Great expectations!

Must be quick, I am just off for a 10 mile run having nailed my breakfast of a 'three egg white omelette and fresh celery juice'. After which I will learn German and Italian and then memorise the whole of Cosi Fan Tutte and Roldofo in La Boheme, just in case.

Tomorrow, having failed to run more than a mile today, having struggled to get past page two of the first trio in Cosi and still struggling with the past tense in German, I will revert back to what I was doing a few weeks ago and the rush of New Year hope and drive will disperse quicker than you can say 'zwei pils und zwei pommes mit mayonaisse, bitte'.

Of course, this scenario is greatly exaggerated, and I am not going to tell you all that I stick religiously to the regular resolutions I make. Far from it in fact. Like many people I have been trying to look like a swimwear model for the last ten years, whilst simultaneously being a big fan of burgers, beer and brownies and not actually ever swimming. Our hopes and aims need to be realistic and attainable, but still ambitious and positive. 

Positive Outlook

When I look back 366 days, to January 1st 2014, and consider my hopes and aspirations for the year I think I can be very positive and grateful. As regular readers will know, 2013 was not good and any hope I had at the beginning of 2014 was married to a real sense that things couldn't get much worse and there were some big decisions to be made about my future, particularly my future as a professional singer. I'm not sure how close I was to giving up on the career I wanted so much, but I am quite certain I didn't expect to find myself, one year later, living in Stuttgart having performed over 25 times on the Oper Stuttgart stage, having spent over a month of 2014 in Italy having Masterclasses with great singers and having written the best part of 30'000 words, about these experiences, in this blog.

As I wrote at the end of my first blog post, this is not to show off, to pat myself on the back and make you all jealous. This is to highlight that tides can turn and a bit of hard work, perseverance and some good fortune can completely change ones outlook.

The future

So what of the 2015. What are my ambitious and positives aims?

As a singer I want to become better and better all the time. For my technique to enable my artistry to flourish and for this to be recognised by as many casting directors, agents, competition panels and audiences as possible. I want to continue to develop my career in Germany and the UK, to start solidifying my plans beyond my year in Stuttgart and get onto having a career proper.

Physically, I want to get fit. Properly get fit. To be able to go to costume fittings and not be constantly embarrassed by the massive mirrors and people watching as I squeeze my 'rugby player' thighs into the third pair of suit trousers. I want to see pictures of myself on Facebook and not want to un-tag them instantly. Of course, being fit will aid many aspects of my singer life too.

I want to be able to speak German semi-confidently as soon as possible.

I want to have more time with friends and family in the UK.

How?

and how am I going to achieve these?

Singing: work hard, practise well, continue having my lessons, keep being ambitious, give myself the platforms and opportunities for my career to develop. 

Physically: Exercise more regularly and successfully, eat more healthily, stay focused and realistic, don't give up after the first lapse.

I will speak German more with other Germans, I won't allow German people to practise their English on me.... or for me to be lazy about it.

I will make sure that I have time at home and in the UK, that my life/work balance is a healthy one.

I'll let you know how these go.....

Last two weeks

So what have I been doing for the last two weeks?

The week of Christmas day itself was spent here in Stuttgart with my wife and her parents. I had three performances in the Opera house, the last two Khovanshchina's and then Ariadne on Christmas day itself. It was great to have visitors here and I showed them all Stuttgart, the Christmas market and also Esslingen and Ludwigsburg. 

We had a lovely Christmas meal in the hotel which my wife's parents were staying at. The sight of the four of us wearing hats from our Christmas crackers made quite a few of the locals laugh. Christmas crackers aren't a German tradition yet.....

On the 27th I flew back to London, despite the weathers attempts to delay us, and I spent the last days of 2014 catching up with a number of people in London. This included time for a singing lesson with Gary, lunch with a sponsor, an evening in London with friends and beer, 2 mince pies, a New Years party with my wife's colleagues, lunch near Leighton Buzzard, brunch in Windsor Castle, hugs with all three of my nieces, a boat trip around the Olympic park, a day with my whole immediate family including my little sister who I hadn't seen since August 2013..... and some time just being at home with my wife.  

So quite a busy few days, and the room in Stuttgart is feeling all the more empty because of them.

Next

No time to wallow though. This morning we have the production introduction for Il Vologeso by Jommelli, in which I am performing as an 'Imperial servant', and then this evening I have my first music call for Nabucco in which I perform as Abdallo. 

I also have my Christmas gift to play with, a Garmin 'Vivofit' band from my wife. I am both competitive and a bit of a statistics addict so hopefully the challenge to improve my stats each day will go some way to helping me look like this:

We can but hope. Anyway....

Next week I'll tell you more about my plans for the year. In the meantime: Happy New Year!!

Tom


ps. To keep me in check getting fit I will update you with my % weight loss each week down here in the ps section. I won't give you the real figure, but the aim is to be 80% to 85% of my current weight.... wish me luck.

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