Cinderella lives!

We've been anxiously awaiting this day, for it marks a turning point. The last 2 weeks have been full of the difficult work of changing our upcoming Cenerentola production into a concert staging. Ticket exchanges and refunds, donor notifications, disheartening calls to artists and staff. Today we began to rebuild. Director Garnett Bruce returned from Europe, and the effort turned in a positive direction. Cinderella in Concert.

Boheme in Concert last summer was a huge hit. We desperately missed the impact of a full scenic production, but surprisingly (at least to us), many of the audience members didn't. So, in the face of a programmatic change brought on by budget realities, we begin to build a new world for Cinderella. One in which the imaginations of the artists reach directly to the hearts and souls of the audience with the help of a few costumes and props. I'm tempted to go on and on, but this isn't the place or time. What's important is that the negative work is done, and now we can do what we do best.

It's all about the clothes

Full disclosure would require that I admit I know almost nothing about costumes. It's one of those areas where I pray that I hire the best designers for the job, for it would be disastrous were I to meddle with their work. Timm Burrow did a fabulous job on Sweeney, and now Beth Clancy (new to us this season) has brought us stunning sketches for Giovanni. Clothes that help singers redefine themselves onstage - costumes that bring new depth to their characterizations and new resolve to their confidence - well, that's a miracle.

Palate cleansing

That's what they say about Mozart. And all of those seemingly extreme metaphors are right. A cleansing of the palate. A refreshing spring shower. As much as I love all various and wonderful kinds of music, when you've been away from Mozart for a while, you have to admit that the coming home is pretty sweet.

It's such a treat to have Giovanni back where he belongs at The Barns. (Too long to go into here, but our larger venue, the Filene Center, is typically host to any of our operas that fall into the "Top Ten".) And unspeakably satisfying to hear it done by these particular voices.

The first day of rehearsal is full of optimism, trepidation, enthusiasm, fear, relief and anxiety. Like the first day at a new job. Only for a professional singer, the first day at a new job happens about every 6 weeks. (As a stage manager friend of mine reminded me, though, that means that if you can't tolerate your coworkers at least you don't have to wait for one of them to retire or quit!) We chose, as many companies do, to sing through most of the full opera on the first day. Exhausting, but illuminating. It helps the artistic team get to know the singers, and it makes clear the work that needs to be done. Word is that our (partial) run-through was a great success, though. (I have to take it on faith, for I spent the day in an organizational strategic planning session. Necessary and valuable, but, dare I say, not nearly as fulfilling as the Mozart would've been!)

Movin' on to Mozart

Final Sweeney. Great audience for my pre-show talk and for the show itself. Arrival of the rest of the summer’s company, chomping at the bit to start rehearsals tomorrow for Giovanni and the Murder & Mayhem NSO concert. Lots of transportation excitement; everyone finally arrived safely and delivered to local housing assignments. Lovely cast party. On to the next chapter in less than 12 hours.

Movin' on to Mozart

Final Sweeney. Great audience for my pre-show talk and for the show itself. Arrival of the rest of the summer’s company, chomping at the bit to start rehearsals tomorrow for Giovanni and the Murder & Mayhem NSO concert. Lots of transportation excitement; everyone finally arrived safely and delivered to local housing assignments. Lovely cast party. On to the next chapter in less than 12 hours.

A grown-up concert

Steve called it a “grown-up” concert. Tonight’s Latest Word recital. (See posts from earlier in the week for details). Complete with singers whose musical maturity exceeded our expectations and surprised even themselves, and an audience that was willing to dig deep and concentrate fully. The program presented some logistical challenges, performed as it was on the Sweeney Todd set. (Our theatre is too small to strike the set – no place to put it! – and tonight was the only possible date for this concert.) And the material was a little more demanding than usual, both for the artists and the audience. All great ingredients in a recipe for administrative panic. But no matter; it was intimate, unassuming, and quietly rewarding.

Photo by Danielle Chappell

The world of audience feedback

Bernstein and Gershwin with the NSO in the morning (gotta love those West Side Story dances!), and more Sondheim at night.

The range of patron responses to our little crossover experiment at The Barns is falling into four categories. 1) Love Sweeney and enjoyed the show; 2) Love Sweeney and hate what we’ve done with it; 3) Not fond of Sweeney but nevertheless captivated by our artists’ performances; and 4) No use for either the piece or our production.

None of this is surprising, but what is interesting is exactly who falls into which categories. There are musical theatre mavens who feel that we’ve done an injustice, but then there are those who think this “unplugged” Sweeney is one of the most powerful they’ve seen. There are longstanding and knowledgeable opera connoisseurs who surprise themselves by being drawn in by the power of this piece and the strength of these performances; conversely there are opera fans who feel betrayed by the presence of such a “fringe” work on our season calendar. It’s tempting to think that you can please everyone, but it’s not an option in the opera world, populated as it is by people with larger-than-life opinions.

Photo by Carol Pratt