Not long after, walking past the Teatro Colón, he noticed a sign in the window for a two-week course for the general public in opera directing. He enrolled, was thrilled with the experience and announced to his family, “Hey, I’m not going to be a doctor. I’m going to be an opera director.”
Mr. Condemi is directing La traviata in San Jose. We open tonight.
We’ve had our first week of opera rehearsals for La traviata. It’s so wonderful to have two orchestra only rehearsals this year, before we get together with the singers. I think it makes a huge difference. It appears that extra rehearsal is thanks to David Packard. So a very huge thank you to you, Mr. Packard! (Of course I don’t know if he’ll see this, but I did want to publicly thank him!)
I’m loving the music. No surprise, of course. It’s great fun to play and it’s wonderful to listen to. The singers sound pretty darn fabulous, too. Learn more here, and get your tickets here.
We have tomorrow off, and then start up again on Sunday, when the staged rehearsals begin.
… with touches of other things, including Traviata’s Sempre Libera. Starring Beverly Sills (although Miss Piggy probably disagrees):
You might recognize this soprano! I’d never heard of this series before, but it’s pretty funny. You get both Traviata and La fille du Regiment in under an hour.
… and saved money on hiring an orchestra.
“Libiamo ne’ lieti calici”
Oops … I shouldn’t suggest that. I’d be putting myself out of work!
This is faster than I’m used to hearing it, but here’s the oboe solo in La Traviata … and some soprano stuff to accompany the oboe:
Angela Gheorghiu is singing:
Today is our first orchestra rehearsal for Opera San José’s La Traviata. I don’t know that it will look like this, but here’s a sample of the music:
Drum roll …
The Pearl Fishers September 8, 9, 13, 15, 16, 18, 21, 23
Die Fledermaus November 10, 11, 15, 17, 18, 20, 23, 25
Il trovatore February 9, 10, 14, 16, 17, 19, 22, 24
Suor Angelica/Gianni Schicchi April 13, 14, 18, 20, 21, 23, 26, 28Time: All performances at 8 pm, except Sundays at 3 pm
Location: California Theatre, 345 South First Street between San Carlos and San Salvador streets, downtown San José
What a surprise to find this information (pdf) online already! I knew what the operas were to be, but knew nothing else. (I didn’t post anything here earlier, as I always wait until the season announcement has been made.) This is quite early to see Opera San José‘s season going public … makes it easier for me to figure out what San Francisco Opera series we can attend! Now to find out Symphony Silicon Valley dates.
… and for my colleagues who mostly wonder “Who is conducting what?” here you go: In this order: Anthony Quartuccio, David Rohrbaugh, David Rohrbaugh, Joseph Marcheso
It has been too long since we have given these beloved operas to the public – Bizet’s beautiful and exotic Pearl Fishers, Johann Strauss’ happy high jinx, a riveting, dramatic masterpiece of Verdi, and a double-bill of Puccini operas – one a poignantly sorrowful story, the other a sly comedy.” says General Director Irene Dalis. We will also welcome six new principal artists to our resident ensemble this season. I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate the 29th season, which I hope our audience will greatly enjoy.
Of course we still have two operas for THIS season! Next up is Traviata. We received our music nice and early and I’m looking forward to getting back into the pit!
… in a way you’ve never heard it before.
LA Opera is offering free Simon Boccanegra dress rehearsal tickets to people who want to go and tweet or do whatever it is they do online … and as tempting as that would be, I would find it terribly distracting to be doing anything with social media if I was really listening to an opera. Posting before, during intermissions, and after would work for me. But when I’m listening I prefer to keep my phone off.
I sound like a grumpy old lady, I know, but I fear we are losing the ability to focus on one thing and focus well. I sure know I am. When I “watch” TV, I have a the MacBook on my lap and I’m working on photos or looking things up. Sometimes a show will pass me by nearly completely before I realize it’s over and I don’t know what happened! Then again, I do justify watching TV by trying to do something a wee bit productive at the same time. Call me silly, but I feel guilty just watching the tube.
I am trying, though, to go back to focussing when I do other things.
When I first started walking I tried listening to music via the iPhone. What I found was that I got lost in the music and neglected to really see anything around me. So never mind listening when I’m walking. I want to see things! When I read a book music is off so I can pay attention to the words. And recently — gasp! — I decided to stop taking food photos because when I go out to dinner I really should just put the darn phone away. (We’ll see how I do on that, but now that I’ve publicly written this I’ll probably be a good girl and keep the phone in the purse). I need to do one thing at a time, for the most part.
Side Note: In music, though, it seems we are doing a ton of things at once … I suppose that’s the epitome of multi-tasking! Counting, listening, reading, fingering notes, watching, expressing, switching gears when something goes awry … the list goes on and on.
