Behind the Scenes with Betsy Pate

As you know, Amici, the young friends of Opera Birmingham, have been counting down the days to opening night of Hamlet and celebrating Opera Birmingham's 60th anniversary season with our 60 Days of Opera countdown. (If you've missed the fun, check out the Amici facebook page or find us on twitter by following @AmiciBirmingham or searching the hashtag: #60DaysofOpera.) 

Today, we have a great "Behind the Scenes" story from seven-season Opera Birmingham Chorus veteran Betsy Pate: 

 Betsy Pate

My first chorus gig was in 2009’s production of Turandot. That year a bad cold virus hit the cast. No, it was worse than a cold, it was a plague. I won’t go into any detail, but suffice it to say it wasn’t pretty. Most of us who contracted said plague didn’t develop symptoms until the last few days of production week, or, as in my case, until Sunday’s performance. I ended up taking two days off from work to recover.

Opera Birmingham Chorus - Turandot (2009) 

One person who was hit the hardest was one of the leads, Roy Cornelius Smith. Throughout the week leading up to opening night, he got worse and worse. This rookie wasn’t sure if he would make it. I was amazed to see the lengths he went to to keep himself going. During particularly long stretches requiring both the chorus and most of the principals to stay on stage, Roy managed to always cough, sneeze, wipe, etc. only when his back was turned to the audience. I would be willing to guess that very few people out there had any idea how sick he was. My favorite trick of his involved pinning cough drops to the costumes of other cast members so he could rip them off at an opportune moment -- all while remaining in character and hiding it from anyone but those on stage with him.

Betsy Pate - Aida (2010)

Chorus Women's Dressing Room - Faust (2011)

Betsy Pate and Abbott Jones - Suor Angelica (2013)

It was then I realized how dedicated these performers are, regardless of having a leading role or being in the chorus. Even knowing that the threat of cast-wide sickness always hangs over a production, I stuck around for the next show, and the next, and the next. It’s a privilege to sing with these crazy, wonderful folks and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

We love hearing stories from the Opera Birmingham family. We look forward to bringing you more Behind the Scenes stories as we continue our countdown to Hamlet's opening night. (You can get your tickets here.) Just 49 days to go!