Operatic Ecstasies

I had breakfast with some friends today and the topic of favorite operas came up. I mentioned “Figaro,” which I do love but one friend started talking about all of the “bits and pieces” of operas that she loves. This got me thinking. . . my favorite bits of opera can’t be confined to one composer and definitely not to one opera. My favorites come in tiny moments of sound, little smudges of voice, and those brief, fleeting moments of compositional genius when the emotion mixed with the perfect combination of instruments, of harmony, of voice-types creates an instant physical reaction – that puts me in a sweat or a frenzy. Following are a few that come to mind:

The first one I always think of are those last few bars of Britten’s “Death in Venice.” That little final tremolo up in the stratosphere finally fading into nothingness as Aschenbach lay dying is so simple and so fleeting, but it hits me right in my gut and all the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.

I love the moment in Puccini’s “La Fanciulla Del West” when all of the miners, from their gruff recits at the beginning, break into the sweetest pianissimo waltz refrain. Singing only “la” over and over and clapping out the “2,3” they sing a sweet simple version of the waltz theme for Minnie and Dick until the orchestra takes over with the first satisfying swell of said theme indicating the moment that Minnie and Dick fall in love…Of course that swell is undercut almost immediately by a looming darkness as the male chorus comes back in under the waltz wailing “Allacio” (sp) – “Hang Him!” as one of Dick’s cronies is brought in. In that 45 seconds of music, Puccini shows us tentative flirtation, love’s bloom, and that horrible foreshadowing of a relationship’s demise. Brilliant.

The prayer in “Hansel und Gretel,” “ Abends, will ich schlafen gehn,” makes me burst into tears every time I hear it no matter where I am, what I’m doing, or who I’m with. Perfection in its brevity and its mixture of sadness and hopefulness.

“Akhnaten,” Philips Glass’s Egyptian Opera yields two moments in my aural memory – perhaps because it was my first opera and such an amazing experience for me. The first is the transition into the first scene where the narrator, speaking of a pharaoh’s passage to heaven after death, yells out “On the wind. ON THE WIND!” and like a lightning crash those drums begin smacking out that syncopated heartbeat of triumph laced with a bit of fear, a bit of grief… The second is the first strains of the “Hymn to the Aten,” which make my heart swell, and then when the chorus joins in towards the end of the hymn when that swell finally bursts.

The trio of Gilda/Maddalena/Sparafucile in “Rigoletto” always blows me away… There’s something about the build at the beginning with the three of them in their own private hells…it’s a maddening trek up the hill and oh, so satisfying as the trio actually begins with Sparafucile’s proclamation and that huge crash from the orchestra. Eventually, as everything breaks loose, their voices and torment couple with the orchestra to create the perfect storm. Verdi gives it time to warm up, however, which is where his genius comes in. Like a teasing lover, he leads the music nearly to climax, and then pulls back to nearly nothing . . . to three little knocks and a tiny scared voice, to confusion among the siblings as they recit for the final time . . . He does this twice until you’re twisting in your seat, waiting for that little death, and finally with that final vocal cutoff he unleashes an orchestral tempest that trumps all three swells. Fabulous.

“Pensieri Voi Mi Tormentate” from Handel’s “Agrippina” is Handel at his absolute best. He starts out following the ABA form we all know so well, but then jumps into a tortured recit and returns to the A form again for one final blow. My favorite, tiny, moment is the beginning of each A section when “Agrippina” wails out “Pensieri,” and the oboe echos her in that hollow, horrifying strain. Each return to the A allows her a more ornamented version of “Pensieri” and the oboe is right there with her, like a twisted musical representation of her tortured thoughts, boring right into her brain.

In a completely non-operatic piece, Reinhold Gliere’s other-worldly, off-tempo Charleston from his ballet “The Red Poppy” is horrifying and life-changing. It’s written as if Master Gliere had never actually heard a Charleston, only read about it. It’s got the right time signature, the rhythm and basic structure but it carries a sense of horror and dysfunction inside of its joviality that makes the whole thing a little mixed up and tragic.

Most recently, the moment that knocks me out is the death sequence in Carlson's "Anna Karenina" where a distraught, drugged Anna stands at the train tracks in a trance and sings out, "How bright it is," letting the word "bright" linger on a downward spiraling scale. Her despair is pervasive and horrifying in that moment.

And finally, coming back to “Figaro,” the moment that gives me goosebumps is at the very, very end when the Count pulls everyone on stage and starts to call out the Countess before he knows the joke. From right after she reveals herself to him and the violins start to go nuts and the guys start singing piano (under their breaths), “Oh my god, I can’t believe this,” until their final “non so” and that long fermata where you’re not quite sure what the Count’s going to do, I am in goose-pimply frenzy.

There are many more delicious moments but these are the ones that sit in the front, easily-accessible place in my mind. The more I work in this business, the more moments I will add to my storehouse.

Hooray 10,000!

