Finale

The Elixir of Love performed its magic. All the hard work and late nights finally paid off and we had a fun weekend run. I really did enjoy the performances and the performers who joined in the frolic of Donizetti. There were times when we were not sure how this was going to end; but at the final curtain we were all very proud of our little comedy. One of the hardest scenes that the women of the chorus had was what we called “chasing Nemorino”. After Gianetta informs us that Nemorino is now a millionaire, we all suddenly want his attention and chase him around the stage en masse. This was also affectionately referred to as “the amoeba” since we were grouped closely together. During rehearsals there were many times when we stepped on each others feet and even a time when Gianetta was almost trampled as she fell in the mass of women because someone had stepped on her foot and she had no where else to go but down. By the final dress rehearsal we had the scene worked out, with the help of soprano Kristin in the back of the pile directing traffic, and Nemorino dictating the flow with his movements. This was a scene that I dreaded in rehearsal, but became my favorite once we hit performance.
Now I am proud to write down Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love on my resume and seal it with a red kiss from the last bits of blood still left in me.
Salute!

Comedy Tonight!

Tonight is opening night for The Elixir of Love. We had a "dark" night yesterday which just means that we get a night off to rest before we open. Since opera is theater that is totally sung, the performers benefit from resting their voices before a performance. I have to admit that I did not rest last night. I did run through all of the chorus material to make sure that I was confidant on my notes and words. This opera is a lot of work for the chorus and we did make mistakes at the final dress rehearsal on Wednesday so I needed to do some more work rather than sleeping!
Usually the chorus has a lot of "down" time during the show as the principals have their big aria moments. In Elixir we have some of that time during the second act. For this show we don't have enough time to go sit in the dressing rooms, so we sit in the wings and listen to the leads do their thing. Needless to say, sometimes we also get a little carried away with antics while waiting back stage. During Tosca last fall, those of us in the nun habits got a little warm during our scenes and sat in the wings with our costumes pulled up above our knees in order to cool off. It must have been interesting to see the "sisters" looking so decadent! In Elixir, one chorus soprano is about 5 months pregnant so the rest of us always make sure that she has a chair back stage and that nobody bumps into her as we run around on stage. It is always a different show from the stage perspective than from the audience. Even a serious drama can turn into a comedy beyond the curtain. Just imagine what a comedy romp could escalate into!

DeVos Hall, here we come!

We are on stage at last! Sunday night was a true “stumble through” as we all dealt with real buildings (rather than plastic) and stairs that take more time to walk than flat flooring. The chorus is doing a lot of the set changes and we are not familiar with having to move tables, chairs and full buildings on rollers! Try this; walk through a couple rooms in your house, then run around the perimeter, now move a large piece of furniture that is set on rollers, turn around and SING! That is how I am starting “The Elixir of Love”. I’m sure that after a few more tries it will become easier and we will all be joking about how nervous we were at first. We did not get to run through the whole show last night so I am hoping that the rehearsal flows better tonight without all the stops and starts of scene changes. One of the best moments is when the car comes on stage. We are all holding our collective breath that the car will start, keep running and then not hit any scenery. Trent does a great job driving so I am not all that worried. The car and Dulcamara’s elisir wagon are fabulous to see and I think the audience will love the gags and gimmicks. This show has a lot of funny moments, and a few tender and loving moments also. If you are still looking for a romantic idea for this weekend, look no farther than The Elixir of Love.

Drunk on Love

We are in the middle of our staging rehearsals and things are going well. There is a lot for the chorus to do in this opera. Some of our responsibilities include moving set pieces while singing in character. Since we are in our rehearsal space right now and do not have our actual set pieces, we have to mimic the action with large sheets of plastic and other rehearsal props. Our rehearsal space has large windows facing out to a parking lot adjacent to a Best Buy store. I am sure that anyone who happens to walk or drive by probably wonders why these people are wandering through an old Dunham’s store carrying large sheets of plastic.

The scene we worked on blocking last night is when the townspeople fall for Dr. Dulcamara’s “elisir” and get drunk on what is really just wine. At the end of the first Act, the town meets the good doctor and is sold on his “remedy for whatever ails you”. The second Act starts with the townspeople falling all over each other in a drunken stupor, thinking that they are cured of their troubles, and celebrating the marriage proposal of Adina and Belcore. We sing a "brindisi", which is a drinking song. Our Stage Director, Matthew Lata, uses every opportunity to add “shtick” where he can and the chorus is having fun interacting with the principals. The women of the chorus have the best part; we get to hug and surround Belcore (Baritone, Matthew Worth). We are definitely fighting for position when called on to cluster around a handsome man! Being in the chorus does have its bonuses, after all. To see what all the fuss is about, check out Matthew’s web page http://www.herbertbarrett.com/artist.php?id=mworth. Not only is he handsome, but he also wears a very soft sweater that we were all petting last night. Who says opera isn’t fun?

