The Joy of Sitzprobes vs. The Call of Duty
October 22, 2007 - Well folks, I'm back. Now I know what you're thinking: Wait a minute, just a mere 3 days ago he was so busy he actually secured the services of a guest blogger. Yet here he is, suddenly not busy and the show hasn't yet opened. What's up with that? Well, what's up with that is this evening (and this afternoon as well) was the sitzprobe, a glorious lull in every opera director's schedule during production week in which the singers just sit with the orchestra and sing. That's right, they just sit and sing. So the director has the luxury of basking in the glorious sounds without worrying that the singers might forget their blocking, walk into some part of the scenery, break a valuable and potentially irreplaceable prop, or set themselves on fire. I kid you not, all of these things, including the last one, have happened to me in one production or another. Don't worry, the singer involved with the last mentioned incident is okay and still singing fabulously.
Anyway, while I was basking in the painfully beautiful suspensions (the musical equivalent of frottage) that infuse Alcina's Act II aria "Ah, my heart", I was reminded by a certain mezzo (who also occasionally guest-blogs and whose character is the only voice of conscience in this decadent work) that this would be the perfect opportunity to blog. "Think of the immediacy this will have", she said, her eyes glinting with the excitement that only veteran bloggers can muster. "Okay," I said, "I guess a director's work is really never done". So here's my short report from the sitzprobe: The singers all sound fantastic and the period instrument band Harmonious Blacksmith is totally rocking the house, particularly the wild and raucous natural horn solo in Ruggiero's Act III, flashback, post traumatic stress syndrome, freak-out aria which ends with him hold a gun first to his own head and then pointing it at his fiancée and tutor. Rock on Elspeth and Michael.
Alright, now having dutifully fulfilled my blogging duties, I'm going to go back to basking in Handel's astonishing music. But first, let me say, tickets are selling very rapidly (particularly after today's attention grabbing preview article - thanks Tim Smith) so if you're thinking about coming to join us on this totally far-out trip to "mystic crystal revelation" get your tickets soon!
See you at the opera! - John Bowen
Anyway, while I was basking in the painfully beautiful suspensions (the musical equivalent of frottage) that infuse Alcina's Act II aria "Ah, my heart", I was reminded by a certain mezzo (who also occasionally guest-blogs and whose character is the only voice of conscience in this decadent work) that this would be the perfect opportunity to blog. "Think of the immediacy this will have", she said, her eyes glinting with the excitement that only veteran bloggers can muster. "Okay," I said, "I guess a director's work is really never done". So here's my short report from the sitzprobe: The singers all sound fantastic and the period instrument band Harmonious Blacksmith is totally rocking the house, particularly the wild and raucous natural horn solo in Ruggiero's Act III, flashback, post traumatic stress syndrome, freak-out aria which ends with him hold a gun first to his own head and then pointing it at his fiancée and tutor. Rock on Elspeth and Michael.
Alright, now having dutifully fulfilled my blogging duties, I'm going to go back to basking in Handel's astonishing music. But first, let me say, tickets are selling very rapidly (particularly after today's attention grabbing preview article - thanks Tim Smith) so if you're thinking about coming to join us on this totally far-out trip to "mystic crystal revelation" get your tickets soon!
See you at the opera! - John Bowen
Labels: board of directors, guest blogger, Harmonious Blacksmith, mystic, natural horn, post traumatic stress syndrome, revelation, rock, sitzprobe, tim smith, wild
1 Comments:
And here's a link to Tim Smith's article in the Baltimore Sun: http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/music/bal-to.opera22oct22,0,2305573.story
(Geez, you can coerce a blogger to the computer, but you can't make him link!)
Post a Comment
<< Home