And I thought fall allergy season was bad!
As terrible as my hay fever is (and only a few seasons ago I was boasting that I had "cured" my hay fever by diligently eating yogurt every morning the three months leading up to September...) this cold I've caught from my hacking wife and coughing children is MUCH worse. I don't know if it's because I'm trying to maintain a working, coaching, teaching schedule, or if it's because my mother in law and father in law are visiting from Iowa and that puts me on a blow-up bed in the dining room, or if it's because there's a bit more stress than usual around the world, but I feel TERRIBLE!
Yes, that's a whine. A big man WHINE. Nobody really whines like a married man who's sick. I do it really well -- big sighs, whining the "where's the Advil?" or the "where's the decaf tea?" or the "can you make me some toast while you're at it?" are all part of my repertoire. So is the ability to ignore the dog at 2am when he wakes suddenly and has to pee. Somehow, I can sleep through that, but not through the dripping faucet in the kitchen. Hmmmm...
Singers can whine a lot, too. When I worked at Glimmerglass I called it the B&M - Bitch and Moan. It usually came from singers whose self-esteem was not as big as their egos, or who had a screwed up passagio, or someone who was not getting any "bites" from the managers who came through auditioning singers, or frankly just a bitchy singer who felt the need to strike out at other humans simply because they felt like it. It didn't happen all that often, but I saw it there, and have seen it elsewhere throughout my 25+ years working in the biz. It's becoming rarer in the opera world, but I do find it still - particularly among the very young just starting out.
This need to make others feel bad is an interesting thing. Why does it happen among artists who get to work on such AMAZING music and text? Shouldn't the act of making music be an antidote to negativity? Where is the joy in singing - literally?
A more important question for someone pursuing a career as a singer might be: Why would other collaborators work with difficult singers who B&M? The answer is that they don't - not any more! This sort of behavior spells immediate failure in a career. There simply is no room for it and it leads to not getting cast, not having a career, and wasting a lot of money on lessons and coachings.
Today on FB, Marc a singer here in Montreal, posted a quote from Gandhi that I had forgotten:
"Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behaviors. Keep your behaviors positive because your behaviors become your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny."
It's so true.
And your thoughts become sounds when you sing... Some of us can hear those thoughts in your voice...
Too bad none of you can hear my whiny tone as I ask my wife for "some more honey, Honey?!"
My Top Ten Posts!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Auditions REDUX
This is a re-posting from last year about my thoughts on AUDITIONS.
As Opera McGill auditions are this Monday and Tuesday, I thought I'd post it again.
AUDITIONS
What do I look and listen for at an audition? I'll first tell you what I DON'T look/listen for:
1) Being correct: couldn't care less if you miss a note or drop pieces of text.
2) Coordination with your pianist: I'm much more interested in the music YOU are making!
3) Singing in tune (I know that's a surprising statement, but frankly most singers sing out of tune in some way, shape or form -- why does everyone get so freaking obsessive about this?!)
4) Ornaments: what ever I hear I'm going to want to change anyway, so why worry about it?
5) What you're wearing (many of my students will tell you this is not so, but I only comment on it to them later because I know SO many in the business pay attention to this really unimportant factor).
What I DO look/listen for:
1) A human being making music with their voice
2) Singing sentences that have meaning both textually, dramatically, and vocally
3) Did I mention the making music thing?
4) Character choices - both physical and vocal
5) Good shoes (I know, I shouldn't but I notice) This means no super high heels and no sandals.
6) A singer's physicality
7) Size of Voice
8) Repertoire -- is the singer singing rep that is appropriate for their technique/age/fach etc.
9) Range -- as in high and low and at what extremes the singer is comfortable
10) Range -- stylistically speaking how comfortable/adept with Baroque/Classical/19th/20th/Musical Theatre rep and how many arias are being presented.
That's it, not much! I do tend to judge the aural before the first page gets turned and then take in the visual as the audition progresses.
With all of that said, one of the things singers forget is that the panel wants you to be incredible so that we can cast you! It's not a jury or an examination. There are no grades and there are few hard and stead-fast rules, frankly. Move around, don't move around; gesture, don't gesture; wear a suit, don't wear a suit. All of that doesn't matter with me. I want to hear someone trying to make CHOICES and loving their moment commiserating with the great composers.
If any of the McGill students are reading this -- remember to take a good breath before you walk in the room. I'm looking forward to hearing everyone!
As Opera McGill auditions are this Monday and Tuesday, I thought I'd post it again.
