tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35582065937765668472024-03-13T06:56:20.365-07:00How Can I Keep from Singing?Don't be confused. I am not really asking you how to stop singing. Think of all the joys in your life. Now think of all the times you were comforted by music. There are countless reasons to sing. This blog is about it all from an opera singers point of view.Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-27760463416233925212013-10-12T10:05:00.000-07:002013-10-12T10:53:12.406-07:00Blogging isn't DeadNearly 18 months have passed since I last wrote a blog post. Several of you have inquired about why I stopped blogging. There are two reasons: 1. Life got messy and complicated 2. No one reads blogs anymore. Seriously, I had folks tell me they loved my blog, but asked if I could make it shorter because they were too long. I explained the difference between a blog and a tweet, but still people insist shorter is better. So, here I am updating my website and wondering if blogging is even relevant anymore. Oh, what a short two year love affair we had! The thing is, I still write nearly everyday in my journal keeping up with thoughts. Writing for me has always felt good and been a place for me to record feelings and goals. It's always a treat to go back and read what was written. You can see how there are themes in your life and looking back you can see how you got exactly where you are. I love that about writing. I've been doing some reading of old journals and it's refreshing to see my growth and very interesting to see how long it takes before change actually occurs. You don't get a lesson until you GET the lesson and you will repeat something over and over until it becomes your new way. This applies to your artistry, technical issues, as well as any growth happening in relationships. So, I write this blog post to encourage all of you young singers (my main audience here) to begin a journal practice. Try a stream of consciousness of three pages every morning before you even hit that first cup of coffee. Sit with yourself and listen and write. It doesn't have to be profound and can even be a series of words. I started doing this after reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Artists-Way-Julia-Cameron/dp/1585421464" target="_blank">The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron</a>. It's become a fairly regular practice and helps me tune into myself each day instead of jumping straight into emails or Facebook. It's a place of total honesty and freedom, which means I need to add a line in my will as to who gets to read them when I die! So, I'm back friends! I'm going to start blogging again and will try to keep it somewhere between a tweet and a novel. Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0Omaha, NE, USA41.2523634 -95.99798829999997541.0614744 -96.32071179999997 41.4432524 -95.675264799999979tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-34187752290677798902012-05-04T12:20:00.000-07:002012-05-04T12:20:24.632-07:00Be a Good TravelerNext month marks the five year anniversary of my first audition trip to Europe. I am writing this from my tiny hotel room in Antwerpen, Belgium on yet another audition excursion. I was thinking today as I arrived groggy and dry-mouthed, about how much easier travel has gotten now that I do it all the time. Going to Europe used to feel as though I was journeying into the far corners of the world and now it seems closer to me than California. I guess I should really change my earlier statement. Travel hasn't gotten <i>easier</i> as much as I have figured out how to take care of myself while traveling. For you youngsters getting ready to brave the European audition circuit, here are some tips:<br />
<br />
1. Drink as much water as you can the day before you fly and abstain from alcohol the day before, day of and during the flight. Trust me on this one. The voice is a delicate little thing and flights are drying enough as it is. Alcohol only makes it worse. Save it for the flight home as a treat!<br />
2. www.hrs.com is a great website for booking hotels. I like it because it has a search option where you can find hotels near certain popular tourist destinations. I click on the filter to find hotels in my price range near the opera house I am auditioning for or near the train station if I'm catching a quick train after the audition.<br />
3. Pack light. Seriously ladies. I did a three week audition tour in the fall and had one carry-on bag and my purse. I carried my wrinkle free audition dress, shoes, and three outfits. Since you are going from city to city no one sees that you wear the same thing all the time. Just bring enough underwear and socks and you are good to go! I travel with my audition shoes, a pair of sneakers, and my black leather boots. You can wear black leather boots with anything these days and you never know what kind of weather you will run into. Best to be prepared.<br />
4. Download workouts as podcasts to minimize expenses in gyms. It also is a handy thing to have because I don't like being out after dark in new cities all alone. This way I can go out and see a town and come back to workout in my hotel room and not be caught in risky areas. I was caught in a risky area once all alone in Italy and have never forgotten it! Jogging in a new city isn't an option for me for this reason.<br />
5. Get an e-reader. This is a no brainer. It is worth every dime you spend especially if you are an avid reader like me. I remember when I first came to Europe to audition 5 years ago and would buy books and leave a trail of them behind me because I didn't have the space in my luggage. It's so much better now because we can travel with all our favorite books and magazines.<br />
6. Take out a lump of cash at the ATM at a time to avoid every transaction having a processing international fee. Those fees really add up. You may also be able to find a bank that has low fees. Don't forget to tell your bank you will be traveling out of the country. Several times I have forgotten and after the first transaction the card is tagged for possible fraud and then you are stuck with having to deal with that ordeal from overseas where it is difficult to get a new card.<br />
7. Don't tell the passport agent when you enter the foreign country that you are in town for an audition. People don't understand what this means and all of a sudden you will find yourself being asked to show a work permit for a job you don't even have. Until you get the job, it is best to be traveling 'for pleasure'. I was once very honest with a London passport agent, telling her proudly I was in London to audition. SHe then demanded to see my work permit for said 'audition'. I tried explaining to her that I didn't need a work permit to enter the country to 'try' to work. She was snarky and said, "How do I know you won't get the job and just stay here to work without a permit." In my tired crankiness I said, "I guess you don't. You'll just have to take my word for it." She took my word for it but she also stamped my passport preventing me from entering Great Britain for six months to work. Ouch. So, if you are auditioning.......you are on a pleasure trip. When you get the job you can say you are there to work and the company you work for will have submitted you for a work permit which you will have to show the passport agent.....unless you work in Italy, and well, that is another story all together.<br />
