Fifth meeting and a soprano hunt

Some serious libretto reading going on.

It has been an eventful summer, full of things such as rain and other projects. Also I have found the need to reload my batteries and prepare for battle (aka. start of the school year). And so it happens that we had a meeting on the 18th of May and I'm writing about it now.

Everyone was there on our fifth meeting, again in Milla's place. For the first time we read through the entire libretto - lacking just some finishing touches. It was all very exciting. All in all the meeting circled around the following three points:

1) Scheduling. Our director announced that next spring he's going to escape to Lapland. So the opening night would have to be sooner than hoped for.

2) Scheduling. Can we actually make this happen? Will the composition be finished on time?

3) A writing crisis. Sometimes there's just too much text.

That day we went our separate ways with varying amounts of optimism and cheerfulness, and all was well. And then the university spat on us. Well, on Iida, in any case. She was accepted to Berlin to study singing, and had to resign from our opera group. We're pretending to be happy for her, because studying singing in Berlin must be completely amazing, fulfilling and every kind of wonderful, but still our hearts are bleeding for losing this eccentric, energetic artist. I tell you, this young lady will be heard of.

So.

That left us one soprano short, and a hunt began. I had long talks with Milla and Itzam about who could be best suited to our group, and who Itzam could most comfortably compose to on such a tight schedule. We all had different opinions and favourites, but one name was on all our lists: Anna-Maija Perttunen. She didn't say yes immediately, but wanted to think about joining us. (Which was wise - we're on a fool's errand trying to change the universe and open the hearts of these humans who have fallen from the grace of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. We've got no money, just wild plans and a little time to create a mind-blowing spectacle of an opera.) Eventually Anna-Maija caved in and said yes, and we're going to live happily ever after.

Stay tuned. There are amazing things to come.