With the piano rehearsals of Cendrillon here in lovely Taichung, Taiwan in full swing, I nevertheless have to get ready for my next debut. The role of Nicklausse in The Tales of Hoffmann had somehow yet escaped me, so I gladly accepted the invitation of the Lithuanian National Opera and its music director Sesto Quattrini to finally get the role under my belt. The only problem being that I will only have one day at home after returning from Taiwan before setting of to Lithuania… So I have to finish studying Nicklausse while I’m still here, enjoying Massenet and the Taiwanese hospitality… Due to the different versions of the opera, Nicklausse can have anywhere between one and four arias. Of course, dear Sesto saw to it that I get to perform all of them, plus a beautiful little Arioso of which I could find no recordings at all! Needless to say I am excited for the project and looking forward to the reunion with my friends from last year’s Rosenkavalier.
Preparing for the next Pants Role…
