The concert at St Leonard's Church in Stroud was yesterday! Together with Kezia Bienek and Alex Garziglia, we performed a variety of Italian songs (Rossini, Verdi and Puccini) and arias (Mozart, Puccini), together with German songs and Operatic duets. Oh! And Carmen's Seguidilla! The concert was absolutely fun and after Emma Watkinson had to cancel her performance of Voi che sapete, (from Le Nozze di Figaro), the one who writes this lines jumped out of the piano stool, and accompanied by Alex Garziglia, sang the aria in front of a very warm audience.

Obviously this is now a very special memory of the concert for me, but apart from this anecdotal circumstance, highlights for me were the Verdi and Puccini songs performed with Kezia, and Strauss' Morgen played with Alex. I can't really articulate with words the feeling you get when you are thoroughly connected with a singer through the performance of a song, but the sensation is so full and rich when it happens! Absolutely wonderful!

It was a pity to end the night with massively delayed trains back to London... But things happen- as my best friend always reminds me. And despite really really late, I went to bed with a broad smile on my face! To the music!

M.

A week ago I finally took the time to start running this website and decided to open a blog again. All throughout this week ideas on possible posts have been bubbling in my head non stop, though I had to face an unresolved question in the first place- the unresolved question: Why did I stop writing a year ago? 

There is the usual procrastination aspect to it. I'll catch up tomorrow- I'll do it over the weekend. But there was something else! I arrived to a point where I simply didn't want to write in English any more! I felt that I was lacking the the spontaneity and the xxx – the something that t is so difficult to obtain in any but your mother tongue! (Not to mention the typos-anxiety that Shakespeare's language causes in Cervantes' language users … ) 

On the other hand going back to writing in Spanish seemed to neglect the cultural immersion that I was (and I am) living since I moved to London and I can't deny that- despite all the above mentioned- the English language posses an immediacy and a straightforwardness that I find not only idiosyncratic, but mesmerizing. So here we are!

If I have chosen the language issue to start this first post, is not -only- to be apologetic about having stopped writing online! But it seemed terribly ad hoc now that we are rehearsing Iolanta -in Russian- at GSMD. For the first time in my career I'm playing and opera that I don't understand- I don't understand it's language! And it makes a big difference- unfortunately! I have been always a defender of the purity of the operatic text (in its vast meaning of both libretto and music), despite all the modern trend to translate them, specially in this country. However, now that I am experiencing what it feels not being able to understand the words in my own skin, I have a completely different perspective to it.

 Not that I'm turning my back to the pro original language side of the coin, or not yet, but I don't see the question as clear as I thought it was. On the other hand, and I'm cutting this post short, (there is time to come back to the matter later), truth is there is fortunately no need to feel black and white about it, since we have the privileged option in this country not to have either/or but both !

And with this positive reconciliation I head towards my Iolanta-in Russian-rehearsal call!

Good morning!