Well, so far, so good! We're about two hours into the flight across the Atlantic, and everything seems to be going smoothly. Sometime around 11am (5am back home) we'll land in Paris, process in immigration, and then I'll continue on to Milan, before catching the train to Lugano. All in all, it will be about 17.5 hours, if my time zone switcheroos aren't completely mixed up. I think the thing I'm looking forward to the most at this point (as it always is with international travel) is a shower. I rarely go 12 hours without one at home, so going almost 24 while traveling is not my favorite thing.
I'm so grateful to my family for making it possible for me to arrive in CH so early. I'll have from midday Monday to midday Friday to relax and enjoy what most people call the most beautiful location in Switzerland :-) I plan to do a lot of lounging by the lake and enjoying the perfect weather that is supposed to be in effect over the next few days.
My semifinals audition is at 13:15 on Friday, immediately preceded by a one-hour rehearsal (the only one) with the pianist. I would have preferred to meet with him/her twice, but persons receiving a pianist on the competition's dime can't be choosers, haha.
The Händel still worries me - I really think I should have stuck to a tried-and-true aria, rather than work up this new one for GB, but nothing can be done now. I am still undecided as to whether or not I will keep it on the program for the finals, should I be lucky enough to last that long. Due to certain stupid fears (a countertenor singing jazz isn't exactly standard fare), I only programmed the Takemitsu for the first round. However, after my practice recital of this stuff, people seemed to LOVE it, and I truly loved doing it. Maybe I'll replace the Händel with it... I don't know... Ugh... Haha. There are literally ZERO requirements for the repertoire on the finals, so it's anyone's guess as to what will be most beneficial. The Grieg could also stand to be on both programs... Decisions, decisions.
I must look really silly sitting here with a blanket over me and my vent blowing some sort of arctic gale on my face, but that's the way (uh huh, uh huh) I like it! A quick check of the little monitor tells me that we're passing over the extreme northern portion of Maine - *waves to Stephen King* - at 628mph. Probably a boring fact, but I'm sleepy, so that's what ya get! For now, I'm gonna continue gawking at all the beautiful European people on the plane before collapsing for a few hours. It'll be a chaotic morning, so I need some rest! (I'm suddenly hearing Argus Filch saying "Got ta keep yer wits about ya."
Goodnight all! More on the train trip, most likely!
~AJR
P.S. I was actually able to post this in Paris, since they have a lovely bit of free wifi - 15 minutes, no hassle :-)
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