# Who here has personally been involved with opera (performing, production, etc)?



## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

I've been absent from the forum for a long while due to illness and now I'm getting my feet wet again, so this thread query was posted by me several years ago. Anyway...

Who here has actually been involved with opera, via singing, orchestra, production, other aspects? Share your experiences, and we may also have some funny stories to share, too.

I grew up singing in a "high church" Episcopal choir, and from that I developed a love for classical music. Singing as a kid soprano I learned to sight read by a fairly early age (8-9) and was singing Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Handel, etc. My parents weren't classical fans so I'm "self taught" but stocked up on classical LPs from the start.

I later matured into a decent amateur baritone and a pal recommended that I try out for a choral society. I did that and sang concert works, mostly liturgical, for several years. Then I got "hooked" and tried out for chorus of a local small opera company here in Houston. The company only performs 4 operas per season, all public domain, but they are genuine stage productions, original language, sets, costumes, etc, just on a tight budget.

Immediately I began professional lessons and studied voice for 2+ years, 2 lessons per week. My baritone developed into a pretty good semi-pro bass-baritone, I had a decent stage presence, studied my choral roles hard, and despite working full time in a demanding engineering consulting job (I've got a degree in chemistry, minor in math, worked in engineering/sciences all my life), i was able to perform in this local small company.

Eventually I got a couple of comprimario roles, my "biggest" being Antonio the drunken gardener in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, also one of my 3-4 fave operas. I was in hog heaven and loved it.

Eventually my degenerative arthritis prevented me from performing onstage, so I began to sing choral society music again, stuff like Mozart's Requiem, Carmina Burana, Verdi Requiem, etc. I've also sung for weddings and anniversary parties (I have a decent stock of Broadway classics, Some Enchanted Evening, Sunrise Sunset, etc).

I really enjoyed the very very difficult job of singing in legitimate operas the best, though. For those who have been opera performers, you can appreciate this... you've got to wear an ill-fitting costume, makeup, endure hot stage conditions, remember your part, keep props in hand as needed, enter and exit correctly, sing to the right person, etc. Hardest is the "back and forth" chatter such as I experienced as Antonio in Act 2 of Marriage, quick cuts from the Count, Antonio, Figaro, etc. You mess up and nobody's there to save you. Whew. But I loved it.

How about you? Whom among you has performed onstage, been in an orchestra, or otherwise involved in opera production?


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

One funny story to start... In Nozze (Marriage of Figaro), Act 4 finale, the Count has several toadies to help him seize Figaro when he yells for help, "Arme Arme!" and Antonio (me), Bartolo, and others rush onstage and grab Figaro. Immediately there's some very fast patter between the Count, Figaro, and the "posse" baritones, basses, and tenors.

Well, I really got a rush from performing, so I'd often hang out in the wings (keeping out of the way of course) instead of sitting in the dressing room. So during opening night for Nozze, I was in place in the wings way ahead of time, enjoying Figaro's Act 4 aria and such. Then the cue from the Count, and nobody else was there but me! My other pals (Bartolo,etc) were still in the dressing room, playing bridge! So I "rushed out" alone and grabbed Figaro and "held" him from escaping (funny, an older stocky Antonio restraining a young athletic Figaro, ha ha). And during the patter, only the Count, Figaro, and I were singing. If you view that scene on a DVD or read the score, you'll see that, due to the absence of other cast, there were big gaps in the singing!

My pals soon showed up, right on the heels of the "discovery" of the hiding principals (Countess, Susanna, Cherubino), so we had some singers entering stage right (latecomers) and stage left (on correct cue).

After the opera, Maestro blew his cork in the dressing room, cussed out the missing cast. They were really embarrassed and were on cue from then onward.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Another story, more poignant... We performed Rigoletto and I was in the chorus. The gal I was dating at the time sang the 2nd cast role of Gilda (primary cast performed most nights, backup cast on Sunday, etc).

At the finale, when Gilda is discovered, dying, by Rigoletto, I'd be watching from the wings. And each night, I was driven to tears -- the scene is of course one of the strongest in all of opera anyway, but when your romantic interest is expiring, well...

So during curtain calls for those performances, I'd have streaky makeup and be all teary while taking bows.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

katdad said:


> I really enjoyed the very very difficult job of singing in legitimate operas the best, though. For those who have been opera performers, you can appreciate this... you've got to wear an ill-fitting costume, makeup, endure hot stage conditions, remember your part, keep props in hand as needed, enter and exit correctly, sing to the right person, etc. Hardest is the "back and forth" chatter such as I experienced as Antonio in Act 2 of Marriage, quick cuts from the Count, Antonio, Figaro, etc. You mess up and nobody's there to save you. Whew. But I loved it.


good to hear you're feeling better, k 

you don't "know" me, as I've just recently joined, but I read your previous thread with a lot of interest and chuckles, so I'm really glad you're back and willing to share your opera stories :tiphat: _now_ I wish I'd taken the chance I had about 15 years ago to work in production but, alas, I had 0 interest in opera back then. Such is life... moving on.

if you don't mind, there are some backstage things I'm curious about:

1. you're saying the costumes are ill-fitting - is this because of budget constraints? one size fits all?

2. hot stage - is it really hot? I know from a previous job in TV that, in that case, stage lights are quite bothersome (you end up visibly sweating, hence makeup comes during adverts to "adjust you"). Is it the same situation on the opera stage?

3. props - are you supposed to manage your props yourself, or is there somebody who hands them to you as you're about to enter?


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Good questions, deg... 1- costumes are ill-fitting mostly due to budget. I sang for a small company and they did their best but having the chorus fitted in great costumes just wan't on the menu. 2- likewise due to budget, the building AC (this is Houston, realize) is directed more to the audience, who pays, rather than the stage, filled with people who get paid, ha ha. And as you say, stage lights are hot. 3- Again, a budgeted performance, you're given the prop early into dress rehearsals and you're expected to deal with it yourself all through performances (usually about 5-6 performances per opera). Large props are stowed in the dressing room area but small stuff like Cherubino's "draft notice" might be kept in your tote bag.

Of course, for larger opera companies, there are prop people who keep all that stuff and hand it to the singer before going onstage. Just like makeup... in our small company, you did your own makeup and were expected to buy a small supply and learn how to apply it. By the way, "Ben Nye" is what most everyone uses, all hypoallergenic and the most famous name in stage makeup. One keen Ben Nye product is the Halloween "kits" they sell: For like 10-12 bucks, you can choose off a rack small packages of makeup for things like ghost, zombie, pirate, demon, etc. This is all in a bubble pack, enough for 1-2 uses, containing the needed special makeup (scar, blood, fangs, etc). Sold at costume shops and can be found at large stores during Halloween. Ben Nye is the best!

True story: When we did Don Giovanni, my pal who was singing the part of Commendatore, who later becomes the statue, got costumed in a sort of "zombie" affair as the statue. This included large bony skeleton feet that fit over the Nikes you'd wear beneath. My pal took to wearing them around all the place. Now, the Commendatore appears as a living person at the start of the opera, then isn't seen till the finale. That means lots of dead time. So my pal got into the habit of jumping in his car and driving down to the local tavern for a few beers in between. If you know the opera, the Commendatore makes a voice-only appearance (part sung offstage) in the graveyard scene about 2/3 through the opera. My buddy was missing in action and at the bar drinking beer and missed his cue. The manager of the production grabbed me from the dressing room, stuck the score into my hands, and had me stand offstage and sing "Si!" because I also had a pretty good deep voice. My pal wasn't asked back to perform any more roles after that. He knew this and in the final performance, he appeared as the "ghost statue" wearing his big skeleton feet backwards, left rubber foot switched to right, and vice versa. It was all we could do to not laugh onstage.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Of course we all help each other with makeup and costumes, the experienced people teaching the novice. We also learn traditions...

