Day Three of Staging

I started off today wonderfully - got up at 6am and ran five miles! I was still pretty sore from the previous day, but I knew I had to get my ass moving. And it made ALL the difference. I have felt really good all day.

In rehearsal we staged the quintet from the second act, and came together pretty easily. The Three Ladies are wearing these really, REALLY long veils and today was the first day that we got to work with them. They look totally amazing, but they are a serious pain in the ass the move around the stage with. Oy. I mean, working a veil is Opera Basics 101, but it's been a while since I've done it. I stepped on it a fair bit today.

Ooh, and for the finale, I get to brandish a sword! Them things are heavy! Please note checkerboard Vans.

I got a better photo of the dragon head. Pretty awesomely creepy

And I get my very own knee pads for all the kneeling, and those things are SAVING my knees and shins, I tell you what. Kneeling without fear! Or pain!

Topped off the day with a Skype session with Noodle, who I miss terribly. Only two and a half weeks until he gets here.

Second Day of Staging Rehearsals

Staging opera is exhausting. I'm saying that first because this post may be tired-sounding, and that is because I am tired, both brain and body.

We worked so meticulously and specifically today, on both the music and the staging. Every eighth note, every little rest, every little shift of hand position, every step. The Three Ladies are one of the few real ensembles in this show, the other being The Three Spirits, so we have to work together as a unit, especially musically, and then it can become so special. We got that a couple times today, when we all breathed exactly together and voiced the consonant exactly the same and had the exact same vowel. And when that happened, it sort of took our breath away and we saw what making amazing music together can really be. We feel it when it happens, and the conductor gets this huge smile on his face and we know, yeah, we got it. But it takes constant vigilance, as Carol says, always paying attention to every detail.

The staging is also very specific and I think will be amazing to watch when we really get it into our bodies and faces. When we co-ordinate the times that we are supposed to move in unison and differentiate those from the times that we are individual characters, it will be very exciting. We are getting there, and as of today we have a pretty firm foundation to build on over the next three weeks, and that is a very good place to be on the second day of staging.

I got to try on my costume today and I love it! The purple is just so, so gorgeous.

 The other two ladies are in royal blue and what I would call royal green, both dark shiny jewel-tone materials that are great. I also got fitted for my wig, but didn't get a photo with the hair actually on, so all you get is this wig-capped duck face.

I also got some photos of some of the props that will be used.

And then some pictures of the animal masks that will be used. This first one is the dragon head of the serpent that chases Tamino at the top of the show. Doesn't look so scary when lying on its side on the floor, huh?

And these are, I think, animals that he tames with the Magic Flute.

And this mofo is crazy, it's like a scary ass cross between the Magic Flute and Donnie Darko. Srsly creeps me out

Eesh.

I'm grateful to have the rest of the evening off. Not only to rest my body, but my mind needs time to really soak in what we are doing, process it, make sense of it. And that can only happen when there is a resting period and the brain can repair synapses and actually learn. Of course it will involve some TV. And it already involved some pizza. I can feel myself knowing the show better already!

Oh, and to make my day end wonderfully, I got a wonderful letter in the mail from Noodle. He is totally the awesomest ever and I love him so much. I am the luckiest.

First Day of Staging

Today we jump right into staging the beginning of Act I, woo-hoo! It will be interesting to see how much I remember. It sounds like Paul is going to put his own spin on some things, with Thad's blessing, which is really cool. But Paul also told me that he's probably going to keep the Three Ladies stuff pretty much as it was, and really focus on getting the Hindu poses and movements and postures. Can't wait!

Added later, after a full day of staging rehearsal

Oh. My. God. I am so tired. My knees and quads are on fire. The opening scene with the Three Ladies is so physical and very specifically choreographed. So the first few days of rehearsals are pretty grueling because you are doing the very physical things over and over and over. This staging has tons of up and down and up and down. In one performance, that is fine. Rehearsing it is exhausting.

BUT! It is such a pleasure to work with all these people, it really is. Paul is so wonderful. Tim Long, the conductor, is fabulous. All the other cast is really great - great performers and really nice people. That is a really important thing when you are with these people hours and hours a day. Oh, here's a shot of a model of the set - so you can see that in addition to running back and forth and getting up and down, we are doing it on an uneven rocky outcrop that is all jagged and multi-leveled. It rocks.

Tomorrow I get fitted for my costume and wig, I'm stoked! I know what it looks like, but it's such a gorgeous costume that I can't wait to put it on again. And it looks so good on me, too.

