Messages from the Lucia Cast

The Lucia cast has been so busy these few weeks, that they have hardly had time to sleep, let alone blog! ;-) So, they have asked me to post some messages to you from my blog...

Andrew Altenbach writes:

"I think I speak for all the cast and staff of the opera by offering up our profound admiration to the Trattoria Centrale restaurant in downtown. Unbelievable food and coffee - wine wasn't half bad either! The guys who run it really know their stuff and were always appreciative to us for eating there frequently between rehearsals. I think all the principals and staff especially have fond memories of eating there while Corey McKern explained directing techniques used by Italian directors to American and/or Chinese cast members. Of course, if you want the full story, though, talk to Corey...."

Kathleen Clawson writes:

"I love tech week! It is such a joy to see all the elements come together. As we approach the evening of final dress rehearsal for Lucia di Lammermoor I wanted to share a few thoughts about the inspiration for the opera and for our production. Lucia is the jewel in Gaetano Donizetti’s crown of brilliant bel canto opera’s. Its story, of two lovers torn apart by their feuding families, was based on the novel The Bride of Lammermoor by Sir Walter Scott. Scott was a novelist, playwright and poet. He was wildly popular during his own lifetime and his novels, which were read worldwide, created a great interest in all things Scottish, including history and dress. He based his novel on an actual case of two lovers in the Lammermuir Hills in 1668. Janet Dalrymple was forced to marry David Dunbar while secretly engaged to a Lord Rutherford. She attacked her bridegroom with a knife and was found cowering in her room, mad, while her husband lay on their bed in a pool of blood. Although Scott used many of the real details, he changed names, the locale, and brought the time forward to the early 18^th century. In the novel, Lucy is described as “pale, guileless, and docile to a fault…an angel descended on earth, unallied to the coarser mortals among whom she deigned to dwell.” Her beloved, Edgar is proud and melancholic, and in true Gothic style, is a pawn of larger forces.

Chatting with our scenic designer, Peter Crompton during tech rehearsals, I learned that he used Sir Walter Scott’s mansion, Abbotsford, and the Scottish countryside as inspiration for his set design. The archways, a great stone crag, stained-glass windows and a fountain with Scott’s crest, were all inspired by actual places. He gladly allowed me to share his research with us! Enjoy this taste of Scotland and see you at the opera!"

The Devil Is in the Details

“Oh my, but art is long and our life is fleeting.”
Wagner, Faust: Part One, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Opera Birmingham Chorus knows well the meaning behind Goethe's statement, voiced by the character of Wagner in Faust: Part One. By profession, the chorus is made up of lawyers, doctors, teachers, financial advisers, and students. By avocation, we are singers who hope to create together an enduring work of musical art. For us, being a part of opera productions is a labor of love. We hope that, though the performance is indeed ephemeral, it will have a lasting impression on you like it has on us.

The story of Faust and his deal with the devil has its roots in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s epic poem Faust: Part One, written in 1806. The story then developed into a play called Faust et Marguerite by French writer Michel Carré. Charles Gounod, a famous French composer, then wrote the grand opera Faust to a French libretto authored by Carré and Jules Barbier. The opera debuted at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris in 1859. Interestingly, the Metropolitan Opera in New York opened for the first time on October 22, 1883, with Gounod’s Faust.

Now, more than 200 years after the story was born and more than 150 years after the opera was written, Opera Birmingham brings you this production of one of the most-loved operas of all time.
The story of Gounod’s Faust, from the perspective of the Opera Birmingham Corus, began in September when we had our first music rehearsal. From rough and humble beginnings so many months ago, now we have mastered the French libretto and learned by heart the enchanting, sometimes raucous, and often haunting music. Good thing, because when the principals arrived and staging rehearsals began earlier this month, we had to be “off-book” and ready to block our scenes.

Our stage director, Dona Vaughn, had more than mere blocking in mind; she had us waltzing like whirling dervishes almost from day one! At one point in the waltz scene, the chorus sings, “Valsons encore; valsons toujors,” meaning “let’s waltz again; let’s waltz forever!” The staging and the music reflect this sentiment precisely. Just try not to sway along in your seats when you see this scene performed!