You know how in acting, you say "Break a leg" because it's bad luck to wish someone "Good luck!" just before they go onstage? Well, opera has its own saying, "In bocca al lupo!" (into the mouth of the wolf), to which you reply, "Crepe lupo!" (crush the wolf). Most commentary and info for opera is in Italian (even if the opera's in English or another language), just like the "stage language" for ballet is French. Tradition.

Before going onstage, it's also good luck to touch iron. Some performers (including Placido Domingo) look for a bent nail (sticking out of scenery supports behind the audience view) to touch. Many opera companies intentionally drive a nail halfway into some handy support beam about head high, then bend the nail over, and have this offstage at each entrance. That way you've always got "iron" to touch, plus the bent nail.

Another tradition in opera, which I don't know if it's the same for other theater, is that it's bad luck to "count the house", that is, to sneak a peek through the curtain to see how full the audience is before the production begins.

And universal in stagework, all over the world, is the bad luck brought on by saying the word "Macbeth" backstage. The only time that's allowed is if you're actually doing the play itself and it's part of your dialogue or such. But otherwise it's bad luck. One Saturday during early rehearsals, some of us were chatting in the dressing room, and one of the chorus singers happened to say "Macbeth". Well, she had to leave the room, turn around in the hallway 3 times, knock 3 times on the door, and ask 3 times for permission to re-enter.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

I love your stories of MIA cast! although I'm not sure if I loved them were I part of the public. I've heard allegations that sometimes singers miss their cue or, worse, lose their voice mid-scene and helpful friends from the cast fill in with the appropriate lines. I guess no one would fault the Commendatore for sounding a bit different from beyond the grave 

the bit about your colleague partying away at the alehouse while DG was rolling reminded me of that YT video of the drunken Carmen. Have you encountered a similar situation?


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

As a horn player, I frequently performed operas with the Long Island opera, where I was prinicpal horn, and several other local companies . Amonmg the operas I've played are Aida, La Traviata,
La Boheme, Tosca, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Carmen, Norma, Don Pasquale , LElisir D'Amore,
etc.


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

I played in the orchestra for a local production of Carmen several years ago. The through-composed nature of the score was a real eye opener and a challenge compared to concert works. My big moment was my "duet" with Carmen, playing the bugle call beckoning Don Jose back to the barracks while she enticed him with her seductive song and castinets.

With a better half who is an aspiring opera singer, I get the inside story on productions and cast, as well as nightly serenades - last night it was _Questa o quella_ among other tunes.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Cavaradossi said:


> as well as nightly serenades - last night it was _Questa o quella_ among other tunes.


That's what I want. Peter Mattei, are you listening?


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

deggial said:


> the bit about your colleague partying away at the alehouse while DG was rolling reminded me of that YT video of the drunken Carmen. Have you encountered a similar situation?


Well, the guy who sung Commendatore wasn't exactly judge-sober in the Giovanni finale, though he did sing okay. I've seen a few pals get stoned outside the theater, sharing a joint, then getting onstage with some difficulty. Non-"weed" people in the cast were unable to realize why the confusion, as the behavior was different from someone who'd been hitting the sauce.

But it doesn't take drugs or booze to forget your lines. I did that in Act 3 of Nozze, halfway through the scene where I "discover" Cherubino made up like one of the village girls. I went totally blank and simply didn't remember my last few lines. Nothing could be done, just a small gap in the singing. Nobody in the audience said anything. It happens to anyone. Big pro houses of course have those little shielded pits where prompters sit to help, but we didn't have that luxury, so I hung myself out to dry that evening. All the other performances, I was spot on, and okay in Act 4 too. Just one temporary brain fade.

It's damn hard, singing opera, one of the most complex artistic endeavors there can be, where you have to remember your lines, your notes, your cues, your props, whom to sing to, where to stand, lots of things to go wrong.

Oh, yeah, one more little piece of trivia... Anybody who's ever acted or otherwise performed in a stage production knows that the production staff mark out locations by various colors of construction tape. They'll use, say, black tape to indicate where to place the legs of a sofa, chair, bed, etc. They'll use red, yellow, blue, and other colors to mark where you're supposed to stand. In stageplay, it's called "marks" but in opera, it's called "spikes" (I don't know why, probably something in an Italian translation.) Anyway, for new singers, you tell them "Don't trip over your spikes onstage" and they're looking for some physical obstruction onstage till they learn that spikes are simply pieces of colored tape.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Horn and other instrumentalists, I'm always pleased at the beauty of opera scores, even minus the voices. Mozart and others spared nothing at all when composing opera orchestral music, and it's wonderful to listen to by itself. And can be quite difficult, equal in challenge to a symphony.

Most stunning score for a major famous opera has to be Rigoletto, I think, so dramatic and intense. Not that this makes it any more difficult than a lyrical, tuneful score, but the impact is greater, or so it seems to me. That short, nasty intro sets the tone.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

If you're singing chorus, it's a bit less horrible if your forget your lines, because you've got 2-3 others in the same voice who are standing beside you, also in the chorus. A solo role, not matter how small (eg, comprimario), you're on your own.

As I said, I was working full time in an engineering job at the time, so I would really study my roles hard every spare minute, and I'd play the CD of the opera while driving, on headphones at work, and at home. I'd prep by making a personal translation of the score, correcting the English translation printed in the Schirmer scorebooks -- the "Martin" (man & wife) translations are especially misleading, because they're rhyming in English but aren't word-for-word translation from the Italian or French or whatever. Myself I speak a little German but otherwise only acquired French and Italian by osmosis in reading scores. Anyway, I'd make the translation personally via dictionary, then I'd peck out the notes on a small portable keyboard unit, accompany myself while practicing. Naturally part of my vocal lessons involved my singing the role to my teacher, and we'd have rehearsals of course. But rehearsals won't learn the part for you, only firm up what you've already learned by yourself. So I'd be driving along the street, singing loudly along with the CD, enduring stares from other motorists.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Another funny true story... we were doing Don Pasquale, and I was singing the role of the Don's butler (mostly a chorus role and some of it non-singing). By chance, a pal of mine was singing Pasquale, and he happened to be a black guy. 

One Saturday afternoon we were walking through our positions onstage for Act 1, early in the rehearsals, very casually, and we were "singing" our parts "sotto voce" That's where you sing very softly and skip long sections, also skip high or low notes, because you're not rehearsing the singing itself, but the stagecraft part of your role, and the music is just guiding you along as you move onstage.

Anyway, my pal wanted to look up a section in his Act 1 part, looked around for his score, didn't see it but saw mine on a side table, and said "Sam, could I see your score? I left mine down in my backpack" so I handed him the score.

Well, he glanced through the section he wanted to review, nodded to himself, and then he turned to the title pages of Don Pasquale, pointed to the "cast" page, where it said things like "Don Pasquale: tenor" and pointed to it, said to me, "Look what it says here... 'Ain't no n---- gonna sing Pasquale no time, nohow' ", then handed me back the score and said "Guess I can go home then" and pretended to walk off the stage in anger.

It took about 3 seconds before I and those who heard him exploded in laughter.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Another story... As you know, operas are often reset into other eras or timelines. Sometimes they succeed (such as the new Met Rigoletto reset into '50s mob-controlled Vegas), sometimes fall flat.

