This past week

This past week has been a crazy whirlwind, which is why I haven't been able to find time to blog. It's had it's highs and lows. After the fantastic weekend, Monday was pretty ordinary and consisted of classes, practicing, and I also had a coaching. It wasn't as great as the others. I almost felt like this lady had a personal vendetta against me for some reason. She ripped me to shreds. I didn't cry, but on the inside I was dying. But sometimes that's what you need, because if everyone said you were great, you would never grow. And believe me this lady let me know what she thought. After that we had a masterclass and a pretty normal afternoon. That night I went to the square to watch The Marriage of Figaro, starring Anna Netrebko, in the square.

Tuesday, wasn't really exciting either. Nothing thrilling to report from this day.

Wednesday was a great day for the most part, I had German, and then I had a coaching with one of the most interesting women ever. Dr. Moteki. She had me doing tai-chi and dancing around the room as i sang, and it actually worked. In her words..."you must worship at the alter of legato..." Once i started thinking that, the music started coming to life. Crazy how once you actually get outside of yourself and stop interfering, how "easy" singing actually is. I'm really trying to master old habits and start singing with my voice. After a fantastic coaching, I started not to feel well, so I went up to my room and slept all afternoon. I missed a masterclass, but i felt much better after wards.

Thursday was my last lesson with Yvonne, she has been a major help to me and has taught me a lot of great things that i will continue to incorporate into my technique and performance skills. I was kind of sad to not be working with her any longer. After that we headed off to meet Joyce DiDonato and her husband. This was incredible. To hear her story and what she is doing now is incredible. She is fantastic and if you don't know her, you need to look her up. The best piece of advice she gave us was, "if you find something that makes you just as happy as singing, do it, because this is a tough business and a tough life." As soon as she said that i knew that nothing made me as happy as i am when im singing. After that I scheduled a voice lesson with an amazing mezzo named Katherine Goeldner. She is fantastic and I can't wait to work with her next week. Then it was off to the opera, Don Giovanni. The singing was great, but a little too modern for my taste. The set was incredible though. It was set in a forest and it rotated at times to make it look like they were running through the woods, cool stuff. But i was not a fan of the costumes. The men were absolutely mind blowing and perfect for those roles, the women were ok, but i wasn't as impressed. I also forgot to tell you that we had standing room tickets, so we had to stand for 3 1/2 hours! After the production we ran to the cast exit door and we got to meet and take pictures with a few members of the cast and they were so gracious and excited that we were singers as well. Erwin Schrott played Leporello, and if you don't know who that is, you probably know his significant other...Anna Netrebko. He actually hurt himself during the production, but he stood there for 45 minutes signing autographs and taking pictures because he loves his fans, and believe me, they love him. It's fantastic. After that i headed back and did homework and settled in for the night.

Friday we went to a cafe and practiced ordering in German for class. It was really great just to relax with everyone and enjoy some hot tea. After that I got ready for a lesson with one of the other teachers. He was really great and had a lot of great insight, and gave me a lot to think about. He is convinced that I am a baby dramatic soprano in the making. This kind of freaked me out for a bit, but honestly who knows how this is going to turn out? Certainly not me. After hearing so many singers stories and life paths, its anyone's guess how it is going to turn out. The best advice i got from him was to not put limits on myself because there are plenty of other people that will do that for you. And he is totally right. After that we had an interesting lunch of soup and a rice dessert, it was ok. After that we got to meet an alumni of the program who was singing in the Festival Production of Norma. She had a lot of great advice, and helped us to realize that this could be us in 10 years, how awesome is that! After that we had a masterclass with a professor from the Mozarteum and she stressed how important it was to create a special relationship with your pianist and to become a chamber ensemble rather than, singer and accompanist. So true. It makes a huge difference. After that we headed back to the dorms and made a dinner of breakfast for dinner and then headed to bed, we were exhausted.
This weekend, we are planning on going to Mozart's birthplace, the fortress and to the ice caves. Next week we have our final recital and then we have our farewell party, and then it's back to the States. I'm not ready to leave, but i know i have a lot of work to do in the next few years. But who knows, maybe in 2020, for the 100th year of the Festival, I'll be here. Who knows? I'm ready to carve out my path and enjoy the ride that this crazy life has in store for me. Ciao!
Living the Dream,
Lauren Frick

