The Role of Her Lifetime

Chapter 1-2

It was quite a while before Jackie emerged.

“Well?” Marie asked as Jackie walked up to her.

“I think it went really well. They had me sing several arias I knew and tested my range and a few other things. So…we’ll see.”

“Wow! Then I hope you get a good part.” Marie smiled up at her.

“Well, I gotta run,” Jackie said, straightening all her music and possessions. “Hopefully, I’ll see you at rehearsals.”

“Hopefully,” Marie agreed.

Just then, the judge called “Jacolby?”

“Oops, that’s me.”

Jackie gave her a quick hug. “Break a leg.”

“Thanks.” Marie walked over to the judge as Jackie left. “I’m Jacolby,” she told him.

“This way.” He led her back into the audition room.

There were two other judges sitting there. Marie recognized them: the conductor of the orchestra and the chorus director.

“Give your music to the pianist,” the chorus director said.

Marie walked over to the pianist and handed him her music. He glanced at it and nodded.

“Whenever you’re ready,” the first judge said.

Marie took a step away from the piano and turned to the judges. “Give Him This Orchid from The Rape of Lucretia,” she announced. She nodded to the pianist. He started her aria.

Her first note seemed to soar. It felt good. She fell right into the music. This was one of her favorite operas. She’d sung this piece on her senior recital. Even though it had been almost ten years ago, she knew it deep down within herself. It seemed to just flow out of her. When it ended, the judges immediately bent to each other and started to confer.

Marie just stood there, waiting.

“Ms. Jacolby,” one of them asked her, “are you familiar with the arias from the Beggar’s Opera?”

“Yes, I am,” she answered.

This might be easier than I thought.

“Can you sing for us If Love a Virgin’s Heart Invades?”

She relaxed even more. Yes, she knew that piece. It was another she’d sang on her recital. “Certainly,” she answered confidently. She looked at the pianist as he started.

It felt good to her.

The judges once again bent to each other.

“May we hear your range?” one asked.

Marie sang from the middle to the top note she could sing well, and then to the bottom.

“Can you go lower?”

Marie managed to get another two steps to come out. They weren’t the best quality tones, but they were there.

“How tall are you?”

What a strange question. They usually didn’t ask that.

“Five-five,” she answered.

The head judge wrote something on her audition sheet.

“Thank you, Ms. Jacolby,” one said as the other judge stood to usher her back out.

Once in the waiting room, Marie looked at her watch as she straightened her music and papers into her backpack. All right, now what? She’d taken the whole day off, so she had the rest of this Friday afternoon free.

Should I go grocery shopping? Go to the library and see what I could find about Cinderella? Go down to Juilliard and get some practice time? Go home and look it up on the computer?

Grocery shopping won. There was little in her refrigerator, and if she opened the last can of soup for dinner tonight, she didn’t have crackers to go with it.

“Maybe I’ll treat myself and get some chicken thighs; but not the legs, although they’re a bit cheaper.”

She could splurge and get a chicken breast, but she really liked the dark meat better. Okay, two thighs, or maybe even a whole chicken quarter. Hell, get a whole package and freeze the rest. That’s right, eat well tonight and sleep in tomorrow.

She walked slowly. This was a free day for her, and she didn’t have to rush anywhere. It felt strange to just stroll around Manhattan. Everyone else rushed to get somewhere, except the tourists, of course. You can always spot tourists. They were never in a hurry and were always looking up at the buildings. They might look you in the eye and even say hello. Natives never did that.

When she finally got home with her bag of groceries, her message machine was blinking. It was almost five in the evening. She listened to the message.

“Ms. Jacolby, this is the Windsor Opera Company. We’d like you to come in tomorrow afternoon at two o’clock for a follow-up audition. Please respond.” He left a number

Damn! Marie thought. A follow-up?” She’d never had a call-back before. It sounded hopeful. She dialed the number right away and told them she’d be there.

Those chicken thighs and mashed potatoes would taste really special tonight. She was glad she’d bought a small container of real butter and a bag of frozen peas to go with it.

“I wonder what role they’re calling me back for,” she pondered as she prepared the chicken to bake.

She’d decided to bake the entire package, eat what she wanted, and put the rest in the refrigerator. That way, she wouldn’t have to worry about cooking if she got hungry. She loved cold, left-over chicken or even microwaved ones. She could even cut up the meat and put it in some soup.

“I also wonder who or what I’m up against.”

Never having had a call-back, she was unsure about where it would lead. One thing she knew: it wasn’t a chorus job.