Warm This, Bitch

Al Gore getting the Nobel Peace Prize has got to be just about the most positive thing that has happened in a long time, I think. I can think of no better reward for someone who picked up the pieces after such a shattering defeat as his. Her perseverance to educate people about his cause has been truly amazing and inspiring. In this topsy-turvy world, where right often seems to lose out to evil, it is good to see that someone who is trying to save the Earth is rewarded.

Whoever hasn't seemed to read the writing on the wall, I'll condense it for you: G.W. Bush will go into the history books as a blithering half-idiot who completely fucked up our country and Al Gore will be remembered for bringing to a wide audience the realities of global climate change. So, for those of you counting "points" and wondering who really "won", it seems that the answer is becoming more and more obvious. The Prize is a vindication for all of us on the Left who have been ignored for nearly 7 years. After having come back from America amazed at how conservative Conservatism is there, it is a wonderful symbol and not-so-subtle message from Europe that Americans need to make a "Great Leap" (excuse the Maoist irony) in order to catch up with the rest of the civilized world.

On a personal note, things are starting to pick up career wise. It has been 5 days since I sent out my first three agent letters and two since the next three. No response so far from any of them. But, my friend Betsy called the other day and relayed that they are looking for a "Mitch" in Coburg for their production for Streetcar Named Desire (by André Previn.) The production goes up on the 11th of January. I called the house on Friday, and they said that they want a photo and my materials per email (because the director wants a certain body type) and that the audition will be on Friday afternoon. I probably will get an audition there as the part is for a tall, stocky Heldentenor and the opera is in English. I guess I should say, I HOPE I will get an audition.

And, Betsy played my recital CD for a friend of hers that is a music critic. He had a lot fo nice things to say. When he heard Max's aria (one, actually, that I have been less confident about) he said "That IS Max." I guess he was really enthusiastic about my voice, and loved my timbre. This is cool because my timbre is a very strange one, I think, that is not necessarily everyone's taste. Anyway, he gave Betsy a bunch of role suggestions that she has passed on to me. He said that I would be a perfect "Paul" from Korngold's Die Tote Stadt. He also mentioned that Bonn is desperately seeking a Paul right now, also for a production that opens in the spring. So, I'm going to contact them on Monday and see what I can find out. That would be a fantastic opportunity in a B-House with app. 900 seats—perfect for me right now. I'll let you know what happens there.

It is just mind-blowing for me to be getting these possibilities, even if they don't come into fruition. To think that I could start working almost immediately has been deemed impossible by me for such a long time that, if it happens, I will be shocked, just shocked. I always thought that I would be sitting on my ass for at least the first three or four months, having a tough up-hill battle, having trouble even finding an agent that represents me. I had planned in my head that I may be auditioning for more than a year before something comes. Hey, it may still be that way, don't get me wrong. "Don't count your chickens before they're hatched." Is an adage that cannot be said often enough.

But, damn, even the possibility of going to Coburg to sing in an audition on Friday is exciting as hell, don't you think?