Cole and The Innkeeper's Wife Opera

Writing the previous post about The Inkeeper's Wife sparked one of my favorite music memories. Actually, it's two memories sort of combined into one. They involve Cole and The Innkeeper's Wife.

During the opera, Joseph and Mary (whose role I sang) come to the inn and are told there is no room for them. They are allowed to sit and rest a bit (singing throughout, naturally; this is opera, after all!) and the innkeeper's children serve them some food along with the rest of the crowded inn's guests.

During rehearsal, we did  not use real food; we used fake apples, grapes, etc. I had no idea that, during performances, real food would be used. Not that I'd really eat - I had a big solo to sing after being served, and eating and singing do NOT go together. (Plus, that solo contained a high B flat, and I really sweated that one, both in rehearsal and during the performances!)

The high B flat that terrified me so.

Cole was probably six or seven, and he played the innkeeper's youngest son. As such, he was to come onstage and offer food to Joseph and Mary. Things went just fine in rehearsal, and I had no thought that  the performances would go any differently. 

But they did. Oh, did they ever! And all because of the switch from fake to real food.

The opera was underway, and Joseph and I had made our journey to the inn after wending our way through the audience singing all the while. (As I said, it WAS opera and you sing constantly!) We made our way up the stairs and into the inn, were invited to sit and rest (again, all through song) and it was time for Cole to come out and offer Joseph and Mary some refreshments.

Out he trotted, but he was moving more quickly than he had in rehearsals. He stopped in front of me and held out the tray of food. And then to my surprise, he broke character.

"Mom!!" he hissed in a very loud stage whisper. "The food is real tonight! Look!! We're all eating it backstage!" And again he held out the tray towards Joseph and me.

Oh. My. Oh. Dear.

Did the audience hear what he'd said over the music? I didn't hear any laughter, so maybe they hadn't. I indicated (as the script called for) that I didn't care for anything to eat, and he trotted offstage.

Whew!!

I sang that solo, hitting the high B flat, sang the quartet that followed that, and then Joseph and I moved offstage.

The Innkeeper's Wife's angry rant at her daughter (sung by my daughter, Jessica).

Needless to say, I spoke with Cole that night about the importance of staying in character and not talking to me while onstage. I though that would fix the problem.

Well, it fixed the talking problem, but there was still the FOOD problem. The next evening's performance Cole came out on cue to offer Joseph and Mary their food. It was real food again...

... a three foot long loaf of French bread!! Sort of like a big light saber in the hands of a little guy!

Cole carried it out and offered it to me. I didn't know what to do - break off a hunk? The sight of a little boy carrying out a long loaf of bread (obviously someone backstage handling props had forgotten to break it into chunks and put it into a basket) made me want to giggle and lose character myself! Stifling those, and trying to focus on the words I needed to sing, I waved Cole (and the light saber bread) off.

Well, I again made it through my solo with the high B flat and the quartet that followed, and we ended the opera on a high note. (No pun intended.) There is nothing like the glow you feel after a couple of successful performances when you have accomplished something you weren't sure you could actually pull off. (Did I mention that I get terrible stage fright?) And doing it with two of your children makes it even better.

But, adding to the glow are the memories - I will never forget Cole's antics onstage as he delighted in discovering that the food at the inn was real.

The Singers with Whom I Sang

 Since we are heading out to Utah to watch family perform in a musical, I thought it would be fun to share some of my musical background. I have a Minor in Music from the University of Illinois and have sung in many operas and musicals myself.

This is a throwback post from about ten years ago.

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 A musician I used to sing and perform with passed away yesterday.

 Dr. Blaine Edlefsen.

Blaine was a professor of music at the University of Illinois and the principle oboist for the Champaign-Urbana Symphony. He could "circular breathe" while he played - breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth at the same time. (Try as I might, I never was able to do that, even without an oboe reed in my mouth.)

I met him at church where he led the music in worship for years. At that time, there was a core group of strong musicians who attended every Sunday, many of whom were working on their Doctorate of Musical Arts at the university.

Charis Duke, also an oboist and a composer, decided to form an octet of singers to do madrigals, opera, and sing at churches in the Champaign/Urbana area. To my surprise, I was invited to join the group.

I was thrilled to be asked to sing with them, but also very intimidated - I was the only non-professional musician in the group. The musicianship of the others and the level of music which we performed was at the highest level, and I had to work HARD to keep up. The result, though, was that my own musicianship grew by leaps and bounds. I kept up, but just barely.

Our octet consisted of:

 Charis Duke. She lives in Philadelphia and composes operas, chamber music, and other pieces. She is also an accomplished cellist, oboist, pianist, and organist. We've been friends now for about twenty-five years.

Dr. David Duke, Charis' husband who received a DMA in opera from the University of Illinois. He is a Heldentenor and has a rich, mellow voice. He was a finalist for the New York Metropolitan Opera's program for new talent. He sings in off-Broadway productions up and down the east coast.