One of our productions where I sang chorus was Don Giovanni, which was reset into early 20th century Mexico, during the revolution. Giovanni was therefore a corrupt land baron and the chorus were rebelling peasants. And in the finale, instead of Giovanni being dragged down to hell by demons (chorus), in this production he was stood up against a wall and shot by the chorus via stage rifles.

Well, during our last rehearsals for Giovanni, all the chorus showed up wearing T-shirts that proclaimed "I Shot Don Giovanni". I've still got mine, a keepsake for sure.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

katdad said:


> Well, the guy who sung Commendatore wasn't exactly judge-sober in the Giovanni finale, though he did sing okay. I've seen a few pals get stoned outside the theater, sharing a joint, then getting onstage with some difficulty. Non-"weed" people in the cast were unable to realize why the confusion, as the behavior was different from someone who'd been hitting the sauce.
> 
> But it doesn't take drugs or booze to forget your lines. I did that in Act 3 of Nozze, halfway through the scene where I "discover" Cherubino made up like one of the village girls. I went totally blank and simply didn't remember my last few lines. Nothing could be done, just a small gap in the singing.


is it not possible to just vocalize? I mean some singers are hard to understand even when they remember their lines 

listen, there's this question I've always wondered about and I just remembered: when you're on stage and you're singing a duet, or, in any case, at some point another singer is singing specifically to you, doesn't it get a bit uncomfortable if the other singer has a big voice? I always thought you'd be deafened by a singer with a big voice singing right at you.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Good questions...

When you say "vocalize" I'm guessing that you mean that I might have filled the gaps by singing melodic phrases? Well, to tell the truth, I was so frozen with frustration that I couldn't have sung "do, re, mi" if my life depended on it.

Incidentally, this was recommended to me by our rehearsal conductor when I was just starting out in the chorus. "What if we forget our lines?" someone asked. "You won't, we'll practice a lot," she replied. "But still, what if we forget?" "In that case," she said, "sing *something* Italian!" which brought a laugh.

But at the time I was mortified and all I could think was "help help" in a very small inner voice. Sigh.

Re. someone with a loud voice, no, it's no problem. First of all, singers don't actually stand face-to-face. Instead, if you look carefully, they turn their heads a bit toward the audience. That helps the voice project toward the house, and also prevents, er, spitting on your loved one a few inches away.

But even if the singer faces you, it's not very loud, really, and it's something that you get used to. In truth, what sounds mortify you is when someone onstage drops a sword or other prop, or a stage door slams unplanned. The audience scarcely notices if ever, unless it's a catastrophic set collapse, but singers onstage are attuned to any anomaly and are hypersensitive to anything out of the expected realm. That's just human.

While on the subject, what do you do if, say, a door sticks or something breaks onstage? Well, you just carry on and improvise if necessary. When doing Nozze (Marriage of Figaro) we had the whole stage left** "haunted". Now, nobody there actually believed in ghosts per se, and nobody admitted to having genuine superstition, but it did seem that the entire left side of the stage was subject to physical problems. We had 2 doors, stage right was a decorative double door and stage left, a single "regular" door. All these were cheap discount type doors hung with minimal hardware, just stuck inside the plywood frame of the set.

(** stage direction glossary: stage left is on the performer's left when facing the audience, and is therefore "audience" right, that is, to the right if you're sitting in the audience. Upstage means moving closer to the lip of the stage, toward the audience. Downstage means moving further from the audience.)

Well, that darned single door kept getting stuck. One dress rehearsal, it was the Nozze Act 4 door where Cherubino, Susanna, and others were "hiding" but when they were supposed to re-appear, the door wouldn't open. Since this was just rehearsal, the singers pounded on the door and pushed, but nothing. So they just scooted around the end of the set upstage. But during one performance, same thing, and no pounding, instead they knew what to do and just ran around the edge of the set.

At other times that door would simply open of its own accord. This happened during one performance and it revealed Dr. Bartolo, in costume, but studying his score before making his entrance. The singer didn't notice the door opening behind him.

Door got checked maybe a dozen times by the set carpenters but it never behaved. And realize this is a simple, cheap hinged door installed in a plywood frame with minimal latching or other goodies.

Another time, a table on stage left collapsed suddenly, spilling a vase of plastic flowers and making a big rattle. Susanna (the woman singing the role) instantly righted the table and put the flowers back without missing a note. Great recovery.

Nobody ever figured out what was happening.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Incidentally, if two singers are singing to one another, if one singer's trying to "upstage" the other, the singer'll move more toward the audience so as to grab attention. An old acting saying "He played the whole scene with one foot in the footlights."

Stage directors notice this and admonish the performer. I've never seen the upstaging done intentionally, but it does happen accidentally, if you miss your "spikes" (tape strips on the floor to show where to stand) and the director will mention this during rehearsal. When singing or acting, you usually want all cast to be somewhat in alignment side to side across the stage, at least as much as possible and still maintain a degree of verisimilitude. Naturally, at times, the actor/singer intentionally needs to move upstage or downstage.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

A word about rehearsals... In opera, you've got 2 kinds of things going on, singing and acting simultaneously. You don't rehearse both at the same time, however, until the final stages of preparation. Instead, you do vocal and stagework separately.

You get together in the rehearsal hall or wherever there's a piano, and the principal or assistant stage conductor takes you through the vocal parts. Naturally, you're expected to have memorized your part prior to beginning rehearsal. That in fact is stipulated in your contract! The only exception is chorus, which is "recommended" to learn the part ahead of time but not required before rehearsals begin.

Anyway, music rehearsals involve simply sitting in chairs and standing up when you're supposed to sing or during a specific more important section, gathering around the piano. This musical rehearsal is called "sitzprobe" although technically, that term is often reserved for singing with the orchestra. Much of the time however the term is generalized to mean a "singing only" rehearsal, in street clothes, no "acting" at all.

At the same time as sitzprobe, you begin stage rehearsals with the stage director. First there's a big meeting of all cast and then you break up into acts and scenes and work on those. The stage director tells everyone of the setting (sometimes it's traditional -- that is, the original era costumes or similar, sometimes the opera is reset to modern times or similar).

You often work at separate scene movement out on a patio or in some smaller room, not in the main performance hall. At a large opera facility like major halls, they've got an entire second stage, full size, for having two separate production rehearsals simultaneously. Houston Grand Opera has this. 

In our small facility we didn't, so we'd grab the lunch room or a corner of the dressing room to work out our individual movements. Things like: in Nozze (Marriage of Figaro) Act 2, Antonio the drunken gardener (me) finds Cherubino's "draft notice" from the Count, which he dropped while escaping the Countess' chambers. This document is handed over to the Count but Figaro makes a failed effort to grab it. So that exchange of the document needs to be practiced by the 3 singers. Stuff like that is rehearsed off-schedule and the individual singers are expected to do it properly and if they've got suggestions, bring them to the main stage director ahead of time so they may be considered.

Anyway, the stage rehearsals are conducted on, say, Saturday morning, Sunday afternoon, Tuesday evening, while music rehearsals are Saturday afternoon, Monday evening, etc. They are kept mostly separate.

During music rehearsals (sitzprobe) you don't act, just gather around the piano. During stage rehearsals, you don't sing, instead you have your score in hand and walk through the role onstage, marking certain stage directions on the margins of the page. My personal scores are thick with notes all across the pages, both singing and acting, and in the blank endpages, I've got "maps" of how I'm supposed to move each act. Everyone does this.

