Singin' Soprano!

I'm naturally a soprano, but there are so many sopranos (in addition to lazy mezzos and altos and small children) in the musical theatre world that if there is an alto option, I'll generally sing the harmony. This can be an advantage when auditioning *cough*Hale Centre Theatre*cough*, but it does take its toll; extended alto is hard on my voice. Even if I can sing the low notes it doesn't always mean I should.

So: Hooray!! In 1940s Radio Hour my character is a soprano! Not just a soprano -- the soprano! There are two other girls who flip between soprano and mezzo, but I always sing the soprano. I admit, it's a little difficult adjusting to singing the melody all the time -- I love singing harmony and at this point I pick it out almost instinctively. I'm really not sure I could sing the melody for anything from Kiss Me Kate, and although I am a little sad about that fact, I am proud that it means that I learned my second alto part so well! However, it feels wonderful to flex my soprano muscles! I'm loud, I'm gaining confidence, and I'm grateful.

Last night we had a music rehearsal for Radio Hour. I sing in quite a few numbers, I have one where I'm the "featured" soloist, and then an actual solo -- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas -- at the very end. I was singing through the songs wondering if friends and family would enjoy it. If they're coming just to see me... well, I'm not one of the more colorful characters in the show. I mostly sit back and listen to conversations. One of my Seven Brides friends who is also in this show joked that it's not as big a part as Milly was, and she's right. I love my character and I'm learning a lot about acting, but I don't want people to be disappointed, you know?

Great, now I sound like I think I'm the only person worth going to the show to see, and that is definitely NOT TRUE! I love watching the others and seeing what they're doing. Plus, they are perfectly cast to sing their songs. I am really grateful I went to that pick-up audition and that I get to work with them. It's pretty cool to do a musical where there are scenes that do more than just introduce the next song. The beginning and ending "scenes" are bascially just 10-20 minutes of us getting to be our characters with no musical interruption. My castmates are actual actors as well as singers, and they shine!

But I digress, we were singing the songs in the order we'll sing them during the actual show, and I was worrying about whether people would like the show, and whether we'd be ready to open in three weeks, and where the devil some of the cast members were. Like I said, my solo comes at the very end of the radio show, so I had plenty of time to fret. But it finally came time for my solo, which happens to be my very favorite song in the show (and I get to sing it!!!!!!!!).

I killed it. Seriously. It felt SO GOOD to sing like that! We picked an arrangement in a higher key than comes in the score (because I was struggling with the low notes) and since I know the song pretty well and I know Cheryl the accompanist so well I could just sing and not worry about anything else. It was so fun! When I finished, Cheryl and I were both smiling as big as we could. I could tell she'd had as much fun as I had. I wish I got to sing like that all the time -- I'd forgotten that I had it in me! I feel so grateful that my big solo is a song I love and sing well. It would be awful to have to sing one that I feel uncomfortable with in any way. Been there. Done that. I wish my songs in Seven Brides had been soprano so they could have been that much fun -- at least there were plenty in that show and my most awkward song was the very first one!

And to my fears I thought, "Well, I think my friends will think the show worth it, if I sing my song just like that."

I'm still smiling!

Everyone else seemed content to move onto the next song -- Harli's been known to say "I don't worry about you" -- but since they all got to sing through their solos twice, I insisted on a second time, too. Honestly, the second attempt wasn't as good. It was pretty good, but it wasn't the same. I was too busy thinking about how well the first time had gone and thinking "Wow! I am so talented! Totally worth the price of a ticket!" But I'm glad I did it anyway. I will take all the practice I can get.

Tonight we're putting the whole show together. This means that some cast members will be hearing the solos for the first time (there's one song even I've never heard, and I've been to all of the music rehearsals). It's going to be rough, but I'm excited! I love to sing! I'm so glad I'm doing this show!

And now back to my regularly scheduled humility...