Vocal Rest.

rest, noun. 6: something used for support; free of anxieties
(Merriam-Webster)

*sigh* Yes, indeed, I was indirectly advised today that I take a bit of vocal rest. Not complete but at least limit of use. The dreaded and vocally-taxing perils of allergies and a reflux flare triggered by the former are never a welcome threat to a singer. Laryngeal tissue inflammation, be gone!

It's frustrating, but somehow not always a bad thing. It is a fragile instrument, the voice, and must also get its rest. Luckily, I am, at current, afforded the time to take a rest without pressures of musical deadlines closely looming; something that [hopefully!] won't always be the case. ;)

Gratitude 330
Putting my books aside for the evening, I came home from work to find a Twitter update informing me that Rossini's Le Comte Ory was being radio broadcast live from the Met tonight! Diana Damrau. Joyce Didonato. Juan Diego Florez. Mm! Mm! Mm! Three of my favorites. :) And after not being able to go to the Live HD transmission last weekend, it was a welcome treat to, at least, listen in!

I have heard Diana twice live. (The first time I heard her live was at the Met, itself, and the second time at the Prinzenregatten Theater in Munich.) I have to say, though, that recordings don't do her justice; there is simply something in her sound, her overtones, that cannot be transmitted through the recording devices. Live, I've heard the most glorious overtones and resonant dulcet tones come from her. I'm not tech-savvy, so I know nothing of the difference in recording devices for live vs. mastered recordings, but I can gloriously report that tonight's recording somehow allowed for many of those overtones to shine through. :) There is probably a great deal to be said about the halls in which the recordings are done, additionally, as acoustic variations can give either life or death to particular sounds.

(I'm also certain that I am soprano-biased. Lynn and I were talking today, and I told her the other day when my high notes were nearly absent that perhaps I actually was a mezzo...and then I laughed heartily! Oh, silly soprano whose high notes, not low notes, are becoming your trademark! She just looked at me over her glasses with a total look of doubt and said, "Ha! Far from it! And if nothing else were to clue us in, your temperament makes it very evident!" Oh, Lynn!)