Then you finally begin to put the two together. First, you have the rehearsal pianist and as you go through your stagework, you "mumble" your part (sotto voce, or quiet voice), not singing out but instead only singing the first lines, then low-volume singing "la la la" or whatever, then singing out a bit louder for your exit. If there is a particular "cue" in the vocal lines (for example, in Nozze Act 4, the Count calls for help from his allies and they rush onstage to seize Figaro), this line is emphasized during the singing/stage rehearsal so everyone can mark their scores for the vital cue lines.

After a few of these "singing" walkthrough rehearsals, you're ready for a full rehearsal. All the time, of course, you're continuing vocal-only rehearsals and stage-only practice, too. You usually have 2 full dress, full length rehearsals, one with piano, the final one with orchestra. Reason the orchestra is minimalized is simple -- they're union and are paid hourly, while the singers are paid per contract, ha ha.

Dress rehearsal may or may not include full costumes and props. Most times it's a mix of street clothes and costumes, no makeup of course. And no props unless required for the action. Chairs, beds, sofas, and other furniture may or may not be those to be used in the actual performance. If the set furniture isn't ready, you just grab a chair from the kitchen or wherever.

But for small companies such as I sang with, you only get one full stage rehearsal with full orchestra. Of course the orchestra has been practicing separately as needed prior to this. And during that final rehearsal, the conductor and overall director may jump through a longer sequence, such as when in Rigoletto, Gilda is singing Cara Nome and before the Count's minions arrive, the conductor may skip ahead to the kidnapping scene.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

these are great, many thanks :tiphat: the story with the door and the table left me in stitches!


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

so basically, you rehearse your scenes in your own time with those involved in the scenes and then you go through the whole thing together, with the stage director?

and how does rehearsing with the orchestra feel like?


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

deggial said:


> so basically, you rehearse your scenes in your own time with those involved in the scenes and then you go through the whole thing together, with the stage director?
> 
> and how does rehearsing with the orchestra feel like?


For both vocal and stagework, performers often rehearse small segments of the act separately and on their own time with critical cast members, just because they want it to be good. This is done by conscientious performers (most are) to save time during group rehearsals, either musical or stagework (acting).

Getting everyone together for a full stage rehearsal or sitzprobe is difficult for several reasons... first, with a small semipro company, many of the singers (chorus and comprimario) have regular fulltime jobs. And even for the pro singers, they often are singing in operas elsewhere and have to travel to meet their rehearsal commitments. So small groups of singers tend to take portions of the scene "offstage" and run through segments privately to save time. Then when there's a full rehearsal, the details have already been nailed down and you only need to fill in the bigger portions. Directors appreciate this.

Far as rehearsing with the orchestra vs just the piano, it's great, because the orchestra fill in the musical gaps that the accompanying pianist just cannot do. Onstage you can get the full sweep of the music, finally, and you feel that everything's coming together. Naturally, the orchestra's been rehearsing separately, so they're ready too.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

A word about stage fright. Some people get it at first. I never had it. Yes, I "drew a blank" during Act 3 of Nozze in one performance, but this wasn't the first performance of the opera nor was it my first time onstage. I simply miffed my lines. I've seen pro singers totally forget where they were in the story line and skip ahead by a few pages in the score, while onstage during a performance. "Figaro" did this one night, taking his stage exit ahead of time. The "Count" managed to stop him by singing his part a bit louder, and adding "Eh, Figaro!" to the recit. portion. That brought Figaro to a halt and he turned, continued into the role properly. Whew.

But stage fright is real, and it happens, usually when you make your entrance and begin singing your first stuff. You have to overcome it by practicing your part over and over and over privately or with a couple of other singers, till your entrance is so ingrained that you can do it in your sleep.

A good mnemonic for overcoming stage fright is to imagine it's not you actually coming onstage, but it's your character instead. You then visualize that you're a camera operator overhead, video-ing the entrance, and you essentially "watch yourself" making that entrance. That can help get over the rough spots. It also helps you become embedded in your role and be more comfortable in that role. You "become" the role instead of thinking of yourself as a regular person wearing a costume and pretending to be a character.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

By the way, in classic period operas such as Mozart, vs through-composed works, you have to take the recitative very seriously. Sure, you find yourself practicing the arias and duets and so on, but the recit. is equally essential and you have to get it nailed down too. To tell yourself "I'll rehearse the aria and duet but I'll add the recit. later, as I have time" is a mistake.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

As for learning the essentials of good classical singing, I once thought I had an okay baritone voice, but boy, was I surprised! My voice teacher had me sing a little easy song like Three Blind Mice and taped my first time at this, beginning my first lesson. After 6 months we compared, and it was a revelation how much I'd improved.

Renee Fleming's book "The Inner Voice" is the best I've read by a singer that properly depicts the actual mode of good voice control and singing. And what I was taught was similar.

As an example, take the Star Spangled Banner. Even non-Americans here know the tune. It's about an octave in range. The average untrained adult only has a vocal range of 1/2 to 2/3 octave, which is why nobody at the ball game can sing it, regardless of the pitch (standard is key of F).

After several months of private lessons, 2 per week, plus plenty of practice, my range opened up below and on top. At my "prime" (before I had a heart attack and had to quit pro singing), my bass-baritone was very clear and with good projection from a low E to a high G, sometimes a high A. Not bad for a semi-pro.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

katdad said:


> By the way, in classic period operas such as Mozart, vs through-composed works, you have to take the recitative very seriously. Sure, you find yourself practicing the arias and duets and so on, but the recit. is equally essential and you have to get it nailed down too. To tell yourself "I'll rehearse the aria and duet but I'll add the recit. later, as I have time" is a mistake.


Couldn't agree more. The difference between a good and excellent performance of a Mozart opera is the care and attention paid to delivering the recit. One reason I think this is a superlative performance of Don Giovanni is that in the recits, the singers are really communicating with each other and every word counts:


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

katdad said:


> After several months of private lessons, 2 per week, plus plenty of practice, my range opened up below and on top. At my "prime" (before I had a heart attack and had to quit pro singing), my bass-baritone was very clear and with good projection from a low E to a high G, sometimes a high A. Not bad for a semi-pro.


if you don't mind, I'll go on with the questions  if you feel like I'm pressuring you, please say so. It's just so wonderful to get insight into how this works  (I haven't read any books yet, but I will check out RF's now that you recommended it).

so you had two lessons per week - how would a lesson go? would it be strictly related to what you were going to sing on stage or would it be about other things as well?


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

mama, thanks for the tip about the Giovanni DVD, I'll check it out.

deg, no, I don't mind answering questions at all. Lessons were about an hour long. They were at my teacher's house. Most of the time he'd sit at the piano, occasionally his girlfriend (a soprano) would play and we'd sing together while working on a specific part.

First we started with vocalizing the scales, and always begin "bocca causa" (mouth closed, pardon if I spell the Italian wrong), actually not lips closed but humming with the glottis closed, which you can do mouth open or closed. Then open mouth and singing "la" or "mi" or whatever, up 5 chromatic notes then back down in a run, advancing a half-tone and going up/down 5 again. We'd start middle range and work our way up to my highest, then down. And besides chromatic scales, we'd also sing thirds and fifths up and down, sometimes jump an octave up and down while singing "mi" or "la".

Good syllables are important, especially in rapid "patter" roles, so we'd then sing the 5 chromatic notes up and down with "bobby-baby" as the "lyric". My teacher emphasized the precise syllables always.

