Christina Frei
* Photo of me and ensemble. I’m laughing out of sheer joy from that trumpet and sheer relief that we actually did it!
Recently, I sang a revenge aria, an Italian song by Alessandro Scarlatti. It seems that the Baroque era is filled with these angry songs. Mine was for soprano, piccolo trumpet, and continuo (I was the soprano).
The poem (written by an anonymous poet) starts out like this:
I will take the revenge
I deserve of that perfidious traitor
that has so vilified me.
Like I said, revenge aria. Those Italian poets do not mince words.
Why do I mention this? Because this experience was really uncomfortable, yet strangely empowering. If you see the video of the performance, other than being a little pitchy at the beginning, I seem relatively normal and even happy. But inside I wanted to throw up and run screaming off the stage. This was not my normal venue (gorgeous, large performance hall). I don’t go around singing angry, high-pitched arias with wonderful musicians. I was really afraid of getting it wrong, the polar opposite of how I feel when I give talks.
The funny thing was it was also incredibly freeing, since there was this inner diva waiting to make a declaration and she just needed the right song to do it. I can’t think of the last time I’ve put my foot down and raised my voice about something. I do my best to be reasonable person so it felt SO GOOD to just stomp my foot down and declare something. Loudly.
This was me owning a part of my voice I hadn’t claimed yet. It was really icky and gross at first, but the power that was generated was palpable. My musical coach even came up to me afterwards and said, “THAT’S the part of your voice I’ve always wanted you to access in our ensemble pieces.” I’m usually afraid of sticking out, but apparently, I didn’t need to worry about that and it felt great!
This is what I want for you. When you claim your Innate Marketing Genius archetype, it’s icky at first. It’s new. But it’s also empowering. It’s you getting on stage and saying “I’ve got something to say,” and people lean in to listen. You might want to run screaming at first, but that’s what makes it so exciting and big. You’re doing what most people don’t. Let’s hear what you’ve really got to say.
Curious about your Innate Marketing Genius archetype? Let’s talk. I might not assign you a revenge aria, but you never know.
