I am great at starting things.

Inspiration hits and I wedge in the time to create a new thing. It’s exciting, it’s full of potential, it’s gonna be great! And it is until the excitement wears off like the golden shine on a cheap ring that is quickly tarnished – revealing the true nature of its make-up.

Already I can see the bright glow of my self-directed-writing-librettos-program dull a bit; I welcome this with wide open arms. When I tell people I am working on being a librettist I see their eyes light up with wonder and curiosity. Then rises the question in their face; “What’s a libretto?” quickly followed by; “Oh, opera! She must be nuts.” Yeah. I’m nuts. 

I want to rub the shiny surface off of what I’m doing as quickly as possible so I CAN get to the true nature of what libretto writing is all about. 

Currently I’m doing this alone. It’s ok for the moment. To start something is a lone-act. My reason for posting all this on my web log is to a:hold myself accountable and b:build community. As I was writing my curriculum I had a terrifying moment when I wrote “You must upload a micro opera every Sunday night to Opera Abecedarian.” I don’t know who was writing that ’cause it scared the shit out of me when I saw it written there. This tells me I’m on the right track. 

Already I have connected with a soprano in the UK Charlotte Hoather charlottehoatherblog.com and musician Rich Brown goodmusicspeaks.com. Both are fascinating people up to inspiring things. Perhaps one day our paths will cross in the real world, for now the virtual world is good enough for me.

So week 1 is done. I’ve read a chapter in The Poetics and the intro in the Cambridge Opera book. I didn’t do my writing every morning. This is something I will have to really push in on before it becomes part of my daily habit. I have only ever written when the spirit moved me. Time to force my spirits hand and have me move it! Should be gritty and intense for a while. I rather like grit.

Happy Friday. 

MMN