We are now halfway through our performances. The second performance on Tuesday night definitely had a different feel than our opening. For me, I noticed early on that the climate onstage seemed much dryer that it had been in previous runs onstage. Many others in the cast told me they noticed the dryness at the end of the performance. Someone mentioned that the company had turned on the heat for the first time in the building. Another person told me she thought it was due to the sudden weather change outside, as it was very cold and rainy that night.

Due to the dryness onstage, in the Bacchus scene at the end, I found myself struggling just to swallow. Although it probably wasn't noticed by many, I think I began the role with a bit too much effort than I had to, working harder than I needed. The role of Bacchus has to be respected by the tenor. If not, due to the nature of how it was written for the tenor voice, as I like to say, it can easily "kick your a..". I started out with a bit too much voice at the beginning. In combination with the dry air, when we got to the middle of the scene, I discovered that my voice was starting to become more fatigued than I would have wanted. Once I realized this, I corrected it by singing with more lyricism that I had been singing, which helped me stay fresh for the big high notes at the end. With the role of Bacchus, I have never missed (so far) any of the high notes in a production of "Ariadne". (Knock on wood!)

Last night the Pittsburgh Opera hosted a master class headed by Jane Eaglen, at the Benedum Center. It was well-attended by many opera supporters, and featured four excellent singers from Pittsburgh Opera's Young Artist program, NaGuanda Nobles, soprano, Jennifer Holloway, mezzo-soprano, Tammy Tyburczy, soprano, and Charles Unice, bass. Jane Eaglen mentioned her normal dislike of master classes when they focus on the teacher instead of the student. And embracing this policy, she created an inspiring and downright enjoyable evening, as she focused expertly on each of the singers, showing an ability to work with different voices and different personalities, as she offered valuable truths of vocal technique, as well as constructive ideas for the singers to consider.

Tomorrow, Friday, is our third performance, with the final matinee performance on Sunday. My flight is scheduled to return back to New York City on Sunday night, following the performance. So as I write this, for the first time, my thoughts are beginning to turn to the need to begin packing. Because of Sunday's early arrival to the opera house for the matinee performance, there will be time to pack neither beforehand nor afterward, as I will have about an hour before my limo car service picks me up to take me to the airport. So on our day off between the final two performances, on Saturday, I will use the entire day to get packed. The only thing I will have to worry about, is returning the Comcast high-speed internet modem that I rented, and at this point I am not sure if they are going to be open on Saturday, so I had better check on this tomorrow (Friday) while there's still time to return it!