Waking up based on rehearsal time, usually, or other commitments. No matter what time I get up, I will be deprived of sleep. If the rehearsal is the right time, I’ll get up and make myself some morning tea. With a timer, of course. Green tea should not be left in water for more than three minutes! This is not a coercion, as my girlfriend and most of my friends claim, it’s just a rule that tea does not taste bitter. I am making breakfast. I mean, I don’t cook, I just grab a piece of turkey from the fridge and a couple of slices of cheese. And a waffle. I sit on a laptop and read newspapers and news from different sites. Then the battle with yourself begins. I try to delay the start of the day. I always fail and my compulsive self wins. I’m already stressed about what needs to be done, and I decide to get up and start.

If I have a rehearsal, then I am in Lyriki either for the stage (if they have begun), or for the music (almost always there) rehearsals. At this time, I have musical rehearsals for Theodorakis’ Spiritual Journey, Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann and Bartok’s Cyanopogon’s Castle. If I don’t have a rehearsal, I sit at home and either wait for one or two students, or I’m immersed in my studies. Exercises, first warm-up, etc.

Quiet hours. Extremely patient neighbors need rest. I can’t sing at home anymore. This is my “break” time. I will go down to a nearby cafe, taking books and sheet music with me to read, make a business meeting or meet with a friend. A little fun, a little serious talk and let’s move on.

“I’m trying to delay the start of the day. I always fail and my obsessive self wins.”

If I don’t have an afternoon rehearsal, I will definitely have another lesson with a student. Then, since the stress has reached its peak, I get to work. First, warm-up and vocal exercises, and then reading the works that are included in the repertoire. If everything is in order with the voice and if I manage to work as much as I planned, the rest of the evening will go smoothly. I will find something new. A new interpretive idea, a different technical solution, a deeper meaning, a closer match with me. Another source of pleasure. If for some reason the voice is not at its best or something messes up my schedule (many phones, something urgent, something unexpected, some stupid duty, etc.), the evening will not pass, I will not I will work as long as I have to. I would like to blame. My friends also find it intrusive. I think they are wrong. These are the rules you must follow if you want to become a serious professional in this field. Well, maybe it’s a little intrusive.

If the weather permits, I go out for a walk. Alone or with my girlfriend. I try to walk for an hour every day, put my thoughts in order, relax, calm down, dream. Many times I have succumbed to the temptation to stop at a nearby bar and have a glass of wine. Then I get too bored to keep walking and going home.

The struggle to force myself to sleep begins. If I do it relatively early, then after the bath I lie down and read either the rest of the day or my “extracurricular” books. I usually read three or four at a time (and keep one or two in the car just in case). Then I try to calm down and fall asleep, although I am sure that even in a dream I will think about notes and words. The last “acquisition” of sleep is the scattered Hungarian words from The Castle of the Blue Bird. Ajtó, csillag, aszzonyokat… I was under stress. As soon as I finish this text, I must go to study!

On Wednesday, October 5, Thassos Apostolou, together with Maria Faranduri and Thodoris Voutsikakis, will perform “The Spiritual Journey” by Mikis Theodorakis and the songs of the great composer in the Stavros Niarchos Hall of the National Opera (19:30).