For those who don't know, Italian is a very precisely-pronounced language, with no silent letters. It's less "harsh" than German or English, but syllables are still precise. Since much of the general public domain opera is Italian, we'd concentrate on that.

After warmup, we'd then focus on whatever role I was studying at the time, or songs I was learning. In addition to the opera, I was actively singing solo for weddings, anniversaries, and other functions. For those, I'd learn classic Broadway tunes, like "Some Enchanted Evening", "Sunrise Sunset", "September Song", etc. And in addition to the role I was singing at the time, I'd rehearse arias I was adding to my list for auditions and such. I no longer sing professionally -- my heart condition and lack of breath sadly preclude this -- but I still sing for friends (often at home for my girlfriend and life partner) and know about 30 Broadway tunes and 30 classical arias.

Incidentally, one of my proudest moments was when I was asked to lead the people in the Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America for a Vietnam vet rally. Although my normal fees were $100-$200 per performance, I immediately waived that and sang for free, of course. They insisted but I told them to donate the money to Wounded Warriors instead and took their offer of an event t-shirt. Naturally, at a friend's wedding (or sadly, funeral) I also waived any fee. But normally I'd be contacted via the opera company, who'd refer some of us to folks who phoned to ask for an event singer.

Anyway, my teacher and I would sometimes sing duets for the fun of it, after the regular lesson, if nobody else was waiting when my hour was up. He, his girlfriend, and I were good friends so everything was low key.

Besides being a powerful baritone, he was a power lifter. Around their office walls (they converted the 2nd bedroom of their house to a studio) each of them had trophies and plaques of singing awards, and he also had a shelf of power lifting trophies. One time, to illustrate to me that the breath comes from the diaphragm and not the upper chest, he sang scales while doing one-arm pushups.

He was from Argentina and was still learning English, which led to some funny times... He'd tell me "Open wide the mout, like the hippopotenuse!" and one time, "Open the mout wide like the crocodildo!" which brought gales of laughter from his girlfriend in the kitchen. He'd look around, smiling, "What I say? What?" which would make us laugh even louder.

Incidentally, I've had the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful folks in opera! Rumors of prima donnas (both male and female) are far overdone. Most singers are a delight to be with. My teacher and his girlfriend were among them. They eventually moved to Europe and I've lost touch with them. But I still maintain contact with many other opera friends.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Back to recitative, heck yes it's important! During Nozze (Marriage), I had a scene where Antonio (me) and the Count meet in Act 3 to plan an ambush on Cherubino. It's all recit. and here you are, 2 singers on a big stage, nobody else around, and the only music is of course the continuo from the electronic harpsichord. Man, it can get very very lonely onstage sometimes. Whew!


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

^ rest assured we appreciate your efforts  I'm in no way bothered by recits, in fact, I enjoy them a lot when they are properly acted.


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

Katdad, thanks for the lovely anecdotes ! It's great to read.


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> Couldn't agree more. The difference between a good and excellent performance of a Mozart opera is the care and attention paid to delivering the recit. One reason I think this is a superlative performance of Don Giovanni is that in the recits, the singers are really communicating with each other and every word counts:


I really need to check this one out. It has been on my todo list for ages.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Dongiovanni said:


> Katdad, thanks for the lovely anecdotes ! It's great to read.


Well, as Bogart said in Maltese Falcon, "I like to talk."

Singing with this small but professional company is one of the most enjoyable experiences I've ever had. It was hard work but still a joy. I don't know what it is, but anyone who's ever done acting or other stagework can attest to the camaraderie and closeness that exists in the cast. There's an intimacy (non-sexual, mmm..., mostly) among everyone, barriers let down. Delightful. By the time rehearsals are over and you step onstage opening night, you're "lifelong" friends with the other cast.

Although the relationships were mostly platonic, we also had quite a few romances cross-cast, some behind the backs of spouses (naughty). Being a single guy I didn't hesitate to ask a pretty female singer to lunch or dinner as a starter.

We'd also get together as a big bunch after rehearsals, usually at some nearby TexMex restaurant, sometimes at a local bar. Plenty of humor and fun among the cast.

A story about our Don Giovanni... Several of us went to a nearby Mexican restaurant early in rehearsals for dinner. One of the guys found a magazine left behind in the booth. It was one of those extremely x-rated gay male photo mags, pic after pic of naked guys with oiled bodies, wearing cowboy hats and nothing else. My pal stuck the magazine in his pocket, knowing what he'd do with it...

As you know, in Don Giovanni Act 1, the Don asks Leporello to show off his list of conquests, and one of the funniest and most clever of patter arias follows, the "catalog" aria. The "list" was, in our production, simply a blank hardbound notebook used by students to take class notes.

Final dress rehearsal, Leporello opens the book and there were page after page of those gay photos pasted into the prop book. The guy singing Leporello started to howl with laughter and he kept stumbling over his lines. A great practical joke.

Incidentally, another opera tradition: The "conquest logbook" that Leporello uses can be any sort of "pretend" notebook. You'll remember that the Don asked Leporello to keep this log of his conquests, right? Well, it's usually just a blank page book that Leporello pretends to be reading from. But traditionally, actual women's names are entered into the logbook. It's common to write down "Nancy Storace", one of Mozart's, er, "close female friends" who was the first Susanna. And also listed are names of particularly sex-crazed celebs, like "M. Monroe", etc. What's also done is to enter the real names of all the female singers in the production, also any females involved in directing or producing.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Or you can just put down the names of all the women that Placidone has slept with.:lol:


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

katdad, I've thought about something else - auditions. How do they work in your experience?


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Auditions... usually you're asked to have 2 pieces ready that demonstrate your range or skill or whatever. Mine eventually became "Alla vita", Renato's Act 1 aria from Verdi's Masked Ball, and "Vogelfanger", Pagageno's Act 1 aria from Mozart's Magic Flute. The first aria was my "moneymaker" in that it showed my richness and power (I've got a fairly powerful voice for a semi-pro) and my high F at the end. A high F is usually a baritone's money-note. And the Vogelfanger aria was lighter, cheerful, and bouncy, showing my dexterity and "grace".

I also held in reserve 2 more arias, "O Isis und Osiris" from Magic Flute (showed off my lower range and my low F), and "Deh, vieni alla finestra" from Don Giovanni (showed off versatile and lighter tones). Eventually learned the "Largo al factotum" from Barber of Seville and "Fin ch'han dal vino" (champagne aria) from Giovanni. Both are damn damn damn hard! Whew...

Anyway, the audition supplies the pianist, you must bring the sheet music. Of course you're expected to have the pieces memorized.

Often you'll also be asked to sing something a capella via sight reading, or maybe with piano accompanied. That's usually something pretty easy, like a choral number, mid-range and not too demanding. For that you're being tested on your sight reading skill to see how quickly you can pick up an unfamiliar score. One time for me it was from the Faure requiem.

Anyway, you show up at, say, 10am Saturday in a rehearsal hall, check in with the "scorekeeper" (you need to have set a prior appointment for your audition), give them your headshot photo with resume** (required) and just sit and wait. Then one by one they call you and you go into an adjoining room where the maestro (or whomever) is sitting, you say hello, give the pianist your music, and start. After audition they say "thank you, we'll be letting you know" and you get either a letter or a phone call in a couple days. Sometimes in a less formal setting, you simply go up to the front and sing, instead of in a separate room. And sometimes they make a decision immediately.

