Così at the Backstage Buzz 6/16

As I attempt to channel James Lipton, I'll chat with with members of the cast and creative team this Tuesday afternoon, and we'll get to the heart of this Così  fan tutte thing.  

Why should I care about these people in this opera?  What challenges have Dorabella and Ferrando (the roles played by the two singers on the panel) posed to their creators? And seriously, what's up with this "disguise" plot device?  How did this Così end up in a laboratory? Are Mozart's music and da Ponte's libretto at odds with each other?  And who does end up with whom in the end?

We'll tackle all this and more.  Got a question for the panel?  Post it in the comments or email it to me, and I'll try to squeeze it in!  And if you're in the area and would like to attend, write us at wtoc@wolftrap.org.  Seating is limited.

We go into technical rehearsals in a few days, but until then I'll relish a few stolen hours on my porch.  It's perfect early summer weather in Virginia, but it's good that the low humidity and cool breezes only last so long. Otherwise I'd have to figure out a way to run an opera company from a wicker chair.  Or run an opera company that rehearses and performs here.  (Since I posted this idea on Facebook a few minutes ago, friends have begun suggesting a repertoire... Porch Song Trilogy... Porchy & Bess... and my own contribution, Porchis Godunov.)

06.11.09

Today is StageMan's birthday, and we started the day in style with bagels and a prop cake at the scene shop. Fabulous crew this year!

The Vocal Colors mini-recital charmed the socks off a capacity audience of Wolf Trap Foundation staff, WTOC members, donors, housing hosts, and representatives from our partner The Phillips Collection. (Above, Jamie Barton and Jeremy Frank introduce Daumier's The Strong Man to Big Sister Says ("Beauty Hurts!") by Libby Larsen and Kathryn Daniels.)

A glimpse into the rehearsal hall shows that we are well into the "garden" scene of Così.

And... our 2009 newsletter is now available for viewing and download! Go here.

That's it for now. Scene shop is already counting down the days!

Apple and Chagall

I've blogged before about my visual incompetency. I yearn to see with the detail and texture with which I hear. It's a lifelong quest.

Tomorrow I will sit in awe of two of our performing artists (mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and pianist Jeremy Frank) as they revel in a challenge to respond to paintings by Cézanne, Chagall, Daumier, Bonnard, Monet, Lawrence and Degas. They've chosen songs by Libby Larsen, Henri Duparc, Fiona Apple, Claude Debussy, Charles Ives, and Elton John; and they'll perform the music in front of projections of the artwork (courtesy of the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC.)

If you're a fan of ours in the Vienna, VA area, and you're interested in coming to this mini-recital at 1:00 pm tomorrow (Thursday, June 11), drop us an email at wtoc@wolftrap.org, and we'll reserve you a seat! (Reservations required)

(A fly-by visit to my office a few minutes ago reported that the Mark Chagall / Fiona Apple pairing is a marvelous thing:)

In the Rear-View Mirror

Last night's Road Trip! concert left me speechless.

The paradox of blogging is that the stories that defy description are the very ones that demand to be told. Tweets and posts don't feel like strong enough vessels to contain an evening filled with such beauty, humor, talent, and generosity of spirit.

The full house at The Barns was treated to twenty-two songs ranging from the batty (At the Mardi Gras)...

...to the heartbreaking (Haunted Heart)...



... the witty (A Summer in Ohio)...



... the jazzy (Sugar in the Cane)...



... and the... well... uh... indescribable (courtesy of Arizona Lady).


And of course, none of it would be thinkable without Steve Blier at the helm. Bravi, amici.

72 Hours Till the Rubber Meets the Road

Only about 20 tickets left for a witty, touching, and thoroughly entertaining Saturday night with Steve, Ava, Dominic, Jamie and Daniel.

To tide you over, sample some lyrics that await you at The Barns...

Ol' whiskey comes from ol' Kentucky,
Ain't the country lucky?
New Jersey gives us glue,
And you - you come from Rhode Island,
And little ol' Rhode Island is famous for you.

(Dietz & Schwartz)

All New York’s a stage,
And all its men and women are very bad actors.
How they rant and rage, for food and drink and money,
For those are the factors.
Out of the Bronx and Yonkers
Rushing to earn a wage –
He must be strong who conquers
On the Manhattan stage.

(Rodgers & Hart)

Yippi-yi, away out west in Jersey,
I declare these are the thoughts I thunk,
Yippi-Yi, if Jersey looks like this to me,
Either Jersey or me is drunk.

(Kurt Weill / Ogden Nash)

Nightmare, daymare,
Feelin’ older than the gray mare.
Lost my lover in the blue, blue grass.

(Dietz & Schwartz)

Can't get Indiana off my mind,
Anywhere I chance to roam;
The music on the Wabash that I left behind
Calls me back home.

(Hoagy Carmichael & Robert DeLeon)

I could have a mansion on the hill,
I could lease a villa in Seville,
But it wouldn't be as nice as a summer in Ohio
With a gay midget named Karl, playing Tevye and Porgy.

(Jason Robert Brown)

Song der Prärie...Lied der Prärie..
Horst du es klingen, ein Rauschen und Singen?
Ja, das ist der Ruf der Prärie!

(Uh..... "Song of the Prairie" from Kálmán's priceless Arizona Lady)

From east coast to west... in two hours. Ride along.

"On with the dance! Let joy be unconfined."

Studio Artists in their first day of dance with Susan Shields.

A magical morning in the woods.

Photo by Lee Anne Myslewski with her trusty (yes-I-am-jealous) iPhone.

Alfonso's Laboratory

Photos of scenic designer Erhard Rom's set model.

Costume Designer Mattie Ullrich presents sketches to the cast.

Little time to write today - dozens of new artists and staff, and lots to manage. Cosi cast is in the house, Steve Blier and his cast are making some seriously amazing music in preparation for Saturday's Road Trip recital, and the staff is already working overtime. We'll gain a little equilibrium in day or two, and I'll be back with a preview of Road Trip.