Our intense focus on stage movement can (temporarily) draw our attention away from the musical nuances, dynamics, and diction so carefully honed over the past several months of singing rehearsals. (Much to the chagrin of our fair maestro, Israel Gursky, I am sure.) Our sitzprobe, our first rehearsal with the orchestra, was last Thursday evening, and I think it allowed us to regain our focus on the precision and emotion of the music. At one point in the show, Méphistophélès bewitches tavern-goers (the chorus) with his odd and oddly enthralling song about a golden calf and a dance led by Satan. The chorus is so entranced that we begin to sing along, "et Satan conduit le bal, conduit le bal!" If you are entranced to sing along too, as you very well may be, you can honestly say the devil made you do it!

Yesterday our rehearsals moved into the Wright Center at Samford University, where the show will open on Friday. Our first rehearsal on the stage is always the most challenging, because those of us on stage must adjust our stage blocking to take into account the size of the stage, the set, and our costumes; the stage manager, the ever-patient Carol Brian, and her crew must learn to set and change the scenes precisely and swiftly; the lighting and sound technicians begin to add their touches to the production; and the singers and maestro must work to preserve our connection to one another with the maestro in his new perch in the orchestra pit.

As the saying goes, the devil is in the details, and we are down to the finer details at this point!

I do hope you will join us on Friday evening or Sunday afternoon. This production promises to be outstanding. Our principal cast is more talented than I can describe. Dona has brought to life a visually impeccable interpretation of the story that will captivate you. Israel has coaxed every ounce of joy, fury, allure, mystique, danger, mocking, fire, and forgiveness from the music that there is.

The chorus is pretty good, too.

So, we've arrived at tech week! We start in the theatre today dealing with sets, props, lighting and costumes. Woohoo! Tonight we head into the longest rehearsal of the entire process. Gotta make sure everything works.

Before we get into the challenges involved in putting together the technical part of the show, I'd just like to say how much I've enjoyed being in Birmingham so far. I've had the opportunity to explore a bit now. Let's see if I can remember everything...

The Motorcycle Museum. That place is full of every bike you can possibly imagine (and so many more you never considered imagining). I decided I liked the older bikes from the 30's and 40's. Although I must admit that staring down the barrel of a machine gun on a Nazi issue sidecar from World War II felt a little odd.

I made it down to the Alabama Symphony for the Martin Luther King concert. There was a moment in the Tuscaloosa Mediation where I felt myself be carried away to an entirely different planet. Sometimes, I have to do that; just go back to absolute music and be carried away by the magic of sound.

I've been to a number of nice restaurants in the area. Ocean, Highlands Bar and Grill and Chez Fonfon. Seems like I remember amazing trout at Fonfon and beef short ribs at Highlands. But the most lasting impression food wise comes from Lobster Pot Pie at Ocean. Yumm! It does tend to sit in the belly though... ugh.

Of course, it's the people here who have made these things possible. Thank you to everyone involved in making me feel welcome! Thanks especially to the chorus for sponsoring the "O Maguerite" party. It was a lot of fun getting to know everyone in a casual atmosphere. Most everyone got out unscathed too. We should do it again...

Ok. So now we descend into the nitty gritty aspects of "tech." We don't get a break now until after the final dress. All these wonderful people I've just been praising are going to get a little grumpy. But! We SHALL come out the other side victorious! (that's my official position) This cast rocks and I feel we are in good position to make something special! Bring on the magic wine and dry ice!!

Hello Birmingham! It's great to back in the south! The last time I was in Birmingham there was a men's choir involved, a gigantic organ at Briarwood Presbyterian and.. a giant snowstorm closing down the state of Georgia!

It looks like you've brought the snowstorm back just for the sake of old times. Otherwise this seems like it will be a much different experience.

