the latest news!