Friday, July 30, 2010
Fill in the Blank!
Hey everyone!
This is an interactive post!! I thought it'd be fun to try this out. It's mostly for the cast members but I thought it'd be fun for the audience as well to get a sneak peak into our characters!
So, for those learning an entire role, fill in the blank:
Five words that would describe my character would be _________, _________, _________, _________ and _________.
I'll go first!
If I had to describe my character in five words or less, they would be smart, feisty, experienced, loyal, and loving.
Your turn! :D
Saturday, July 24, 2010
NEWS FLASH!
Guess what!
APU Opera now has a Twitter account! Follow it for the quickest updates on anything and everything APU Opera related!
Monday, July 19, 2010
RossiniRossiniRossiniRossini...
I'm a huge fan of mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. No, really. I'm a HUGE fan. I want to be like this woman so much. I own ever CD she ever recorded and I literally cried when I couldn't make it to her performance as Rosina in the LA Opera's production of The Barber of Seville. I'm still really bummed I couldn't go...
But anyways! She's also brilliant when it comes to photography and has a link to her flickr page on her blog (and yes, her blog is seriously titled Yankeediva. Isn't it awesome??). Midst the beautiful pictures of European architecture and gorgeous red and gold performance halls, I came across a low-key picture in her gratitude album.
The picture is of a quote said by one of the stage directors at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Thor Steingraber. Someone had typed it up and posted on a bulletin board in the rehearsal department. The quote was this:
"I'd like Rossini better if there were more repetition."
I quite literally laughed out loud at this! Rossini is the king of repetition. Hands down. I'm sure the cast members of our Spring opera production La Cambiale di Matrimonio would all agree with me on this. It's not enough that he loads his music with tongue twistery words from the libretto; he makes us sing it over and over again, faster and faster with more spunk that we knew we had in us!
I think this is one of the great beauties of Rossini. He challenges us to be creative. We, as singers, are forced to come up with something new, different and exciting each time a musical theme or the same words are repeated again and again. We're forced to look beyond the external, seemingly mundane repetition and figure out why our characters would say it more than once.
The best Rossini singers know how to make every repetition count-- how to make each one special and meaningful. There's nothing more frustrating when I'm listening to a recording or watching a performance than a singer who just trudges through the repeats like a kid being forced to eat his/her peas and broccoli. It really shouldn't sound like a chore!
Rossini is a joy and a true privilege to sing. "Medicine for the voice" as the late and great Beverley Sills once said about Bel Canto. I'm constantly reminded when I listen to great Bel Canto singers such as Beverly Sills, Joan Sutherland, Juan Diego Florez and Joyce DiDonato that we must savour every word and phrase and make each of them a little gem of their own!
P.S. Puccini might have hated mezzos but Rossini actually preferred mezzos over sopranos. :P
Thursday, July 15, 2010
How I got started
Learning an opera role is like... hatching an egg? Digging up treasure? *Thinks...*
One thing that I'm realizing again and again as I learn my first role is this: there's a huge difference between the theoretical and the practical. I've read the books, the interviews, the blogs etc. so I knew before taking on this task that learning a role and creating a character would be both a challenge and a joy. My role isn't a huge one: she's the maid Clarina in Rossini's first opera La Cambiale di Matrimonio. She probably gets about fifteen minutes max of stage time. But my expectations of what would be difficult and what would be easy were a bit off.
Contrary to by expectations, the technical side seems to be the most difficult. The entire role sits uncomfortably on my passaggio (the break between the mid voice and the head voice-- my sworn enemy). The 'eh' vowel of 'contento' on a G5 is pretty much murdering me right now. Also, keeping the legato line throughout this area is very difficult; therefore, focusing my sound for accurate placement isn't all the way there. And, of course, it's Rossini so there are loads of fast, tongue-twistery words that must be learned correctly the first time. This means repetition repetition repetition! Slow and meticulous learning. Undoing things that you've learned incorrectly is much more tedious that this so I have to take it slow.
