My heart's so full and fat Go get her

 Tonight, after almost 8 years, I will be finished with "Caro Nome." What a surreal thing to say.

 

"Caro Nome" has been my arch nemesis (perhaps even more-so than the Transit Nemesis). To say that I am quite relieved to finally be rid of this one is an understatement. I am not a Verdi girl by any means, and this one has all his hallmarks, including multiple unnecessary cadenzas, and  banal, repetitive music that (for some reason) always has to last at least 5 to 7 minutes. 

I have only "the chicken part" and the final cadenza left to record, and then it's set to be mixed and mastered. After 8 years, it's finally over and done with. I couldn't imagine learning this entire role, because I have been so stuck on this aria and went kicking and screaming through the entire thing.

I had a session with my vocal coach last week were we went through the whole thing and the aria finally, after all these years, unlocked for me. I think part of it was finally having a real vocal coach to work with (💀). I think the other part of it was finding myself and my own way in it. "Caro Nome" is one of the MOST popular arias in the entire world, performed millions of times, with thousands of recordings to choose from. It's in every senior showcase, every audition room, every recital. I made this joke with my opera coach that I am not singing this at the Met, so, like Mickey Mouse during Fantasmic, "this is MY dream!" and basically it's my recording and I can do what I want!  There has been such an upward trend towards such HEAVY voices singing this, that it sounds so ugly and forced. Gilda is a very young girl who has never been in love before and this aria comes after her first kiss. I tried to make it sound light, and sweet,  and innocent, and impetuous, and naïve, and just....16? I know that across the board, the trend for bigger voices in opera is a thing, but for coloratura, especially roles that are supposed to be young characters, the voices should just be sweeter and lighter. So instead of crashing through it, I approached it like I was really 16. I did not have a sweet, innocent 16 year old experience, and, knowing that I know about whom she is singing about, made this aria hard to crack open for me. I know you don't have to connect with everything that you sing or perform, but it helps! I also know that there are people who just looooooove Rigoletto, and I don't want to offend them, either! I get it, every opera is someone's favourite opera, and I want to do it justice, even if it's not for me.

Today is the Eclipse in Leo, and that feels like the most auspicious day to finishing this sonnavagun up already!