Holy Space June 14, 2021

<p>The holy space of singing on stage is just one of the very cool things Melanie and Susanne Mentzer talk about in this episode.</p> <p>Susanne is a mezzo-soprano who’s performed all over the world, singing in operatic productions, as well as concerts, chamber music performances, and recitals. She's been a guest artist at the Metropolitan Opera since 1989, and made many recordings. She's a <a href= "http://sfcm.edu/newsroom/-/blogs/mezzo-soprano-susanne-mentzer-joins-sfcm-voice-faculty"> <span class="s1">Full-time Professor of Voice at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music</span></a> <span class="s2">and</span> Official Voice Teacher at the San Francisco Opera.</p> <p>Finally, Susanne is singing this summer at the <a href= "https://www.santafeopera.org/tickets/?gclid=CjwKCAjwrPCGBhALEiwAUl9X094Dc_lyQoAOLCuipPd12v_7BdWdNwPRyAf4MA35noexFkKmO6BxXxoCiE4QAvD_BwE#simulcasts"> Santa Fe Opera.</a></p> <p>This episode is full of light-hearted energy, lots of laughter, some personal revelations of overcoming hardships ... lots of life.</p> <p>Susanne talks about the ways in which being on stage for her is therapeutic, perhaps even sacred at times.</p> <p>Being passionate about her work in the world, which has now spanned several decades, continues to bring much meaning for Susanne.</p> <p>Not incidentally, feeling a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives is one of the major contributors to our overall health, wellbeing, and happiness.</p> <p>As an article in Scientific American says, <em>"A wealth of research in <a href= "http://www.amazon.com/Flourish-Visionary-Understanding-Happiness-Well-being/dp/1439190763">positive psychology</a> suggests that happiness and meaning are, in fact, essential elements of well-being. Happiness and meaning are <a href= "http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760802303044#.VqUZcLzLHb8">strongly correlated with each other</a>, and often feed off each other. The more meaning we find in life, the more happy we typically feel, and the more happy we feel, the more we often feel enc