Once a week. I can do this.
Hello and welcome to Tenor Eleven Miles Away-- the Sunday at 4 a.m. edition. I just got my infant daughter back to sleep and now I ask myself (sorry about this), "Sleep, why dost thou leave me?"
At 4 a.m. a lot of thoughts go through your head. Today's thought was, why not start a list of my favorite things? I'll try to include blogs and new media, restaurants, locations, events or anything else that might be fun. It will be a pretty wide ranging list, so hang on tight!
This week's "? of the Week" is:
The Planet Money Podcast.
Boy, I love this podcast. I also love economics. Each time I listen to the podcast, I learn something new about the world. They have covered the global financial crisis, economics in Haiti and they are attempting to build a t-shirt from scratch.
Just when I thought the podcast couldn't get much better, I heard their podcast about the economic crisis in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I realized that I recognized the voice of Gordon Mann, the gentleman interviewed, who was doing the financial recovery plan and audit of the city. It turns out he was the one who interviewed me for an office/programmer position when I was an apprentice in Binghamton, New York.
At the time, he was working for a local State Senator and he was my second interviewer for a very nice job working for a local children's reading initiative. I remember him being vaguely reticent about hiring a semi-hippie opera singer, but to his credit, he looked past my quirks and hired me.
Incidentally, I'm still in touch my former boss, a dear friend. She and the Senator's office were happily surprised to hear about Gordon. As she said, "we're not really an NPR office, so thanks for the link."
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Literally Impossible?
Here I am, faced with learning the role of Nemorino in the Elixir of Love. I know the opera from my first year as an apprentice when I covered the role and now I get to take my first shot at singing it.
I started working on my "book." In the past, I have done operas and roles that were from a distinct time period or based on a historical record or perhaps based on an old romance novel (I'm looking at you Lucia di Lammermoor). There was always a wealth of leads to pursue as I mapped out my character.
Elixir seems to be a bit more of a cipher. One score says that it is set in an Italian Village and another says it is set in Basque Country. Both sources say that it is set at the end of the 18th Century.
One of the joys and challenges of the show is that, while the settings are noted, there is not much in the score's libretto that keeps the show strictly within that time period and location. I watched a couple of videos and read reviews and it seems like this show is set in all sorts of different ways.
And so I find myself at a crossroads: Do I simply try to map out my character without looking at time or place? Or do I look at the life of peasants in the Basque region at the end of the 18th Century?
Are there any tenors out there who read this blog? Have you performed the role before? What is your take? Did you do a traditional production or something avant guard?
If you have a moment, could you post your thoughts on the role below or on my Facebook page?
I started working on my "book." In the past, I have done operas and roles that were from a distinct time period or based on a historical record or perhaps based on an old romance novel (I'm looking at you Lucia di Lammermoor). There was always a wealth of leads to pursue as I mapped out my character.
Elixir seems to be a bit more of a cipher. One score says that it is set in an Italian Village and another says it is set in Basque Country. Both sources say that it is set at the end of the 18th Century.
One of the joys and challenges of the show is that, while the settings are noted, there is not much in the score's libretto that keeps the show strictly within that time period and location. I watched a couple of videos and read reviews and it seems like this show is set in all sorts of different ways.
And so I find myself at a crossroads: Do I simply try to map out my character without looking at time or place? Or do I look at the life of peasants in the Basque region at the end of the 18th Century?
Are there any tenors out there who read this blog? Have you performed the role before? What is your take? Did you do a traditional production or something avant guard?
If you have a moment, could you post your thoughts on the role below or on my Facebook page?
Monday, March 7, 2011
On Emotional Authenticity
I've started working on La Boheme. I'll be singing a concert with the last half of Act 1 and most of Act 3 this coming weekend.
La Boheme is one of the most popular operas in the world. My first opera experience was when I went to see a dress rehearsal of an Eastman School of Music production back in high school. I remember the opening of Act 3 and snow falling on the stage and the music and coming home from the show and convincing my father that I needed to see the show again. He acquiesed and took me to an evening performance.
After that, I found a VHS at the local public library with Pavarotti and Mirella Freni. I watched it quite a number of times. I loved the show but it never got me any further in studying opera. I always thought I was a Boheme fan, not an opera fan.
Fast forward to my junior year of college. I took my first Opera Workshop class and our first assignment was to sing an art song or aria while doing some sort of action. I tried to whittle a stick while singing a song from Die Schoene Muellerin. I remember being horrible at it.
After I sang my song, a colleague of mine got up and sang "Donde lieta" from Boheme. She put a bunch of her crumpled clothes a desk and opened a small duffel bag. The music started and she sang the aria and she slowly put her clothes into the bag. Just as she finished the aria, she found a framed photo at the bottom of the pile. She looked at it and delivered the last line, put the photo into the bag and zipped it up and walked away.
At that moment, I understood what power opera could have and, as I look back, it is a touchstone in my search for emotional truth as I work on my character development.
La Boheme is one of the most popular operas in the world. My first opera experience was when I went to see a dress rehearsal of an Eastman School of Music production back in high school. I remember the opening of Act 3 and snow falling on the stage and the music and coming home from the show and convincing my father that I needed to see the show again. He acquiesed and took me to an evening performance.
After that, I found a VHS at the local public library with Pavarotti and Mirella Freni. I watched it quite a number of times. I loved the show but it never got me any further in studying opera. I always thought I was a Boheme fan, not an opera fan.
Fast forward to my junior year of college. I took my first Opera Workshop class and our first assignment was to sing an art song or aria while doing some sort of action. I tried to whittle a stick while singing a song from Die Schoene Muellerin. I remember being horrible at it.
After I sang my song, a colleague of mine got up and sang "Donde lieta" from Boheme. She put a bunch of her crumpled clothes a desk and opened a small duffel bag. The music started and she sang the aria and she slowly put her clothes into the bag. Just as she finished the aria, she found a framed photo at the bottom of the pile. She looked at it and delivered the last line, put the photo into the bag and zipped it up and walked away.
At that moment, I understood what power opera could have and, as I look back, it is a touchstone in my search for emotional truth as I work on my character development.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)