Memorization, something I thought I'd have trouble with, is not a problem at all. I suppose knowing the language is helping. Thank God I invested those two years in high school learning Italian. I'm not fluent (yet!) but even just the basics helps a lot with memory. This skill proved crucial since most of my character's scenes are in ensembles. Meaning that I need to not only memorize what I'm saying but what everyone else on stage is saying. Knowledge of everyone else's lines is important because without it, there is so realistic reaction. Part of making a situation and character believable on stage is your reaction. In real life, people listen then react. To do this effectively, preparation is necessary. Of course after the preparation, the trick is to not anticipate on stage and make everything seem like it's happening for the first time.
Characterization was another aspect I thought I'd have more trouble with. After reading the libretto and analyzing it, I found Clarina a relatable character. She funny, sarcastic, smart, and loving. Throughout the opera, she speaks to everyone formally expect the head man servant, Norton. Funny, in'nt? She always uses the 'tu' form with him and her speech seems very comfortable around him. There's a bit of history between them. And from her aria, I think it quite possible that she's in love with him. However, nothing is ever said out-right, almost like she's expecting him to make the first move. The hints are there. Either Norton picks them up or he doesn't. And if he doesn't, Clarina's not going to lose too much sleep over it. Or maybe... maybe they had sparks fly in the past but things never worked out-- perhaps that's the reason for her ambiguity. Either way, she's a woman. I can relate to that.
And of course, my biggest hurdle: procrastination. I'm notorious for this. But I know myself. I'm pushing myself to do a little everyday because too much will cause a burn out. A couple of measures, a few lines a day keeps be both productive and even motivated to do more. Research shows that learning something bit by bit helps with long-term memory! I also know that I can't learn anything in a week so pacing myself and learning in advance is a must.
That's it for now. I'm considering this a series of blog entries. I'll post more when more revelations have occurred. Hah! I meant, thoughts. ;)
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
NEWS FLASH!
EXTRA EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! (Okay, just kidding. But it is just as exciting!)
I'd like to introduce the newest member of our opera staff: Mike Mahaffey!
Mike is a highly creative and qualified fight director, actor and teacher of stage combat who works in all avenues of the entertainment on film, stage and television.
And he's got a stellar resume, too!
"Chronicles of Narnia", "Resident Evil: Degeneration", "The Gold Retrievers", "The Last Stand of the 300" and "The Three Musketeers".
And, to boot, he is recognized as a certified teacher and fight director by The Society of American Fight Directors, and is also a member of the British Academy of Stage & Screen Combat, Revenge Arts and the Los Angeles Fight Academy.
We're very honoured and privileged to have such an accomplished professional like Mr. Mahaffey help us bring Rossini's La Cambiale di Matrimonio alive on stage through stage combat workshops and choreography!
As for me, I can't wait until I get to hold a rapier again. I took fencing lessons when I was younger for about a year. I've been dying to pick it up again! I wonder if I'll need all that gear for his workshops... because I don't think I fit into them anymore. Uh-oh. Haha!
Anyways, thanks for reading, everyone! Click that 'follow' button up there to stay updated on all the awesome things happening behind-the-scenes at APU Opera.
--R
Monday, July 12, 2010
Ciao a tutti!
Hi everyone and welcome to the official blog of APU Opera!
I'm Rachel, a member of this year's opera cast and here, you'll find my take on this unique adventure I'll be going through this year. I'll be posting about what it's like to prepare, rehearse, collaborate and perform this year along with photos and videos of all the hilarity and insanity that goes on behind-the-scenes!
This is an exciting year for APU Opera! Mostly Mozart will be our Fall production and it cover Mozart's most famous operas in the form of review. Our Spring production will be Rossini's very first opera, a brilliant comic one-act titled La Cambiale di Matrimonio (AKA The Marriage Contract).
So, go on! Click that 'Follow' button on top of your screen and join me on this intense, exciting, fun ride through the world of opera. I promise: you'll love it!
-Rach
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