Thanks firstly to all those who were worried about me after the last post!  I think it's going to be OK now, but it's great to know that people occasionally read my ramblings...  

The costume designer turns out to be very pleasant, and I think we'll be able to come to a decent compromise.  So far, I have agreed to an elegant trouser suit (those who know me well will gasp at the idea of me wearing trousers; I think this is a fairly important concession from my side); boots are under negotiation, and I don't think she knows what I am capable of when fighting over the issue of blouses.  Smiling, we shall conquer... (I hope!).

And however intense and stress-inducing the opera itself is, and however much I am panicking about entire scenes where I currently can't remember more than two pages of the blasted music at one time, hope is not lost so long as you can laugh.  And that we did, in spades:  hard not to, when the serious and passionate clinch between you and your stage husband gets spectacularly derailed by an undignified three-foot slide down a steep rake, landing with a pained "ooof!!!" on her part and extremely unprofessional giggles on ours, on a previously "dead" mezzo lying unsuspecting on the floor.  I do so love rehearsals!!!