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This OperaGram.com® in Person was an adventure! The lovely people who hired me to sing for their friend Tom’s birthday’s asked me to perform Musetta’s waltz in the same bawdy way they had heard and seen me do so in a cafe this summer.

I had to change from a dark pantsuit to a red dress and heals and get from a commitment in Wrigleyville that ended about 10:00 p.m. to the northwest side of Chicago by 10:45 p.m.

First, before getting into my car, I made sure no one was anywhere visibly near me. In the care, I quickly changed from my top to my dress. While I was not indecently exposed, it wasn’t pretty.

Once I had arrived in front of the club, I freshened my red lipstick, shimmied off my slacks and put on my really sparkly red shoes. Presto, change-o, I was transformed from a conservatively-dressed choir member to a modern-day Musetta.

I walked into the club where the party was still going strong, put one arm on Tom’s shoulder, said, “Hi! I’m your entertainment.”, then immediately launched into to aria which made folks laugh. All I could hear was my voice bouncing all over the room and cat calls.

The last time I heard cat calls like that, I had waltzed onto a stage in a different red dress and feather boa to sing “Hello Dolly” with Rudy Macciocchi and his orchestra. It just goes to show that what I’ve always said still holds true: “show enough cleavage and attitude and folks won’t care how fat you are.”

Tom and company seemed to really enjoy the aria. Everyone then sang in a round of “Happy Birthday.” Who knows? Maybe more folks will start going to the opera!

Happy Birthday Tom!