Marcelina, Part I

I'm currently prepping Marcelina for a July performance of The Marriage of Figaro, which means I'm doing weekly solo coachings, some ensemble coachings, and a lot of external reading-- some fun one's like the play the opera is based on, Beaumarchais' La Folle Journee, and some yawners like Charles Rosen's The Classical Style.

It's honestly been a little touch and go.  I got the role because someone else dropped out, and I have never done this type of singing-- my voice is a huge and a sometimes unwieldy honking horn, and my weaknesses in singing lie in the language and word area.  The Marcelina stuff is elegant, precise and wordy.  Not a match made in heaven.  I was trying to describe this to a friend in analogy, and the best I could do was basically say, 'think of an elephant on ice skates'. 

My coach has really been extremely patient, with only one or two despairing remarks thrown in along the way.  But sensitive little me is not used to being the slow achiever in the room, and I've been in a panic that he's going to replace me.  So, I've been hard at it all week--trying to find ways to get this stuff programmed into my body, trying to stay relaxed and focused while at the same time working my ass off.

It paid off-- I had a coaching yesterday.  He seemed pleased with my progress.  I could actually relax and enjoy working with him.   Better yet, I could see how I might be ready in time.