Maine
When I was in Paris, I met a man named Ron Watson, who sat next to me at a concert. After discovering that we both enjoyed similar conversation topics (classical music, the Christian Church in the USA, cooking, to name a few), I joined Ron for a concert at the Théâtre de Champs-Elysées and a meal for his birthday (I won’t mention the number, but it was a major one ;-). He mentioned that he owned a gallery in Maine and sometimes hosts concerts there and invited me to come perform. It made sense to plan it right after Marlboro, when I was already in New England and I invited my trusty recital/adventure buddy, Mary Castello, to join me in the performance, especially since she could also drive from her home in Nova Scotia.
At one point this summer, Ron wrote to me mentioning that his Ice Cream Shop (next to the Gallery) would be needing extra help the weeks after the concert and before Labor Day, and invited me to stay and work, knowing that I did not have anything specific lined up just yet for work in NYC. I considered this for probably about a month before I finally agreed to it. He promised that the tips were very good and indeed, I did not have anything better to do.
After the festival in Marlboro ended, I stayed a couple of extra days to help the staff with postseason clean up and then trekked up to Maine on a particularly rainy day. Apparently, it had not rained in Stonington, Maine the entire summer, but during my 2.5 weeks there, it must have rained 5 or 6 times. Note to those in a drought: Rain dance unnecessary, just invite Marie to visit (I similarly brought rain to New Jersey, where I am sitting currently awaiting a downpour after they have seen very little rain all summer). It was not a fun drive, but when I arrived, boy, was it worth it.
My initial impression was how different Maine was from Vermont, but I think the maine difference (heehee), was the ocean. Stonington is the biggest lobster port in the country, an island off of south central Maine, and the main street runs right along the harbor. Not only the maine street (oops- that one was a typo), where the ice cream shop has a brilliant view of the harbor, but also the little corner upon which sat the little cottage that Mary and I shared and from which, later, many hours worth of Mozart would stream from the windows. Mary and I could not believe our luck! We have performed together in Michigan, Ohio, Ontario, Indiana, Virginia and upstate New York and always found ways to make our locations special: visiting local attractions like historical villages, creameries, kayaking, etc. But we had never had the chance to perform together in a vacation-y place like Stonington. It was such a treat to see the ocean everyday from our windows and have so many exciting adventure opportunities. We lost no time visiting the beaches, hiking through pines and across sandbars at low tide to an island inaccessible by foot at high tide, rehearsing in the gallery, enjoying ice cream cones, and, on the morning of our concert, going for a four and a half hour kayak trip. We almost did not do this, because it is most certainly not advisable on the day of a performance (you need all the energy you can muster), but when Mary and I have these adventure recitals, we YOLO pretty hard (for anyone older than our Millennial generation, YOLO is You Only Live Once). We did not regret it! We also had the lovely opportunity to drive up the road to Kneisel Hall in Blue Hill to see my friends Lucy and Ryan perform a fabulous concert of under-performed composers the night before our concert (which they also so kindly came to see!). I love having the opportunity to support colleagues this way!
Ron had done an amazing job of publicizing our recital, and we had a full house of people at the Episcopal Church where we performed on Deer Isle. Our program consisted of Copland (Old American Songs), Schumann (Frauenliebe), Debussy (Bilitis), a set of Nova Scotia/maritime folk songs and some American Songbook (for those who need a little Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers to spice things up). The performance went really well and the audience appreciated it really well. I wish more folks had stuck around to chat afterwards, but it was so lovely to talk to those who had, and Ron had baked some delicious cookies for the event. It was a success that I kept hearing about for many days following as I worked at the ice cream shop as well. It means so much to me when people “get it,” and our audience really got it.
Mary left the next morning to visit some family before driving back to Nova Scotia for the start of the university semester. Ron needed help in the ice cream shop already the Sunday after the concert, so there I was at 10:30am, mixing up sauces and spreads and learning the ropes of the little shop: how much ice cream to serve and how to make a lobster roll. For the next two weeks, I worked whenever it was helpful, but mostly evenings so that I could focus on learning the Mozart opera I am preparing for October. L’italiano, indeed! The tips at the shop were quite good and the work was enjoyable- busy work mostly, but the staff of local high schoolers were so lovely and the customers were almost all tourists who were just happy to be on vacation, so I had a great time chatting with people and being silly during the hours I worked. Plus the view from the shop window was the harbor, so even when things were slow, it wasn’t bad at all.
Over the course of the two weeks, I met such interesting people. Often, I would see the same family several times in a week and it was fun to tease the children a little bit. I cannot tell you how many time I described what “Black Bear” ice cream is (a vanilla based ice cream with raspberry jam swirls and a dark chocolate, raspberry-filled cup), though once or twice I used my alternate description: vanilla ice cream with bear blood swirls and bear eyeballs leftover from the slaughter behind the shop. People on vacation are generally polite enough to chuckle. I also got to enjoy visits from the librarian, Chris, who would wear the most wonderful assortment of prints: succulent shorts with a floral shirt (so great!!); from my “landlady” Ellen, the sweetest older woman who was so curious about other people and other places, and who lent me a library book that I just barely managed to finish before I left (“Pachinko”- I highly recommend!); the barista from the coffee shop next door that I frequented in the mornings to do my computer and written work (cell reception was impossible and the wifi at the cottage was quite spotty- a gift in disguise when you are trying to work at home); Ron, of course, who always had something sarcastic to say; and plenty of people who had been to the concert and really enjoyed it. A few times I sang a bit while on the job, just to myself or in an effort to get the attention of Tom, whose 2 lobster rolls and smoked haddock sandwiches were ready (funnily enough, “Tom” and his group enjoyed this so much that they requested to be called in this manner and then sang “Marieeeee” from their car windows as they drove away after their meal). The fake names were also quite funny. Either there were about 25 Bobs on that little island, or half of them were faking it, like Egon, who had lost hope in humanity’s ability to spell and repronounce his name.
During the day, I worked hard to make up the work that had been put on the back burner during my exciting summer in Vermont, as well as getting ahead on what is coming up this season- starting to make plans for where and when. I’ll tell you, cross referencing calendars and maps is a big part of my freelancing lifestyle these days. I spent hours writing translations and diction notes into my opera score. I found a few places to walk and visited a few fun spots. And I sang a LOT of Mozart. It felt fantastic to get my voice back into Mozart shape after a year of very mezzo-y singing. My last day at the ice cream shop, I met a couple who heard my Mozart each day from across the harbor! They were walking past the cottage as I was packing up and lamented that their afternoon soundtrack was departing the island. After all, who doesn’t enjoy listening to the Mozart alto/soprano 2 lines of ensembles sung out of context?
The time was exactly what I needed to recover from what came before and prepare for what is to come. I am so grateful to have had this “working vacation” and to have discovered a new, and absolutely breath-taking corner of the world. I don’t think I could live there- the ocean smells get to me after a while, but for 2.5 weeks, it was bliss.
I get a lot of What’s next? questions. Well, buckle up: I am in New Jersey for a few days before a concert in Delaware, then a few days at my sister’s before my cousin’s wedding in Indiana, and then two weeks in NYC before a month in Delaware. Then NYC. There are a few auditions snuggled in there and who knows what else, but for now, I am certainly,
Marie on the Road
