Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Puccini's First Hit

Opera Grand Rapids has started chorus rehearsals for the February showing of Giacomo Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. In recent years we have presented the more famous works of Puccini: Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La Boheme and Turandot. Maestro Lyall and the Board of Opera Grand Rapids decided it was time to try the very first success that the master had composed, Manon Lescaut.

Since Opera Grand Rapids has not performed this show before, none of the chorus singers, or the pianist, or the chorus master has a past in which to refer. Usually Maestro Davis can recall tempos and cuts in music that Maestro Lyall has done in previous performances. Now the two Maestros have to have long phone conversations about particulars in the score.

And that leads me to the score itself. Whoa. I have been working on this music for most of the past two weeks and I don’t feel like I have even made a dent in my memorization or knowledge of the notes! I am very grateful that we started music rehearsals this early because if we had started at our normal date, mid December, I would be very scared. We are a chorus of 42 men and women who are divided into characters of students, girls, citizens, and villagers. Some of the chorus members also sing a Madrigal part and others are coupled as Beaus and Abbes. The confusing aspect is that we are all interacting at the same time, but singing different parts based on our characters. Our rehearsal last night was challenging, but then I remind myself that the challenge is why I started singing opera.

Am I up to this challenge?