I drove here from New York/New Jersey. I drive as often as I can because I like to drive and it makes me feel more in touch with where I am in the world. My car, Lucille, has more than 250,000 miles on her. Most of those miles have come from driving cross country, from one job to another.

So, I'm here singing Mephistopheles in Faust. This is my 69th career production and my 5th time with this particular role. I always love coming back to sing Mephisto. There's nothing quite like playing the devil. Prancing about destroying people's lives all night and laughing like a hyena when everything works out to my dark purposes is a lot of fun... at least when done in the realm of fantasy. It's like those old commercials... "I'm not really the devil, I just play him on stage. But, I did stay at a Holiday in express last night..." or somesuch thing.

We've been working four or five days now and we have about half the show staged. The snow has hampered our efforts a bit my causing a few rehearsals to be cancelled. (Not to worry though! Everything is pointing to a strong artistic experience!) There have been relatively few mishaps... ask Gloria about me dropping her on her head in the quartet (very embarrassing), or perhaps Millinee about an automobile convention on the freeway (scary).

If you're in the show, come talk to me at rehearsal. I'd love to get to know you. Meeting people on the road is one of the more enjoyable aspects of this business. If you're an audience member and coming to one of the performances, I'd love to meet you afterward (once I get out of make-up, of course).

Not anywhere near as verbose as Valentin, I know. But in my defense, this is my first ever blog post.

Texapolitan Opera comes to Birmingham

Hello There Birminghamians,

Is that what they call the good folks of Birmingham? Or is is Birminghammers. I like Birminghammers, it has a very authoritative ring to it, and after the way Auburn hammered Oregon last night, I think it's incredibly appropriate.

You know who else gets hammered this month? The chorus of Faust, during one of my favorite opera moments, Mephistopheles' aria, Le Veau d'or. One sip of Vin de Bacchus 1832, and the chorus begins a Mephistophelean jig that is a great metaphor for the way that I believe this opera will charm you all at the end of this month. I've not sung with anyone in this particular cast before; led by the incredible duo of Dona Vaughn and Israel Gursky, but after the first sing through, I can assure you that you will be as captivated and enchanted by this group of artists as the villagers are by Mephistopheles' famous Ode to the Golden Calf.



I believe as well, that if you get to know each of these artists, beyond the 150 word bio that will undoubtedly be found in the program, you will enjoy this production all the more. It's what I call the soccer effect. Bear with me.

I hate soccer. I've never been able to get into it~ try as I might, especially given that futbol is THE international sport, and the easiest subject for small talk when it comes to singers of other nationalities. However, there was a time, when I was interested in soccer. When my nephews were young, they all played, and I found myself actually getting interested in the games...at times, even leaping to my feet and cheering. Now, that would never have happened under any other circumstances; you give me front row tickets behind the goal of a Team USA game, and I might muster a enthusiastic clapping fit, or even a lackluster cheer... but aside from that, I really have no vested interest. And therein lies the key. When you have a personal, vested interest, in the lives and careers of the people involved, your interest in a game instantly skyrockets. If you have an office mate or husband who has joined a fantasy football league (or as I call it, Dungeons and Dragons for Jocks), you understand exactly what I am talking about.

Fortunately, we live in a time when there are so many tools out there that make that information readily available. The recession, while forcing a huge contraction in our business, has led to singers taking a more proactive role in their marketing. Opera professionals are developing a more broadbased appeal, so that now, you as an audience member can really get to know them. Between Facebook Fan Pages, Twitter, and Blogs it's easier than ever to find out interesting tidbits about your favorite artists. Trust me, once you get into really knowing your singers, it will become a delightful hobby, and one that will enhance your experience as a consumer of the art-form.

So, if you are going to come to the opera this month, I encourage you to upgrade your opera experience to Birmangham Opera v2.o. I guarantee that if you take the time to understand who your artists are, beyond their resumes and press kits, you will find yourself perched 2 inches further on the edge of your seat than normal.

