Nagoya, Osaka, Sapporo…
Hi there! This week was a busy, interesting and fun. Right now I am writing from a Koko Hotel in Sapporo, Hokkaido. I stayed in this hotel chain in Ginza-Tokyo, a couple of times. Being here feels very comfortable. We flew from Nagoya and just arrived few hours ago.
This week we did some teaching on a course a friend is doing on Don Giovanni, we gave a Masterclass to his students singing the different roles, it was really nice to work again with Japanese singers, and working on the Italian and phrasing as well as some technique.
We kept rehearsing for our concert on 10th July in Nagoya, and we did a one day trip back to Osaka to sing at Aki’s High School where they made a little presentation of her as a example of excellence and how great of a journey she has done, how she arrived to Germany and how to be a singer there working at a German Opera House. It was really nice to see the students and to sing for them, and to presence how Aki was recognized by the school as a very inspiring and example of musician. This one day trip back to Osaka was on the 9th, one day before our very challenging concert. We were a bit tired but finally the next day we sang and had a wonderful time singing at Nagoya Fushimi denki bunka Kaikan (Hall). The concert went really well and the public was really enthusiastic. As I mentioned last week, it was a program from Baroque, Lieder, Opera (Don Giovanni, Rigoletto, Boheme, Carmen), Mexican song and Japanase Song. Our Pianist Sakichan did such an amazig job and her musicality helped a lot and I am so grateful for her artistry. At the end all of us supported each other and gave a very good concert. Of course there are things we can sing better but live performances are always different and every time we sing something has a new life and every time is a kind of surprise, specially when being creative, at least for us. After the concert Aki, Sakichan and I went to the entrance to greet the audience, apparently here in Japan that is a rule after singing the concert, as many guests bring little presents to the performers and they also want to greet the artists. I find this really nice, because it is a way to connect with the people who came to enjoy the music and for them to express also their experience after the concert, many photos were taken, it was a very special concert. Brava Akiho for your level of singing and for inviting me to take part of it.
Being in Nagoya for many days was nice. I did manage to see some of the city and go to coffees and had very nice food. Only because we were rehearsing and also taking care of not getting too tired, I did much less than I normally do whenever I travel, but still I enjoyed it. I really like Japan and the challenge I have everytime I am here is eat a sort of “mochi” every day while here and I have most of the days accomplished it.
Today we flew to Hokkaido, to the city of Sapporo, for the first time I am this far north in Japan. So far it is a really nice city, we had already Sushi and tomorrow we will see some of this city, rehearse and have some nice Sapporo Ramen.
This week I kept doing my exercise routine (4 times a week) and daily reading and morning pages. I hope you are well, take care and see you next week.
