World Premiere of Gesualdo in Zürich

Getting to the end of an arduous rehearsal period here in Zürich. I'm creating the title role in the world premiere of the new opera "GESUALDO" by Marc-André Dalbavie. Carlo Gesualdo was an Italian Renaissance Prince, and he's famous for his amazing madrigals and sacred music, but also because he murdered his first wife and her lover, for reasons that should be obvious from the first part of this sentence! It's been really challenging, mostly because of the density of the French text. But it's pretty exciting. We have had 4 orchestra rehearsals now, and it's really coming together. Preliminary reaction is extremely positive. We open on Oct 9.

South Pacific, Houston

The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts is a cavernous, but beautiful and highly functional venue. It's a strange sensation to hear your voice so loudly from so far away (because of the amplification): sometimes it seems like it's louder than my voice in front of my own face! The audiences here are harder to read, due to the distance to the back wall, but they have been extremely receptive and appreciative. We have such a good time when they have a good time!

San Antonio

Too bad we were only there for a week! The Riverwalk was just great. The people are really friendly. The audiences were wonderful. Now it's on to Houston.

South Pacific Seattle

We had a terrific time in Seattle. What a tremendous place! No wonder half of California has moved there. It's gorgeous, the food is exceptional, the climate, though rainy, is mild, it's just a very civilized place to live. My wonderful cousin and her family live on this idyllic lake just 15 minutes north of the city, and we watched a bald eagle on a floating log eating something for about 40 minutes! Another cousin lives in Port Townsend, right at the inlet of the Puget Sound, and that's another breathtaking place. Can't wait to go back!

South Pacific in Seattle

The sun is out in Seattle! Just what we need to get through a 9-show week here!
It's crazy, 9 shows in a week, but I'm interested to see how hard it will actually be. The show is so streamlined now that we are all working very efficiently, so it should be OK. We are still getting standing ovations at every performance, so apparently the quality of the show is remaining high.

Grammys continued

Well, we didn't get the Grammy for Saint François d'Assise, but I was in good company, as Placido Domingo was also nominated for Marco Polo and he didn't win either! My congratulations go out to Nathan Gunn and the others involved in the Billy Budd recording that DID win. My wife Tina and son Marc and sister-in-law Liz had an amazing time anyway. But I really did want that golden Grammaphone in my hands!

The Grammys

I am excited about the Grammys this weekend. My recording of Messiaen's Saint François d'Assise, which I performed in Amsterdam in June 2008, is nominated for Best Opera Recording! There are 4 other very strong contenders, so I guess we have a 20% chance of winning. I will not be able to attend :( because we have Press Night for South Pacific in Seattle, and they want the original cast there. (The nerve!) But my wife and son WILL be there!