<br />
These are just a few of the things that came to mind today as I was reflecting on my audition travel. You will learn your own things and you will figure out what works for you. Here are some good tips on being a good traveler: <br />
1. You must have patience and be open to change. Things don't go as planned so be very grateful for when they do. Flexibility is the name of the game. I've slept on the floor of the Madrid airport and on a string of three chairs in London Heathrow with a high fever. Accept it, fall asleep, get comfortable.....raising hell doesn't fix it. I always see people getting all worked up about things and the truth of the matter is....it doesn't fix the problem. It only adds to the frustrated energy permeating the boarding area. Find a good spot and hunker down. Go to sleep. Drool. You'll get there eventually.<br />
2. Know that you can always get whatever you need most anywhere you go. So, don't feel obligated to bring everything and your kitchen sink along with you. Aside from specific medication that you have a prescription for, most European pharmacies have everything we have at home. <br />
3. Be kind to people and polite. This throws some Europeans off because they think you are fake or crazy but it's always good policy.<br />
4. Talk to strangers. I've met many interesting people in SAFE PUBLIC places by doing this and I have wonderful stories from chatting up strangers. I met my husband in the Atlanta airport!<br />
5. Be curious and unafraid to get lost. You can always turn around and ask for directions. Getting off the beaten path is part of the fun.<br />
6. Try to speak the native language and even when you can't, ask politely if they speak English. Don't just assume they do. <br />
7. Bring your own shopping bags. This is big in Europe. They charge you for plastic bags and who couldn't use some savings?<br />
8. Be more patient than ever with TSA agents. This is mainly a personal reminder.<br />
9. If you get on the wrong train. Don't panic. Eventually it will stop and your mistake can be corrected. Hopefully, before you exit into another country! (I could be speaking from personal experience here.)<br />
10. Learn about the history of the place you are visiting. You don't need to be a scholar, but when you take the time to learn about the group history of a people, you can see their perspective and really get to know a culture. Educate yourself. It fuels your art.<br />
<br />
Bon Voyage!!!Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-83739021409045928612012-04-21T10:35:00.001-07:002012-04-21T10:35:58.626-07:00Pearl Fishers Promotional Video<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I have sung the role of Leila in Bizet's Pearl Fishers twice this season. Each time I was fortunate to be a part of this wonderful production directed by <a href="http://www.artsmanagement.com.au/files/asi11_web.pdf" target="_blank">Andrew Sinclair</a>, choreographed by <a href="http://www.malashockdance.org/" target="_blank">John Malashock</a>, and designed by the fabulous <a href="http://www.zandrarhodes.com/home.html" target="_blank">Zandra Rhodes</a>. The production has traveled around the U.S. since 2004 and has received great acclaim. This is the twelfth time this opera has been produced and second time it has appeared in Detroit. Tonight is my final performance and I will miss this wonderful cast and delightful production. </span>Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-89479218003554996882012-04-18T15:46:00.000-07:002012-04-27T17:35:20.068-07:00Bee! I'm Expecting YouBee! I'm expecting you!<br />
Was saying Yesterday<br />
To Somebody you know<br />
That you were due—<br />
<br />
The Frogs got Home last Week—<br />
Are settled, and at work—<br />
Birds, mostly back—<br />
The Clover warm and thick—<br />
<br />
You'll get my Letter by<br />
The seventeenth; Reply<br />
Or better, be with me—<br />
Yours, Fly.
<br />
<br />
<div class="poet">
</div>
<div class="poet">
~Emily Dickinson</div>Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-52516937738626040252012-04-16T15:41:00.000-07:002012-04-25T08:21:04.709-07:00God's World<div style="min-height: 515px;">
<div class="KonaBody">
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<br />
O world, I cannot hold thee close enough! <br />
Thy winds, thy wide grey skies! <br />
Thy mists that roll and rise! <br />
Thy woods this autumn day, that ache and sag <br />
And all but cry with colour! That gaunt crag <br />
To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff! <br />
World, World, I cannot get thee close enough! <br />
<br />
Long have I known a glory in it all, <br />
But never knew I this; <br />
Here such a passion is <br />
As stretcheth me apart, -- Lord, I do fear <br />
Thou'st made the world too beautiful this year; <br />
My soul is all but out of me, -- let fall <br />
No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="poet">
</div>
<div class="poet">
<a href="http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/god-s-world/" target="_blank">~Edna St. Vincent Millay</a><br />
<br />
<br />
*Photo taken at Muir Woods July 2011 </div>
</div>Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-63528642996456316262012-04-14T15:37:00.000-07:002012-04-20T13:48:02.975-07:00Wild Geese<div class="poem">
<span class="poem"><b>Wild Geese</b></span></div>
<span class="poem">You do not have to be good.<br />
You do not have to walk on your knees<br />
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.<br />
You only have to let the soft animal of your body<br />
love what it loves.<br />
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.<br />
Meanwhile the world goes on.<br />
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain<br />
are moving across the landscapes,<br />
over the prairies and the deep trees,<br />
the mountains and the rivers.<br />
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,<br />
are heading home again.<br />
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,<br />
the world offers itself to your imagination,<br />
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-<br />
over and over announcing your place<br />
in the family of things.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="poem"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/New-Selected-Poems-Volume-One/dp/0807068780/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1" target="_blank">~Mary Oliver</a> </span>Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-9890503776807103952012-04-10T10:20:00.000-07:002012-04-17T18:00:29.705-07:00Let Evening Come<pre> </pre>
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<pre> </pre>
<pre>Let the light of late afternoon
shine through chinks in the barn, moving
up the bales as the sun moves down.
Let the cricket take up chafing
as a woman takes up her needles
and her yarn. Let evening come.
Let dew collect on the hoe abandoned
in long grass. Let the stars appear
and the moon disclose her silver horn.
Let the fox go back to its sandy den.
Let the wind die down. Let the shed
go black inside. Let evening come.
To the bottle in the ditch, to the scoop
in the oats, to air in the lung
let evening come.
