My summer at Wolf Trap is officially over and now I can officially claim it as one of the best summers of my life.  The Wolf Trap Opera Company is a daring organization that takes calculated risks and consistently creates wonderful art.  If you’ve read my last blog entry or two, you know a little bit about the operas we produced this summer (if not, go back and take a quick read) but Wednesday night’s performance trumped them all.

2011 is the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Art’s 40th Anniversary, and the opera company produced a gala worthy of such a celebration.  This concert featured alumni, both old and new, of the singer and administrative variety.

The evening consisted of arias and ensembles led by the overly-capable baton of Maestro Stephen Lord, with small remarks by administrators who have also been a part of Wolf Trap’s history between every few numbers.  I felt like I was a part of an elite music fraternity that evening, and finally sharing the stage with some of these operatic A-listers was really a dream come true.

Getting to sing with my good friend Alan Held was a particular highlight.  Alan’s been a mentor to me these last few years and you’d been challenged to find a nicer guy on the planet.  We met during my time at Yale where Alan provides a masterclass and private one-on-one session for every graduate opera singer every year.  He’s one of the world’s leading bass-baritones and is at the peak of his career.  One of his signature roles is Wotan in Wagner’s Das Rheingold, and Wednesday night I was able to sing on stage with him as Loge.  The energy flowing from that stage, and from Alan in particular, was ethereal.  It’s moments like those that make this crazy career worth every minute of its madness.

Needless to say, my experience at Wolf Trap was wonderful and this final concert was the icing on the cake.  Any young singers out there should definitely audition for the company if you haven’t already!

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Next on the calendar for me is a production of La Bohème with the Amarillo Opera.  As most of you know, I started singing in Amarillo and I consider the company there my home.  Mila Gibson, who founded and managed the opera up until a couple of years ago, saw enough talent in me to offer me some roles.  I think back then she thought, “If I can just get him interested everything else will take care of itself.”  I guess she hit the nail on the head.

La Bohème is probably my favorite opera of all time.  Puccini’s music is so moving, and the story line in this particular opera is easily accessible.  We have a smorgasbord of talented singers joining the cast and I can confidently say that you won’t want to miss this performance:

La Bohème
Amarillo Opera
October 1st – Globe-News Center
www.panhandletickets.com

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More big news!!

After my time in Amarillo I’ll head back to NYC for some auditions and a concert at Yale.  My time on the east coast will be short though.  In October and November I’ll be touring with the Munich Symphony as a soloist in Mozart’s Requiem.  Take a look at the tour schedule below and if you’re near one of the performance locations, I encourage you to come listen:

• Oct. 26, 2011 – Richmond, KY
• Oct. 27 – Granville, OH
• Oct. 28 – Carmel, IN
• Oct. 30 – Manhattan, KS
• Nov. 1 – Fayetteville, AR
• Nov. 3 – Conway, AR
• Nov. 4 – St. Louis, MO
• Nov. 5 – Joplin, MO
• Nov. 6 – Overland Park, KS
• Nov. 7 – Lincoln, NE
• Nov. 10 – Winston-Salem, NC
• Nov. 13 – Athens, GA
• Nov. 15 – West Palm Beach, FL
• Nov. 16 – West Palm Beach, FL
• Nov. 17 – Gainesville, FL
• Nov. 18 – Daytona, FL

Friends and family,

Clearly, I’m not that great about blog entries (all the more reason to keep up with my twitter account on the website!)  My last entry was in February and since then I’ve sung at Yale, Milan, Paris, Warsaw, Sanibel Island, and I’m currently in the Washington D.C. area.  All of the performances went really well (although I was under the weather in Sanibel) and the recording of Maria Padilla in Warsaw should be available soon.

At the present time I’m singing with the Wolf Trap Opera Company in the only national park in the U.S. dedicated to the arts.  Our first production of the summer was Le donne curiose by Wolf-Ferrari.  The last professional production of Curiose in America was almost 100 years ago at the Metropolitan Opera with Toscanini conducting.  We received two glowing reviews!  (Washington Times and Washington Post)

My next performance in July was a recital with the sensational and legendary Steven Blier.  It was a recital focused on relationships – from getting “Hitched to Ditched.”  There were a lot of jazz numbers and musical theatre pieces – a welcomed change from my usual operatic repertoire.  Keep an eye out.  I may post a video from that recital very soon.

Currently I’m singing and rehearsing the role Anthony Hope from Sweeney Todd.  The recently Tony-nominated conductor Larry Blank will lead the National Symphony Orchestra for this production.  (I’m performing with the NSO!!?? So cool!)  The performance is tomorrow, July 22nd at the Filene Center which seats around 8,000 people.  Tickets are available here.  It’s been inspiring to rehearse with them in the Kennedy Center!

