It's time

For me to start blogging again.

How do I know? Because my facebook status updates have been getting so long, I'm ready to sell them to the New Yorker as short stories.

Seriously though, why have I barely been writing this summer? Well, I've been embroiled in something that I have wanted to wait to talk about until it was all completely settled. But I really don't know when the ultimate conclusion will come, so I have to just go on with my life at this point and see what happens. In the meantime, here's what's up with me:

I'm going to Berlin at the end of the month to make my debut with the Berlin Staatsoper as Rosina in Barbiere di Siviglia. Then I'll come back the the U.S for a couple of months for a Romeo and Juliette in New Orleans and a Messiah in Virginia, and will then return to Berlin to sing Nerone in a new production of Agrippina conducted by Rene Jacobs. I'm really excited about my entire season, but especially Berlin for many reasons. First of all, it's a big time european company, and I get to sing not one but two roles that I really like there (and that, thank god, I've sung before). Second, the new production of Agrippina allows me to work with somebody I REALLY admire - the former countertenor turned conductor Rene Jacobs. He is super famous - and with good reason. His interpretations of baroque and classical music are intelligent, refined, but also out of the box. Having been a singer himself, he brings a very vocal perspective to the podium - I don't know how else to describe it - and I really appreciate the finished product he comes up with. Now I get to be a part of creation of that product, and I'm really freaking thrilled about it.

I'm thrilled and excited knowing that I will be spending a lot of time in a city I've only heard amazing things about - Berlin - singing with a company that I always only dreamed I might one day be lucky enough to grace the stage of. I'm not ashamed to tell you that I cried tears of joy when I found out I had gotten the gig, and I won't soon forget the elation of that moment. Now it's up to me to live up to my own expectations and deliver the performances that I know I'm capable of. And also maybe utter a few intelligible words of german while I'm in Germany for 3 months. That second one might be a bit of a stretch.