The chorus has a night off and then will finish staging this week. On Saturday we will have our sitzprobe, which basically means sit and sing, with the Symphony. It is nice to hear the full orchestration before hitting the DeVos Hall stage in a “stumble through” on Sunday. We will then have a couple more rehearsals in which we add costumes, make-up, more props, and lighting. It is always amazing how much the show evolves from Sunday until Wednesday, which is our final rehearsal before opening night.

It will be a long 10 days, but always worth the hassle.

Rapping with Donizetti

We had our last chorus rehearsal at the Church last night. On Wednesday we start staging at our rehearsal space which is a big empty building that used to be a sporting goods store. The principals have arrived in town and are enjoying the low temps and driving in the snow. Our “Adina” flew in from Texas. I hope she brought her long underwear with her! I met her last night and she is very lovely. I can’t wait to hear her, and the other principals, sing in rehearsal.
The chorus as a whole is plugging along on our music and language. I know a couple of choristers who are spending the entire day going over and over their music so they will feel comfortable when they have to do staging tomorrow. I am tentatively optimistic about my knowledge of the score. There are parts where I stumble, but I think I can make it through this week with “cue cards” in my hand. I saw a few other singers holding their cards last night so I know more of us are getting weaned off the full score. It can be intimidating to put down your binder and trust your memory. A lot of the language is repeated for the chorus and so is a lot of the theme music. Problems arise when the language repeats but the music changes slightly. This happens a few times and it is tricky to remember the changes. Sometimes it helps to work the staging into the music. I have been known to remember a musical change based on my stage position or the position of a principal. Being able to act out the music is very helpful to me. My degree is in Theater, so the acting always comes easier to me than singing or dancing and I can use characterization to help with rhythm and notes. Maestro Davis commented on my dancing in the church pew last night. I had to explain that it helps me keep up with the 16th notes if I put the rhythm into my body. I don’t think that our staging director, Matthew Lata, is going to appreciate my hip-hop, so I hope I can come up with a time period appropriate movement to go with the music. Until then, I will be “rapping with Donizetti”.

New Recording Device

I recorded our rehearsal last week with an old mini-tape recorder. It was good enough to practise with but a bit irritating. I tried using my mp3 player but found it to not have enough memory so now I purchased a new digital recorder. I am praying that it is clearer than the old recorder so that I don't get a headache trying to hear the piano. With that being said, it was helpful to hear Chorus Master Duane Davis' comments and instructions over again. I should have done this from the first rehearsal. Oh, well, now that I have my spiffy new digital recorder I will be using it for every rehearsal. I play flute and piccolo with a concert band that has a rehearsal tomorrow night so I will be using my new gadget for that also. I hope I get a lot of use out of the purchase, but I don't want to be the "weirdo with the digital recorder".

Even though I could relive last weeks rehearsal over and over again, I am still having a hard time with the language. The chorus' first piece in the show is complicated as far as fitting the Italian into the music. I'm sure if we were fluent in the language it would all make sense, but I find it confusing. There are a couple of moments in another chorus piece that the music is quite fast with a lot of language which gets mumbled if you don't have it right on the 16th or 32nd note. While going over the language in rehearsal I began to feel like it was "rapping with Donizetti" as we droned on in rhythm without singing the notes. In order to remember the words, I have to "rap" it out in staccato and by phrase. I don't believe I will have a second career as an Opera Rap star, but for now it makes the memorization a little fun.

Donizetti isn't that easy

I find that learning a new composer is not as easy as it sounds. I have sung in Italian many times, but Donizetti doesn't use the same phrasing as Verdi or Puccini so it feels almost like a different language. Therefore, my memorization of The Elixir of Love is not going all that great. We have music rehearsal tonight and I plan on recording everything on my MP3 player so I can replay it all week. I always find that group rehearsals help me a lot more than studying alone or even with a vocal coach because other people can find problem areas that I might not be seeing. Sometimes the language dictates how the music is sung and we change phrasing to make it flow better; this is something that we discover in rehearsal that might not be found in private practise. I don't think anyone in this chorus is fluent in Italian, though many have been to Italy and have studied the language. It is great to be able to ask "is that a 'j' sound or a 'g' sound?" when faced with 'giu' or 'giorno'. We always strive to be accurate with the language in order to keep the integrity of the music.
For now; buongiorno.