The WTOS - Opened, then Closed

Last week was Open Studio. A great chance for some opera supporters to sit in on some of the kinds of activities that the Studio Artists have been "enjoying" all summer. :)

I did an audition workshop, our Italian coach put them through recitative paces, our Directing Fellow did some touch-up work on the scenes program, and our dance guru showed us what he does to turn singers into dancers. And finally, on Saturday, the scenes performance. Really terrific - these folks have grown so much this summer.

We said goodbye on Sunday after L'Etoile, and things are a lot calmer around here this week. We miss you, guys! (But the peace and quiet is kinda nice...)

My Day Job

The last few days seem to have been spent on nothing but preparation for this year's audition tour. Getting the online interactive application up and running (thanks, Ben), and drafting the various web pages that are required to post the paper application and all of its instructions.

Exponentially harder this time because we're handling auditions for the Filene Young Artists and Studio Artists, as well as interviews and auditions for our Fellowships - administrative, coaching, and directing.

I'm completely in html and php mode, learning more about website management than I ever thought I would. Perhaps it's a marketable skill....

We will have all pages live by Monday. Start your journey at www.wolftrapopera.org/audition.

The Old Grey Mare

I took an ill-advised (in my enervated and exhausted state) quick road trip to my hometown in southern Pennsylvania on Sunday night after the L'Etoile matinee. Every 3 years, the town celebrates Old Home Week. Concerts, parades, reunions, picnics, tours... You get the picture. On the Sunday night that begins the week everyone gathers in the town square at midnight to sing "The Old Grey Mare (She Ain't What She Used To Be!)"

My memory is legendarily poor, so I do spend a lot of embarrassing time at events like this trying to convince people that the fact that I don't remember them doesn't mean anything except that I don't remember anything. Something that I've been obssessing about lately, actually, but more on that at a later date.

For now, into the home stretch with Flute and... thanks to the brilliance of Steve Blier... Manhattan Diaries!

Manhattan: The Agony and the Ecstasy

Manhattan Home Town..............................David Heneker
Way Out West...........................................Richard Rodgers
Ohio.........................................................Leonard Bernstein
What a Waste..........................................Leonard Bernstein

Neighborhoods

The pennycandystore beyond the El....Leonard Bernstein
Slumming on Park Avenue..............................Irving Berlin
Washington Square......................................Melville Gideon
What Shall We Remember?....................Ricky Ian Gordon
jimmie’s got a goil......................................... Marc Blitzstein
The Sheik of Avenue B......................................Harry Ruby
Taxi Duet...................................................Leonard Bernstein

The River and the Park

The Lordly Hudson............................................Ned Rorem
Recuerdo.............................................................John Musto
Monday Morning Blues...............................Marc Blitzstein
A Tree in the Park.....................................Richard Rodgers

Lonely Folk

Down in the Depths............................................Cole Porter
Lonely Town............................................Leonard Bernstein
Another Hundred People.......................Stephen Sondheim

The Essence of New York

What More Do I Need?.........................Stephen Sondheim
New York Lights.........................................William Bolcom
Litany.................................................................John Musto
I Happen to Like New York..............................Cole Porter