Red Carpets.

Although my opera-going experience is still rather limited, I have been to a number of live performances. I have enjoyed them all, but by far my favorite was this past fall. Bray had the wonderful opportunity to be part of a new opera, Seance On A Wet Afternoon, written by Broadway icon, Stephen Schwartz.
You will have to excuse me when talking about Stephen Schwartz, as I may geek out just a bit. For those of you unfamiliar with his work, he has written such musicals as: Godspell, Pippin, Wicked, and the music for movie musicals Enchanted, Hunchback, and Prince of Egypt, just to name a few! This was Stephen Schwartz's first opera, and has (so far) been a success! I will let Bray write more about the actual musical details of the opera, and I will tell you about my time surrounding the premiere event!
Opera Santa Barbara commissioned the work, and it was to be performed in the newly refurbished Granada Theatre in downtown Santa Barbara. The theater itself is amazing, and was a perfect venue for the opening. I had the privilege of going to 2 dress rehearsals before the actual opening night. This allowed me to get to know the story line quite well,and I was able to hear more of the complexity of the music, and how the orchestration became a key character in it's own right.














The set was fantastic, and was designed by Tony award-winner Heidi Ettinger. When I first walked into the auditorium, I saw a huge plexi-glass Victorian house onstage. It was 2 stories, complete with staircases, and was able to turn 360 degrees. This made it so the house 'moved' with the characters, giving it a cinematic feel. Combined with the lighting also by a Tony nominee, David Lander, put you in the perfect mood for a dark and moving story. My absolute favorite part of the set, though, was the 'curtain of chains.' I do not know how tall they were, but there was several full rows of chains that could raise up and down, and when touched or moved, sounded like rain.
Bray was in the chorus for this show, and Stephen Schwartz brought his own Broadway influences by having the chorus heavily choreographed. The colors were all within a gray/black palette, and the chorus members were dressed to match. They all had umbrellas that they used in their numbers to create different shapes and patterns, and at one point they all came together and formed a 'trolley.'
I had a glimpse of what it would be like to go to the Oscars or the Golden Globes on the night of the premiere. Bray of course had to be at the show early, and so I got to walk around beautiful State Street until the doors opened. The evening was gorgeous, and they had even laid out a red carpet in front of the theatre for the big names to walk on when entering. It was surreal to see all the people in their dresses and tuxes arriving in Rolls Royces and limos, having their picture taken on the red carpet, and then entering the theatre for the show that my husband was a part of!
The opening went very well, and afterwards, I was able to attend the elite after-party with Bray. They had a tent set up in a open courtyard with chocolate delicacies, champagne and fruit. Bray introduced me to all of the cast and designers, but the highlight of the evening (warning: geek out moment) was actually at the end of the party. Nearly everyone had left and it was close to 2 in the morning, and I had just said I was a little disappointed as I didn't get to congratulate Stephen Schwartz himself. Right after that I looked over, and saw Stephen talking to one of the last party-goers. Bray, knowing I would never do it on my own, asked Stephen if I could get a picture with him, and then we all walked to our cars with the composer, on the night of his world premiere.

Opera quotes.

Taken from Great Singers on Great Singing, by Jerome Hines.
(Jerome Hines to Marilyn Horne):
"Jackie, you have just reconfirmed my opinion that successful singers who endure are endowed...upstairs."
"Singing is ninety-five percent brains," she said.
"Ninety-five percent brains, Ha, ninety-five percent brains, ninety-five percent talent, ninety-five percent perseverance, ninety-five percent guts..."

(from a student to Luciano Pavarotti):
"Mr. Pavarotti, how do you get your high notes?" The questioner got what he deserved. Luciano promptly sang an ascending scale ending on a beautiful high A flat.
"There," he said emphatically, closing the subject.

Opera baby.

The first 'major' summer program Bray was accepted into was The Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, CA. At the time, I had just finished my senior year of college, and we were expecting our first child in late June. The program was scheduled to start in the second week of June, and so, without really hesitating, we decided to move down for the summer and have our son, Hobbes, there. Once again, the crazy label was applied to us, but we figured this was a great opportunity, and one Bray should not miss out on. Unfortunately, most summer programs do not provide married housing, so we found a place online in downtown Santa Barbara, and spent what little money we had at the time to rent it early. I have many stories related to that-I can't in good conscience say apartment-but I will save those for another day.

