The (not so) fat lady sings...and can she ever!

Being an opera singer gets harder and harder all the time. It used to be that they could just stand around and sing. But then people demanded that they act, and so they started acting. Soon people wanted more telegenic and not so fat singers, and so they slimmed down (most famously with Deborah Voight's weight loss surgery). And now, with the HD telecast in movie theaters, they must have perfect complexion as well.

Fortunately, so far, they all seem to! It's really quite amazing, to see these gods and goddesses, glorious sounds pouring out of their mouths, their faces 20' high on the movie screen, and not a blemish on their radiant complexion. That can't all be the magic of makeup, right? I mean, if they have a zit, or a wrinkle, it's going to show up...right?

I finally got to see and hear Deborah Voight today, the 5 hour opera marathon of the Met's HD simulcast of Tristan und Isolde, starring Deborah Voight as Isolde and a revolving door of tenors as Tristan. (Today's Tristan was her 4th Tristan in as many performances...I guess it's jinxed. One got sick, one got bunked on the head, not sure what happened to the 3rd. Glad to report that there were no mishaps today.)

And wow, wow, wow, what a great performance! I had only seen still photos of Deborah Voight before (and all from before the surgery), and I have to say that her size was first thing you noticed (well, I noticed, anyways). But in a live performance, she's a lovely, beautiful performer, as well as a fantastic singer, and you never notice her size at all (and I'd bet that even before surgery, she was just as lovely a performer). I'd love to hear her sing Turandot, although that does not appear to be on the list of roles she does.

[A slight distraction, during which I bought 3 CD, one with Deborah Voight, of course; a second of Rodelinda, which I've wanted to do for a while; and a third of Andreas Scholl. I also found a bunch of Andreas Scholl videos on youtube and fell in love!]

OK, so that was all so NOT in the studio today. I did finish prepping for the Portland Open Studios jurying process tomorrow. I guess I'm calling it a day.