User Profile

“I often regret that I have spoken; never that I have been silent.” -Publilius Syrus, 1st century B.C.

I am an American ex-pat currently residing in east London with my fabtastic hubby, gizzard, our vast array of aquatic friends and our cat, Pilly. I moved to England from Portland, Oregon in 2004. I am was quite nomadic, living in: Portland and Eugene, Oregon; Pullman and Spokane, Washington; West Chester (suburb of Philly), Pennsylvania; Rome, Italy and Liverpool and Reading, England. London is home for now, until the BBC sends us to Manchester in 2011. Wee!

I dig crazy people and ancient stuff, and did a couple degrees in Archaeology and Roman History. I'm also a musician - I play guitar and piano (the latter quite poorly!) and am an Opera singer (I kind of hover between lyric and coloratura soprano, but also often sing Mezzo). After a brief segue into Musical Theatre, I've gone back to my roots and am 'working' as an opera singer again (with a smattering of working as a civil servant in Westminster on the side). I've been lucky enough to sing in various places in Europe, including Westminster Abbey and on the stage at Her Majesty's Theatre. Fingers crossed that one day soon I'll make it to the Royal Opera House. I have two shows coming up: Alceste (Gluck) and La Traviata (Verdi) - both with the Chelsea Opera Group.

I am a Cancer, with Capricorn rising and Taurus moon. I never really gave a toss about it until I met my husband, but have since been educated in the ways of astrology and have learned quite a lot about myself (and others!) in the process.

I get bored easily, and thus I like projects. Current projects include:

• Trying to expand my vocal range to hit a high-F so I can sing the entirety of Der Hölle Rache. This is not a small feat, given I've only recently been able to hit an Eb. But we keep plugging along..
  
• Learning Italian so my pronunciation doesn't suck quite so much.
  
• Trying to un-forget all the German I studied a few years back. Hallo! Wie geht's?!
  
• Writing a novel, utilising my knowledge of Archaeology/History and my obsession with The Tudors.
  
• Working on building websites. Personal website to pimp myself out as a classical singer - but I need to get new headshots, a few recordings and a youtube or two done first. Alas, you can see it in it's current state: http://www.rochellehart.com.
  
• Trying to get fit - Low GI and working with my awesome personal trainer will accomplish this. Someday.
  
• Quitting Smoking. Opera Singers shouldn't smoke. I fell into a bad habit when I gave up music for academia, and I fully regret that my PhD drove me to light up. Alas, now I get to go through the long fiasco of quitting. It's slow, but we're getting there!

There are always other bits and bobs that I do to entertain myself. Hence, I strongly support the following causes: mexican food, Northwest microbreweries (I miss Mirror Pond!!!), drunken late-night taco bell runs and the Nordstrom half-yearly sale. I also like playing the guitar, travelling, complaining about the weather, contemplating doing yoga, shopping for shoes I can’t/shouldn’t afford and drinking expensive cocktails. Starbucks is my not-so-secret addiction.

We also watch way too much TV. I love Doctor Who, Torchwood, Lost, 24, House, Lie to Me, Fringe, True Blood, Ugly Betty, Gossip Girl, American Idol, X-Factor, [insert country here]'s Got Talent, The Big Bang Theory, Dragon's Den... see what I mean? It's almost like when i'm not singing or working, I'm watching telly. Boring ;o)

For more info, please inquire within.





gizzard and me. We were married on 02/02/08!
I <3 him.







Our baby, Pilly






be sorted @ nimbo.net


raketje verson 2.0 available now in the following language formats: English, Deutsch, Italiano, nihongo

Friends (82):

Friend of (91):