Let it come, as it will, and don't
be afraid. God does not leave us
comfortless, so let evening come. </pre>
<pre> </pre>
<pre>~ Jane Kenyon </pre>
<pre> </pre>
<pre>*Photo taken at my parents' farm in Lincolnton, GA </pre>Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-38362235772220291852012-04-08T09:55:00.000-07:002012-04-11T14:21:17.213-07:00The Journey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
One day you finally knew<br />
what you had to do, and began,<br />
though the voices around you<br />
kept shouting<br />
their bad advice ‑<br />
though the whole house<br />
began to tremble<br />
and you felt the old tug<br />
at your ankles.<br />
“Mend my life!”<br />
each voice cried.<br />
But you didn’t stop.<br />
You knew what you had to do,<br />
though the wind pried<br />
with its stiff fingers<br />
at the very foundations,<br />
though their melancholy<br />
was terrible.
<br />
It was already late <br />
enough, and a wild night,<br />
and the road full of fallen<br />
branches and stones.<br />
But little by little,<br />
as you left their voices behind,<br />
the stars began to burn<br />
through the sheets of clouds,<br />
and there was a new voice<br />
which you slowly<br />
recognized as your own,<br />
that kept you company<br />
as you strode deeper and deeper<br />
into the world,<br />
determined to do<br />
the only thing you could do ‑<br />
determined to save<br />
the only life you could save.<br />
~ Mary Oliver<br />
<br />
*photo taken on my honeymoon at Little Palm Island, FL on June 11, 2009Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-56467472796348016922012-04-07T09:45:00.000-07:002012-04-09T12:15:38.360-07:00Lay My Head DownOh the party's kicked up a few notches look at us getting loose<br />
She leans back against the wall and she watches tugging her collar like it might<br />
be a noose.<br />
<br />
And everyone's tied to their thing<br />
To their past or their drink or the date that they bring<br />
I just get tired all of sudden taking it in.<br />
<br />
And I want to lay my head down on you<br />
<br />
Because you're the only solid thing in this room<br />
<br />
A room full of changes strangers illusion confusion,<br />
I speak from my heart but I'm not really sure if its true.<br />
I wanna lay my head down on you.<br />
<br />
Oh don't waste too much time planning<br />
Or you'll get rug ripped out<br />
And the only way you'll be satisfied<br />
Is learning to live without.<br />
But some plan for the kingdom of heaven<br />
And some take their chances and bet lucky seven<br />
I don't know what to believe I just show up and breathe anymore.<br />
<br />
And I wanna lay my head down on you<br />
Because you're the only solid thing in this room<br />
<br />
A room full of dressers, professors, lookers, hookers<br />
If I don't get out I'll do something I don't wanna do.<br />
<br />
And I wanna lay my head down on you.<br />
<br />
Was it so long ago<br />
That we sat and talked in your car<br />
Your things were all packed<br />
And the place you were headed not really that far<br />
Years later I think<br />
That I would have been much more alive<br />
To have taken you up on your offer and taken that drive<br />
<br />
Well everything that's come before us leads us to where we are now<br />
And that's simple, I know so why can't I let go of the feeling<br />
That i'm lost somehow<br />
I'm just a ghost looking in<br />
Out of my own life just visiting<br />
In search of a body to have and to hold and to keep and to sleep.<br />
<br />
I wanna lay my head down on you<br />
Because you're the only solid thing in this room<br />
A room full of missed chance, slow dance, cold fate heartache<br />
I showed up for a party and saw my life story full view
<br />
<br />
And I wanna lay my head down on you<br />
<br />
Emily Saliers<br />
<br />
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<br />Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-75587240137865864102012-04-06T09:35:00.000-07:002012-04-08T09:10:21.087-07:00i carry your hearti carry your heart with me(i carry it in <br />
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere <br />
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done <br />
by only me is your doing,my darling) <br />
i fear <br />
not fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want <br />
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) <br />
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant <br />
and whatever a sun will always sing is you <br />
<br />
here is the deepest secret nobody knows <br />
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud <br />
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows <br />
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) <br />
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart <br />
<br />
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)<br />
<br />
e.e. cummings <br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-43610378491002141612012-04-04T09:22:00.000-07:002012-04-06T19:26:50.467-07:00When Death Comes<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">When death comes<br />like the hungry bear in autumn;<br />when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;<br />when death comes<br />like the measles-pox;</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">when death comes<br />like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:<br />what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">And therefore I look upon everything<br />as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,<br />and I look upon time as no more than an idea,<br />and I consider eternity as another possibility,</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">and I think of each life as a flower, as common<br />as a field daisy, and as singular,</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">and each name a comfortable music in the mouth<br />tending as all music does, toward silence,</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">and each body a lion of courage, and something<br />precious to the earth.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">When it's over, I want to say: all my life<br />I was a bride married to amazement.<br />I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">When it is over, I don't want to wonder<br />if I have made of my life something particular, and real.<br />I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,<br />or full of argument.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/mary-oliver" target="_blank">Mary Oliver </a></span><br />
<br />Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-81771910853497616192012-04-02T09:03:00.000-07:002012-04-03T08:14:08.401-07:00It's all I have to bring today<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">April is National Poetry month. To celebrate my love of poetry and words I've decided to post some of my most favorite over the next month. I start with my first love of poetry, Miss Emily.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It's all I have to bring today –<br />
This, and my heart beside –<br />
This, and my heart, and all the fields –<br />
And all the meadows wide –<br />
Be sure you count – should I forget<br />
Some one the sum could tell –<br />
This, and my heart, and all the Bees<br />