** For most amateur or semi-pro singers, your resume is a single-sided sheet. Your "headshot" pic at the top, your name (full legal name plus "singing" name if different), your voice ("Bass", "Lyric soprano"), contact info, and a list of your experience. Full professional singers will have a 3-4 page resume listing references to contact and maybe excerpts from press reviews: ("Don Pasquale sounded like he was stuck in a wood chipper"). Okay, maybe not the reviews... For the headshot it's a typical pose, you looking creative and wonderful and gazing thoughtfully into the future, maybe your hand placed artfully on your chin like you just wiped off some gravy. It's precisely the same type of photo you see of the author inside the back flap of avante garde poetry books.

For me, trying out for Houston Grand Opera chorus (I didn't make it), audition was formal, and the singing was in a separate room and I got a form letter of rejection soon after. For the other smaller opera company and the Houston choral society, singing was done in front of everyone (those waiting their turn) and both times I was offered a contract after a brief chat among the judges.

Chorus contracts are forms that already have printed start/stop rehearsal dates and how much you'll be paid (if it's professional). For singing a solo role (I had a couple of them), I received the contract offer in the mail that was part-specific re. the money and rehearsal times. Like any professional enterprise, you're never supposed to reveal your payment amount.

For chorus or chorale work, you're not expected to have memorized the part prior to rehearsals beginning, although it's highly recommended that you be "familiar" with it. For solo roles, you are absolutely expected to have memorized your part before first rehearsal.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

katdad said:


> Auditions... usually you're asked to have 2 pieces ready that demonstrate your range or skill or whatever. Mine eventually became "Alla vita", Renato's Act 1 aria from Verdi's Masked Ball, and "Vogelfanger", Pagageno's Act 1 aria from Mozart's Magic Flute. The first aria was my "moneymaker" in that it showed my richness and power (I've got a fairly powerful voice for a semi-pro) and my high F at the end. A high F is usually a baritone's money-note. And the Vogelfanger aria was lighter, cheerful, and bouncy, showing my dexterity and "grace".
> 
> I also held in reserve 2 more arias, "O Isis und Osiris" from Magic Flute (showed off my lower range and my low F), and "Deh, vieni alla finestra" from Don Giovanni (showed off versatile and lighter tones). Eventually learned the "Largo al factotum" from Barber of Seville and "Fin ch'han dal vino" (champagne aria) from Giovanni. Both are damn damn damn hard! Whew...


Alla vita - great aria!

when they have you sing, do you just sing whatever you think shows off your voice best, or do they ask you for something that specifically shows off certain qualities - like power or grace or versatility? in other words, why do you need "reserve" arias?


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

katdad said:


> "Don Pasquale sounded like he was stuck in a wood chipper"


:lol: Love it!...


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

A singer needs "reserve" arias in case the audition folks want to hear more. Occasionally they'll be specific if they're looking for a certain voice for a part, or to fill a hole in the chorus. So they may ask if you have a lower range aria (O Isis und Osiris) -- myself being a bass-baritone, I can do either bass or baritone pretty evenly. I have (or had) a nice resonant low F and a good solid high F as well. Stepping either way up or down outside that zone was about a 60% good sound but I needed to be in excellent voice to go below a low E or above a high G.

I'm actually making it sound more complicated than it is. You prep 2 good solid arias and maybe 2-3 others for backup, get warmed up a bit in the hallway, and go to it. If you screw up a teeny bit on a note or stumble on a phrase but otherwise do okay, the audition listeners cut you slack because they know that people are a bit nervous in an audition. So long as you do it substantially well, with strong breath control, proper projection, and excellent on-key singing, you're fine.

Being on key is the most important besides not totally busting up on the lyrics. If a singer is on key, more volume and resonance can be learned, but if you can't find the note and stay on it, you're not gonna get the job. So your voice teacher will emphasize tone control in lieu of power, because tone is what matters most.

When I auditioned for a choral group, I sang only one aria, "Alla vita" and nailed it, got that last high F strong and solid. One of the interviewers said "Jeez you got a set of pipes there" and I had the job right away. He was a bit out of line because normally the audition team never says anything good or bad at the time. But I did "real good" and my spot was secured.

"Alla vita" is an excellent baritone aria to learn for fairly new singers, by the way. It's melodic, fairly easy to sing (not too fast, not too demanding except for the finishing high F), and not too long. You get in, get out.

On the other hand, singing "Largo al factotum" from Barber? I thought it would never end! Whew! Problem is with that aria, like most other "patter" arias, is that if you get off track and mess up a phrase, you cannot easily get back on board. Same for the Champagne aria from Giovanni.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

katdad said:


> "Alla vita" is an excellent baritone aria to learn for fairly new singers, by the way. It's melodic, fairly easy to sing (not too fast, not too demanding except for the finishing high F), and not too long. You get in, get out.


I was watching a Ballo the other day and I had to stop after _Alla vita_ just to find my favourite version. I listened to 10-12 and Bastianini wins by quite a good margin, although I've heard some nice ones. Which ones do you prefer? Wish I could sing this and Cinta di fiori, sure heartbreakers :tiphat:


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

The only Ballo I have is the one with Sherrill Milnes, whom I think was superb. And I never listened to another version save the live one where I was in the chorus and a performance a year later at Houston Grand Opera (I'd have to look up the singer's name).

But regardless, first time I "read" the aria in a score for performance (prior to my buying the CD set) I liked that aria. Alla vita is just right for my voice (as it was at my peak) and I still sing it just for fun. The ending "F" is my money note, as per most baritones.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

hm, can't seem to find the Milnes one on youtube. Must look harder.

I thought of something else, though. Sorry to sound like boob, but I really don't get the whole business about why sometimes an opera is sung a semitone higher or lower or whatever. Care to explain?


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Well, whether the opera is a halftone up or down is related to 2 things. One, the historic change from the current "A" being 440 Hz (cycles per second) from an earlier Baroque period where "A" was, I think, 400 Hz.

Actually it wasn't until the mid-19th century that orchestras worldwide began to tune their instruments alike and settle on a universal A-440 standard that's used today. Period instruments that are physically manufactured for a certain scale (mostly brass and some woodwinds) are sometimes used in Handel or Bach era concerts. The instruments themselves aren't old, they're just made special to the older tuning standard and are Very Very expensive. You can see, for example, a small Baroque trumpet used in the delightful "Let the Bright Seraphim" (Handel) sung by Renee Fleming on YouTube. And yes, they're harder to play, the embouchure being tighter and hard to maintain.

Also, some major star singers have induced orchestras to tune their performances up or down depending on the vagaries of the singer's later-years voice. Pavarotti's "signature" Nessun Dorma for example, kept getting tuned down half-tone by half-tone till he sang with one foot in the basement, ha ha. Catering to the whims of star or primadonna singers has come to screeching halt in recent years, thanks mostly to conductors like James Levine, who stopped that and made singers adhere to the original keys, famous or temper tantrums or not.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

cheers  so if they play on historical instruments, they go back to the original tuning, right? but is there any particular reason why they settled on 440Hz for the modern one? it makes sense to have an international standard, but why that one? change in instruments?


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

I've got no idea why A-440 was chosen over any other possible tone. I suppose we could check w. Wikipedia or wherever. And yes if they're all using historic instruments they use the older tone scale too. Thing is, there are few actual historic instruments around, except string instruments, which last a long time and often get better with aging. But strings and some woodwinds can be tuned to an historic pitch. Brass cannot, so you have to use a different instrument altogether, which costs bucks.