Let me invite you, as one of those singers who has taken full advantage of all the free social networking and internet resources that are out there, to visit my website and podcast, The Texapolitan Opera Roadshow. Obviously, this is a real passion of mine, which has developed into a podcast where I sit down, once a week, with a new opera professional and go beyond the lines of a short bio, into the interesting world that takes place behind the curtain. If you have an iPod, the podcast is also available for free through the iTunes store. You can also find me on Facebook, and on Twitter, where I will be tweeting live from every performance and dress rehearsal (please wait till the intermission to turn on your phones. ;-) I love to expose people to all the behind-the-scenes action that goes into the production of such incredible performances~ such as in this video, where I compressed a 45 minute make-up session down to a minute and 30 seconds to show the incredible work that Sondra Nottingham, a fantastic make-up artist based in Nashville, TN, puts into making Don Giovanni really look like Don Giovanni...


So, this week, while you are sitting down to enjoy the warm relaxing glow of you laptop monitor, take a few minutes to check out your wonderful cast and artistic team. I promise you, it's ten times more interesting than TMZ....

Opera Birmingham: The Marriage of Figaro

From www.birminghamverse.com a blog by Daniel Hurst:

My invitation from the folks at Opera Birmingham was to write a piece about the experiences of a first-time operagoer. To be completely fair, it was my second, but the first was long ago. I’m revirginized.

My theme is the close relationship between those moments of beauty in the arts and those other moments that support them. I recently read John Steinbeck’s East of Eden: “It would be reasonable to suppose that a routine time or an eventless time would seem interminable. It should be so, but it is not. It is the dull eventless times that have no duration whatever. A time splashed with interest, wounded with tragedy, crevassed with joy – that’s the time that seems long in the memory.”

For lovers of opera, any performance absolutely “seems long in the memory” because they feature interest, tragedy, and joy. Which is why, when these lovers talk with you about “opera” – as a generality – they get excited in remembering these moments. They can go on and on with superlatives about how beautiful it all is.

That’s maybe the first intimidating problem for someone new to opera. When you’ve heard people talk about the opera like it’s one step removed from a heroin high, there might be some disappointment when you go and it’s not a Hurt Locker, roller-coaster thrill ride from start-to-finish. And it’s not. Almost all arts performances are more nuanced than that.

So when a new person goes to an opera and it’s not all 3-D explosions and fireworks, the first impression might be that something is wrong with them. That they somehow don’t “get it”. That all the people around them are somehow specially educated or have good genes or that you need some kind of pedigree to enjoy an opera. And sometimes – let’s admit it – there are blue bloods who try to reinforce this impression. The danger of this way of thinking is that new fans might tune out and classify it as boring before they even hear the good stuff.

As a soccer fan, I’ve spent a lot of time defending the sport to Americans who insist it’s that same kind of boring. It’s true that there’s not (usually) a lot of scoring in a 90 minute soccer match. And a lot of it seems like just kicking a ball around. But that’s true of American football too – heck, they take more time between every play than any play lasts. And baseball, of course, has long stretches of nothing.

As any good dramatist knows, however, these spaces can build and fill with dramatic tension. Not every kick can be a goal. Not every pass can go for a touchdown. Not every swing of the bat can be a game-winner. But you’re there, waiting for it, shivering with antici-

In the same way, I can’t name more than four tracks off The Joshua Tree – easily one of the greatest rock albums of all time. I’ve written down my favorite lines from the play Equus – but not every word is magic. When I watch a good dance performance, it’s mainly a few singular moments that I’ll remember later. But it doesn’t mean the rest of it isn’t essential. No performance would work with just its Sportscenter highlights. (And neither does Sportscenter…)

Opera in general – and The Marriage of Figaro – is the same way. For me, it starts to really cook when we first meet the Countess (Susanna Phillips) at the beginning of Act II. I’m not suggesting that any other part is routine or interminable, but I’m sure Mozart knew brilliantly how to build tension and lead you along and into the parts that are great. The Countess’s initial song is great, along with pretty much anytime she sings with Susanna (Michelle Areyzaga). At the end of Act II, there’s a wonderful musical argument between three good guys and three bad guys all on stage at once. At the beginning of Act III, Susanna and the Count (Corey McKern) have a duet that I’ve been humming a part of ever since. Then the Countess has an aria near the end of Act III which is the perfect example of why all those experienced operagoers talk in superlatives. She’s absolutely memorable.

