Dido, Magic Flute, The Voice, and Movie Monday

The opera went really well. There was an amazingly good turn out and we performed better than we ever had before. I never really got nervous either. It felt like the most natural thing in the world.

We got a lot of really great feedback from the audience and I'm really happy and proud with what we did. I can only hope that this will start something really amazing with the opera program at USD. It is a program that is atrociously under-funded and I think that this could be a catalyst into something greater. Dr. Gesteland has worked hard to make something out of not much, and she's done a fantastic job. She put her heart and soul into this project and I think that it really paid off. I'll be very excited to see what the program is like in 5 years. I think it has a bright future. Public service announcement over...

I auditioned for Die Zauberflöte last night. Sounds of South Dakota is centered out of Sioux Falls and they are putting on the production in September. I would love to be a part of it. My audition didn't go as well as I wanted it to so we'll see what happens. I haven't figured out what I'll do for living and travel arrangements if I do get the gig, but I figured I would cross that bridge when I came to it. I'm not worried though. I know enough people in the area to find a place to stay. Kenny auditioned to. He sent in an audio recording. I can't see any reason for him to not get it. We don't have a ton of basses in the area. Oh, to be a male singer! Jealousy doesn't even sum up what I feel! :) It would be really perfect if we both got in because we could coordinate what happens next better. We are in the process of trying to figure out when and how we are moving to Chicago. He is going to be taking lessons from a teacher at Northwestern and I'm going to try to get in touch with a teacher at Roosevelt that I want to work with. Now we just need to have the time and the money to find a place to live and move ourselves out there. Right now the time frame is centered around this opera. It is nice to have that freedom, but I'm bad at not having a plan. We were told that we should find out the results of the audition in about 3 weeks. So fingers crossed!

I'm addicted to The Voice.

I didn't think I was going to like it the first time I watched it, but now I'm hooked! I love the judges, I love the contestants, I love the songs that they sing. I'm lost forever! I typically don't like televised singing competitions. They just make me angry. But this show is a bit different. They pick their teams without knowing what the people look like. After that they weed them down without letting America have all the final decisions. They've removed almost everything I hate about media talent shows. America doesn't get the entire decision until the very last round. By that point, everybody is ridiculously amazing so you don't even care so much who wins. I LOVE IT! My favorite contestant right now is Juliete Simms. She is like Cindy Lauper and Janis Joplin had a baby. She is epic awesome and I hope she wins the whole thing. Then again, I also love a bunch of the other contestants and hope the win the whole thing. I'm so stressed with how much I want everybody to succeed. What a great problem to have!

MOVIE MONDAY!!!

Adrian and I recently went to 21 Jump Street.
Again, I didn't think I was going to like it, but I found myself laughing through the majority of the movie. It had the previously blogged about hottie Channing Tatum and the ever hilarious Jonah Hill in it. It was an interesting take on the television series and poked fun at it on a regular basis. It had an obligatory Johnny Depp cameo, lots of car chases, and lots of teenaged stupidity. I couldn't get enough of it. Most epic movie ever? Not so much. But it was a nice bit of fun that I wouldn't take back. There was a certain young up-and-comer that resembled James Franco. Keep your eyes on that one! Definitely see the movie. Don't expect it to change your life, but expect to be entertained.