Incidentally, big modern symphonies (and I'm sure large opera orchestras) have greatly improved their sound in the last, oh, 60 years because it's a trend these days for the orchestras to hit up rich donors or supporters to back the orchestra by buying major quality instruments that most performers can't afford by themselves. So nowdays you've got the first 4-5 strings of each section playing $20k violins, violas, cellos, etc which are simply out of the price range of the artist. So the orchestra owns the top notch instruments and the artist gladly plays them.

On a side note, my great-grandfather and his family were professional musicians in Europe and toured the "crowned heads", their string quartet playing a set of matched Guarneri. Lord knows how much that set of 2 violins, viola, and cello were worth then or would be worth now. Sadly the instruments were seized by the Nazis in the late 1930s and only a tiny trickle of my family had the chance to get out and emigrate to the US. The rest were slaughtered in the Shoah (Holocaust). Sorry... I think of that occasionally.

Okay, I just checked Wikipedia under "A440 pitch standard" and the brief article is very informative. Have a look there.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

yes, the mini article was informative. Thanks again  and sorry about your family.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Thanks. And I didn't want to co-opt the thread for another subject but sometimes it gets to me, family history and such.

Anyway...


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

don't worry about it, I'll think of something else to ask you and we'll move on with the thread


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## Hoffmann (Jun 10, 2013)

Hi folks! I'm new here on Talk Classical, and you guys were recommended to me by a friend: Tyroneslothrop.

While struggling with whether to commit (something of a life long problem, but that's another story), I spotted this thread a week or so ago and found it irresistible since I spent a fair amount of time in the late 1970s, when I was in my late 20s, as a supernumerary. I worked with a number of companies (Met, Vienna State Opera, Royal Danish Ballet) in productions of Otello, Fidelio, Ariadne, Figaro, etc, when those companies were on tour at the Kennedy Center here in Washington DC. I'm now in my 60s, and have, well, retired from the stage.

No question, of course, that 'supers' are the bottom of the opera food chain, but it is an ideal place to get a feel for back stage life, observe performers in action and see all the machinations required to move/change scenery and stage huge productions. Over the course of several years, I "worked with" Jon Vickers, Sherrill Milnes, Donald Gramm, Gywneth Jones, Gundula Janowitz, Edita Gruberova, Theo Adam and Lucia Popp, among others, under conducters like Leonard Bernstein, Karl Böhm and James Levine.

My friends and family, of course, have heard my stories (but, not being opera lovers, they tend to only nod and smile and indulge me) but I loved the experience and love to tell the stories, so am happy to perhaps have found someone new who might appreciate them. Big opera companies long ago stopped annual tours around the U.S. because it was so expensive, and in today's world of superfast microchips, satellites and HD, they can transmit operas without ever leaving home. For years in the 1970s through the mid 1980s, though, these tours were eagerly anticipated by opera lovers here in DC and around the country. DC was especially fortunate, because the Kennedy Center was almost new, and companies like the Met, New York City Opera, Bolshoi, Deutsche Oper, La Scala and Paris Opera happily made the trip to Washington.

My first time as a super was with the Met at Wolf Trap (in Virginia) in Zeffirelli's production of _Otello_. I had heard about supering on the (then) local classical music radio station, WGMS, and called and put my name on the list for the following season.

A year later, I was really shocked when the Met called me, and I showed up very nervous and way too early and had to camp out in the snack bar in the dressing room area for an hour or so until the Met staff showed up. After a little while, a short man with gray hair arrived, walked over to the guy behind the snack bar and they talked quietly for a minute or two, and he then disappeared into the suite of dressing rooms. I thought that was a good sign that things were finally about to get started, but had to wait a while longer. By then, the other supers had arrived, maybe 5 or 6 of us altogether, and when the Met staff showed up, they quickly told us that Otello was playing that night (they hadn't told us when they called, and we didn't know), and appointed me as one of two Captains of the Guard. The makeup and costumes, even for supers, was quite elaborate (and, I thought, very cool), and we had our own staff of dressers and the Met's full-time Supernumeraries to help out and supervise.

The two of us captains were then taken up to the stage by the full-time supers and walked through our roles - they told us we would only be on stage for a couple of minutes and then we would be done for the night, which felt like a lot of time, trouble and expense for not much to do. Shortly, Otello himself came up to us, this seemingly towering fellow in blackface and wig with earrings and a snarl, and asked "Who are my Captains?" Already suffering from stagefright, we kind of raised our hands, and he glared at us and stated emphatically, "Don't step on my cape!". We were then introduced to Jon Vickers who, as it turned out, was that same short man with gray hair I had seen earlier. The music swelled and we marched out on to a raised platform looking out over the audience. I suddenly realized that I was standing in front of some 3,000 people (in seats and on the lawn) in armor and helmet, with my head tilted and jaw hanging open, staring at the Jon Vickers, singing 'Esultate' in full voice, the sound reverberating off the set. He finished, the three of us quickly marched off stage, and I was hooked. But, I wondered, would there be a next time?


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Hoffmann, thanks for the good story. I think you'll agree that for any opera fans out there, to somehow get involved in a local or collegiate opera program and work in that, is a true pleasure. We all enjoy being on the "inside" of things and during my time singing chorus and comprimario roles, I had some of the most fun of my life. Hard work, though.

Many of our "supers" were friends and family of the opera company's leadership -- wife of the general director, things like that. They had a lot of fun, too, operas like Manon during the gambling club scene, Carmen in the tavern, Nozze at the wedding dance, etc.

If you've got any funny stories, please share them.


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

Not exactly opera, but each December I play in the mostly amateur orchestra for a singalong Messiah program. For the first 10 years I participated it was held at the Civic Opera House in Chicago and for the duration our two night run, I got the experience of arriving via the stage door, changing and hanging out in the opera orchestra lounge in the bowels of the theater, and sauntering out onto the stage. On the way we'd get a close up view of the sets for the current show - most memorable was the 30 foot idol that came crumbling to pieces at the end of Samson and Delilah. We had the added bonus of being serenaded by the audience, who in this case sing the part of a 3,000 member chorus. And with precious few trumpet entries, we've got plenty of time to listen.

In recent years, we've moved to the more spartan surroundings of the Harris Theater, home of the Chicago Opera Theater. Slighty scaled back, but still a joy and a privelege to perform in a small way.


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## Guest (Jun 10, 2013)

I was asked to work as lighting technician to an am-dram production of Lehar's _The Merry Widow_ (more 'operetta' I believe). That involved both positioning the lights above the stage and operating the dimmer board presets during the show. I enjoyed the shows and it was well-received locally.

Curiously, there was a divorcee (not quite a widow, but this'll do) who was doing costume, and seemed to take a shine to me. At the after show party, I felt distinctly like I was being preyed upon, and when we were walking back from the theatre to home, she kept a firm grip on my arm and wanted me to walk more slowly so we would separate from my friends. I don't recall how I eased myself from her grasp, but I hope I was polite. To quote Lehar,

"Women!!!"

Of course, as this was nearly 30 years ago, it might all be in my fevered imagination...!


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Hoffmann said:


> No question, of course, that 'supers' are the bottom of the opera food chain


lol I would have said operagoers are the bottom of the opera food chain! It would be an incredible experience to be a super at a Met production. How do you get on the list?

And Hoffmann: Hi. Thanks for posting. Great, great story. Jon Vickers, good lord!


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## Hoffmann (Jun 10, 2013)

I think the days of supering with the Met came to an end when they stopped touring. If you live in a city - or close to a city with an opera company, they will use supers in their performances. They probably have a waiting list but, as you can see, sometimes it works.

