Backstage Pt. 2

Last night was the final dress rehearsal with an invited student audience - it was very exciting to FINALLY be able to just sit back and watch it all happen. My job during the orchestra rehearsals is to take notes for the conductor and listen for balance between the stage and the pit. All was well last night - we are ready to open on Saturday!

At the first intermission last night we presented the kids with a special "half-time show" entitled "HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE AN OPERA?" Opera is definitely a team sport - and this team is especially large:

65 orchestral musicians, 1 conductor, 8 principal singers, 75 chorus members, 1 chorus master, 2 rehearsal pianists (including me!), 12 dancers, 2 choreographers, 4 stage managers, 32 performance crew including electricians/carpenters/flymen, 35 wardrobe and laundry crew, 14 wig and makeup crew, 45 opera staff members, 62 theater staff and ushers, plus countless other crew who repaired and painted the set, altered the costumes, auditioned the singers, printed the programs, raised the funds, sold the tickets.... all told over 545 people had a hand in putting on last night's performance.

Here's some more pictures of behind the scenes:

The carpenter's box including all the materials necessary for set changes, pyrotechnic effects, cleanup, and safety.






These are used to draw chalk lines to assist the crew in matching the set pieces correctly in the limited lighting. They also mark where the curtains hit the stage the performances can correctly position themselves when the curtains fly in.

This is known as the "upstage gazinta".... because is "goes into" the main stage "upstage of center".

This is the fire pit, where real flames shoot up during the final scene, which is a cantata in praise of the Philistine God "Dagon".

Backstage Pt. 1

Hello friends -

It has been harder to update this blog than I planned on... thanks for your patience. The internet in my hotel has been on the fritz most of my stay here so I'm grabbing a few minutes in the opera office before tonight's orchestra rehearsal.

Here is my view from the pit - my last playing day was Monday night for the piano dress!




Ready for your backstage tour? Strap on your seatbelts!

Here is the "cockpit" of the production, where all the buck stops, where the big mama in charge calls the shots - otherwise known as the Production Stage Manager's desk. Mary has live camera feed of the conductor (on the left) and of the stage (on the right) to keep track of everything as it happens. The top computer monitors different lighting instruments - the electricians use it to make sure no circuits will be overloaded.

On the desk you can see her copy of the score, from which she calls all the technical cues for the show. Her job is literally lights, cameras AND action! Any time you see a light turn on or off, a curtain open or close, or a piece of scenery move, it's because SHE has said it's time now. Imagine how chaotic the theater would be if ONE person were not in charge of how and when things happen, or if we had to stop and "discuss" everything in the middle of rehearsal. Mary is the best in the business at keeping everything on time, on budget, and (most of all) SAFE for all the crew and performers.

There are two Assistant Stage Managers who are in charge of the performing personnel - in particular, making sure they make their entrances at exactly the right place in the music, that the chorus lines up in the correct order offstage, that everyone is in the correct costume and with the correct props, and QUIET in the wings.

And speaking of props, this is Ned, the props manager and ONE of his THREE heavy-laden props carts. Anything that is not fastened to the set, he is responsible for. The Philistines and Hebrews all have weapons - you can see the spears, swords, knives, etc. - which Ned measures to fit the height of each chorus member. In Act III during the Bacchanale, everyone has a drinking goblet, which he decorated with gold spray paint and jewels - HOURS of work going into that. You can also see the flowers the dancers carry during the Act I scene celebrating the victory of the Hebrews led by Samnson. On the middle shelf are urns placed in the temple scene in Act III and the oversized goblets used by Delilah and the High Priest in the final scene. Ned also spent hours getting just the right combination of pillows for Delilah to lounge on during Act II, which takes place inside her house. They must be tall enough to sit on, firm enough to support both Samson and Delilah, soft enough to be comfortable but not so soft that the singers sink down too far, arranged in just the right order... lots of shopping and sewing there... Ned also has two assistants for this show.

I'll try to post again tomorrow the carpenter's cart and the flame thrower during the ballet. See you all soon!

Lots of People to Organize

Hello everyone!

Monday has been a long and involved day. First of all, the cast has finally all arrived - we've had one person arriving each day. I'll tell you more about each of them later. Tonight is the second "mob" rehearsal with chorus, supers, dancers, props, and music. With all of these PEOPLE to coordinate, the job of the stage director is so crucial, not just that they all know where to go, but also to develop the right attitude and the dramatic progression of the whole scene. In a few minutes we'll be starting to work on Act III, which includes the famous Bacchanale scene and a FABULOUS ballet. Because of the rules from the various unions I cannot take any photos of rehearsals in progress. However, I CAN show you the rehearsal hall.

It began as a long and narrow hotel ballroom. Then the crew laid wood flooring in the dimensions of the stage. On top of the wood floor pieces is laid a protective coating for the dancers called a Marley floor. Then on top of that, stage management lays lines of tape delineating different areas of the set, such as steps, walls, platforms, and doorways - in a different color for each act. The music stands and wooden posts have signs taped to them letting the cast know what they represent: columns, statues, fountains, etc.

We rehearse on this mock stage until Thursday when the set will be loaded into the theater and we'll move over there to the actual stage. To the left in this photo you can see the piano (my domain!) and the conductor's stand and beyond that the table where the stage director, assistant director, and stage manager sit during rehearsals. Mary Yankee Peters, the production stage manager, is walking the rehearsal stage in preparation for the arrival of the large cast, making sure everything is placed correctly, that the floor is clean and smooth, and that we will make efficient use of everyone's time tonight. The mirrors you see in the very back are placed during ballet rehearsals so the dancers can see themselves - they're offstage tonight with the warm-up barre behind them.

Keep checking back - I'll talk about more as we get into the theater and further along into the rehearsal process! I miss you all - K

Off and Running

Hello everybody!

After a couple of slow days, we've had a full day of rehearsal today on Samson and Delilah. Last night was the chorus music with the conductor. The chorus carries a lot of responsibility this season - they have three performances of Boris Godunov this week, plus they are memorizing and preparing to stage Samson, then the next show is Il Trovatore which also has a HUGE part for the chorus. Lots of notes and lots of words - in three different languages in this case!

Today has been a lot of high energy rehearsing. It's pretty exciting when an opera begins with a huge chorus of Hebrews, then Samson's aria inspires them all to go out and fight the Philistines, and so they take out the Philistine general Abimelech. We usually wait HOURS, through several acts of glorious music, for the diva to finally die of comsumption.... not here! We've got a murder right out of the starting gate!

I'll write more about the different elements of the show in future posts. If you have something specific you'd like to know about, please leave it as a comment so I can answer it on the blog!