Ah yes, the glamour.

Since Sunday, I've spent 24 hours at the opera house. And I didn't take any time off work, which was just the stupidest decision I could have made. It's tech week, which means oh my God, it sucks in so many ways:

1. The conductor walked out of the sitzprobe on Monday as the orchestra simply wasn't playing well.
2. At our piano dress on Tuesday, we had to do our two minute quick change from witch to refugee TWICE, with wigs and all, at 11 pm, prompting most of us to swear and cry and generally throw giant fits. Because the space was so tight, another chorister got hit in the face by someone who pulled her arm out of her costume too quickly.
3. At our first orchestra dress last night, we only barely had Act Three lighting, and the cues were all different.
4. They lost my shoes to go with my witch costume, and the shoes I had to wear, which are usually only to be worn with the ballgown and for a very short period, are too tight and too high and kept catching on my veil and hem, making me trip and keeping me from exiting the stage quickly enough to not be seen lingering at the doorway during the next scene.
5. About half of the chorus came in on the orchestra cue in "Patria, oppressa", prompting the conductor to hang his head and look as though he was going to cry.

Oh, and I also had an audition this last weekend for a local company doing fantastic mezzo stuff next season, but for my second aria they picked the shortest and the most boring, meaning that they didn't like me and I won't get cast.

At least the bleeding walls are cool.