Which in the Clover dwell.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Emily Dickinson</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19018" target="_blank">click here to read the poem and hear it read at www.poets.org</a>Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-20848054198922442982012-04-01T08:55:00.000-07:002012-04-01T08:55:58.843-07:00Let's Get Physical<span style="font-size: large;">I've been chasing Spring this year. After a beautiful time in Florence, Italy I came home to Georgia for the month of February where we had some of the warmest temperatures on record. It was gorgeous. The cherry blossoms started blooming in late January and by mid February the near 80 degree temperatures had me resisting the urge to start planting flowers. The first week of March I headed north to Washington D.C. for a few days and then on to New York city for three weeks. Again, I was met with incredibly warm temperatures and early blooms. Now, I'm in Detroit and when I flew into town on Wednesday last week, I was greeted with a balmy 72 degrees. I love chasing Spring! These past two months of warm weather have given me the opportunity to get outside and get my body moving.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">One of my New Year's resolutions (surprise, surprise) was to get into shape. I've always been fairly active and have managed my weight by what I eat. I've been practicing Yoga for 12 years, the last 6 years of which have been fairly intense and dedicated. But, I wanted to push myself this year to new levels of fitness because, as I have gotten older I've noticed how much harder the travel and singing lifestyle is on my body. I knew I needed more. So I took advantage of the beautiful Springwinter and got outside. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I began in January while in Florence. I walked to the theater from my apartment. It was a nice 40 minute walk and very beautiful. To and from, I figure I was walking 3-4 miles a day. I continued my Yoga practice but adding the extra cardio really helped when I had to run around on stage as the Contessa di Folleville in Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims. I had to run around in high heels while singing high E flats. That was easy in my 20's but ten years of the business and the hard travel has left me with some injuries that flare up at the slightest strain. I joined a fitness group on Facebook led by the fit and fabulous tenor, Larry Brownlee. It has become a great place for support and a place to ask questions concerning any level of fitness. We discuss workout routines, food, favorite running shoes, and post accomplishments. In February I took advantage of the sunshine and began running outside at the Chattahoochee Nature Trails in Atlanta. Some days I hiked Kennesaw Mountain and I kept up with my Yoga practice by attending intense vinyasa classes. I started an evening Fab Ab February challenge with my husband that progressively got harder. We ended the month with 100 situps and a 2 minute plank hold. It's amazing how one month of dedicate work made me feel. In March I went to New York for voice lessons and coachings. Yes, I still have to keep my voice in shape. Singing is identical to being a top athlete. You must train and you must stay in shape vocally. While in New York I visited my favorite Yoga studio and teacher as often as possible and worked out at the gym. I walked on the warmest days, which there were many, and I continued with a Mad Abs March routine in the evenings. I've lost 5 pounds since I started, which may not seem like much but I've gained a lot of muscle and have toned my body. I feel strong and lifting those heavy suitcases while traveling to Detroit weren't near as hard or bad on my back.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I am in stagings for The Pearl Fishers by Bizet. It's the Zandra Rhodes production directed by Andrew Sinclair that has gone all around the country in the last ten years. This is the same production I did in this past November in Pittsburgh. Yesterday we staged the intensely physical scene between Leila, my character, and the baritone Zurga. It is a work horse just to sing standing still. It is full and lyric and one of my most favorite duets in opera. It's one of the only times on stage I get to fight back instead of give up and die. It's a hot scene and very physical. I get pushed to the ground several times. I literally wrestle with a large baritone while singing very difficult music. I sing full out while crossing the stage and we end with me screaming in his face and then he tackles me to the floor. It's awesome. Come see it. Yesterday's staging work was incredible. What I felt yesterday after three months of dedicate fitness was COMPLETELY different than what I felt in November. I was less out of breath. I could fall to the floor with ease and support from my muscles. I am stronger and it makes singing sooooo much easier. Singing opera these days is quite physical. I've had to run in high heels, fall backwards down stairs, run up stairs and sing, fall down in a 30 pound costume then get up and sing, and I've wrestled with baritones while singing high b flats. When I went on at the MET in 2010 as Marie in La Fille du Regiment, I had to run all over the stage, flail my arms while ironing clothes, and roll around on the floor and sing. Opera is no longer just about the voice. You have to be in top form. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I write all of this because I know a lot of people who read my blog are young singers. I encourage you to get physical! Start now and add to your vocal practice some sort of workout routine. You can start small but START! Find something you love, that you will commit to and just do it. It will help you stay injury free from the stress travel makes on the body and you will be stronger and more able to play your characters fully and truthfully. Your body is your instrument. It doesn't stop below the larynx. Take care of your instrument like a top athlete does. You'll find not only do you feel better and look better, but your singing will be connected to something grounded and strong.</span>Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-33218032582213638672012-01-19T12:08:00.000-08:002012-01-19T12:08:49.421-08:00How I Brought in the New Year<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ah, it's the start of a new year. I love new things and especially love a new year. It brings with it a feeling that the etch- a- sketch has been shaken and it's time to start on a clean gray board. I brought in the New Year in Florence, Italy where I am currently singing in a new production of Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims. New Years Eve was wild here. I mean really outrageously wild. I went out with some friends right after the turn of the clock to the New Year and it sounded like a war zone. We were told by our hotel concierge that fireworks were illegal in Florence so there would be no place to watch any over the beautiful Arno river. We were disappointed because we had wonderful views of the river from our balconies. Instead we were told to just walk around the city and experience the livelihood in the streets. Well, lively it was. I grew up around guns. I'm from Georgia, and my father was a Marine Corps Drill Sergeant. I also grew up shooting my own fireworks....in a field of about twenty acres. I know loud gun noises and proper use of firearms and how to shoot a firecracker. Nothing could prepare me for this New Year's experience. Since it was illegal to shoot fireworks in a contained area for fear of lighting a precious Renaissance building on fire, people decided they would have their own firework celebrations in the streets of Florence...Right next to said Renaissance building or...... Right next to where I was standing. Or next to the 400 year old Duomo. Or in some other person's face. Seriously. The sound was unbelievably loud because of the echo off of all the old stone or marbled buildings. Some of them scared me so bad I screamed out loud. I watched as people broke bottles and dodged bottle rockets and I watched while the police also watched. Police were standing around watching adults...not teenagers...fire bottle rockets into crowds, over heads of children and drunken people. Everyone was having a blast. Except for us. I was like a scared dog and was sure I was going to take a bottle rocket in the eye. Needless to say, I tucked my tail and got the hell out of there. The next day the entire place was clean, no glass, no dead bodies, poked out eyes, or burned buildings. The evidence of any bawdy, uncivilized behavior was gone. No one was shocked except for us tidy, law abiding Americans. The only damage was to a centuries old fountain in the Piazza della Reppublica that nearly fell on someone. It was in the newspaper. And, I know there were some eyeball casualties because I dodged several ambulances on my way out of there. It was not in the newspaper. My guess is that one of the missals either exploded on the fountain or the sound of the missal vibrated the portion of the fountain so much that it fell. My guess on the casualties is that they took a bottle rocket in the eye which my Daddy could have prevented with his knowledge of, "Don't shoot fireworks in a crowded space." Or, his other good piece of advice, "Stand back, this one's gonna blow." I'm just glad we made it back safely and lived to tell about it and laugh. I wish I had photos but instead of pictures, I decided to watch out for shooting sharp objects and flying wine bottles. I love Italy because you just never know what you are going to get. But whatever you get is never dull or boring. 2012 is going to be a blast. Ciao!! </span></div>Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-18777485128157410882011-11-14T11:08:00.001-08:002011-11-14T11:15:32.943-08:00What Do You Ache For?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DeTW7A1lI1k/TsFn6OA04qI/AAAAAAAAAF8/gxr34ghFctU/s1600/FebMarch09+022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DeTW7A1lI1k/TsFn6OA04qI/AAAAAAAAAF8/gxr34ghFctU/s320/FebMarch09+022.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thanks to an old friend for sharing this with me. I took the above sunrise photo one beautiful winter morning at Key Biscayne, Florida in 2009.</span></span></span></h6>
