Today we begin our final week with Merola; two more rehearsals, and four performances to go. The singers really are fantastic. I’d tell people to buy tickets, but I was told they sold out a month ago, so never mind. (If I find out there are seats available you can be sure I’ll blog about it!)

I’m having a great time; the principal oboist is great fun to work with, my carpool buddies are great, and it’s a rather non-stressful job, which I’ve not had for a long time. The only “but” in all of this is the fact that I have to play softer than I’ve ever played. I finally gave up and shoved a swab in the bell. I play nearly the entire opera with that thing crammed in the oboe. The issue is the hall; there’s no pit! So we are on the same level as the audience, and the stage is only a bit above us. This does cause issues for balance. Ah well … keeps me working hard, to play that softly.

Here’s Valentina Fleer, who sings Adina in one of the casts:

I would love to put videos up of all the singers, but I couldn’t find any more. Too bad. I wonder if they haven’t been allowed to put any up, or if they just don’t have any yet, as they are rather young.

I’ve written about this before, and I’m sure I’ll continue to write about this: I do hope the union rules change about things recording use. I think we should all be allowed to use video clips and recordings. I’m not asking for a full work, but to not even allow 5 minutes of work is ridiculous. Times have changed, and the union hasn’t kept up. They need to.