Saying goodbye to Salome, and putting her pantry stores to good use: our next set of Quarantine Questions goes to British Columbia native, soprano Ambur Braid.
What is something you’ve lost to the pandemic?
“I found out on the eve of what would have been our fourth performance of Salome at Oper Frankfurt that our shows would be cancelled. We had seven performances left. The first wave of depression hit immediately. It was too soon to say goodbye to Salome and let her go.
“This was followed by calm determination and I just prepared for the next steps: my apartment in Frankfurt was pretty set up for two weeks of isolation but there was the great debate; stay in Frankfurt or return to Canada. It took a few hours of discussion at the opera house to get permission to leave the country, but they agreed and I left the following morning. A one-way ticket back to Canada on Aeroplan points, promising to return in April to quarantine again and start rehearsals again for May (!).”
What have you done with your unexpected time, that makes you grateful?
“We are fortunate to have prepared our beloved cabin in the woods for an event such as this. For those who don’t know me, I’m what they call a mild catastrophizer and have a large pantry and freezer stocked with supplies for nearly any life event: broken leg, zombie apocalypse, tornado, power outage, an impromptu champagne dinner for twenty five and, apparently, COVID-19. It was ready and waiting for my arrival from the other side of the globe.
“I am forever grateful to have sold our apartments in Toronto and to have moved into the countryside when we did. We have space, fresh air, delicious farm produce to cook with, trees to tap for maple syrup, a garden and each other. We can certainly keep busy here! While I mourned the loss of our incredible show, it’s important to slow down, focus on our health and be a friend, a partner, a lover and a human.” Ambur Braid
Jenna is the editor and co-creator of Schmopera. She also writes for The Globe and Mail and Opera Canada. She’s a pianist and vocal coach, and working with singers is how she fell in love with opera.
