In other news...
One of the reasons I was hoping to get back up here to NYC a little earlier this week - as well as one of the reasons I decided to stay down in Richmond for an extra day or two - is that I'll be sailing on the Queen Mary 2 next week. A friend of mine was hired to play for a "voice camp at sea". Alas, due to some scheduling snafus, he handed the gig off to me.
There will be eight students on board. I will be accompanying the lessons, as well as running my own repertoire coachings. Most of the students have selected some musical theatre repertoire, but they're also singing some classical selections, art songs and arias. The musical theatre stuff, I'm not too worried about, however, I was hoping to have a bit more lead time to brush up on my Italian, German and French diction and translations. Thankfully, most of the students had sent me their repertoire lists, and I was able to track down most of the rep either in my own iTunes library and via YouTube just to get them back in my ear. I'll spend a couple of hours tomorrow going back through my song literature text books and CD liner notes.
Alas, there was a report of a small outbreak of the novovirus on the current sailing of the QM2 - which, from all of the literature I've been reading, seems to be a "common occurrence" during the winter months. When I started to feel a bit iffy last week, I didn't want to risk possible getting "iffier" due to an overnight ride on a crowded bus. I do not want to spend the first two days of the cruise in quarantine.
We set sail from the Port of Brooklyn(!) on Monday afternoon. We'll be at sea for the first three days, and then there will be four ports of call in the Caribbean, and then two days at sea for the trip back to NYC. I'll be working about six hours a day - four hours of coachings in the morning, then two hours of masterclasses in the evening. The schedule applies even to port days, but at least there's a good six hour window to leave the ship and do some exploring - or, at the very least, find the nearest Starbucks to take advantage of the free WiFi. -The WiFi on the ship - at $.75/minute(!), alas, is not part of my compensation - which, is basically my own state room and meals.
The voice teacher will be presenting a small recital during the cruise, and, on the final night of the cruise, the students will also present one. -Which is essentially how the voice teacher is "paying" for the cruise.
When we arrive back in NYC, all Three Queens - the Queen Mary 2, the Queen Victoria and the Queen Elizabeth - will be in New York Harbor. There's supposed to be fireworks.