Back in September, when I was rehearsing La bohème , I got this text from a fellow chorister: Many of us had been furiously studying our music over the past week, getting ready for staging rehearsals, when we had to be off-book. I had also spent almost the entire month of July memorizing the role of Dame Quickly in Falstaff, [...]

One morning not too long ago, I was standing in the kitchen of the Folger Guest House in Washington, DC, speaking to one of the founders of the Folger Consort about technology. He was lamenting about how we were all tethered to our electronic devices. “I do like to play on my iPhone, but I can manage without [...]

He thought it would make her happy. With a flourish, Kukulcan donned his feather robe and stepped into the circle. He had been working for ages on this long count calendar, and tonight, the first night of the Tzolk’in cycle, he was ready to dedicate it to her. His mother. His lover. His goddess. He thought it [...]

They were the Weather Men, and they ruled the world. They showed up on the coldest day of the year, demanding payment for favorable weather in the upcoming year. Everyone dreaded their arrival: the metallic scratching at the door would strike send a shiver down the spine of even the most hardened criminal, and as soon as [...]

His eyes were shut, his lids and eyebrows squinting with such force that his entire face was contorted. He knew he should not look directly at it. He had been warned that the sun would burn his eyes and maybe even his brain. He could not afford to lose his sight; it was his livelihood, his everything. He [...]

“Wow, you sure walk fast.” Adele stopped on the trail and whirled around to look at the man behind her. Sweat ran in rivulets down his red face, and he wiped it away with the edge of his t-shirt. He smiled, trying very hard to hide the fact that he was out of breath. “I’m sorry, Frank,” she [...]

“Dr. Brinkley! Come here!” Dr. Joshua Brinkley stood up and fanned himself with his hat. Six weeks at this dig, and he still hadn’t gotten used to the heat. By this time next month , he mused, I might have sweated enough to get back to my college weight. The walkie-talkie crackled again. “Josh! Quickly! I think I’ve found something!” He sighed, [...]

Today I saw a jellyfish in a tree. Not the kind of jellyfish that might sting you at first touch, nor the kind of person one might give you cause to think he had no backbone. It was a piece of art, and I thought it adorned the tree quite nicely. “More people should have whimsical things [...]

She stood outside the store in the pouring rain, just beyond the awning. The first thing Pablo noticed about her was not the way her long hair fell in thick, wet ropes down her back, nor her blotchy red face, nor her unusually slender frame, outlined by the black cotton sundress, now soaked, that clung to [...]

I see you from across the room. That look in your eyes tells me that you mean to devour me whole…and I have a feeling I won’t mind it one bit. A waiter crosses between us, and you duck out of view. What a tease you are! I glance around the crowd, wondering if anyone else has [...]

It was coming. I could neither see nor hear it, but I knew it was approaching. Slowly, deliberately, it was coming for me. I waited, suspended and bound, in a prison of my own making. The wind brushed past me, whispering a warning. I shivered. When I had first arrived, I thought I was being conscientious and careful. I [...]

Sorry I haven’t been posting recently…I will try to use some of my down time this summer to do more writing. Some news: I have joined up with a bunch of really great folks to found a new website, Scriptic. It’s a collective of writers and artists brought together through the desire to improve their work. Sound interesting? Check [...]

I’ll make this quick. Last week, I went over to the house of my friend, Becky Oehlers (some know her from her design blog, Hemidemisemiquaver), who took a bunch of photos for me, since I needed new headshots. What I got back was stunning. I cannot recommend her enough. Not only was the entire process easy and stress-free, but she was [...]

There is a general misconception in today’s society that opera is only for old, rich, and snobby people. And though some Jackie Evancho fans might consider me in the last category, I must protest! I think opera can and should be accessible to everybody. You just have to discard the stereotypes of an overbearing soprano wearing horns [...]

Long ago, in the land of gold and fog, there lived a young girl named Tamalpais. She was the daughter of the chief of her tribe, and she was so beautiful that warriors from up and down the coast would travel for miles and miles to try to win her hand in marriage. Every month, the chief [...]

The tavern door swung open with a bang. Most of the men in the room blinked and recoiled from the bright sunlight streaming in. Some even got up from their seats and went upstairs, shooting nasty looks at the newcomer. “You’re in here early.” Moll, owner of the Lissome Lady, stood at one of the tables with [...]

Ukobach sat at his desk, staring blankly at the endless pile of papers in front of him. He was going cross-eyed with all this paperwork, but he also knew that if he didn’t start working now, his boss would come buzzing in from nowhere and make him regret it. No, he thought with a sigh, better to get [...]

The store had been on Main Street for as long as anyone could remember. Signs proclaiming “Love Potions for Sale” and “Greatest Wishes Fulfilled” always got a chuckle from passers-by, but nobody ever admitted to actually going inside. Still, in good economies or bad, it has remained open for business. A tiny bell jingled cheerily as the [...]

Suzette had never been a risk-taker. She had spent the past 27 years of her life meticulously calculating the safest route through every predicament, from her six-hour, perfectly-timed, and virtually painless entrance into the world (or so her mother said) to her nearly impeccable school record. She had followed all the right paths to lead her [...]

As I write this, I’m 30,000 feet somewhere above the continental United States, making my way home all too quickly. And now that my vacation has ended, perhaps it is time for a few lists of my observations (and rants) of oddities I experienced during the trip. Things I wish I had known ahead of time: 1. Airlines [...]