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

In the final haul for Alcina

Hi everyone! This is Monica Reinagel, guest-blogging for John who, as you might imagine, is somewhat consumed with everything that has to happen between now and our opening night next Friday. Sets are being finished, costumes fitted, and props rounded up (I just got to pick out a whopping big fake engagement ring to wear in Act III!).

Meanwhile, we singers are reviewing our stage directions, practicing our "bits," finalizing ornaments for our da capo arias, and trying to be ready for our first full run-through tonight! It promises to be a bit chaotic...over the last week and a half, we've only had time to work on each scene once, and mostly out of order. But as the last scenes were staged, the big picture started to come into focus and I think all of us started to get really excited about how well John's concept for Alcina (which he sets in the hallucinogenic, free-loving 60's) serves the piece.

The cast has been joking about the need to do more "research" into hallucinogens and free-loving, but so far I think everyone has been too busy to do anything but enjoy a glass of wine at the end of the night and fall into bed, with whatever aria we've just staged running through our heads. (And none of these arias are particularly sleep-inducing!)

We've also been talking about what a roller coaster the opera is. Handel's score (and John's staging) whiplashes from full-out comedy to outright eroticism to terrifying intensity and back. I think it's going to make for a very entertaining and affecting night in the theater. I hope you're planning to come. John's far too dignified to make a sales pitch in his blog, but I'm not: Call 410-547-7997 or visit operavivente.org to get your tickets.

More from John when he has a chance to catch his breath!

Putting It Together

October 5, 2007 - One of my favorite Sondheim musicals is Sunday in the Park with George (okay, I love the first act, the second act still seems a bit preachy and heavy-handed to me). And the line "Art isn't easy. The art of making art is putting it together", has been much on my mind this week. As we approach the absolute print deadline for the program, the beginning of the most intensive period of rehearsal for Alcina, the period of crystallization and realization for Tobias and the Angel, as well as make decisions for marketing campaigns and gala hosting (BTW - It's going to be on May 17, 2008 NOT May 10, 2008 but more of that in a later post), I am once again reminded how much of this crazy, wonderful genre is created by the amazing, sometimes chaotic, sometimes miraculous, but always interesting collision of the hearts, minds, and skills of a whole slew of creative individuals. Being the General Director is not so much like herding cats (which while adorable are not particularly brilliant or creative, regardless of what they might say to the contrary) but more like herding gifted and talented teenagers (passionate, creative, interesting, but also unpredictable, erratic, and occasionally unreliable). As any parent of teenagers can tell you, this can drive you to a drinking habit rivaling that of Lindsay Lohan, but I must say, this week as I view our beautiful, vibrant program, or talk with my fantastic designers for Alcina (who all talked me down off the ledge today), or look forward to delving into Handel's masterpiece with a top-notch cast of singing-actors, and yes, even when I'm reviewing press deadlines et al, I'm once again filled with tremendous pride for the people who make OV possible and with awe for this astonishing artform which brings us all together to lift life out of the ordinary, even if it's just for a few hours. Thank you all. It is a privilege to be your colleague.

See you at the opera - John Bowen

Time

October 2, 2007 - Well, well, well, time certainly does fly when you're doing a dozen different things simultaneously. So as you've probably figured out, in spite of my stated good intentions of posting more frequent, but shorter blogs, more than a week has elapsed since my last one. Oh well, the best laid plans of mice and men. So, here's a quick update on where everything is right now.

The piano/vocal scores of Orpheus in the Underworld have been completed and most of the singers have either picked them up or sent instructions where to send them. Can't for the life of me figure out what's going on with the ones that haven't responded in any way, shape, or form, STILL, but haven't had time to really worry about them. As Scarlett O'Hara once said, "I'll that about that tomorrow, after all, tomorrow is another day".

Everything is pretty much on schedule for the frame of the Alcina set to be loaded in this coming Saturday. Many thanks in advance to the volunteers who are generously giving of their time to help "tote that barge and lift that bale" (oh sorry, that's another show).

Audition packets continue to come in, although the spate of perfectly completed packets that followed on the heals of my audition post seems to have come to an end. Note to prospective auditioners: Please take the time to read the listing completely and to make sure that your packet is complete.

I took a brief jaunt to New Hampshire last week to meet the production team at Granite State Opera where I will be directing Cosi fan tutte next May. They are a great group of people, and I had a very enjoyable and productive time.

Time has been running out for ads and other items to make it into our season program, and so much of my week has been spent chasing down facts, personnel, ad copy, etc. As you can probably guess, not my favorite activity to be engaged in the week before the deluge which is the Alcina rehearsal schedule begins. But it has to be done, and I must say that our program looks absolutely fantastic. Kudos to graphic designer par excellence Dave Cooper.

The board has had a great deal of difficulty picking a date and time for our big celebratory fundraiser gala bashapalooza, but it looks like May 10, 2008 will be the date. Center Stage is having theirs the same night but hey, I think there's enough party spirit to support two parties in Baltimore on the same night. Call me crazy.

Let's see, there must be more otherwise I'm in a quandry as to why the past ten days seems to be just one big blur. Oh yes, I've begun preliminary design/concept discussions for The Pirates of Penzance that I'm directing at Opera AACC, trained a wonderful office temp named Emily Tobias, run an OV board meeting while simultaneously supervising an Alcina chorus rehearsal, and have been getting up around 6:30am every other morning to give my garden a good watering during this dry time of year. You're welcome, chrysanthemums.

Time for bed. If you have time, I hope to see you at the opera, and I hope you have the time of your life. - John Bowen

PS. I'm still looking for a stage manager who has the time to run Alcina. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact me.