Rotterdam went exceedingly well, especially considering the short rehearsal period we had for such a difficult piece (Beethoven Missa Solemnis). I was dubious at first if the part was good for me, but I trusted the conductor, so I had accepted the engagement. And I absolutely loved it in the end. What a great piece! The conductor was the incredibly talented Yannick Nezet-Seguin. I had sung a belcanto program with him almost 8 years ago (when he was about 4, I think! Ha ha! ) and enjoyed him immensely then. So I was very excited to sing with him again, now that he's "grown up" and other people have noticed his talent, as well! I told y'all so!!! Nobody listens to me... Anyhow, there's rumor that our concert might become a CD, so let's cross our fingers. It'd be nice to have a good memento of that evening. And I hope this is the beginning of more collaboration with Yannick. Great guy! And great orchestra! Other soloists were Cora Burggraaf, mezzo- soprano, Werner Güra, tenor (very good!) and Christopher Maltman, baritone - I'd sung a few concerts with him before, and he's a lovely guy. Raving about his new Mac...
OK, I just like to JOKE that Bochum is the armpit of Germany. It's really not that bad. Actually, I don't see why people kept telling me it was so horrible. It's just a regular nice town - not amazingly beautiful but certainly not warranting all the "UGLY" warnings everyone had given me. What I've seen of the area (very little besides the road from my hotel to the Jahrhunderthalle) looks pretty typical of any European town. There's internet at the hotel and the people are extremely helpful. So, all in all it's been a good experience! The venue is interesting - it's an old factory of some sort which has been converted into a venue for theater and dance. Really pretty cool. Only blight on the whole thing is that someone came into the lady dancers' dressing room during the show last night and stole a bunch of their stuff. The doorman didn't seem much bothered by the news, even though that's supposedly the only way you can come in. It stinks, as we're all on the road, and to steal cellphones and credit cards from people that are away from home and rely on those things (and for whom it's difficult and finagled to replace) just doesn't seem fair.
Nevertheless, our show is SUPER-COOL! The dancers are amazing, and I love my colleagues here. Everyone here has such a unique spirit and something to give in the show. It's already started to evolve with Claron McFadden (the soprano who did the first few shows). I've learned a lot from her. I met her ages ago when I did Drusilla in L'Incoronazione di Poppea with her in Amsterdam at the beginning of my career. We've remained in touch over the years, and luckily we are colleagues on this project, albeit never together, since we interchange with one another!
The reviews from the opening were mainly good (there are always people that just don't get it or who have always disliked Alain's work...) and best of all, Serge got good reviews! Here is a little video showing a bit of the work with a reportage in German over it. It shows both vocal casts briefly - Serge remains the same. Just click on the video to start it:
Deutschlandradio Kultur said: "Im Mittelpunkt steht der junge Countertenor Serge Kakudji, eine sensationelle Entdeckung. Nicht nur sängerisch, sondern auch mit expressiver Körpersprache das Energiezentrum der Vorstellung." ( "The focus is the young countertenor Serge Kakudji, a sensational discovery. Not only in terms of singing, but also with expressive body language, the energy center of the performance.")
The Ruhr Nachrichten called him "des unglaublich präzisen Countertenors Serge Kakudji" (the unbelievably precise Countertenor Serge Kakudji).
I haven't told him yet! It's probably better not to let him get a big head at the moment. His studies are still a point of anguish on my part, as it's hard to tell when exactly the auditions for the Paris Conservatory will be this next year (they don't publish the dates until ridiculously late), and how/if he would be able to make them with the schedule of shows of Pitié. If not, I'm going to suggest that he try for another two French schools: the École Normale in Paris and another school outside of Paris. Both will still require a ton of money for him to be able to live, since it's in or around Paris. And we're not even going to start talking about visa issues. (He'll have to change BACK from a working visa to a study visa...)
He'll make some money this year, but I'm afraid he will spend a ton of it, as he is not used to having money! Remember, he's 19! And his big dream has been to help his parents, so he wants to buy them a car. That will cost about 10,000 Euros of his earnings, so let's hope that he'll have enough left over to support himself for the next years. It's a worthy acquisition, as it will allow his father to work - - having a car is a great meal ticket in the Congo. Since there is no mass transit, all personal cars are assumed to be taxis for hire, so you can make a living driving people around.
I'm trying to counsel him on his budget, but I am definitely not the best person to be telling someone how to save money! Argh! He will still need some help for his education, so if anyone with deep pockets wants to help a VERY worthwhile person to achieve his dreams, here he is! I'm so proud of all he's doing, I could burst. I can't imagine doing what he's doing after only my freshman year in college. ! Bravo, Serge!
I'm now frantically trying to prepare for my Rotterdam Philharmonic debut in their Gerghiev festival. I guess I got this engagement because of my Mahler 4 with Gerghiev? I don't remember... Anyhow, it's Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, which is REALLY long and REALLY tricky. It's not hard, per se, but the rhythms always want to lead you astray, and we only have ONE day to prepare it with the chorus before our concert the next day! YIKES!! I love the conductor, though: Yannick Nezet-Seguin, who has become their new music director. I did a belcanto concert with him years ago (when he was even more shockingly young!) in Montreal, and he is wonderful. I hope I'll get to do more things with him in the future, as my memories of him were golden.
Then, I'm off the next day on a train to Brussels to record some parts of Pitié so that we can have a disk by October's Paris shows. Then we have the shows in Ghent. After which.......
drum roll, please.....
I move to Italy! Of course I still haven't figured out exactly HOW, but that will get figured out this week sometime in between all this stuff. The idea had been to drive (with my boyfriend Tullio) in a rented big truck. But they don't have U-Haul here in Europe, and I haven't found a truck company yet in Belgium that will let me drop off a big truck in Turin. Ugh. The search is on. I enlisted the help of Serge, who said he could make the trip with me, but he'd just be helping me load and accompanying me, as he doesn't know how to drive yet. Ah, youth... So that is all up in the air for the moment. I'm going to have to get a storage unit in Turin, anyhow, as all my stuff will not fit in Tullio's apartment and basement. At least the storage unit, we have found. Wish me luck with the logistics!! In any case, I think Serge will either come out to Italy with us or join us, as our next shows after that are in Turin. This way, he can get an inside look at Italian life. (And maybe work on his Italian?) We'll see!
Did I mention that I spent my birthday in Italy? I went down to Martina Franca in Puglia, where Tullio's from, and his parents threw me a beautiful laid-back party at their house, replete with CAKE and way too much food. All his siblings were there, and I got to meet a lot of his old friends and some more family. It was a beautiful evening. Earlier that day, he picked me up at the airport in Bari and took me to a gorgeous restaurant in a grotto - Grotto Palazzese. There, he gave me a big acquamarine and diamond ring for my birthday. It's beautiful. And he's wonderful.