Dr. Robert Nakea, a concert pianist who received his DMA from the University of Illinois. Robert is from Hawaii and a teddy bear of a man. The Osmond family hired Robert  to teach piano to their kids when he was a student at BYU, and our son Kyle was lucky enough to study with Robert, too. While his expertise is the piano, Robert also has a lovely bass and sang that role in our group.

Cindy Nakea, Robert's wife, and a lyric soprano/opera singer as well as my voice teacher. I was a stay-at-home mom at the time with no extra money for voice lessons, and Cindy needed a wardrobe as she and Robert were going on a concert tour of Italy and Europe for the summer. In exchange for voice lessons, I sewed her wardrobe for those performances.

Jill Peper, concert pianist. Jill's degree was from Penn State, but Randy was on faculty at the U of I in the College of Veterinary Medicine and that brought them to the area. Jill sang alto in our group - her musicianship was as top notch as the rest of them!

Our group sang together for about four years, and in that time we put on two operas and many concerts. The biggest musician-compliment I have ever gotten was when Charis wrote an opera for us to perform, and asked me to sing the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. She told me she had written the role for my voice, which is (or was; it's been a few years since I sang) more on the coluratura side than lyric soprano. I'd never had a piece written specifically for me to perform, and I doubt I ever will again, so that music is very special to me.

(Coloratura refers to a type of music - very high, full of trills and runs, or a very high soprano voice that is light and airy, and can quickly touch on the notes. Here is an example of a coloratura piece sung by the Queen of the Night in the opera The Magic Flute: 

When my voice was at its best, I had a high E-flat above C.)

The opera, The Innkeeper's Wife, had an aria for Mary to sing with a high B-flat. I sweated that note, but I hit it in all the rehearsals and in both performances. (Don't think I could now!) Blaine sang the role of Joseph, and in one scene we wended our way through the audience, singing a duet together as we made our way to Bethlehem and the stage. (Jessica and Cole also were in that opera with me - what a treat!)

Blaine sang with Jessica in Amahl and the Night Visitors - Jessie performed the role of Amahl and Blaine the role of the wise man who carries the treasure box and has his finger bitten by the parrot.

Good memories, of friends who taught me so much, and of a time when I had a golden opportunity to work with an incredibly talented group of musicians.

On the Road for Matilda

We are heading out today to Utah to see Mountain Mama Jessica, Andrew, Cambria, and Titan perform in the musical, Matilda.

Their official cast photo. (Photos by Pete Hansen Photos.)

Jessica has performed in musicals and operas since she was in her teens, so this is a very familiar and dear activity to her. It's new for the other three, and it was actually Titan who asked if they could do a musical together. 

 

To their delight, all four of them received roles, with Titan receiving a lead role

in which he helps lead the revolt of the Revolting Kids.

However, Cambria gets her share of the spotlight, too! 

Craig and I are going the scenic route and taking the train so blog entries may be sporadic while we are away. I don't anticipate being around horses while in Utah so blog topics most likely will be about other things. 

Stay 'tooned!

A Very Special Wedding

The wedding I attended on Saturday was for someone who is very dear to my heart.

I was Madeline's 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teacher and needless to say, when you spend three years with someone, they become almost like family.

Her sister, Meredith, was also in my class. A year younger that Madeline, she was with for me for 2nd, 4th, and 5th grade. (I taught the 2nd/3rd grade Gifted class for one year and then moved on to the 4th/5th Gifted class for the rest of my career.)

I've known these two ladies since they were 7 and 8 - lucky me!

Brooke, Madeline's best friend and matron of honor, was also in my class for three years. Needless to say, seeing these young women again was very special to me.

I sat down Sunday and went through old blog posts on Teachinmama, my original blog. Here are a few of my favorite photos with the girls.

Both girls were accomplished ballet dancers and I went to many of their performances.

A highlight of my Christmases for years was attending their annual performance of The Nutcracker Ballet and seeing their roles change as they grew more and more accomplished in their ballet training.

In 2011 I had both knees replaced, and they came to see me while I recovered at home. As a treat, they made ice cream for me from eggs that their ducks had laid. (If you are ever offered duck egg ice cream, say YES!! It is so rich and creamy!)

I retired in 2018, and with my principal's blessing (and to my surprise), years of former students descended on my classroom one afternoon in May and surprised me with a retirement party.

Madeline and Merry were right in the thick of things. What a lovely thing for all those former students to do for me and what a way to close out your career by celebrating with kids (many of whom were now adults) that you loved and still held close in your heart.

I didn't stay retired for more than a few months - due to illness, a teacher suddenly needed to retire during the school year. I was asked to finish the year as the class's teacher.

There was also a teacher's aide position for that class to be filled. Madeline was a studying Elementary Education at Purdue and I asked her to apply for the job if she was interested. She was, and was able to arrange her class schedule and take the aide position.

She did a wonderful job and it was really, really fun to have her as a colleague. (She is now in her fourth year of teaching 4th grade.)

Bumping into Brooke and Madeline at The Feast of the Hunters' Moon in 2021.

Congratulations, Madeline and Joe, and I hope you have many happy years together! And thank you for including me in your wedding day. 

