Tired of Messiah?

If you had told me a year ago that I'd ever get tired of singing the Messiah, I'd have said you were crazy. But I would have been wrong. I'm tired of it.

We had our first of four performances last night. This one was in SaddleBrooke, AZ, which is not even in the same county as Tucson! A friend who lives just east of my office said he drove 51 miles to get there. I got home at 10:30 last night and just fell into the bed.

The first challenge last night was that we had no risers, so the singers were all jockeying for position to see the conductor. The next challenge was that we couldn't get onto the stage from backstage. We had to walk through the house to get onto the stage! What geriatric with early dementia designed this hall?! The third challenge? Disinterest. The performance just had no oomph.

The balance of the performances will be at Catalina Foothills High School, in an auditorium that only a monied school district such as Foothills could construct. It's a great hall and we always have an appreciative audience in that venue. I'm hoping my enthusiasm for the piece will increase tonight.

One problem for me, personally, is a little health issue I've got as a result of last week's colonoscopy. This little health issue makes it difficult for me to stand or sit or walk. And especially difficult to stand and sit quickly on stage. (Oh, read between the lines. Don't make me use the embarrassing "h" word.) Unfortunately, this condition is not going to ease before these performances run their course. Suck it up, Crews. It could be worse: a friend in the chorus told me a friend of hers had the same procedure a couple of months ago and is very, very ill in the hospital with a perforation.

I learned yesterday that the Tucson Symphony has omitted the Messiah from next year's schedule. My first reaction was astonishment and disbelief. This thing appears to be a cash cow. Why would they throw away guaranteed income? But, honestly, my second reaction was relief. Enough. Enough Hallelujah Choruses. Really.

And with any luck at all, my attitude will improve by about 4:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon, when all this is over.