I picked up my opera music on Friday. I can’t tell you how good it feels to know work is starting up again. Yes, teaching is work, and I’ve been doing that all summer, but playing … well … I need to play work … okay, let’s say PlayWork™.

I’ve played Lucia di Lammermoor at least once before and, I’m guessing, more than that. (I sure wish I’d kept records of my performing career.) Still, I can barely remember much of this music. Funny how that happens with some operas.

Looking through my part I immediately saw two things: the part is not my old part and the added slurs are so poorly marked I can’t tell where they end! Opera San José sold some of our old opera parts. I can understand why they did that with the ones that they brutally altered (due to the cut down orchestra) but, at the same time, it’s quite frustrating. All of my markings are gone. All of our corrections, too. (And we use Kalmus, so you can imagine how many corrections we had in those parts!) All of my cues are missing as well. What a drag.

Mostly I’m frustrated with the markings that someone put in. (We don’t have an official music librarian, so we never know who is doing the marking.) Doesn’t the person realize we need to know where a slur ends? Most of my added slurs begin somewhat okay (although not always) but then they are all nearly straight lines that end in between two notes. Hmmm. What must the person have been thinking?

I continue to struggle, as well, with the music I’m learning for the recording session I mentioned earlier. I’m not sure what to be more concerned about: should I fret most about those unison Fs that begin ppp with a crescendo/decrescendo, or do I panic over the extremely fast 5 notes per beat passage that begins on a high G and ends on a low D? Or maybe I should panic over the section that, from looking at the score, has to be incredibly precise, as two musicians are always coming in together on a sixteenth somewhere off the beat? (I’m not being terribly clear here … I think I’ll blame it on this stupid headache that doesn’t want to go away.) The score makes it fairly clear that all our entrances are important, as lines are drawn between the two instruments that come in together.

I guess I should worry about it all, eh? And yet I can’t worry too much; worrying only makes things more difficult, and you know how worry can ruin everything. Especially when recording.

I just found out that I begin teaching at SCU one week sooner than I had guessed. (I hadn’t put anything on the calendar for SCU yet, but had assumed it started the same week as UCSC.) I’m fine with this; again, getting back to work is a wonderful thing! (Side note: When the heck is UCSC going to update that music department site? Sigh.)

What is not wonderful is that the Giants are already behind 0-4, and it’s the bottom of the first. Double sigh.

Update … well, since I forgot to post this until a few moments ago, I should have just changed the final paragraph. The score is now 6-5. Good Guys. Bottom of the 7th.

Miles to go ….