This Past Weekend

So I have literally been on the go all weekend. So Friday we went to the market for German class, and it was pouring. Not just raining...pouring. It was kind of awful, but after that we went to McDonalds to talk about our findings at the market, and lets just say, even their Mickey Ds is better than ours. Haha. Then I practiced and headed to lunch. It was pretty normal that day with some type of fish. After lunch we headed to a great masterclass with one of the vocal coaches. He is great, he had a lot of great advice for us as young singers. After that we headed to the competition winners recital. It was phenomenal! They were fantastic. The final singer ended with the most moving rendition of Ride on King Jesus that I have ever experienced in my life. And the venue was absolutely gorgeous. After that we headed to dinner with a group and then went back to the dorms to get some much needed sleep.

On Saturday we were all up bright and early. We went on a tour of all of the festival houses. It was amazing. We got to walk and sing on the stages. So much fun! After that we headed back to the dorms to practice and get ready for that night. We had tickets to a Lieder recital featuring Anja Harteros. She was really fantastic and had some outstanding musical moments. After that we headed out for the night to just relax and have some fun with everyone from the program, it was quite a night. The next day we just relaxed and prepared ourselves for the final full week of the program.

This program is really helping me to pinpoint what i need to work on as an overall singer-performer. Right now it looks like an insurmountable amount of work ahead of me, but i just have to stay positive and have faith in myself. The next two years are going to be crazy and super intense. Im ready to really commit and make this my craft rather than my major. Short cuts get you no where and the only thing that works is if you put in the man hours.

If you arent a singer, you have no idea what a rollercoaster it truly is. One day you sound great and you are super confident about what u bring to the table and the next day it sounds like crap and you are ready to find a new career path. This is not for the faint of heart, and really takes a strong person. Because one person may think you are fantastic and the next may think that you suck. It is so subjective.
Well I have a busy day ahead of me, so check back later for an update from today, ciao!
Living the Dream,
Lauren Frick

Thursday

Im really sorry the last few days havent been more interesting. They will start to get more exciting in the next two weeks. Thats right people, i only have 2 more weeks here in Salzburg! I had German class, and then another lesson. It went really well, we worked on some of the opera and it went a lot better when i had accompaniment under me. So hopefully that is a sign that it will be fine. Then I practiced some more and then it was time for lunch. It was quite interesting. We had leberkäse. Look it up, its basically a hotdog loaf. I wasnt a fan. We got pizza afterwards, lol. Also apparentlz the mountain that the school is built onto, is known as suicide mountain, and yesterday there was a man that tried to justify the name. there were so many firetrucks and police. Eventually he was talked down, but it was interesting to think that there was a man above the school willing to jump to his death. weird. anyway. We attended a festival masterclass with Jürgen Flimm, who was a former director of the Salzburg Festival. It was interesting, he helped 2 of the singers stage a scene from The Marriage of Figaro. After that we went back to the college to meet up and then we all headed to the Augustiner, which is basically the Austrian equivalent to the Hofbrauhaus. So we had some amaying roast chicken and tried some of the beer, it was so bitter, i couldnt drink it. So we decided to go to murphys and get a better beer instead. It was some irish guys birthday, so he bought us drinks, which was awesome, but kind of backwards, haha! After that I hung out with my awesome suite mate and then headed to bed. More to come in the next few days. Im going to try and add links to different things in my blogs and try some pictures. So go back to previous blogs to check it out! Ciao!
Living the Dream,
Lauren Frick

Midterm Recital

So today started out as a typical day, German class, practicing, memorizing, dictating. All of the usual. I went to lunch and then after we headed back to the dorms to get ready for the mid-term recital. After we got all dolled up we headed back to the school and then walked over to the other side of town for the recital. It was fantastic, everyone was great. I actually just listened back to my recording and can already tell a difference in my singing which makes me really excited. After the concert we headed to dinner and then back to the lehrhause. I'm off to practice and the hopefully get a full night of sleep. Ciao!
Living the Dream,
Lauren Frick

