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.