Sheila Christie – soprano

Wow! How did it get to be Monday night?!? I just dropped off my Mom and her friend to head back to White Rock where they are staying with her friend’s sister. My mom, her friend, her friend’s sister, and her friend’s sister’s friend (LOL) came to opening night of Rigoletto on Saturday. My mom is from Calgary and it was great to see her and so nice to have her in the audience. Here’s a pic of us that Tris took at the opening night party(thanks honey!).

Opening night went well. There are already some good reviews from The Vancouver Sun and The Georgia Straight. In my opinion, all of the singers were in good voice and performed well. I love the energy of opening night and think that it always brings a special vibe. There is always a fun party on stage after the opening night performance. A chance for us to mingle with the donors, opera staff, audience members, and each other. Here are some pics from the party (Tris’s again!)

Jim Wright (VO General Director) introducing up the cast

Opening night was also blogger night at the opera.

Photo from Tris Hussey

Check out the blogs of Rebecca, Kimli, Tanya, So Misguided, and my sweetie, Tris. Blogger night started with Carmen and was such a success that they asked the bloggers back for Rigoletto. The bloggers get a backstage tour before the show and then live blog before the opera and during the intermissions. It is very cool to read the different perspectives of the bloggers and they all have great pictures (something that I am lacking right now because my camera got left at a friend’s house…long story. Thanks to Tris for the pics for this post). So, check out their blogs for more info and some cool set pics.

I know that I have not blogged much in the last week. Tech week continued to go well except for a few mishaps on Wednesday night (the second orchestra tech). It was NOT my night. I got stuck in the back of my dress twice trying to get up from kneeling due to some “pockets” in my hem and I got my dress stuck in the trap door and ripped a HUGE hole in it! Thank goodness that it was still a rehearsal without an audience. The big hole in my dress got fixed thanks to the amazing costume department at VO and they also sewed around my dress hem and brought up the back a bit to help me out. I went to the theatre early on Thursday (dress rehearsal night) and made sure that everything was working with my staging on the set. As a result, dress rehearsal went well and subsequently so did opening night.

On Friday, I had to teach all day from 11:15am to 8:00pm. It was a long day of teaching….sigh! I love to teach but 9 hours in a row was a bit much. I spent the day on Saturday getting opening night gifts and cards ready. It is a bit of a tradition for the principals to give each other cards and small gifts. I will post pics of my cards after I get my camera back. Yesterday and today I spent the day with my Mom. I can’t believe that we are into performance number two tomorrow night. I will be ready for a quiet day on Wednesday, just a few students booked.

So, things have been great but busy. I know that I promised pictures and I will post some when I get my camera back. Thanks for stopping by!