Tuesday

So today wasn't very exciting either. Sorry. The next few days should be full of exciting stories for you to enjoy. Well there was a story from this morning. Apparently when i set this new alarm clock i got here in salzburg, i accidently set the clock an hour ahead instead of setting my alarm, so i was late to German. I was so mad. but anyway, she understood and i just got the notes from a friend. Then I warmed up and went to my lesson and it was pretty great. I think i have figured out why my support isn't as great as it could be. I'm thinking low, but i need to go even lower. So i think this will solve a lot of breath, range, etc. problems. After that i practiced and did some homework. After lunch we had a masterclass with one of the vocal coaches and she was wonderful. I haven't worked with her yet, but i'm hoping to get the chance to work with her before i leave. After the class i headed back to get some more practicing in. This opera is consuming my life right now, i just want to be as prepared as possible when i come into rehearsals, but im trying not to let it interfere with the things i am trying to learn for the program. So its a hard balancing act, especially with everything else they keep us busy with. Well, I have some more homework to do before bed. Tomorrow is the mid-term recital, thursday we are going to the beer garden as a group and then friday is the competition recital at Mirabel Gardens. So for now, ciao!
Living the Dream,
Lauren Frick

Monday

Monday was another day of greatness. It started out with the usual German class, but instead of a regular class, we had a breakfast, and learned about different foods and how to say them in German. It was a lot of fun. Then I didnt have any coachings or lessons, so i went up to the library and got a bunch of work done that i was behind on. I dictated lessons and score studied for a while and even took a nap, it was great! Then i practiced for a while and then it was time for lunch and we had Schnitzel and rice for lunch. After lunch we had a masterclass with this awesome mezzo. A week ago she had to fly to England to cover Denyce Graves in Carmen. She also had a lot of off the beaten path methods. It kind of blew my mind a little. After that we were going to go to the market to get fresh veggies, but it started raining so we went to Billa (the grocery store) instead. We got everything we needed and by that point it was pouring so we caught up with some friends and we split a taxi to go back to the lehrhaus. I cooked dinner and then decided to practice for a bit and then went to sleep super early. So it wasnt too eventful, but I did order at the bread counter in German, so that was pretty exciting . I know im lame, haha. And im starting to pick up bits and pieces of conversation. Well im off to do some more dictation and practicing. I cant believe i only have 2 weeks left. Why does shepherd have to always win the award for the earliest starting college? Seriously! A bunch of people are traveling other places before they leave and i have to go back to west virginia, lame. anywho, ciao for now!
Living the Dream,
Lauren Frick

Saturday and Sunday

Saturday was awesome! We got up around 10 am, and decided that we wanted to go to the Salt Mines. So we booked a tour through the hostel and off we went. They even picked us up and took us to the bus! So we went through the Bavarian Mountains, and it was gorgeous, like everything, and we even got to see the exact hills that Julie Andrews sang, "The hills are alive, with the sound of music...". It was pretty cool. Then we headed into the salt mine. We had to first be equipped with authentic miners outfits, they were pretty awesome, haha. Then we had to hop onto this train and ride through the cave until our first stop. It was a blast. Then the next stop was an authentic wooden slide that the miners used to get from one level to the next quickly. It was fantastic! I had so much fun. It was like one of those giant pink slides at a carnival but better. Then we learned a lot about how the salt was extracted, and i am so much more grateful for plain old table salt, haha. The coolest part about this trip was the lake inside of the mine. They took us out on this boat and this coordinated music and light show began and it was absolutely one of the coolest things i have ever seen! After that we stopped in a tiny town for a snack and then headed home. After we got back we went and sat in the gardens for a while, and then decided to take a carriage ride around the city. It was so much fun! After the ride, it was time for the opera in the square to start. In the square, they have these giant screens, where they project operas. And let me tell you, these people are serious about their opera. I could have heard a pin drop, haha, it was great! We saw La Traviata with Anna Netrebko, and of course it was fabulous, how could it not be! After that we headed back to the dorms.

This morning I went to the Salzburg Cathedral for mass, of course it was in German, but i could correlate most of it to English. It was astounding to me that some people find it quite normal to attend mass in this giant, historical and astoundingly beautiful church. After mass I had a voice lesson and this one was probably the best yet! This place is just inspiring to push myself farther than i have ever thought possible. I know that these singers are pushing me to be better. After my lesson I went to lunch with my friend Jonathan and then headed back to the dorm. I'm off to practice and make dinner, so I will try and keep you updated daily this week. Also, funny story. I was walking downtown and started to get annoyed at tourists slowing down to take pictures. I can also navigate most of the city by myself as well. I'm ready to live here now. Well i have lots to do, so until tomorrow, ciao!
Living the dream,
Lauren Frick