I’ve been neglecting this blog because lots has been going on. I was in Poland for Christmas, where on December 30th I signed a book deal for the Polish version of my novel, Hela. It will be in bookstores in September.
What will the world be in September? Because of the coronavirus everything seems shaken up. Will the airplanes fly? Will the borders be open? Will the concerts resume? Some days ago SF Ballet canceled all shows, I can only imagine what this year will mean for the performing arts. SF Conservatory of music holds student concerts online. Will everything end up there? (here)
I was lucky to sing a few events earlier this year. In Poland a Carnival concert organized by my first teacher Krystyna Wysocka-Kochan, singing The Phantom of the Opera Duet with my favorite partner, Maciek Buczyński.
Then, straight out of the plane, I went to the National Association of Teachers’ of Singing Conference in Hayward. Met some nice people and attended a great recital by Dr. Julia Nielsen . Her performance, which featured pieces about animals had been not just beautifully sang but also superbly acted.
I sang in Teachers’ Recital. This year the theme was Women Composers so I chose “Villanelle” by Eva dell’Acqua, a high coloratura piece.
Finally last Saturday in San Jose 14th Night With A Muse, organized by singer songwriter Ania Miakisz. Always good to be there, warm welcome and, in addition to the singing, a salsa lesson!
I sang three solos from “Evita”. This took me back to really ancient times when I reviewed its Polish production for a radio station. I was then blown away by the performance of Maria Meyer, from Teatr Rozrywki in Chorzów (Silesia)! The part is kind of low for my voice but was thrilled to inhabit the formidable character of Eva Peron even in a few songs…
Next gig scheduled on April 4 but the way things are going nothing is certain… I am grateful for all these opportunities that have been coming.
This documentary of truly operatic proportions premiered yesterday in Los Angeles, at the County museum of Art and will air on Netflix on December 21. Szukalski’s art was monumental, symbolic and of extraordinary technical skill; it was a special treat to watch it on a big screen. The movie takes us literally inside his surviving sculptures and the creator’s psyche. Once renowned on both sides of the Atlantic, then almost completely forgotten, Stanislaw Szukalski is getting rediscovered thanks to his relationship with DiCaprio family and a group of LA artists who preserved his archive and recorded video footage of him in the last years of his life. The movie takes as through over eight decades of his life, following the course of 20th century, with its ideological madness and destructive forces of war.
