Sad Hotel, Messiah and Magnificat in quick succession

Whew! A free moment! I haven't written anything about
the series of concert I had bang, bang, bang after I
returned from the US. But here it comes!

I arrived back on Sunday, November 28 and on
December 1 was my first concert. It was a repeat
performance of Sad Hotel - the one with poetry by Anne
Sexton. It took place in the Holzhausenschlößchen
(which means the Little Holzhausen Castle) here in
Frankfurt. I was so glad that we were performing this
program in Frankfurt, but I expected more people to be
there. I think that of the people that were there about a
third of them were people one of us performers new! I
mean, that's great - I'm so pleased about the friends that
came, including 2 writer friends - but there were only
about 25 people there and that's not very many! Oh well,
the program was very well received and the people at the
castle were so friendly and helpful. It's too bad that Herr
Greve (the boss) wasn't there. I would have liked to ask
him about Elysium performing there. I suppose I still
should...

Two days later was Christ the King's annual Sing-along
Messiah. I was singing the soprano solos. I love this
event. It's really a lot of fun. People who think that they
know the Messiah enough to sing in the chorus without
weeks of rehearsal come and sing. The soloists all come
from our church. There is a brief rehearsal with the choir,
a shortish break with refreshments and then the
"performance". If I do say so myself, I sang pretty well.
Especially "Come Unto Him". I really enjoyed it. I think
I'll use that aria as an audition aria in the future. Magnus
and Cristina came up from Karlsruhe. Cristina sang along
in the choir! All of the other soloists sang very well,
especially, Bruce Hunter, Bass. He really sang
magnificently! I was amazed at his breath control. I'll
have to ask him about it sometime. Jeffrey Coulas
(Tenor) said he has some sort of trick! Hmmm.
Afterwards, we went to Novità - my third night in a row!
We also went there after Sad Hotel and after regular
choir rehearsal as usual.

Friday morning I had gotten a call from a cantor in
Wiesbaden asking me if I had time to jump in for another
soprano soloist on Saturday evening. I had time and an
added bonus was that I actually knew the more important
of the two pieces she was going to sing: Magnificat in C
Major by Zelenka! I performed the piece in Dillenburg
about 2 years ago. I only had to sing the first movement
in Wiesbaden. I would've preferred to have more time to
prepare but it turned out quite well. I also sang "Laudate
Dominum" by Monteverdi as ersatz for the solo cantata
by Scarlatti the other soprano was going to sing, which I
didn't know.

Engagement!!!!!!

I haven't written here for so long for a few reasons: 1) I
was on vacation in Wisconsin with my family for
Thanksgiving and couldn't access my email, 2) Once I
returned from the USA I had 3 concerts with different
programs within a week and so was simply too busy and
3) because I have this big announcement and wanted to
have time to write a good blog about it!

Magnus and I are engaged!!!!!!

While we were in NYC Magnus proposed. He had
planned a lovely evening out, bought a ring (in Frankfurt,
when I was at a concert rehearsal!) and proposed during
dessert! It was very romantic and just like him. We ate
at Cafè des Artistes on 67th and Central Park West,
which is one of the restaurants that Pamela
recommended to Magnus (she guessed what was up but
can keep a secret!). It's a cozy, romantic french
restaurant and the food was wonderful. I had the best
potatoes ever (and there was really nothing fancy about
their preparation, just boiled potatos - can you tell I'm
Irish?!?)!

We were talking about the contacts he had made at the
conferences he had just come from. He asked me how I
felt about living in any of the places he'd made contacts.
When I got around to Chicago I said, "Chicago is a great
city with lots of potential for me musically AND it's close
to family." Magnus reached into his pocket (I hadn't
noticed the bulge!) gave me a small box and said,
"Speaking of family - will be my family?" I was so
surprised! I had an inkling that he was planning
something and that it would be a small ceremony, but I
wasn't expecting it then! Also, the ring is absolutely
gorgeous and although I'm not surprised he bought one, I
am surprised at just how lovely it is! Also, it fits perfectly
(he guessed the ring size!)! Needless to say, I said yes,
but I couldn't really see to open the box (It was wrapped
too) and then couldn't really see the ring except how it
sparkled. All I could say was, "Which finger?!?" Well, it
fits just right on the proper finger for both Italy and the
US (the left one).

At any rate, I'm very happy, and quite a bit relieved, if I'm
honest! We have started making plans or at least talking
about it. The date is set tentatively for May 2006 in Italy.
Mark your calendars...