To make things even more interesting, Hobbes was 2 weeks late, and due to the 4th of July, I could not be induced until the 6th, much to the dismay of my parents who had flown down and needed to fly back for a conference on the 4th. On the 6th, I went and picked Bray up from rehearsal, and then went and checked in at the hospital. Hobbes was born the next afternoon, and Bray was able to spend the day with me. However, the show must go on, and so he had to be at rehearsals the next day. I was scheduled to be released from the hospital after 2 nights, but due to Bray's schedule, I had to wait till his lunch break so that he could come pick me up. He only had about 45 minutes, and after all the inspections, and double-checking to make sure they gave us the right baby, we went straight from the hospital to the campus where they rehearsed. I can still remember being in one of the beautiful, empty rehearsal halls, holding Hobbes and waiting for Bray to be done. Although unusual, it was actually a lovely afternoon, and I enjoyed sitting with my newborn son, listening to the sounds of opera singers rehearsing Cosi fan Tutte.

Hobbes was a hit with all the Music Academy members and audience, and was even given a lovely outfit from Marilyn Horne herself. He was a really good baby, and believe it or not, I brought him with me to most of the masterclasses. He has been listening to opera since before he was born, and I hope he continues to do so as he grows older!














Outside our 'apartment' in Santa Barbara, 1 week after Hobbes was born.

Pieces of the puzzle.

Once people learn that Bray is in opera, the next question is typically "How did you get into that?"
It is indeed not one of the careers kids say they want to be when asked on the first day of pre-school. For Bray, it was a series of people and events, all falling into line, and leading to opera.
Bray grew up in Monroe, LA, and began participating in the local community theatre at about 16. Believe it or not, he began as only a stage-hand, and was actually told by one of the directors (who had seen him goofing off backstage) that he had to audition for the next show. From there, a local church music director heard Bray in the show, and offered to teach him voice lessons. This uncovered Bray's love for music, but he did not discover opera until college.

Bray had several connections to Moscow, ID by the time he was looking at school, and when the University of Idaho offered him a full ride scholarship, he decided he would major in vocal performance there. At the time, the U of I did not have a music-theatre major, and so Bray was 'forced' to major in classical voice. By his junior year, he had fallen in love with (well, me for starters) the challenges opera presented; the beauty and complexity of the music, the vocal technical difficulties, the amount of work it demanded, and also the great return when done well.

Like any career, there are several hoops one must jump through in order to move up in (or, in our case, survive) the world of opera. Although Bray has gone through several of them (summer programs, young artist programs, numerous competitions) there is still a long ways to go. This is a career where things can change in a moment: someone gets sick, and you are called to take their place, and make your 'debut,' a friend mentions your name to a company, and your career takes off, or a representative from a company hears you at some competition or concert and decides to ask you to audition. Needless to say, there is not a lot of planning ahead in opera. The planning and preparation is done with the constant training, honing and perfecting of vocal technique, musical artistry, diction, and overall 'operatic package.' Opera singers live and breathe opera, and, to me, it seems like they never stop singing. Within moments of Bray waking up in the morning, the apartment is filled with the sounds of vocal warm-ups, and this continues throughout the day. The voice is an amazing instrument, and I never tire of hearing snippets of different arias and songs. It reminds me why Bray does this: he loves it.



















Bray as Luigi in William Bolcom's A Wedding, in Santa Barbara, CA, 2008.

Life as an Opera wife.

I am an opera-singer's wife. Whenever I tell people that, they usually stop for a minute, and ask me to repeat myself. It is not the everyday career, and when they find out we have a family, they usually just think we're crazy. Which we are. To make it in the opera world, you need to have an undying love of music, a great work ethic, years of training, and a willingness to put yourself at the mercy of other's judgement and whims. It can be as nerve-wracking as watching Olympic athletes, and as subjective as the world of fashion.
I can remember sitting in the audience at one of Bray's first Metropolitan Opera National Council competitions. They were about to give out the awards, and the speaker was praising the singers for 'doing what they do.' He said that most opera singers, when they have finished all their training, competing and auditioning, will have spent as much money as a medical student-but without the guarantee of a job. Although the rest of the audience was laughing, I was struck by the truthfulness of his words. What is it that we are trying to do? And why? These questions are ones that I still occasionally ask myself (okay, more than occasionally, but still.), music is powerful. There is so much that goes into it, and even more that comes out. And we love it. We may be crazy, but we've come this far, and we aren't going back.
We began this blog for several reasons:
1. My sister suggested it.
2. It's an easy way to keep family and friends informed about Bray's performance schedule, his shows, and what it is that we really do.
3. To keep a record of all our crazy stories, experiences and adventures, and share them with all of you.
So here goes. It's been a crazy journey so far, and it's still just beginning!