I took a little walk on dinner break tonight and saw some gorgeous views of the sunset. These photos don't really do it justice, but I'll post them anyway. In the first one, there is a cliff that is all red because there is copper in the soil, I think. In the sunset, it just looked amazing, like it was on fire.

First Morning in Salt Lake

Oh man, I had a dream right before I woke up this morning, that the company meet and greet was here at this hotel, THIS morning. Like, everyone came here to partake of the free coffee in the lobby and so we used that as a "get to know each other" kind of thing. Except I was in pajamas or something and was going, what the hell are all you people doing here?!

The first night in a hotel, or any new place, is always less than restful as you get used to the peculiarities of your space. I slept ok, but there are lots of different kinds of noises to get used to. Or maybe it's that it's mostly so quiet, compared to all the ambient noise in New York. But the bed and the room are pretty great. I think that tonight I will sleep long and hard.

The first point of business today is getting to the grocery store in order to make sure that I get started immediately eating good food and not having to resort to restaurants. Then if I can, try to hit the gym before heading over to the first rehearsal! So excited for it!

Added later - Oh wow, I forgot how good the grocery prices are here, sweet! And I saw this on Main Street today

Added still later - First rehearsal. It always feels really good to come back here, feels like a second home. I know everyone and they know me. Great to catch up. And I know where everything is.

This show is going to be really good. This cast is great, very strong all around. The tempos are really fast. I should have played around with tempos in my practice. The Three Ladies sound very good together. I forgot how singing the Third Lady can make you feel like your voice is small. You are working with two sopranos singing in the super sweet part of their range and you have to remember not to try to out-sing them at every turn.


I know I should love everything Mozart wrote. But I am not crazy about The Magic Flute. I know, I know, crucify me. But long slow aria after long slow aria, even when sung beautifully, can feel so tedious. There are some moments that I just love, tonight especially I remembered how much I love the duet with the two Armored Men, and there is a Priests chorus that is quite touching.

Got to see the layout of the set. I think the set it so fascinating and I would imagine the audience thinks so, too. Here is the rehearsal room flat of it, so we can rehearse accordingly.

I bonded a little with the other Two Ladies, which was great because I often have social anxiety. Both of them made it really easy for me and I think we talked pretty comfortably. Plus they offered to give me rides when I need them, which is GREAT because walking from the Production Studio at night is taking your life into your hands.

Oh, during rehearsal tonight, I realized that The Magic Flute was my first professional opera gig, almost 20 years ago! The opera company in Spokane did it in the summer of 1993 and I sang chorus in it. What a trip.

I have arrived in SLC!

Just a quick post because I'm starting to crash. I'm checked into my hotel, all unpacked. There is a paucity of dresser drawers here, which is a little weird, but otherwise, it's great.

The flight was uneventful, not much to say, really. It's very cold and very dry here. Tomorrow we have a meet and greet with the cast and company, and then a read-through of the whole show. I'm really looking forward to it.

Here is my welcome basket from the Guild - a couple of Kashi bars, some Ghiradelli squares, some crackers, a couple of clementines, really nice.

Leaving for the Lake today!

Ah, waking up in my glorious bed for the last time for four weeks! The other day I was trying to remember what it was like getting ready to split for one of these gigs when I was single and lived alone. I had to think about all different things - checking mail, getting bills paid - and I wasn't sad about being separated from my partner. My energy before leaving was quite different, I think, but I can't quite remember!

I'm ready to go, though. Music and dialog learned, bags packed, boarding pass printed. (Organizing travel for guest artists must have been a mega pain in the ass before the interwebs.)

I heard that SLC was getting a bunch of snow. Well, a couple of inches, but it was a good reminder that it's still totally winter there and I need to bring warm enough clothes and good shoes. I know, this is the boring stuff about getting ready for travel. I'll throw in a photo from the last Magic Flute to whet your appetite. This was the curtain call for opening night, and my dad's wife sneakily took this photo. Not too bad!

Leaving for Salt Lake City Tomorrow!

Leaving tomorrow. Super sad that Noodle is working for most of the day, but we'll have a nice dinner tonight. Got him some flowers. Ran five miles at the gym, since I won't want to go tomorrow and perhaps not Monday. Got my last few things from the drug store. Ran through the show. It's the calm before the storm, I guess. I'm glad there's spring training to listen to! Yay, Joe Castiglione!!

Added later:

All checked in for my flight! Wow, no turning back now!

Two Days Until I Leave

Today I got my last taste of Jewish food before leaving for Utah. Noodle and I had a fabulous lunch at The Hummus Place, and then I got some hamantaschen from Zabar's, since tomorrow is Purim. It appears that some Jewish delis have opened in Salt Lake City, but they seem limited to pastrami sammiches and matzoh ball soup. But baby steps! I'm glad these places have opened and I hope they have great success.