So, sometime in the last two days I surpassed 10,000 hits. I just had to do a little happy dance and acknowledge this fact on my blog.

It's nice to be well-read.

And in a reflection of nothing at all, here's a little clip of the climax of "Anna Karenina" at Florida Grand Opera. I'm still not convinced by the "train" special effect in this moment, but Kelly Kaduce is FANTASTIC in the role. She is truly an artist to be reckoned with...

Anna Opened

"Anna Karenina," the new opera by David Carlson with a libretto by the late Colin Graham, opened last weekend. I actually had a seat in the house which was terrific and unexpected.

I love opening nights. There's a wonderful energy in the air that doesn't exist during the rest of the run. This is especially true for new productions, and even more so for world premieres, where this is the absolute first time that the public will be experiencing any aspect of the performance. Not only are the sets and costumes and direction new, but all of the notes and voices are too. The excitement (and nerves) that surround the fated evening permeate everyone's spirit as they walk into the theater.

I loved the show. I think the singers sounded and looked great! Kelly Kaduce is a terrific actress as well as vocalist and everyone looked beautiful in Neil Patel's giant, open set. I love knowing people in shows when I'm out in the audience. I felt so proud of everyone out there, having seen the hard work they put into the product and heard about the trials they went through to get this piece to stage.

At bows I burst into tears. Silly, perhaps, but the crowd was on its feet and roaring, stomping and cheering. It's an awesome sound and I know what it's like to realize all of that noise is for you. Your psyche can barely handle it sometimes.

The New York Times was there and gave a very favorable review, which is great publicity for Florida Grand as well as the opera itself, which is traveling directly to Opera Theatre St. Louis and then I think will go to Detroit.

New and young work is what excites me. There's something about being in on the creative process from the very, very beginning that opens up so many more possibilities. New productions are great because they allow the artistic team to reconceive the look and feel of the piece despite the familiarity of the music. But working with a new score altogether is the absolute tabula rasa. I hope I get to work on a new opera someday. The opportunities are few and far between, and shouldn't be...

The picture is from the New York Times of Kelly Kaduce and Robert Gierlach (who played Vronsky). The opera plays in Miami until May 13, and I would encourage you to see it if you're in Southern Florida. If you're in the St. Louis area, the opera runs from June 3rd through the 21st.

Support new work! It's the only thing that will truly keep this art form alive and kicking. Remember that every opera you see in every opera house in the world was a world premiere at one time in history, and needed the same support that new work needs today.

Here's a YouTube video of my friend, Liam Moran, singing "How Strange She Is Tonight," Karenin's aria from the first act. Enjoy.

Time to Go Home

My relationship with my husband right now consists of snapping open my little phone and dialing his cell phone number. After a while, conversations get harder on the phone. You need the one-on-one contact to truly express how you're feeling, to bring up new subjects, to have a real conversation.

It's time to go home. I can't be totally rootless anymore.

These are always the hardest times because the show is open and my only true work is every three days when I go to the theater to mind the show. All of that empty time can cause meltdowns which I have to work to keep from happening.

This is when I start pulling out upcoming projects to work on. I finally got my Gluck/Berlioz score from Glimmerglass so I've cracked that open, I'm working on a couple of independent projects that will hopefully manifest themselves into dance films like "Utazo," but they're in the most basic of planning stages right now.

I've also finally had the time to sit in on some more "Anna Karenina" rehearsals. I'm very excited to see it once all of the pieces have been put together, but I love watching it in the rough stages too. It's the reason I'm an artist instead of only an art supporter: the process is much more fascinating to me than the product.

Opera America is next weekend as well. I'm looking forward to that keeping me busy for a few days as well.

Busy, busy, busy. It's all about keeping busy.

Put It In Your Pocket

I saw the biggest meteor I've ever seen tonight as I drove home on the Dixie Highway. I was in the middle of downtown Miami, having just gotten off Interstate 95, so no stars were visible. Right in front of me this thick, white streak of light fell straight down from the top of my vision, burning brightly until it hit the horizon. I was almost ready to see an explosion at the other end, it fell so far and looked so massive.

John says it's good luck. I made a brief wish, so we'll see how that turns out.

I was coming back from observing "Anna Karenina" rehearsals in the echo-y Peacock Room at CCPA. This incredible new work by David Carlson (with a libretto by the late Colin Graham) is having its world premiere here during Opera America in two weeks. I've watched a couple of their rehearsals during this time I have off before remounting here in Miami. I always find it interesting to watch other directors work, especially on new work. I love the old standards, but watching a rehearsal where the composer is actually sitting in the room, where dialogue changes as the show goes up, where singers and conductors are creating roles for the very first time, well...that's just juicy and wonderful. I long to have the opportunity to work on a world premiere myself.

And in a more cynical light, there's something satisfying about sitting in on a rehearsal in which you have no responsibility whatsoever.

That all changes tomorrow morning.