American Opera Triptych

I’m home after a good 10-day engagement in Wisconsin. I was invited to University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, to music-direct an opera. I had suggested: 

“A Hand of Bridge” (Samuel Barber)
“The Telephone” (Gian Carlo Menotti)
“The Old Maid and the Thief” (Gian Carlo Menotti)

I had gone there to cast the show in November, and then returned in late March for rehearsals, tech week, dress rehearsals, and performances. I performed all three of these from the keyboard for the performances, along with a gifted student percussionist adding some obbligato and sound effects. 

There were a few things that I felt were incredibly successful about the project:

1). Clear, detailed direction. I am learning that some of the best teaching (which can also transition into performing or “directing” at the professional level) is rooted in this skill. My great friend and colleague of nearly a decade had invited me to music-direct his show, and we both took this approach. M.M. is very detail-oriented, so I was very happy to have my detail-oriented coaching or teaching style complement this. The students did very well with our approach, I felt.

2). Creativity. We had a lot of fun and “play” with this show. We borrowed a porpoise-skull (!) from the Art Department, for Ben to give to Lucy at the top of “The Telephone” (the score indicates that his gift is an abstract sculpture). We also had a great time with three “jingle girls” - a trio of singing sisters who sang commercials, composed by one of the composition faculty at UWSP. These were a hit and almost stole the show from the actually larger works! We had also set the entire production as a radio-broadcast, with audience watching. 

3). Being human, being ourselves. I was out in Wisconsin immediately after taking my doctoral oral exam. And then I had to wait all day in O’Hare airport because of a poorly handled canceled flight and baggage detail. I made it to UWSP, just later than intended. My friend, my host and co-director, had offered his home very hospitably. That also meant late nights chatting, catching up, always with wine. I still don’t think I’ve recovered from this time, and my body certainly doesn’t want to go to bed when it should.

4). Native language of audience and cast. There is nothing like the immediacy of singing or hearing in your own language. I was also a fiend about clear text, and it paid off: M.M.’s parents visited from North Carolina for the performances, and they said they could understand everything. 

I am so grateful for this project, for the opportunity to music-direct, and for the trip and the time spent in a new place. 

Here is a link introducing the production. https://vimeo.com/90440940

PHOTO: Me with the “Jingle Girls.” 

 

Red for Music, Blue for Text

This is a post that I've been meaning to write for a while. I got this idea from a colleague with whom I worked in Italy (thank you, HH!) and have been working on how to implement it for quite some time. 

There are many schools of thought about how to mark a score. Mark everything. Mark nothing. Mark what you need. Mark what you think you will forget "next time." For an instrumentalist, fingerings and bowings are necessary. Singers - translation for sure (though many of them also write staging or technical suggestions - those scores look "interesting" and I've been privy to seeing a lot of them.)

But when I really starting using this method, everything became even more clear about intention, form, and expression. 

The other thing I've started doing (though I've been advising singers to do this for years) is to write out "all" of the text ..." then check for rhyme-scheme, structure, poetic form, assonance, alliteration, vocalic harmonization (a big fancy term for what kinds of vowels are adjacent to each other) ... then to re-implement what blueprint that has, against the text. 

I am attaching my text-anaylsis of the final trio from "Faust." This was part of Syracuse's recent "Nine Operas in Ninety Minutes" which I played and coached. 

Notice how Faust's lines rhyme with a lot of what Marguerite sings. They were in a love for a time, and he wants to be helpful to save her eternal soul. At another point, Faust and Memphisto have the same line, showing that they are / were in league together. 

Yet another level to notice is that Marguerite's vowels are bright and pure (she has a lot of [a] and [y] and [i] here). No coincidence, since she is enlisting leagues of angels to save her. 

I'm not going to pretend this isn't time-consuming, but what it shows cannot easily be discovered when the text is "on the page" amidst rhythms, an accompaniment, a vocal line, dynamics, and orchestra. In doing this, I have firmly adopted an adage of my own from my beloved colleague and mentor of sorts, Laura Brooks Rice (Westminster Choir College / CoOPERAtive program).

Tour de Musique

Greetings from a delicious day off! 

9-90 of the 2013 Syracuse Opera Resident Artists had a Triduum of performances this weekend. We went up to Watertown Friday night, Syracuse was Saturday, and my "hometown" - Rochester - was Sunday afternoon! Zheng had to work, but Aying came to the concert. She loved it! One of my Rochester "partners-in-crime," Connie, was also there,

Of special note yesterday was getting to play "Piangerò" on a harpsichord! The facilities manager at Hochstein asked me, "Why would you play *that?*" My response was, "This is more accurate for what Handel would have used than a piano!" 

