My opportunity to sing in Bronx Opera's La Traviata this month was a very rewarding experience, but this week I'm glad to be done. Working all day and then rehearsing almost every night for the past month has taken its toll on me physically and mentally.
I'm currently sprawled on our couch and missing work today due to illness, so obviously my body is paying me back for all the lack of sleep and strange eating schedules over the past two weeks. Hopefully I'll make a swift recovery and be back at it tomorrow. I want to be healthy and enjoy my new free time!
If this recent experience with Bronx Opera has taught me anything, it is that balancing financial survival (aka the day job) with artistic fulfillment (aka the pursuit of the dream job) takes a lot of physical, mental and emotional discipline and stamina. It's easy to see why so many singers struggle to keep it going. I can definitely understand how tempting the steady paycheck of an office job can be, but when I get out on the stage and the music starts, those fears become irrelevant.
I hope I will get the chance to keep this balancing act going with future operatic engagements, and when I do become involved in another production, I hope that I can use the lessons I learned during this last experience to alleviate my stress level and physical strain. Those sacrifices are worth it in the end, but the more prepared and organized I can be, the more I can enjoy rehearsals rather than dread them.
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