During this whirlwind of events, I was also interviewed by an opera blog called Operatoonity.  You probably read the article if you get my e-newsletter, but you probably don’t know that my interview was also picked up as an ‘Editors Pick for Theatre & Opera’ at another blog, Paper Blog.  The author of the Operatoonity blog emailed me a couple of days after the interview was published and mentioned that my article has received more hits than any other article she’s posted.  Do you know what that means?  I have the best “fan” base and support group!!  I love you folks!!

Keep your eyes peeled.  There’s a lot more to tell, but I want to give you the news in smaller, more regular installments to keep things interesting.  If you want to know more details and see more pictures, visit my Twitter page or the Twitter section of my website and start clicking on links!

All for now!

Eric

Milano was wonderful.  Fashion week was quite the event, and the Italians L-O-V-E American music.  It’s an interesting feeling walking around the heart of a city and seeing posters plastered all over town with your name on them.  I couldn’t resist taking a picture of one of them (plus my mother would kill me if I hadn’t.)

This particular photo was taken at the venue, but hundreds of them were plastered throughout the town.  Restaurants and businesses who realized that we were performers with the Verdi orchestra gave us discounts on goods and services (a welcomed gesture considering the high cost of Milano and the low value of the US dollar.)

Probably the most interesting moment was when a friend of mine and I were eating at a café downtown.  An older Italian gentleman approached me and the following dialogue took place (in Italian of course:)

“You look just like Pavarotti.”
*chuckle and smile*
“If only you were a singer!”
“I AM a singer!”
“You sing opera?”
“Si!  I’m in town singing with the Giuseppe Verdi orchestra this week.”
“Are you a ‘tenore’ like Pavarotti?”
“Yes!”
“Then you have to sing something for me!”

After a minute of trying to get out of the hole I had just dug, the old gent hushed the restaurant and asked me to sing ‘La donna’ from Rigoletto.  Having had just done the role with Amarillo Opera, I figured…why not oblige the man?  It’ll make his day.  Sure enough, a few minutes later he and everyone else eating were applauding and cheering for more.  Italians love their opera.

After two weeks of sickness (the flu, followed by bronchitis) I’m starting to almost feel like my old self again. Good thing, too. This past weekend I sang Yale Opera’s production of Don Giovanni and a lot of VIPs were there to listen. Considering my ailment, I feel like I sang pretty well and was able to get through the role without much trouble. Congestion is the absolute worst for singing!

My schedule over the next few months is quite a whirlwind. I can only assume that it’s similar to the schedule of a REAL superstar – jet setting all over the world.

This weekend I’ll be traveling to Milan to perform with the wonderful Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi led by the one and only Giuseppe Grazioli. (Cool tidbit: Maestro Grazioli is coincidentally also conducting the production of Don Giovanni I’m currently performing.)

After ten days in Milan, I’ll come back stateside to coach and rehearse a little while. Paris Opera has invited me to sing a house audition IN Paris after hearing me in New York. They’ll fly me over for about a week to soak in their culture and sing for their musical staff. I’ve never been to Paris so I may need a companion to keep me company.  Any takers???  I know a few people who are already interested!

From Paris I’ll fly straight to the Sanibel Music Festival in the Utopian Sanibel Islands. There I’ll be performing a concert with a small handful of singers (whom I’ve yet to meet) and will walk the beaches in true Spring Break style

From Florida I come back to CT for a week, then I take another giant leap across this pond – this time to Poland. Warsaw is home to the Beethoven Easter Festival and I’ll be performing and recording a production of Donizetti’s Maria Padilla.  I’m not sure when the CD’s will go on sale but this blog is the place where I’ll announce it.

After a couple of weeks in Poland I’ll come home and start boxing up my apt. This summer I’ll be singing with the Wolf Trap Opera company who just announced their season. Click on that link to see the article that announced the shows and cast. This is a real honor. Wolf Trap is well regarded for hiring the country’s most talented young artists and creating incredible productions. It will really be a treat to work with so many gifted people.

I’ll do my best to send more updates as each event develops, but sometimes it’s just easier to unload a heap of information all at once. I’m always glad to hear from everyone, so feel free to drop me a line on my website or via email.

Blessings,

Eric

Ok, so I feel as though I’m in the ‘pit of despair’ from The Princess Bride.  I have more on my plate right now than I even thought possible.  If you know me personally you know that I like to TCB (Take Care of Business) and that’s tough to do.  But I wouldn’t even think about trying to escape because my work is GREAT!

Tomorrow and Saturday night I sing the Messiah with the Hartford Symphony.  The last two rehearsals have been pretty wonderful.  Maestro Cummings is one powerful musician, and Lennie the Concertmaster is just incredible.  The Hartford Chorale was crisp and wonderful tonight too.  Kudos, guys!

Sunday I have a private Christmas gig for one of your favorite financial institutions, Monday night a Russian Liederabend at Yale, and other hush-hush projects throughout the rest of the week.

I PROMISE to blog more often after this week (or two) passes.  Words of encouragement are welcome!!