I posted last week about the Champagne Tour and Tasting for the Barnes Foundation. You read about that by clicking 

http://songsoftravelditlow.blogspot.com/2013/09/tour-de-force-tour-de-champagne.html

This week has brought more outreach and getting out into the "community" of Central New York. It has been inspiring to do this. People are excited to see us (***) and it has been enjoyable seeing people at multiple events. It seems we have a "fan club."

(***) Two of the Resident Artists were asked to do "guerrilla opera" at various downtown Syracuse restaurants for a festival. At the bottom of their contract, it stated, 

"If anyone asks you to leave, do so immediately." Apparently that only happened once. I think it's incredibly funny. 

PHOTOS: Vanessa Finch took some great shots from the Champagne Tour. Thank you!

Tour de Force, Tour de Champagne

Last Saturday, one of the Resident Artists and I had a "job" - which was to entertain the donors at the Barnes Foundation Champagne Tasting. 

It makes me want to work very, VERY hard. These events are terrific and it is a motivation to work hard, and then be able to give back. There were all local Finger Lakes champagnes and local food pairings. 

And an oppulently decorated old historical mansion. 

It was neat to see the reaction that the audience had to hearing an operatically trained voice sing live. We don't get to see this as audience members with the stage-audience distance. But here, we could see their reaction right away. 

Had I had the camera with me, the pictures would be better. This is what I could sneak with the iPhone. 

Notes from Week 2

The fall weather is a reminder of why I love living and working in an area that has all four seasons. It's a little crisp. But perfect.

Last night was the Chinese "Moon Festival" and since I am becoming Chinese, we celebrated! We had a small gathering at our home with moon cakes, wine, tea, and friends. Zheng's and my friends got to meet Aying. 

Syracuse Opera did a run-out to Auburn, NY to perform at a rest home. The drive took us through Skaneatales, NY, a lovely village by the lake. (See the picture). We are back in Auburn tonight for a full performance of the Resident Artist show, "9 Operas in 90 Minutes." 

Speaking of Aying, Zheng's mother,  she arrived safely in Chicago non-stop from Beijing. Zheng went to Chicago to pick her up, and then they took an overnight train to Rochester. I saw them on Monday when I went home for my day off. When I've been home, we've enjoyed good visits and meals together. 

Also, Zheng has truly been "putting on the dog" for his mama, so some of the feasts have been epic. We've also been taking full advantage of the generous gifts from our bridal shower. 

PHOTOS: are from this week! Welcome Aying!

Gratitude, part 1

Since Monday was a "company day off" and Tuesday was a "we don't need you today" day off, I am writing from the "beginning" of Week 2 at Syracuse. We've had our first complete show of "9-90" and we had a performance today for the residents at a rest-home in Auburn. 

One of the best things I've heard about the audience, from the perspective of a conductor, was from our boss's friend (this friend is a stage director). The friend is being quoted as saying:

"In all of the shows that I direct, I never forget to be grateful to the audience. To really thank them. Because without them, I wouldn't have a job at all. And the weeks / months / years of preparation for projects wouldn't mean anything without people actually showing up."

So, I offer this post in sincerest gratitude of the audience. We would be nothing without them. I will continue to thank the audience to myself, and out loud, for every performance, for the rest of my life.

PHOTO: A sign inviting the audience to our first 9-90 concert, in Syracuse, NY.

Local Flavor

Hello from Syracuse!

I am thrilled to be starting work this week at Syracuse Opera (www.syracuseopera.com). I met my new boss(es) and colleagues on Monday morning. Our projects this week are: 

"9 Operas in 90 Minutes" (Opera Scenes) ... 

and getting settled into our new community. My "home" is only 90 minutes away, but it does seem far. Zheng came to visit yesterday, which I wholeheartedly appreciated. I loved spending time with him and introducing to a new place with new architecture.

We received a great "opening tour" and welcome package from the opera. We also received advice from our Music Director about getting adjusted to new places (he travels all the time for work):

1. Get out into the community!

2. Use urbanspoon.com (or the app on a smartphone).

It was great advice! I am enjoying getting to know this area better.

PHOTO: Our "Welcome Bag" from the Syracuse Opera. Thank you!