<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">The Invitation<br /> by Oriah<br /> <br />
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what
you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.<br /> <br /><span class="text_exposed_show">
It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk
looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of
being alive.<br /> <br /> It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring
your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own
sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become
shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you
can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade
it, or fix it.<br /> <br /> I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or
your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to
the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful,
to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.<br /> <br /> It
doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to
know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can
bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can
be faithless and therefore trustworthy.<br /> <br /> I want to know if you
can see beauty even when it’s not pretty, every day, and if you can
source your own life from its presence.<br /> <br /> I want to know if you
can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of
the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”<br /> <br /> It
doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I
want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair,
weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the
children.<br /> <br /> It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came
to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire
with me and not shrink back.<br /> <br /> It doesn’t interest me where or
what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you,
from the inside, when all else falls away.<br /> <br /> I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.<br /> <br /> © Mountain Dreaming, 1999 All rights reserved <br /> from the book The Invitation published by HarperONE, San Francisco, CA</span></span></span></h6>Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-40691204954028073112011-10-29T16:26:00.000-07:002011-10-29T16:26:15.867-07:00It is finished!<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It's Done!!!! The recording is finished and I am elated. I just got word that the final touches were done and I feel as though I did when I was a kid and I would run wildly into the field behind our house. I don't know, so many things come to mind. Giving forth all the wonderful energy in order to create this recording has been a blessing. It has given me my voice back in ways. I mean, my true voice. Maybe I should call it my authenticity. This recording is the truest expression of myself, my passions, and my reflections on why we are here. It's that simple for me. It's all there... the praise, the prayers, the doubt, the hope, and the blessings. The process was daunting and there were times I didn't think it would happen. But it is there on that brilliant digital machine and knowing that the words I've longed to sing are finally there, give me much joy and peace. There is still work to be done on getting it printed and distributed and I have many liner notes to write. But soon you will have what I have called 'my first born' in your I-pods! </span></div>Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-18120319794244176752011-10-27T16:40:00.000-07:002011-10-27T16:40:03.567-07:00Advice<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Sometimes I get notes from young singers asking various questions about the business or about the techniques of singing. I always try to respond and today since I was home from Pittsburgh Opera rehearsals nursing a cold, I thought I would write someone back. It occurred to me that it would make a good blog post. Although I like writing blogs posts, I sometimes feel that I end up filtering myself or I become too generic with my topics. It was refreshing to be very specific and direct with my words. This young singer met me last year at a master class I gave and he wrote to ask advice about switching voice types and to also to tell me that he was having problems "over-compensating and just doing way too much and therefore tiring myself out when really it should come easier". Here is my response to him. One of the great things about being an artist is helping other artists find their way. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>So, it seems you are making a switch to tenor? That is a challenge. All I can say about that is go with your gut. What feels good to you vocally? What roles speak loudest to you? Meaning, what about these characters makes you want to SING them? I've never gone through a fach change but have friends who did and they all say that once they made the changes, they connected more to the new characters they were singing.<br /><br />As for the 'overcompensating' statement. Be kind to yourself. Don't try so hard. You already are a singer. Your mission is to find a way of singing that is easy, but strong. It really must come from a CALM place. You do your best singing in the shower and in privacy. Learn to cultivate that energy and presence while you are in the midst of people. Most of the time it isn't singer issues people have, it is intimacy issues. This isn't always the case, but I imagine it happens a lot. Learn to go deep inside yourself and calm yourself so that your singing flows out of your breath and not from the things you think you can do with your brain. If your body is tense from stress or nerves...you will disconnect from your body and your breath. Go inside. Do meditation. Really learn to sing as if no one is watching. Once you have that tamed then you can see if it helps with technical areas. I imagine you will find that your high notes are easier and you like it more. Calm. Take time to get a good inhale and good exhale. Phrase by phrase. Slow it all down for awhile and you will see what I mean by 'go inside'.<br /><br />I hope this helps! I wish you all kinds of good luck and love for yourself to pursue the craft of singing.<br />Keep me posted!<br />Leah</i></span></div>Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-25969581156817498062011-10-14T11:41:00.000-07:002011-10-14T11:41:06.937-07:00Hello from Paris<span style="font-size: large;">(written on October 9, 2011) </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My first week of auditions is done! I am happy to say that I am very pleased with my two auditions so far in Switzerland and Belgium. Oh, how I would love to return to those cities and sing! Let's keep our fingers and toes crossed, okay? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Travel has been easy and smooth and I am fortunate to have run into some old friends from college and a few new ones along the way and only in the first week of travel. Auditions can be daunting and it is such a joy when you can spend time with friends especially ones who know what you are going through. It's like having your own traveling cheerleading squad. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">To get ready for my audition tour I began reading some books on auditions by actors. I've probably read all the books on auditions for singers so I wanted a fresh perspective. Actors have to do just as many or more auditions than singers and it is true that most performing artists are actually professional job seekers, thus my second European Audition Tour! It's been a blast so far and I've been re-reading some passages from a really great book by Paul Russell called <u>Acting - - Making It Your Business: How to Avoid Mistakes and Achieve Success As a Working Actor</u>. Yes, I know the title is a little over simplified, as if all the tools to be a success could be summed up in one book. Right. But, it does have some good points for auditioning and since the audition season is upon us, I thought I would share a few points on my blog. </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">"The audition is my time. It's not about the auditors. It's about me. When I walk into the room I try to make it, for however many minutes, The Mark Price Show. That doesn't mean bullshitting them or buttering them up. It's about, this is the package that I have to offer and I'm going to see how well I can do this package for myself. If they like it, great! If they don't like it...great!"</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"> "I always feel that I'm a little social worker and I'm there to help them cast. You want to be of help to them instead of putting it on the other shoe that they are the judge. Don't go into that. You don't have time for that. You don't have time for fear. Wipe the fear out and do your homework and if you have to read cold, try to find some truth in what you're working with. Go with the strength of truth. Be full of something positive. The nervousness and the anxiety take away from your creativity. Then you're not free."</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"> "Auditioning has become more about a personal achievement than a public achievement. If I approach an audition with that in mind and do the best that I can, when I leave, I don't care what the auditors think 'cause I know I've done the best job that I can. It's about me; it's not about them."</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"> "Most important for you, the actor, in an audition is ... to have fun! Fun is letting yourself enjoy the opportunity to demonstrate what you can bring to the project. But apart from enjoying the audition, and being prepared, wonderfully talented, and physically right, is there anything else an actor can do to be more successful at an audition? Yes. Be yourself."</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"> "Find in the audition process the same feelings that made you want to be an actor in the first place."</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">All of these statements resonated with me and I although I had heard them stated in some form before, I really appreciated the views of these actors. Wow. Be yourself. Had I forgotten that over the years? Perhaps. It should be about me in an audition and not in aIf you have to audition regularly or even if you find yourself doing a lot of job interviews these days, you should grab a copy of this book. There is a plethora of candid super-direct information in there for actors which is also relevant for singers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Personally when I audition I try to be as calm as I am when I am rehearsing with my coach in NY. I find that if I can bring my body into a relaxed state then I can access all those beautiful notes and get in touch with my best music making self. It's as if my body has to be on vacation while at work. I'm getting there! After many years auditioning I am beginning to enjoy the process. Being in Paris in the fall is just an added perk. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-43786023907355434552011-09-28T07:20:00.000-07:002011-09-28T07:32:54.522-07:00Leah's LoafingsI'm busy getting ready for an audition tour in Europe. I leave next week and I am coming and going trying to prepare to be gone for a month. I'll be writing about my adventure but until then, check out these wonderful stories. Most important, check out the last posting from Plum TV. More soon!! <br />
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/arts/television/08rise.html?_r=1">Opera Beat: : Opera Idol</a>
I have the pleasure of knowing Barbara Conrad and I want you to know
her story. She is the epitome of never give up. She once told me as I
was on my way to a big day at the Metropolitan Opera, "Shoot ya biggest
gun, girl." Brava B!!<br />
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<a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2011/04/28/135809198/has-opera-lost-its-funny-bone">Opera Funny Bone: : It ain't all about dying of TB</a> NPR article on where all the funny operas have gone.<br />
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<a href="http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/08/22/bodies-and-voices-flight-plan/">Poem: : A little bird voice</a> What does your heart do?<br />
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<a href="http://www.songofamerica.net/cgi-bin/iowa/home/index.html">Opera Beat: : Song of America</a> Baritone Thomas Hampson has quite an inspiring project and one that speaks close to my heart through the love of American Art Song. "Our goal is to build and curate a comprehensive archive of American song that tells the story of our culture and nation, through the eyes of our poets and the ears of our composers."<br />
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<a href="http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/Article/266197,the-top-12-classical-music-pinups.aspx">Art Works: : Of course, it helps to be sexy</a> The top 12 Classical Music Pinups. No, I'm not kidding. Well, sex sells folks!<br />
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<a href="http://www.plumtv.com/videos/cyrano%27s-lament">How to: : Shameless promotion</a> Click this link to see a small documentary on the making of David DiChiera's Cyrano with the Florida Grand Opera and yours truly. Great backstage footage. Thanks Plum TV!<br />
<br />Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-71401073291053980472011-09-14T08:15:00.000-07:002011-09-14T08:15:28.087-07:00It was like that... Recording Take Two..more details of the upcoming recording<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
recording I made in July is under the microscope in the editing room, closely
being tended to by the producer, editor, and my sharp, merciless ear. </span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">I am very pleased with all aspects of the project and I am eagerly waiting for the day when I have the final copy in my hand. I've been trying to explain to people what the recording is about and what type of music it encompasses. I have a lot of non-opera singer friends and they instantly get the look of worry on their faces when they think I am going to ask them to sit down and listen to an entire CD of opera. No, it isn't like that at all. I mean, it is still classical music and for the most part I still use my classically trained voice, but it certainly isn't a lesson in </span><span style="font-size: large;">stylized operatic technique or an overview of lyric coloratura arias. I wanted this recording to be about honesty and authenticity. In order to accomplish that, I thought it would be best for me to present American music, since well, I'm American. I could have leaned towards the traditional and scholarly and recorded songs in German or Italian, but in order to be the most authentic, I knew I had to sing in English. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The next decision I made was about the theme. For as long as I have been singing, which is as long as I can remember, I have sought and connected to songs that spoke about the mystery of spirituality. At first the songs I sang when I was younger were connected to church and to a specific religion. I still love and cherish my old church hymns, but as I have grown up and encountered more of the world, I have gravitated towards music that has a universal mystical tone and reverence and one that is all inclusive. Basically, it means that you will connect to these songs whether you are Christian or Jew or Muslim or insert own religious belief here _______. You see, I do believe that out of all of the art forms, music has the power to connect us and show us that we are all really longing for the same things. We are all here loving each other and all asking a lot of the same questions. We all respond to the need to define why we are here and we search for meaning. We often find these answers in the same places, through love, beauty of earth and nature, loss and stillness. My desire for the recording project was to collect a group of songs by American composers that dealt with this theme of spiritual reverence without the influence of indoctrination. It was an uplifting process and it was difficult to choose which songs didn't make the cut. I have enough material for another recording! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My cornerstone for the project were the songs given to me by <a href="http://www.jakeheggie.com/">Jake Heggie</a>. When I decided on my theme (which it really was decided for me, kind of always there as part of what I've always known I would do) I contacted Jake and filled him in on the broad details. He quickly sent a set of songs with text by <a href="http://www.genescheer.com/">Gene Scheer</a> and without being too dramatic here, totally blew me away. They were perfect. The set is titled <i>Rise and Fall</i>. It is a set of four songs with texts inspired by Artifacts and Sculptures from the Sackler Collections at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. These artifacts are religious in nature, such as the incantation bowl which is also known as a devil trap bowl. It was believed by certain cultures to have magical capabilities of protection and were commonly used in homes of the deceased and was placed in a corner of a room to rid the space of any demon or negativity. Jake described the set as the story of a woman from her wedding day to her death, and then her role in the afterlife as a shaman, comforting others. Other artifacts include an ancient wedding jar with the image of a Phoenix on it; a modern water sculpture by Noguchi; the ancient incantation bowl; a modern sculpture of an angel’s wing; and an ancient shaman’s mask.<br /> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not all of the songs are as esoteric as these. The songs I chose by <a href="http://www.rickyiangordon.com/">Ricky Ian Gordon</a> are more unmistakable in their meaning. Ricky's songs use some of our beloved American poets such as, Emily Dickinson, e.e. cummings, and Langston Hughes. Ricky was also very forthcoming for this project and presented me with songs from some of his earliest compositions which have never been published. Both Jake and Ricky play their own songs on this recording. I am still reeling in delight over having the two of them work with me on this project. They are the voice of American music for the 21st century and I am proud to present a wealth of their songs on this recording.<br /> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The recording project is still being edited and I have many decisions to make. There is an arc to the project as a whole, which takes us from praise of the earth, devotion to heaven, uncertainty of anything, back to praise in simplicity, and ending with responsibility and acknowledgment of gifts. I am diligently working on an order for the songs and am contemplating the title for the album. I toss around titles here and there and I know I'll keep tossing until it feels right. <br /> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This entire process has been a gift. It hasn't been without challenges and there is still work to be done, but it has been an enormous labor of love and a vessel for me to express authentically why I do what I do. It has become my statement of why I believe music is the answer in inching us closer to peace and understanding and the closest answer we have in defining the great mystery.</span></div>
Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-32175249508739219652011-09-12T08:14:00.000-07:002011-09-12T08:14:00.753-07:00Leah's Loafings<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This week I am back to school, so to speak. Back to daily practice and forward motion on the art of singing and the passion of living. Here are a few places I have found inspiration. Enjoy!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2011/aug/16/actors-invisible-edinburgh?sf2009345=1">Make it work:: Be invisible</a> "You can think it. You don't need to perform it." How actors are being trained to blend in. Great article for the over acted opera singer gestures we love and hate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://http//danishapiro.com/2011/08/on-finding-a-niche/">Art Works:: Finding a Niche</a> "It is not our business to analyze it as it takes shape, because analysis will ruin it." Replace the word 'write' for creative verb of your choice. Thanks Dani.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.37days.com/2010/12/lettinggo.html">Back to School:: Here, Now, It is enough</a> Letting go of Striving is one of my favorite blog posts of all time from one of my favorite writers and the only person I've ever stalked on the internet. You should read her, follow her, stalk her. Brava Patti and thank you.</span></div>
Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-17551366072388479382011-09-08T08:01:00.000-07:002011-09-08T08:01:25.837-07:00It was like that. Recording Take One.<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I took another giant somersault out of my comfort zone and made my first recording this past July. I say, 'out of the comfort zone', because I am used to live performances. I hunger at the energy of an audience and have referred to myself on many occasions as an audience whore. I use the audience, so the entire recording process has left me speechless for some time. Really, for nearly two months now I have sat down to write about the process and have been left without words. I haven't wanted to access those emotions but rather carry them around with me like a talisman for fear of losing those dear feelings or having that surreal moment of super-focused creativity pass me by, oh how I made friends with them! I also would have to be a fairly adept writer to describe with the writing process this journey into recording, but with my layman abilities, here it goes... I would liken it to being stripped of skin and every artery and vein is exposed and every rise and fall of breath is seen and every trickle of every cell is detectable and every morsel of care for humanity is in the throat and every joy for the wonderment of the great mystery is falling off your lips. You are ripped open and shown. It is at once the essence of being yourself, being heard and all at once there is a pulsating madness flowing out of you, full of expression and then, a longing for quiet, simple perfection. Day after day you show up to the microphone surrendering to the muse and shedding the noise of yourself to the greater light you long to shine through in that tiny window of perfect alignment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yeah, it was kind of like that.</span></div>
Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-28999159467284038622011-08-23T20:43:00.000-07:002011-08-30T08:43:01.615-07:00Leah's Loafings<span style="font-size:130%;">I spend a little time each day perusing through Facebook and Twitter and I find huge amounts of enjoyment reading posts of friends I don't see often enough. I've recently become a twitterer and I follow people and organizations to stay abreast of interesting things in my field of opera or other arts and hobbies I like. I tweet, I post, I retweet, I 'like' things on Facebook and although I'd rather be more connected physically with people, in your face so to speak, I see that our social media can do wonders for sending messages of goodness and spreading news about art and the need for more art and not less. So this is why I am bringing an occasional blog post linking you to the tweets and postings I find the most interesting and worthy of the retweet or like button. Enjoy!
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/yoga-international-magazine/inspiration-articles/awakening-the-artist/">Mind Body : : Awakening the Artist</a> How Yoga can awaken your focus and skill and tap into your bravest creativity. Basically, tools to get your mind to shut up and your body to run the show.
