Tirol Abend & Kirche Concert!

So much has happened here in the Alps! Last Wednesday was "Tirol Abend." We all climbed aboard an old fashioned bus driven by one of the local sponsers (who of course was dressed in his traditional lederhosen.) He smiled brightly when SJ & I appeared in our matching beer maiden outfits.

We drove to a resturaunt in Pertisau which is a town right across the lake from Maurach. They had a live band who taught us how to yodel and some other locals showed us how to do the traditional dances. SJ & I caught on quickly and became a hit as dance partners in our identical clothing.





At dinner, we ate the most delicious macaroni and cheese type dish I've ever eaten. There was also a performance by a few young Austrian boys in lederhosen. They did this strange dance where they hacked and sawed on a piece of wood in rhythm before jumping up and doing what I believe is called "schuhplattler". It's a a type of dance where they repeatedly hit themselves. All the while, an older man flipped pancakes in rhythm and then fed the boys the pancake as part of the dance. I'm not sure what this all signifies, but it was cool none the less.

Thursday was a whirlwind as we prepared for our first concert on friday. However, we did find an hour or so to wander down to the beautiful Achensee for a swim! Our friend Johanna (who is from Innsbruck) drove us to the crystal blue lake and the three of us went for a dip. It was incredible to swim in the clear lake with the Alps surrounding us 360 degrees. The friday concert was held in an old "kirche" (church) on the top of one of the Alps. From the outside, it looked like a simple little chapel but the inside was incredibly ornate. In one corner of the murals on the ceiling, there was an actual sculpture of a foot coming down from the painting of an angel's leg. It looked as though the angel was actually desecending from the sky!

I sang "Il padre adorato" from Mozart's Idomeneo. It was not my best performance but every performance is a learning experience. I know I will sing even better at our next concert on Monday!



So that brings us to Saturday (today) which was another busy day packed with dance class, german class, a lesson, a coaching with the wonderful Melanie Helton, a chorus rehearsal singing the Bundesbahn Blues, a somewhat disheartening lecture on the probable financial struggles of opera singers over dinner, and followed by a master class on how to promote yourself as a singer.

I feel like I'm on a spinning carousel. Everything is whooshing by quickly and I don't want to get off the ride just yet!

Also, I learned that in Austria college is free. Let me repeat that, collge is free. Anyone else down for becoming an Austrian citizen with me and studying music here?