There’s never enough opportunity to talk about costuming and set design, but Opera Birmingham did a great job on the look of this show. All four acts featured a change in palette. This and the costumes worked to make some great visuals. For example, I’d love a composed picture of the stage with the chorus when they first enter in Act I.

Thanks once more to Daniel Seigel and all the people with Opera Birmingham for letting me go along for the ride. Congratulations and best of luck to performers Jason Hardy (Figaro) and Carrie Kahl (Barbarina) who got engaged onstage immediately after the performance. The “Marriage of Figaro” – indeed!

5 Stars for Figaro!

"THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO"

Presented by Opera Birmingham
With Alabama Symphony, Lester Seigel, conductor
Opera Birmingham Chorus

Friday, Wright Center, Samford University
Repeats Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Five stars out of Five

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Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro," according to a spate of informed opinions, is the composer's most perfect opera. With all due respect to "The Magic Flute," "Don Giovanni" and "Cosi fan tutte," the contention is hard to dispute.

But with its web of plot twists, double entendres, meddling schemes, gender-bending disguises and jabs at aristocracy, together with some of the most gorgeous arias and ensemble numbers penned in the last 225 years, the comic opera needs a perfect cast to match. Opera Birmingham's production, which closes today at Samford University's Wright Center, comes as close to that as any you'll find.

Three hours went by in a flash Friday as these wholly professional singers spewed forth a stream of knee-slapping Italian one-liners (with projected translations) and improbable situations. Spare yet elegant, the sets from New Orleans Opera sat unobtrusively on the Wright stage, always allowing personalities to emerge, characters to intertwine, Daniel Seigel's well-prepared chorus to position comfortably and plots and subplots to unfold clearly. Period costumes were smart and frilly, but not overdone.

Michelle Areyzaga's portrayal of Susanna began coyly, then took on attitude as she sought to expose the skirt-chasing Count. Her rich-hued soprano, strong all evening, was particularly enchanting in the Act 4 "Deh vieni, non tardar." Jason Hardy was commanding in the title role, his full-throated bass demanding attention from the opera's first words ("Cinque ... dieci") to the well-known arias, "Se vuol ballare" and "Non piu andrai" and the Act 4 "Aprite un po'quegli occhi."

Two of the opera's tenderest moments came from the sumptuous voice of soprano Susanna Phillips. As Countess Almaviva, the Alabama native sang grievously about her husband's estrangement in "Porgi, amor." Her rendition of "Dove sono" rested in pure beauty, and garnered the evening's longest applause. Corey McKern's convincing portrayal of the womanizing Count ranged from creepy to piteous, the aria "Vedro mentr'io sospiro" best revealing his character. In a trouser role, mezzo-soprano Chandra Egger McKern was hilarious as the in-love-with-everyone page, Cherubino, although her voice tended to strain in the upper reaches.

As Bartolo and Marcellina, Steven Condy and Josepha Gayer provided the heartiest laughs during the Act 3 revelation that Figaro was their long-lost son. Corey Trahan's nerdy portrayal of the music teacher, Basilio, likewise produced a few guffaws, as did Elias Hendricks, III, as the nasal-voiced judge, Don Curzio. Even the minor roles of Antonio (Randall Mayo) and Barbarina (Carrie Kahl) were standouts.

Lester Seigel kept the Alabama Symphony musicians, and the action, moving at a good clip, compensating for the murky acoustics at the Wright Center as well as can be expected.

John Jones' first attempt at opera stage direction was a success. Straightforward and spacious, it never drew attention to itself, and with the theatrical complexity of "Figaro," that can only work as a positive.

Click here to learn what happened after Friday's performance.