Here is another Met _Otello_ experience:

A couple of years later, the Met brought the same Zeffirelli Otello back to DC, this time to the Kennedy Center, with James McCracken as Otello and Sherrill Milnes as Iago. I was on their list by this time, and I knew a lot of the staff. They called me for Otello, and gave me two assignments: the first was to make an entrance at the beginning of Act II, when I was to walk out with one of the full-time supers to help set the stage set in a room in the castle. Not very exciting.

In the last act, after Otello has strangled Desdemona, Emilia (her maidservant) summons help, which includes Iago, Iago's wife and Ludovico and Cassio. When Iago's wife reveals his treachery, Iago escapes.

Along with another super, we were to be posted as guards on either side of the door through which Iago escapes. After we were costumed, our Met handler took us backstage to walk us through the role, and was concerned about finding Sherrill Milnes. We were told that Mr. Milnes liked to explain the role to the supers himself (this ought to be good, I thought). We finally found him just before the Act started, were introduced and left to talk with Iago/Milnes. Sherrill Milnes grabbed us, walked us to the doorway, and stood us each exactly where he wanted us, which was blocking the exit. He then looked at us very seriously and inquired whether we had health insurance, and whether it was paid up. Neither of us was sure where he was going with the question, but told him our insurances were fine. He was an imposing man and told us that we were to stand right where he placed us, and were not to move - that he would be making his escape by running at us like a freight train (his words), and would run directly into us, and that we would bounce off the sets. If we moved and let him through, he said that he would come and find us. He was very intimidating so we didn't move, and we did bounce off the sets. All I suffered was a split lip so I didn't need to use my insurance. Later, Milnes turned out to be a very nice guy with a good sense of humor, and gave me his autograph and told me that we had done well. It occurred to me some years later that this was kind of a 'schtick' of his, and that he got a real kick out of putting a scare into the new supers.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Oh my GOD! I would kill to be able to tell a story like that. Man, you're a lucky guy.


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## Hoffmann (Jun 10, 2013)

I ate it up. The hard part was that none of my friends or family understood or appreciated what I thought were some very fun and pretty cool experiences. 

Sometimes, though, I think maybe I peaked too soon.


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## Hoffmann (Jun 10, 2013)

Here is my last Met story:

I don't even recall which opera, but all of us supers were changing into our costumes, and I was the first one done, so went out into the hallway (at the Kennedy Center) to wait for the other guys by the elevator. As I was waiting, I heard this unbelievable singing - the rehearsal rooms were right next door, but were all dark, so I couldn't figure out where it was coming from, but the singing went on and it was something else. I realized it was getting closer, and all of a sudden the elevator doors opened in front of me, and a petite Black woman popped out. I looked at her and asked "Who was that singing"? To which she replied with a huge smile, "That was me" and literally ran off down the hall. I went back into the dressing room and told the Met guy what had happened, and he said "Oh, that was Kathleen Battle, you are going to hear of her some day" (This was many years before she became an impossible diva).


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Hoffmann said:


> I ate it up. The hard part was that none of my friends or family understood or appreciated what I thought were some very fun and pretty cool experiences.
> 
> Sometimes, though, I think maybe I peaked too soon.


Thanks again for the stories. And yes, "outsiders" find it difficult to appreciate the closeness and deep companionships that result from working within such an endeavor. A simple example... in our small semi-pro opera theater, dressing facilities were very cramped for the chorus and small-role singers. The "men's" dressing room was the same as the "women's" and only separated by a tall, pipe-rack clothes hanger system packed with costumes and street clothes. During changing, guys and gals would be wandering around in their underwear "Have you got a hair-white brush?" "Help me zip this" and nobody thought anything untoward.

(Not that this conferred any sort of "immunity" -- I was just starting to date a chorus mezzo at the time, and after one Friday night performance she went home with me for the first time. We were lazing around on my sofa, watching a movie and drinking beer, and she said "I'm gonna get more comfy", proceeding to take off her blouse and jeans. She looked at me, laughed, "Hell, you've already seen me in my bra and panties anyway, right?")

Opera is soooo much fun!


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## Hoffmann (Jun 10, 2013)

Yes, well, I wish I had a story or two like that I could tell!


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

Hoffmann said:


> I ate it up. The hard part was that none of my friends or family understood or appreciated what I thought were some very fun and pretty cool experiences.
> 
> Sometimes, though, I think maybe I peaked too soon.


Being one degree removed from the backstage world, I'm glad I can at least appreciate my partner's encounters and generally get to do a bit of mingling with the cast of his productions in my capacity as booster and stage door widower. I've been lucky to meet a few big names in that capacity, and can even claim a continuing acquaintance with one or two.

The closest thing I have to a story is meeting a noted and notably vivacious soprano in passing, whom, I was flattered to learn later, made inquiries as to my romantic availability.

As far as peaking too soon, you must had a good look and stage presence to get called by the Met. The Lyric here in Chicago occasionally advertises for supernumeraries, but I suspect some of those spots go to donors, as too often the sentries and foot soliders looks a little long in the tooth for their posts.


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## Hoffmann (Jun 10, 2013)

I wondered about that 'stage presence' question myself once, but any illusions I had were shattered when I asked the question of the Vienna State Opera's supernumerary managers/trainers.

I got pretty excited when I heard that the Vienna State Opera would be traveling to Washington in the fall of 1979, and would be in residence at the Kennedy Center for two weeks of performances. I wondered about a supering opportunity, but when I called the Kennedy Center, they either didn't know or were unwilling to part with any information.

I was unemployed at that time, and had lots of time on my hands. For the record, I had just turned 29 years old, was just shy of 6' tall and weighed all of 135 lbs. I was driving near my home one afternoon that October, listening to the classical music radio station, when they made the announcement that the Viennese would be holding an audition for supers starting that afternoon - actually, within the hour from the moment of the announcement. I made a U-turn on the spot and made a bee-line for the Kennedy Center, only to find myself in the middle of a cattle call. 

There had to have been 200 guys that showed up and were milling around. My heart sank, because I couldn't see a way to distinguish myself from all those guys (interesting point - in those days, anyway, all supers were guys). I was ready to tell them that I had experience and spoke some German, but they didn't ask. When the staff showed up, they lined everybody up in the middle of the room, and several opera staff started walking up and down the line, looking at everyone - front and back. They took some notes, asked some of us a couple of questions, talked with each other, then walked the line some more. They finally asked a group of us to step out and then did a closer inspection. They asked if everyone was available for an intense schedule of rehearsals and performances - basically, several hours every day for about a week leading up to opening night. Quite a few of the group couldn't make the schedule, and were dismissed, prompting them to hit the main audition group a second time.

They settled on a group of 20 or so supers and met with us to give us schedules, tell us the operas they would be staging and, looking at their notes, told us who would be in which operas (Fidelio, Ariadne auf Naxos, Marriage of Figaro and Salome). I was assigned to Fidelio, Ariadne and Figaro, and I was thrilled. One of the staff came over to talk to me and told me that I was not, shall we say, robust enough to be on stage barechested and in a very brief costume as a Roman soldier in Salome - otherwise they would have put me in all 4 operas.

I have a couple of stories from the experience with Vienna that I'll post later, but the gist of all this is that toward the end of Vienna's tour, when I had bonded with the staff, that I asked them what criteria they used in selecting the supers (seeing myself as enormously talented and handsome, of course), to which he replied: "You fit our costumes perfectly". Oh well.


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