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For a long while, now, I've been thinking about adding the title of this entry to my car in way of a vanity license plate. Hardly few would 'get' it, however, and is it really worth the extra bit of money to publicize in a road worthy medium my very real status as 'Tenor Wife'? As a highly regarded publicist recently told me, seventy-five per cent of Americans probably wouldn't even know what a tenor was. That's rather discouraging. Must we lump sopranos, mezzos, baritones, basses and, of course, tenors in one common pile - opera singers? Does it really do justice? I fear it doesn't. That's why I heartily believe opera must somehow become part of our daily lives again, in respect to the masses or that seventy-five per cent of Americans.

Opera is still highly regarded in Europe, however minimalist the productions may be, updated, modernized and sometimes ridiculously staged, it is still a pastime among Europeans, old and young. The state pays for their theaters, which ensures their livelihoods. In recent times many houses in the United States have closed and those that haven't may be facing bankruptcy. It's a sad, sorry state to lose something so beautiful, so timeless and precious due to unavailable and/or meager funding.

To suffer for one's art has always been a requisite for any artist. Painters, musicians and writers alike have all at one time or another starved for the benefit of their work - or starved because their work yielded little to no income. Which brings us back to that license plate. I am the wife of a tenor. We've had many prosperous years but the down times are hideous and debilitating. Even with the bio that my husband has behind him, at the beginning of last season he lost nearly 60 performances due to cut backs. This, my dears, was in Europe! The houses he had been contracted with decided it would be more financially secure to have their 'fest' (in house) singers perform the operas instead of hiring out guests, which happened to be just what Emmanuel was, freelancing his way through Europe. It was a hard blow. The mortgage, car payment plus two little boys to care for was crippling enough without the losses - with them, it was nearly impossible to survive. We decided to start our website, henceforth, http://musicforahome.com, in order to generate income and save our beloved Southern California home from foreclosure. Emmanuel worked tirelessly on his debut album, 'From the Bottom of My Heart' - the sales of which would hopefully keep us in the green. I hit every major news market, tried and tried to drum up interest. I was able to have a few bites from local news agencies but nothing that would propel us to the next level.

We are still very much in the red. Fortunately, Emmanuel had made a good friend and contact with the head of an opera house in Poznan, Poland, and he called at the eleventh hour, offering several performances at a reasonable fee. Bielefeld followed suit as well as the Caramoor festival in NY this summer (headed by Will Crutchfield, another of Emmanuel's friends and invaluable contact). With all of this, he sees us only a few times a year for short intervals. He has a hard time coping with being away and not experiencing our little boys' milestones and growing up. But, we cannot complain for some of his colleagues - many with established names in the opera community are scrounging for work as waiters and have all but given up their hopes and dreams of singing. And, yes, we are still in foreclosure. What will tomorrow bring? I feel if I don't stay optimistic, all will crumble under us. As artists, we persevere through the most difficult of times, for our art, love and our lives.