oboeinsight

Hucbald wrote on the discussion section and said he’d not heard of lemon juice and nutmeg for brussels sprouts. So I thought I’d mention it here, in case you haven’t tried it; both are great! The lemon juice helps cuts any bitterness that some sprouts have, and the nutmeg … well … yum!

But of course what has that to do with oboes? Hmmm. Maybe I should soak my reeds in lemon juice? (Maybe I should soak my head in lemon juice?!)

But I am thankful for so very much, and I do want to leave the goofiness for a moment to say I do give thanks to God for his love and care and comfort.

Over and out for now … time to get some coffee! :-)
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I suppose I was due to slice an index finger again. Sigh.

Oh well, at least this time I have a few days to recover; no opera until Saturday night. Still, bleeding all over the iBook keyboard isn’t a pretty sight. And cooking tomorrow might be a bit interesting … don’t want to bleed all over the brussels sprouts as I prepare them. (Yes, we have brussels sprouts on Thanksgiving. Add a bit of nutmeg and lemon juice to the water, boil the sprouts, and what a delight!)

In Other News
I read that Elvis Costello is doing some sort of orchestra tour. Now that would be sort of fun, don’tcha think?

Okay. Maybe you don’t think so. But I do.

Unfortunately the first venue listed is San Francisco. It’s doubtful, then, that he’d come down here and do anything. Ah well. That’s life in the big (but not as popular as San Francisco) city.

You can read it here. This reviewer was at the Saturday, opening night performance.

Both reviewers have said that the first scene is a bit on the slow side, and I agree.
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The Mercury News has a review of Un Ballo up. Richard Scheinin reviewed Sunday’s matinee performance (the same one my husband and son attended), so I’ll be curious to see how my family responds to the comments in the review. Both Dan and Jameson did say they enjoyed the opera. They also had positive as well as negative things to say about the performance, but I make it a point not to write about individuals here; that’s not the purpose of this little blog, nor is it a wise thing to do, since I’m not an anonymous poster. (I don’t usually care for anonymous blogs, but I don’t need to veer off topic right now, right?)

It’s interesting to note that Richard Scheinin felt the orchestra came to life when Deborah Berioli came on stage in the second scene. Truth be told, I cannot clearly hear her—not enough to change the way I play. (Nor should I play any less well if the cast is less lively.) But I do wonder about how we sound in the first scene; I think the overture and first scene feel a bit slow (thus “draggy”?), but I’m not in charge of tempi, and maybe the tempi are correct and I just want to get some touchy sections over quicker!

I’ll be posting more reviews if and when I locate them. Stay tuned!
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Well, I was happier with some things today (yes, “the” note was fine), and yet I still wasn’t satisfied.

That’s music for you; it can always be better. Always. Or at least nearly always. Years ago I played something that I was entirely satisfied with. At least that’s how I remember it. I often wonder, now, if I would still be satisfied if I heard a recording. (I’m not sure one even exists.) Have I gotten pickier, or was that really as good a performance as I thought? Interesting thing was, it was on oboe d’amore, playing Bach’s Mass in B minor.

Now it’s a day off, and then a Tuesday night performance. Then it’s nothing until after Thanksgiving fun.

Of course my reeds are rapidly bowing out. Verdi is a reed eater. At least for first oboe. The second oboist gets a lot of reading (not reeding – that would make for a noisy pit) time! :-)
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So we had opening night. I think the audience liked it, although of course I’m never certain. If it was all about the oboe I’d be annoyed; I missed one note. One note I shouldn’t have missed. One note that just ticks me off. (My husband, Dan, always reacts with “ONE note. Wow.” or some such thing. I KNOW it’s trivial to most folks, but one note, to me, is like that piece of corn silk you get caught in your teeth. It’s irksome. It’s aggravating. And it shouldn’t happen. ONE DARN NOTE!

And on my birthday, too. Now that’s just not fair!

But it is “have a bad day day” and I guess I was just proving that right! So maybe it was meant to be.

(Considering my belief system I actually do believe that it was “meant to be” … and yet that doesn’t make it any better for me so I still wallow a while.)

Anyway, it’s really NOT all about the oboe … even though maybe it should be … so oh well! Life goes on. I keep breathing. For now. Even though I’m 49. FORTYNINE. Whoa. Amazing!

My pit pals brought me gifts, which was just … well … heart warming, really! I’m astounded that they remember me. I’m honored, too. And very, very touched.

(“Yes,” I can hear you saying, “You ARE “touched”‘. Heh. See? I can hear even without a phone line or without anyone in the room. Could be I’m a bit crazy, eh? Hearing voices and all.)

So … back to what I was writing about (what WAS I writing about?!) …

The performance went well. Pam played the English horn solo beautifully! (It’s really the highlight of the opera, if you ask me. And you should ask me. Just because it’s my birthday. Okay?)

And then I got home and was greeted with some truffles and a nice glass of white wine. What a nice man my dear husband is!

Birthdays aren’t all that bad, you know? :-)

HOWEVER … there is now a helicopter hovering overhead, searching for something. Do you suppose they are looking for the oboist who missed a note? I wonder.
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… and I know you all are dying to know what item #2 is, yes? Here’s the list again:

1) Un Ballo in Maschera, Opening NIght!
2) Today is Have a Bad Day Day.

Really. Can you believe it? I’m playing opera on “have a bad day day.” Wow. Danger lurks.

Oh … and one other little thing about today. Truth is, I lied. This is really a 3 event day! Woo hoo!

Today I also turn 49. On “have a bad day day” of all things. I have a birthday every year on have a bad day day. Is this fair?

I think not!

… therefore I am not. Thus, I suppose I’m really not having a birthday after all. ;-)

1 day.

To two events.

1) Un Ballo in Maschera, Opening Night!
2) ?!
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Chicago Symphony Orchestra put on a concert I think I’d really enjoy participating in. Go here to read about it.

Anything I’ve done that comes close to this (and not really close enough to count I suppose) was so awful I was embarrassed to be on stage.

Putting a concert like the CSO’s together takes time and talent. If something like this is done, it needs to be taken as seriously as a “regular” concert. Most of the time it seems that these kinds of things are put together with fewer rehearsals and less preparation prior to the rehearsals, as if it’s not as important.

Oh, to do something like this someday!
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