But back to LA Opera. Yeah, part of me is annoyed by the “tweet & listen” idea. But I wonder if I’d have applied if I lived closer and was able to get to the event. Hmmm. I’ll bet I’d cave and apply! I’m fickle that way.
The Washington National Opera’s merger with the Kennedy Center is appearing to pay dividends. The company announced on Tuesday that it would present the complete Wagner “Ring” cycle that it had commissioned with the San Francisco Opera but suspended because of money problems. The Washington company, whose merger with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was announced a year ago, ended up presenting the final installment, “Götterdämmerung,” only in a concert performance in 2009 after individual productions of the first three operas in previous seasons. It had halted plans for a presentation of the complete cycle, which San Francisco staged last June.
Now, the Washington National Opera said it would present three cycles in 2016, although company officials added that it must still raise $10 million, a task made easier by having access to the Kennedy Center’s donor list.
I read that here, and have seen it in a multitude of other places online as well.
So tempted ….
We finished up The Gift of the Magi tonight. What a fantastic time this was! I enjoyed working with all the musicians — both singers and instrumentalists. I really loved the music. And you simply can’t beat this location! The people who work here at Hidden Valley are wonderfully gracious too … so it was just an all around incredible time. Tonight will be my final night here, and then I head back home. Aside from playing for a Christmas Eve service I have nothing scheduled until my students return and Symphony Silicon Valley starts up in January.
Here are a few photos from the theater, and of course Mr. Nut did make an appearance!
Comfy chairs for the audience … at least they look comfy to me!:
View from the pit:
The stage:
Mr. Nut:
In case you are curious who is singing here …
Aimée Puentes is Della, Gregory Gerbrandt is Jim, Lisa van der Ploeg is Maggie, and Krassen Karagiozov is Henry
Side note: Aimée sang with Opera San José a while back (I still remember her lovely singing in Carmen) and Krassen is still with the company.
The opera is directed by Robert Darling, and Stewart Robertson is conducting.
We have two performances to do today, and two tomorrow. Then it’s back home to reality. This has been a sort of magical week for me, being in such a beautiful location to play gorgeous music!
Opera singers … they astound me … and they sometimes have to deal with dangerous situations. I’ll stay seated in my little chair, thank you very much.
Officials at New York’s Metropolitan Opera say mezzo-soprano Wendy White was recovering Sunday from an 8-foot fall during a performance.
White was taken to a Manhattan hospital Saturday night after tumbling from a platform above the famed Met stage while singing the role of Marthe in “Faust.”
I read it here.
More information. It appears she is okay.
The perils of singing opera, I guess.
People who read this blog probably already know I’m rather obsessive compulsive. Thus, the daily “QODS” here (aside from Sundays) and, excluding the month of December, the daily scheduled things like ACappelaTuesday™ and WorldReeds™. It should come as no surprise, then, that I’m equally obsessive when it comes to work. If I’ve been hired to do a new opera you can bet I’ve googled the composer and the work. If I’m working with musicians who are new to me I google them as well. (Sorry, everyone, I am not a stalker … just insane in other ways!)
I don’t really understand going into something not knowing anything about a work. I like to know the background. I like to know the story and the music … to wrap my ears and brain around the “all of it” whenever possible. In this case I already knew the sweet story, but had never heard the opera. Thus, finding these YouTube videos was handy. I also borrowed a copy of the CD that Ensemble Parallele did, many thanks to Nicole Paiement. (I would have purchased it, but I couldn’t manage to find an available copy.) I listen to the CD while following my part so I know where the solos are, as they aren’t always marked. I just don’t like those kinds of surprises!
I realize some people like to go into things without any knowledge of the work. I’ve heard some say they don’t want to lose their own “voice” by hearing someone else. I don’t go for that. I’m still who I am, and I’ll still play the way I play. To each her own, yes?
I didn’t want to put anything up here before we began this opera, mostly so I didn’t drive you all crazy and partly because I was unsure about how I would deal with this new adventure and I’m wimpy that way. But now that it’s begun, and I’m comfortable with what I’m doing, I’ll put up a few videos you can see and hear from another production. (No, I won’t be sending you on visits to other musician’s blogs … unless they ask me to put them up here, and since I doubt any of them read this silly blog ‘o mine I am guessing that won’t happen). These are from the composer’s YouTube page.
Music by David Conte
Libretto by Nicholas Giardini
Marnie Breckenridge; soprano
Andrew Garland; baritone
Trinity Lyric Opera; John Kendall Bailey, conductor
Opening scene: Jim and Della:
The mezzo-soprano, Lisa van der Ploeg, is singing the role in our production as well:
Della’s Aria:
Jim’s soliloquy:
Final scene:
But hey … if you are in the area just come to the opera! Honestly, the venue is fabulous, the music is lovely, and the singers sound beautiful.
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