Day 5

Another day done - and what a day!  This morning I had the pleasure of introducing the group to soprano Naomi Ruiz-Wickson, a dear friend of mine from graduate school.  Naomi did her undergraduate work in a school very similar to UWEC, and she spoke about the transition into a larger graduate school, auditioning for and working in young artist programs (She was a resident artist at Minnesota Opera for two years) and moving to the city to pursue a career in music.  Naomi is one of the most positive people I have ever met, and I believe that this character trait has contributed a lot to her success, besides the fact she has had wonderful training and a beautiful voice!  After her talk, she and I decided to spend some time catching up.  We had lunch at a place that I was told has the best burgers in town - The Shake Shack - they were amazing!  We also met up with another soprano friend from graduate school, Yungee Rhie, who is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at Mannes.  It was wonderful to catch up with these two dear friends, hearing about the opera program at Mannes, shopping for some music at the Julliard Book Store, and enjoying the more of the sites on the upper west side.  We also had a wonderful dessert at Choco Bolo - wow - if you love chocolate, get thee to Broadway and W 71st - you won't be disappointed!
This evening the group attended a stunning performance of Donizetti's comedic opera, L'elisir d'amore at the Met.  It was an all-star cast, and they delivered.  Wonderful singing, hilarious acting, imaginative sets and the incredible Metropolitan Opera Orchestra - it was a truly a magical performance.  The principal singers were Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flores as the country-bumpkin Nemorino, German coloratura soprano Diana Damrau as the wily Adina, Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecien as the swaggering sergeant Belcore, and Italian baritone Alessandro Corbelli as the quack-doctor Dulcamara.  What amazing singers!  I was so happy our UWEC singers were there to hear some of the best singers in the opera world today.  I think that they were all inspired, I know I was!
Ahhh.... the end of the week is coming - I don't want it to end!
Mr. P