diamond in the rough

Hi Family. For all that we have missed the past several weeks, Cat and I are both very sorry. Calls to family for Birthday wishes, sisters I didn't get to talk to on Mother's Day, other events we may not have recognized we are sorry for missing out on. Things have been hectic as our summer plans have changed slightly, but more on that in a minute.

On May 11th I(Patrick) drove three hours north to a small riverport town in NY state called Hudson. There I spent the next week rehearsing and performing a one act opera for Diamond Opera Theatre. I was not initially looking forward to it as I had not really spent enough time on the Opera and wasn't fully prepared going into rehearsals. I spent 12 hours the day before I left memorizing the 98 page opera and, luckily, it stuck. I arrived in Hudson in the evening and was instructed to meet the cast, director, and others at the theatre. The theatre is on a street which paralleled the Hudson river, right across from the train station. The theatre, as it turned out, started it's life as a Foundry, then it was a glue factory (not horse, but rabbit), and now has been turned into Hudson's epicentre of fine arts(minus a parking lot and proper facilities).

It didn't look like much from the outside, but it turned out to be a great space for performing .
After the first two days, Cat took the train up and joined me. My schedule lightened up a bit and we were able to explore. We discovered the the town was really dying until about 7 years ago. With such a convenient train station, it's attracting couples from the city and the place is in the process of coming alive again. We found several amazing places to eat with fresh, wonderful , locally grown and raised ingredients. We visited the Company director's wine shop in the neighboring town of East Chatham, and we discovered American History in a form we had not experienced ourselves before. We stayed at a beautiful bed and Breakfast, the house was a little more than a century old, and had every comfort you would expect in a near-palace. The owners were an amazing pair. In the 80's they were members of a pretty successful band who toured with the B-52's. They lived in Hollywood for a time and worked in entertainment. Dini, who cooks an amazing breakfast, is close friends with Kate Pearson, the female singer in the B-52's. The stories he had were colorful and great. They were a welcoming and very fun couple.
We visited the 7-booth large Farmer's market and immediately made the mistake of buying local cheese from a gentleman who hadn't quite mastered his craft yet. The sharp cheddar he was "still working on" tasted of body odor. And there must be more churches per capita in Hudson than in any other city. No matter where you are the town, you are within 100 feet of a church. This picture shows part of City hall and yes, a church, in the background. This Catholic church shares the same block with the local Presbetyrian church.
Needless to say, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. The performances came around 5 days into the trip. I enjoyed working with the two others in the cast, though it was an interesting mix of personalities between the three of us. I'm convinced I'm the only conservative in all of Opera. These are just a few stills from the recording, which I'll have up on Youtube as soon as I am able.
We had a great time, it was wonderful and I got a great review, "Tenor Patrick Layton... has a vibrant lyric tenor voice that complimented... and made its own telling points with his brilliant top." John Paul Keeler, Hudson-catskill papers. The people were wonderful, and I'll look forward to returning there soon for a recital which is going to be planned for the fall.

Okay, as for this summer here are the plans. Cat is flying back to CA in Mid-June. She'll be taking two courses and working for her cousin. I will not be with her as I've been offered two covers and 4 concerts with Opera New Jersey this summer. It's a great opportunity to fatten my resume and schmooze with a few companies. I will be flying out the last weekend in June for 4 days but, unfortunately wont be able to stay for the 4th of July. I hoping to get a round of golf in with Dad and ...?, and some swimming with whom ever I may find still in CA.

We love you guys, and we will continue to try to keep in touch. The blogs have been great and I hope I'll get to see you all in CA on that weekend.

-pat and cat-