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<br /><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/chi-opera-star-renee-fleming-to-honor-911victims-with-free-millennium-park-concert-20110823,0,2782566.story">Opera Beat: : Opera Idol</a> My opera idol Renee Fleming offers a free concert in Chicago. Brava Renee!
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<br /><a href="http://www.core77.com/blog/architecture/anisotropia_by_orproject_architecture_from_music_20318.asp">Art Works: : Architecture from Music</a> London-based architectural firm <a href="http://www.orproject.com/indexFlash.html" target="_blank">Orproject</a> displays their proposal for the Busan Opera House in South Korea slated to begin construction in 2014. The design of the proposed structure, entitled "Anisotropia," is informed by a piano piece composed by the firm's director. The repetition of musical elements become the repetition of structural elements, such that "complex architectural rhythms...are used to control the light, view and shading properties of the facade." Check this out! Very unusual combination of two art forms. I think this is an incredible idea.
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<br /></span>Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-38029333840266417962011-08-23T19:47:00.000-07:002011-08-24T13:15:22.818-07:00Time, well, spent.<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Ten years ago I entered the Santa Fe Opera Young Artist program, had the time of my life and began the incredible journey as an opera singer. Ten years. What? Really? Yes, here I am ten years into an aspiring and inspiring, yet challenging career and I've had an amazing time. I've traveled the world. I come from a three stop light town in Georgia and music has given me the greatest gift of meeting interesting people, learning about different cultures, devouring intoxicating food, seeing the beauty of the earth. Ten years have passed. There they go. Poof, into the twilight. There are so many things I could say about the passing of time but I'll save that for another posting. I'm focusing now on how I spent the past ten years and how thankful I am that I took risks and I listened to the positive voices rather than the dark gremlin on my shoulder. I wouldn't change anything from this time. Not even a tear shed or a lonely night. It was a wild and crazy ride and at times I held on for dear life and other times where I breezed through with loud pulsating joy in my heart. Don't worry, I know it may sound as though I am throwing in the towel. No, although I have thought about it, mostly seldom as most artists do during a difficult recession. I am not giving up on the opera business. But, I am finding myself as a new season begins thinking ahead a bit to other inspiring adventures and contemplating what I can add to my music making to ensure that I am putting it all out there to shine a bright light. You see, I make music so that the world is a better place. I feel when we gather together and experience beauty, raw emotion, primal sound, we are better off than if we run amok through our day to day only hearing the latest negative sound bite from the latest negative event. I feel a vibration that is higher than myself when I make music and I know I have a responsibility to put that energy out there for everyone else. There are many ways to connect to people and music just happens to be my medium as well as my occasional writings and my various twitterings. My job goes beyond standing on stage and playing a dying courtesan. So, the past ten years was time well spent on honing a difficult craft and knocking on doors to get it all strengthened into motion. I learned an immense amount of music and I dug my feet in the dirt, wiped the sweat from my brow, and never gave up. Looking ahead I can see all the remaining beauty and guts I have left to give to this business and I am more excited and eager than I was on that first day in Santa Fe. It is time for me to start throwing more into the mix. More guts, sweat, beauty, rawness, primal intuitiveness, and pure soul is what I aspire to give. I hope that whatever you choose to do, you can also find more soul to bring. Bring it. What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail? What risk would you take if you knew you wouldn't fall? Where would you go if, if, if? What awesome power would you be? </span>
<br /></span>Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558206593776566847.post-62010420063150080652011-05-17T18:18:00.000-07:002011-05-17T19:09:53.564-07:00Crazy Grateful<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XfZOf7K7iOw/TdMqQoWnwtI/AAAAAAAAAFU/1MSkE-OlAA4/s1600/018.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XfZOf7K7iOw/TdMqQoWnwtI/AAAAAAAAAFU/1MSkE-OlAA4/s400/018.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607872426204971730" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Cyrano wrapped up in Miami a few weeks ago and I remained to enjoy some of the South Florida sun while also learning new music. My husband and I work in the mornings on our various projects and then we enjoy a fun adventure. We are making sure to enjoy ourselves outdoors going for walks, kayaking in the bay, or with yoga. We've had a crazy two years (we've only been married two years!). The life of an opera singer has its ups and downs and at times it the most exhilarating experience and then there are others that make you want to hunker down bury your face and cry. The same can be said for being in the financial or banking world these days, which is the business my husband is in. After a long ten years with a company in Atlanta he was laid off in 2009 during the big kick of the anthill, as I like to call it. He was lucky to find another job fairly quickly and for two years we were in Philadelphia where he worked for a small company. Now, we find ourselves at a junction once again, at least this time with less financial responsibilities, no house tying us down, and now we are free to go where the southerly wind takes us. At least I hope it's southerly enough to take us to Atlanta or further south.<br />I'm writing this personal information because I've been thinking a lot about trust and acceptance lately. In the music business we never know from year to year what money we will make, how many jobs we will have, whether or not we will get sick and miss a performance, or if the company we hope to work for will go bankrupt. It is a rickety life as a musician and one must learn to live moment to moment trusting in art that it will sustain us as it always has. It is a constant movement of faith and practice of letting go. Trust. Living with fear all around us, thrown in our faces everyday by every way imaginable doesn't leave much room for fear in our jobs and means of stability. The thing is, eventually you come to standing with hands up, face to the sky, and saying, "I have no control over what happens to me" and this realization somehow, somewhere, gives you peace. After all, no job is ever stable and nothing is forever. I don't mean to be so preachy and philosophical. After all, this is a blog about music. However, I find that in our music making we are at our best when we trust, when we surrender. We make the best music when we permit the creative forces to have their way, just go with the flow and allow the music to happen to us and through us. It takes us on wild adventures, moves us to tears, transforms our minds, and connects us to others. Imagine if we could let that flow into every area of our lives?<br /><br />So, even though we are voyaging into the somewhat uncomfortable realm of the unknown, I am filled with excitement and as my yoga teacher says, "I am crazy grateful." Our next stop along this beautiful life path just might take my breath away.</span>Leah Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217340595362811897noreply@blogger.com0