My day began with Maria Zouves at the center of "For The Beauty Of The Earth", the song that was the heart of this "VOICES That Heal" episode.
That's the program that Savannah VOICE Festival does in conjunction with Hospice Savannah, under the guidance of Chad Sonka, that baritone I adore.
(I do hope my oldest niece, Christy, was 'there' with me or was able to watch it later.)
At 1 PM, Maria was back again, this time paired with the JEA for their Thursday "Food For Thought" Zoom.
(I sure do miss the lunches shared with others at the 'live' talks.)
The VOICE folks were there for "From Stage To Screen", sharing the hurdles surmounted and insights gained last year during the svf-8.
As she put it: "We had all the ingredients pulled together and ready to cook, but then the stove broke down."
The task then was to convert the planned onstage shows into virtual onscreen films while maintaining the level of artistry and engagement that the previous seven years of festivals had achieved.
Carlton Moe, Marijan Gladić, Melanie Spector, Chad Sonka, Jessica Ann Best: all were there to speak of problems they had faced and conquered - bravo!
As they again shared some of those opera videos, I sang along and clapped and let them see how much I appreciated their work!
That was something they had all missed, that return visual from the audience that the message imparted was received.
I totally understand.
I miss being in the audience at a live show.
I know that, I do...
but it really came home to me in the last video shared.
That was one I didn't know, one I had not seen before.
Serendipity had Peter Lake and Emily Yocum Black in Savannah recently and Maria said they were filmed for an amazing 14 videos, all with proper pandemic protocols in place.
Wow, right?
For this lunchtime zoom, we were treated to one of those new pieces.
The song was "Tonight", from "West Side Story", one of my favorite musicals.
The place was the garden shared with Paul and Cathy at the Owens-Thomas House.
And, at some point while Peter and Emily were singing and dancing along, I transitioned from enthralled to in tears.
I tried to mask my reaction, not wanting to bring down the others at the zoom...
I tried, albeit not quite successfully, wiping my tears on my sleeve at the end...
trying to pass it off as emotionally touched by the music.
Fortunately for me, the zoom ended shortly after and I quickly took my leave -
and found myself gasping for air as I sobbed.
"I want my life back," I heard myself shout, when my breath had returned.
I do, too.
I have so missed being in the audience for a live concert, for a live play, for a live talk.
I have so missed that.
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