I have to express my extreme excitement at being with New York City Opera again. The last time I was here was for the New York premiere of Stephen Schwartz' Séance on a Wet Afternoon. I am delighted to be invited back and happy that the false start of delayed contract agreements only resulted in our first rehearsal being postponed by a few days. But, when given the green light, we hit the ground running and have spent the past week working diligently to get our production well on the road toward being ready for our run of performances. I think I can speak for the cast when I say that we are all so very grateful to be working on this opera and excited to be a part of this season's huge array of spectacular pieces.
The opera, Prima Donna, which will be making it's U.S. debut and New York City premiere, has been composed by Grammy and BRIT nominated and dual Juno Award winning singer/songwriter, Rufus Wainwright. I have been a fan of Rufus' for at least a decade and one of his songs was even in my wedding reception mix in June, 2008 - long before I knew I'd be working with him. As one can imagine, this is a dream come true.
The story of Prima Donna revolves around an aging opera singer who is attempting to revive her career amidst self-doubt, failed romance and crippling loneliness. The opera, sung in French, is set in Paris, 1970. The story is very much inspired by Maria Callas' later years in Paris where she was known to lock herself inside her room and listen to old opera recordings.
I am so excited to sing the role of Régine Saint Laurent and to open myself to the process and experience of working on this opera. It is enough to be offered an opportunity to give voice to such a complex and dynamic character, but to also get to work with someone whose musical talent I admire so much is beyond wonderful. To take this "dream come true" experience for me and elevate it to the stratospheric level, last night, the soloists involved in Prima Donna were asked to do a "Works and Process" preview of excerpts of the opera at the Guggenheim Museum. At the last minute, Rufus decided to accompany me in performing the last aria of the night. There are no words to describe the experience of singing Rufus' music while he played. I really could not breathe for about an hour.
So, my friends, I am on cloud nine. We are doing great work and we are all eager to present this opera on February 19th at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Howard Gilman Opera House. The show runs through February 25th and tickets are available at New York City Opera's website.
The last show of our run will occur one day after my birthday. As if I were not already swimming in luck during this contract....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!!!!