Until next time…

TL;DR:

• All tea comes from the camellia sinensis plant. If you are drinking something that did not come from this plant (chamomile, mint, tulsi, rooibos, etc) it is not tea).
• White, Green, Oolong, Yellow, Black and Pu-erh teas all come from the camellia sinensis plant and the type of tea is determined by the processing methods used on the plucked leaves.
• Tea contains L-theanine, an amino acid that promotes mental acuity. The combination of L-theanine and caffeine creates a sense of “mindful awareness.”
• Tea can be prepared in any vessel by steeping the leaves directly in hot water as long as you strain the leaves out of the water before drinking.
• The more oxidized the tea leaves are, the hotter the water temperature should be when steeping.

TL:

In addition to caffeine, tea contains an amino acid called L-theanine. “Several studies from Japan and the UK have shown that consumption of 50mg of L-theanine increases alpha wave activity in the brain, with the maximum effect occurring about 80 minutes after consumption. This amount is equivalent to approximately three cups of tea. Alpha waves correspond to a relaxed-but-alert mental state, and believed to be an important part of selective attention (the ability to choose to pay attention to something and avoid distraction by other stimuli)” . L-theanine in tea produces a type of “mindful awareness” not evident in coffee. This is what prevents the 3pm “coffee crash.”

This makes tea an important tool for maintaining mental perspicacity for hours of coding, late night performance, or for getting through those bleak morning hours.

Let’s get this out of the way – tea bags suck. Actually, most mainstream tea sucks. Mainstream tea is low quality, blended, and sometimes contains cheap flavorings. There are countless tea shops out there that buy directly from small farmers that produce small crops each season and likely process the tea by hand.

What You Need to Know

• All true tea comes from the camellia sinensis plant [photo above]. White, Green, Oolong, Yellow, Black, and Pu-erh teas all come from this plant.
• Loose tea can be steeped multiple times. Some teas can be re-steeped 20 or more times. The flavor is gradually extracted from the leaves with each subsequent steep.
• When shopping for tea, look for companies that offer information about where the tea is from, how it was processed, who grew it, and most importantly—when the tea was harvested.

Steep it

When steeping the tea, be sure the tea can flow freely through the water, this rules out tea bags, tiny tea infusion baskets, tea balls, etc. Ideally, pour water directly over the tea and then strain before drinking. If you must use an infuser, a large finum strainer [photo left] works nicely and still allows for proper water flow.

Depending on the type of tea you are steeping there are two important variables you must pay attention to: water temperature, and steeping time. I’m assuming you are using good water, as tea is 98% water – using a strong chlorinated water would be a bad idea. In general, hotter water must be used for highly oxidized teas. Remember, you are preparing a drink that you should enjoy, so always take tea instructions with a grain of salt. Experiment often to discover the “sweet spot” with your teas and remember—a good tea is a forgiving tea. If your tea is bitter, reduce the steeping temperature. If your tea is too weak, increase the amount of tea leaves used or increase the steeping time.  Here are some guidelines I send out with orders for Chicago Tea Garden:

It is not necessary to get real serious about the steeping temperatures, for 195, boil water, take it off the stove, and wait about a minute. For 170, wait longer. Remember, experiment often.

If you want to get serious about steeping your tea, use a yixing pot, or a gaiwan. If you need energy, consider drinking matcha — a suspension of powdered tea. You are actually consuming the leaf so the health benefits and energy received from matcha are greater than that in other teas. If you need peace, study the gongfu teaceremony [pictured below]– it is a great way to relax so you can enjoy and appreciate the tea.

A fresh tea should have a shelf life of approximately two years, a lightly oxidized tea might become stale quicker. Store your tea away from light, heat air, and any strong scents.

Read

There is a lot of good tea information out there. I highly recommend James Norwood Pratt’s New Tea Lover’s Treasury and Heiss’ Story of Tea. If you prefer an online resource, Michael J Coffey has a valuable wiki of his research here and I’ve assembled a Google Reader bundle of tea blogs.

Source

December 10-11, 2010 @ 8pm.

The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts – Hartford, CT

Buy tickets here!

Well, here it is.  My first blog post.  Many of you have been receiving my newsletter for the last few years.  But as time passes things change and we must adapt.  And things are rapidly changing in my life.  I’m prepping for the transition from academia to the full-time professional lifestyle.  Sure, I’ve managed to work during my studies, but after a gig it’s nice to know that you’re coming back to free voice lessons and coachings, supervision, a planned calendar for 3/4 of the year, etc.  Soon, those creature comforts will vanish and I’m left to fend for myself.

Keep up with this roller coaster of a lifestyle here at my new blog.  For now, I’m still going to keep sending my e-newsetters via email since the blog culture may be unfamiliar to some of you.  For the rest of you however, I’ve added an RSS feed to the side bar that you can subscribe to and get my blogs immediately after posting.  Or, just visit my new website and read the blogs there.

I’m always excited to hear from you.  Feel free to shoot me a line when you have the chance.  Stay tuned for a LOT of new announcements coming soon.  This is the place to read about them!

So, until next time…