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!