Speaking of all that decadent eating, I don't want to spend too much time on this blog talking about this, but a few weeks ago I decided to use this trip as a goal for getting my diet cleaned up, intensifying my workouts, and trying to lose a few pounds, and I succeeded on all accounts, so I am feeling really really great right now. Except for the fistfuls of hamantaschen that I've been eating today.

This is also the last day of working my part time job, which is cool. One last little chunk of change into the bank before being gone for a month. Oooh - and it's the first day of spring training games! So great to be listening to games again. Tomorrow my beloved Sox play, I hope it will be broadcast. I've missed Joe Castiglione!

What else, I should write something directly related to the show...practiced my part a few times today, packed a few more things in the suitcase, ate some hamantaschen....

Four Days to go

Today was more getting ready to go - colored my hair, paid some more bills, got the big suitcase out of the closet, did a ton of laundry. My to-do list is almost all crossed off, which is nice because tomorrow I have to work on the social part of being gone for a month, having lunch with a dear friend and dinner with the almost-in-laws.

I managed to fit in a practice session, ran through the show three times. Then I ran the dialog a couple of times with Noodle. It's so different from when we ran dialog for "The Sound of Music," that's for sure.

I realize that I'm going to miss the cooking that I can do for myself at home. I will manage, duh, but we make amazing coffee in the mornings. (Zabar's in a french press! Can't be beat.) And I make steel-cuts oats, which I think will not be possible in a hotel room. That's a drag because, for real, y'all, starting the day with a good breakfast is the reason I get out of bed in the morning. And tonight we made this amazing and simple pasta that rocked our worlds. I will have to remind myself how I eat well in a hotel. I have done it in the past, it can be done.

Noodle and I also got cranky with each other today, and it wasn't until way after the fact that he said, do you think we're both getting tense because you're leaving? Makes sense, and I'm sorry we got like that. I can see how easy it must be for couples who travel a lot to have real problems. But being aware of it is the first step to figuring out how you deal with it. We are good, great, in fact. But it's good to remember that factors that are not at the front of your consciousness can really change your mood and your behavior.

Found some photos from the 2006 Magic Flute at Utah Opera!

These costumes are positively gorgeous and I cannot wait to see them again! From left to right, Heidi Stober, First Lady, Jamie Van Eyck, Second Lady, and Jessica Bowers, Third Lady

Five Days Until I Leave for Salt Lake City

Today I kicked into high gear getting business taken care of before I leave New York. It's a good thing I'm the queen of making lists, otherwise how could I remember anything? (Seriously, people who don't make lists are denying themselves the nigh-carnal pleasure of crossing things off of lists.) Banking, prescriptions, taxes, bills - acting like an adult! It's for the birds, I tell you.

I also had a good practice session. Something interesting about doing a show I've done before - muscle memory can be a friend and a foe. I know that I know this music, and can pretty much sing it without thinking. But then when I actually DO think about it as I work my way through the score, I get in my own way and feel like I don't know certain phrases and start to doubt myself. But the idea of depending on muscle memory is disconcerting for me. And that's odd, right, being more sure of knowing it when I'm doing it peripherally than when I actually focus my brain on it. It takes a specific kind of focus to get past that. I'll let you know when I do, smirk.

Did I mention that Utah Opera treats their guest artists like gold? I found out the other day that they are housing me in one of my favorite hotels in the city. It's a boutique hotel, and in the past, the people I have known that they've housed there have been VIP-types, so I'm feeling pretty good about that.

Going to Utah in a week!

Welcome to my Magic Flute blog! In this series I will be talking about, promoting, posting photos, and more of my involvement in Utah Opera's production of "The Magic Flute."

http://www.utahopera.org/performances/the-magic-flute

I head to Salt Lake City in about a week, so I will be spending this week preparing the show, packing, and getting ready to be out of NYC for a month.

I did this same show, same production with Utah Opera, back in the winter of 2006. I've never had the opportunity to do a production for second time, so I'm interested to see exactly what that will mean. I love this production, it's Thaddeus Strassberger's production - set design, direction, I think costumes, and concept. Paul Pears was his assistant director last time, and he is taking over the direction this time. I have worked with both Thad and Paul on several occasions, so I know we are in good hands.

Looking forward to seeing all the crew and staff from Utah Opera - I was a young artist there many years ago, and have done mainstage work with them several times over the years, so it feels like a second home. I'm very comfortable and I know most of the people. And they treat me (and all their guest artists) like gold. I always feel like a princess while I'm there.