One of the things that I really love about living in Chicago is the things that opportunities that pop up from time to time. My friend Amanda was unable to attend the Renee Fleming masterclass up at Northwestern, and her girlfriend Krys was left with a ticket. It was offered to me. (Thank you thank you thank you Krys!!!) You bet I took it! Now I am definitely a mezzo at this point, and though I have many singers that I love and admire, for no real reason Renee Fleming has never really appeared on my listening list. (It's mostly made up of mezzos, so it's no real slight.)
After this masterclass though, I am going to make her a part of my list.

In person, she is a remarkably funny, engaging, and down-to-earth person. She kept it real the entire time. From her, I received further confirmation that whatever happens it is going to be all right. First, she's a big fan of taking care of yourself... working on things in the practice room and experimenting. Yay! Also, she had so many issues when she was young. Vocal bad habits and paralyzing stage fright. HEY! Guess what? Me too. And Renee Fleming of all people moved past it. So, guess what? I have all ready moved past the paralyzed stage. I started to give it up in Postcards from Morocco this past semester, when I realized that I knew what needed to be done. I was very chill in my last jury. It was good times in fact. And then there was Amahl and the Night Visitors. No fear. I went out and did what I needed to do, and when the larynx crept up, I fixed it and moved on, all while keeping the character. I was onstage and in character the entire time. I had that moment of your brain being in three different sections. One part controls the words and the musical issues, one is adjusting for technique, and the other part is controlling the acting issues. Maybe I've moved past a really terrible bout of it, and maybe there will be another bought. But Renee Fleming made it through two terrible boughts of it. There's hope.