Opera to Go! Midland Tour - Wednesday

Another chilly morning greeted us on our 3rd day in the bustling metropolis of Midland. Armed with a breakfast of Texas-shaped waffles and several cups of coffee, we headed back to Carver for our 9 A.M. show (not all that early for OTG). The kids were just as responsive as yesterday. The Q&A sessions after each show are definitely one of the highlights of performing with this group. We have heard it all from ‘My uncle’s name is Brian’ to ‘Dancing!’ to ‘I liked the part where he fell down.’ But today we had a particularly thoughtful question from a young girl who asked if we had always wanted to be singers. Reminded me of the conversation we had in the van just 3 days prior. On our way back to the hotel, we were all determined to snap some shots of the prairie dogs we had seen just around the corner from the school yesterday. They are pretty darn cute but I hear they are a menace to the local cat population.

For lunch we settled on a Whole Foods-esque café that featured all natural sandwiches, wraps, burgers and delicious smoothies. It’s tricky to get 9 people to all agree, but this group is fairly easy going. I had made a bit of a stink about not eating at any chain restaurants. It’s just something about driving 8 hours to eat at a place that is 10 minutes from home. I think we were all quite sated despite a stowaway jalapeno in my wrap. While Youngha and Cecy might relish in wasabi, Tabasco and jalapenos, my taste buds are wimps!

After lunch we had our final show in Midland which was a bit farther away than the first two locations. We may or may not have made a couple of u-turns on the way ;). Our fearless leader unfortunately did not have a GPS device to pilot the way. Once there, the band teacher delighted with some Midland humor. Apparently The Magic Flute is the sequel to The Voodoo Euphonium. Har har har. And all this time I thought it was the prequel to The Spastic Piccolo. My bad. The show went well and Katherine nailed her stratospheric coloratura (despite suffering from some serious congestion). One young girl asked Hannah if it was fun playing the princess and I had to resist answering the question myself. I have donned a dress for OTG more than once – Princess Esperanza in Mary Carol Warwick's The Princess and the Pea sprang to mind.

Immediately after the show it was off to San Antonio with just a little drooling on my Texas flag pillow. We glimpsed a road runner that was too quick for any photos. No doubt a coyote was in hot pursuit. Kade claims to have seen a boar. This trip was all about the Texas wildlife. 5 hours and several pieces of beef jerky later, we pulled into our hotel right on the river walk. It’s remarkable considering the city is under siege by musicians for the TMEA conference. Despite the falling temperature we ate outside at Casa Rio (we were all too hungry to wait for a table inside). We warmed ourselves by taking ridiculous pictures of each other and laughing hysterically. Thank goodness for digital cameras. Then it was off to a decently early bedtime. Have to be up again in the morning for our final performance of Flute. After performing in Abduction and Flute in the HGO chorus and Flute on the road, I’m about Mozart-ed out! Lying in my bed that night I was thinking how interesting it is that with HGO we will rehearse a show for 2 months and then perform 5 or 6 times over 2 weeks. Whereas with OTG, we rehearse a show for 2 weeks and then perform it many times over 2-3 months. It is simultaneously a challenge to keep the show fresh and an opportunity to really explore our characters and the music. I know we all look forward to taking the show on the road again - after we get some well-deserved rest. Maybe next time we’ll go to Cabo!

-Dennis