Take the Reins

The most interesting thoughts come to me when grocery shopping. Today in produce, I asked myself, "what does one do when facing a challenge or problem?"

It is a natural response to hope that problems will simply disappear. With all the demands we have in daily life and in our professions, who wants to tack on one more dilemma, headache, or crisis? On some level perhaps it's natural to wish that, with the rising sun, everything will be back to normal, better than yesterday, and lingering problems simply gone all together. But is that likely or even a rational way of thinking?

Problems don't magically disappear, despite how desperately we want or need them to. Like a field before becoming a garden, you have to get down and pull out the weeds. And, the longer we avoid challenges the less energy and focus we have to successfully deal with them. After all, not handling an issue consumes more effort than staring it right in the face and delivering it a knock out punch.

No matter the type of issue, pursuing it takes two key ingredients. One is the conscious and active decision to handle it. Muster strength, kick yourself in the balls and decide to make a change. This is 98% of the battle. Second; recognize the benefits of the changes made. Zero problem is better than even just one....that's good math.

Success doesn't just happen and problems don't just go away. We wishfully want them to and are sometimes deluded by a host of illogical excuses. Instead, take the reins and occupy your throne. Don't just sit. No matter the circumstance, you'll be happier for it and better prepared for the next molehill or mountain that blocks the path.

...With Bated Breath

OMG! Guess what just landed in my inbox?! The 2012-13 season from Lyric Opera! Let me just say, what an INCREDIBLE season it will be! It's seasons like theses that make me so happy that opera is my profession!

Elektra
Simon Boccanegra
Werther
Don Pasquale
Hansel and Gretel
La Bohème
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Rigoletto
A Streetcar Named Desire


A host of headlining international powerhouses carry this epic season at Lyric and there is definitely exciting music on the horizon for this company. I blogged about a few of these operas and their specific challenges, but my personal favorite was, of course the monologue from ... follow here.

The Kinds of "No"

Life is filled with questions: what to wear, who to date, when to buy, where to live, what to bring, when to stop, etc. The list continues. And, to ice the cake, every question corresponds to its own unique amount of risk or rejection. I blogged this topic once, but today I remembered something someone once told me, "A person has to be wise enough to know the type of no he's getting. In general, there are two kinds..."

• No, not now
• No, not ever

We are conditioned to accept that rejection is always the latter kind and forget that, actually, "no" contains its own shade of grey. It's a simple word with a nuanced degree of meaning. Aside from the doubt and even frustration this tiny word brings, "No" challenges us to understand more about ourselves. It is the champion word of the underdog and dark-horse; the encouraging word of the meek and hardworking. Sometimes, no is the invitation to yes.

Challenge your next encounter with no. Consider its different meanings given your specific context. Ask yourself, what kind of no am I receiving?

Some Monday Hope

Your dream is out there, go get it...

Aida's New Garb

Every hoot and holler the spirit moves us to outrageous extremes of creativity and self expression. While some attempts are more successful than others, it's in hindsight that we hope to discern what the (insert profanity) was going through our mind?!


That said, thinking about the recent production of Aida at Lyric Opera, I couldn't help but ponder if I were costume designer in charge of Aida's fourth act "look."

"O Patria Mia," let this one scarf bear witness to my attempt...(insert profanity)

Saints: Valentine and Camille

Buy that chocolate, lay out the rose petals, and get out the cookbook. It's Valentines Day, that one-time-a-year day when you show all your love and affection to a partner, boyfriend, gal pal...or dog? (I've heard stories!)

Although you'll probably be out wining and dining your love muffin, in the days or weeks ahead don't forget the epic love tale of Camille Saint-Saëns, Sampson and Dalila. A juicy clip from the DVD with mega stars Shirley Verrett and John Vickers is available online. Happy Valentine's Day ♥

Opera Aisle Five

Living in a big city one can't help come across signage of all kind: billboards, street posts, community boards, posters. The list is forever. After a while, one learns to ignore most distractions and see only select images; or things that are the most arresting, despite if they arrive windblown in snowy pile on the sidewalk. As that was the case, who would have thought a typical Saturday stroll to the corner market would have given me this:


First off, "Ahhh!" Where's my mommie? Second, kudos PETA, hat's off. Taking a sacred, even blessed, childhood bastion and revamping it into nothing short of all the paranoia and fear people hold about clowns, well that just takes balls, the big kind too. Bozo, It, Joan Crawford move over, Ronald's come to play ball and has the incisors to prove it!

Granted, I wasn't concerned entirely with the PETA campaign itself; in fact, I didn't even read the article on the back. I simply looked at the picture in a bit of artistic stupor. Why does this image seem so familiar, as if the muses were whispering, "you know this." I gently folded the flyer, placed it in my bag, and went to get my milk and eggs.

Some where between peanut butter and salmon steaks something brilliant and serendipitous punched me in the mouth. I was humming vesti la giubba, the ever-popular hit from Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagilacci. But Why? I don't sing that. I'm not some love-crazed show clown blinded by jealously who kills his wife in a fit of confusion and rage.... Wait a hoot. Did a little bit of opera magic find me as I shopped for peas?