Love always,

Mrs. I./Lynn

 

A Day Goes Awry - in a Good Way

I lost yesterday. My plans for the day got flipped around and went topsy turvy, but in a good way.

On the docket was spending a short while at the barn in the morning while out of town friends stopped by to see the horses, and then a late afternoon wedding.

Easy peasy, lots of time to get other things done, right? Well... can you hear me laughing about that assumption? 

I am an early morning riser, but not necessarily an early-morning-get-dressed-for-the-day girl. Luckily, yesterday I was. 

Those friends coming through town were early and I had to rush to the barn - I hadn't even started writing the day's blog post. (In their defense, they had said they'd be here early; I just did not realize that they meant quite that early.)

Lydia appears to be a true horse girl.

We spent time in the pasture with the horses, then went into the barn to see Tim's horse drawn vehicle collection. And we came back outside,

Lydia went right back to the horses and spent time petting them.

Abby loves people and will tag along and follow me wherever I go.

So she stayed by Lydia's side, and Lydia was thrilled! Abby even put her ears back a few times when the other horses tried to encroach on her time with Lydia. 

There were a few moments when Abby began falling asleep, she was so relaxed and happy!

Special moments with horses are precious, and Lydia was certainly having one of those. I could not bear to break that up, so I quit worrying about having time to shower and prepare for the wedding (it was out of town so there was a bit of a drive involved) and just let her have her moment.

Two hours later, Lydia and her parents were on their way home, Abby was a puddle of relaxation, and I was hustling home to hop in the shower and change clothes.

We made the wedding with time to spare

and I had a wonderful reunion with several former students on a very special day for one of them. 

More on that to come. Stay 'tooned!

 

Vintage Club Rustler

I have gotten a lot of new models that I have yet to post about. Most are still in their boxes and stacked in my office waiting to be opened. In addition to those, my BreyerFest models will soon be delivered by Barn Buddy Kelsie, and they, too, will need to be opened, photographed, and documented. 

So heads up and fair warning - upcoming blog posts will be heavy on new models.

Rustler, the third offering from the 2023 Vintage Club, arrived in June.

I am not a fan of pintos, but Rustler's paint job is nicely done.

Black is my favorite horse color, so if it must be a pinto, a black pinto is preferred over other pinto colors in my book.

Even better, Rustler is a music box and plays Home on the Range! Have a listen.

I like the retro design of the insert that was in Rustler's box with him. One of these comes with each Vintage Club piece.

I grew up watching Fury on television and read all the Fury books when I was a little girl. (I still have them.)

The Vintage Club boxes are not like the usual Breyer boxes.

In this case, they gave the box a 1950s feel through the colors, fonts, and general design.

The sides of the box.

The bottom.

And the top of the box.

Despite not being especially fond of pintos, this is one of my favorite offerings from the Vintage Club since its inception. That music box makes it truly a unique model in the club.

Well done, Breyer!

 

Summer Gathering 2023: Family Bags

Everyone in our family loves to play games. Come visit us, whoever you are, and you are going to get pulled into a game of some sort. Often we have a game being played in the kitchen, another in the dining room, and then an outdoor game of some sort happening outside.

Curt especially loves to play bags (aka corn hole.) So much so that Vanessa had a special set made for him that represents his two favorite colleges - Purdue University (where he got his degrees) and the University of Illinois (where he was born and he grew up cheering on.)

While our family was gathered this month, he brought his bags set to our home for some family fun.

Curt and Frank with the Purdue board. (You can see that half of the bags have Purdue fabric and the other half has the University of Illinois.)

Lisa and Ian with the Illinois board. (My degrees are from Illinois although I did some undergrad and graduate work at Purdue, too. But I am an Illini through and through.)

Emily and Frank.

Don't feel like playing? No problem - you can be a spectator or you can cheer

or even act as the referee which Kate was actually doing.

Someone has to provide music and keep the crowd entertained, too. (Lukie and Julie are using the Kubb game pieces and making some music for us. It was actually really nice - it sounded like wooden wind chimes.)

We didn't play as long as we usually do. It was quite hot and even though we were playing in the shade, it was just too warm and we moved inside.

Summer Gathering 2023: Pop's Birthday

We actually celebrated earlier with Kyle, Cole, and Kate on July 3, but on his real birthday, we went to one of our favorite places, Trish's Red Bird Cafe in Dayton.

Lukie (check out that ginormous side order of mac n cheese!), Craig, me, and Emily.

Kyle (with an order of onion rings too big for his plate), and Ian.

Lisa and Frank

Mila, Susie, and Kate. (There was a video playing of the food you could order and the girls were fascinated by what was available. Hey, it's a small town menu with good home cookin' and things you don't get in chain restaurants. Ever had Beef Manhattan? Delicious!)

Me and Emily

Curt, Vanessa, and Lukie (who put the mac n cheese on his grilled cheese sandwich. Apparently it was yummy.)

We rounded out the evening with lemon cake and ice cream plus Vanessa led us in a karaoke/dance party. (Reminiscent of the one she threw in our bathroom at Thanksgiving, 2021!)

Happy Birthday, Craig!