AUDITIONS
What do I look and listen for at an audition? I'll first tell you what I DON'T look/listen for:
1) Being correct: couldn't care less if you miss a note or drop pieces of text.
2) Coordination with your pianist: I'm much more interested in the music YOU are making!
3) Singing in tune (I know that's a surprising statement, but frankly most singers sing out of tune in some way, shape or form -- why does everyone get so freaking obsessive about this?!)
4) Ornaments: what ever I hear I'm going to want to change anyway, so why worry about it?
5) What you're wearing (many of my students will tell you this is not so, but I only comment on it to them later because I know SO many in the business pay attention to this really unimportant factor).
What I DO look/listen for:
1) A human being making music with their voice
2) Singing sentences that have meaning both textually, dramatically, and vocally
3) Did I mention the making music thing?
4) Character choices - both physical and vocal
5) Good shoes (I know, I shouldn't but I notice) This means no super high heels and no sandals.
6) A singer's physicality
7) Size of Voice
8) Repertoire -- is the singer singing rep that is appropriate for their technique/age/fach etc.
9) Range -- as in high and low and at what extremes the singer is comfortable
10) Range -- stylistically speaking how comfortable/adept with Baroque/Classical/19th/20th/Musical Theatre rep and how many arias are being presented.
That's it, not much! I do tend to judge the aural before the first page gets turned and then take in the visual as the audition progresses.
With all of that said, one of the things singers forget is that the panel wants you to be incredible so that we can cast you! It's not a jury or an examination. There are no grades and there are few hard and stead-fast rules, frankly. Move around, don't move around; gesture, don't gesture; wear a suit, don't wear a suit. All of that doesn't matter with me. I want to hear someone trying to make CHOICES and loving their moment commiserating with the great composers.
If any of the McGill students are reading this -- remember to take a good breath before you walk in the room. I'm looking forward to hearing everyone!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The multiple intelligences of Opera
The first in a series...
"Multiple Intelligences" explained: Howard Gardner, a Harvard professor of education and psychology, created a theory of multiple intelligences. He identified these as Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Body-Kinesthetic, Spatial, Musical, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal. I believe that Prof. Gardner’s theory represents the seven aspects of training that students undertake to sing opera successfully.
I thought I'd discuss these "intelligences" on this blog, as I've been thinking a lot about what my students at McGill need to learn and work towards, operatically speaking, over the coming school year. Professor Gardner's theory has influenced my mode of thinking about opera, and particularly the training and processes that go into creating a young opera singer and an opera production. This idea of taking the various aspects of music, singing, acting, and moving in opera and focusing on them individually based on Professor Gardner's ideas, is a theory of mine that I've not read about elsewhere, but I've shared in a variety of ways (most recently last semester at McGill in a presentation that's available to see online at: http://podcasts.mcgill.ca/music/ (I must admit it's a long lecture captured on some crude video, but the core of what I'm talking about is there, and boy does Philippe sound terrific!)
I thought I'd discuss each one in a separate blog, here goes: #1 Intelligence -- MUSICAL!
Why of course, you need some musical intelligence to sing opera (although many are surprisingly deficient in this intelligence!). We're talking about the capacity to think in music, to be able to hear and recognize patterns and manipulate physically (as in with the voice, or with your fingers on a keyboard, etc.) or mentally (as in remembering a musical phrase, hearing music in your head, or composing music from your imagination). Sometimes this intelligence is called "talent". Mine was called, by my sainted mother, "your God given talent"! (Usually expressed after a phrase like "you're not practicing, don't you know you are wasting YOUR GOD GIVEN TALENT!") Talent is tricky -- there are those with lots of "talent" (and what does that mean exactly?!) who do not work, yet still progress, as well as lots with less "talent" who work harder than most and progress farther, etc. Musical intelligence is something more, for me, akin to cooking without a recipe -- you need to have skills and imagination to get it to turn out right.
Training this intelligence seems to be THE focus of music schools and music teachers all around the world. Musicians need to learn to speak and decipher a new language made up of black dots and lines and symbols on white paper. This is done through learning to "read" music, later in theory classes and in solfege classes (which I don't get for us English folk -- why train musicians to translate the names of the scale into "fa" and "re"? We know it's "F" and "D"... but that's another blog!), and then in other classes that start to define what "style" might be or "form".
The other training, and much more important, that singers have to do is BUILD THEIR INSTRUMENT. Outside of those terrific double-reeders (who learn to make their reeds), what musician do you know has had to physically BUILD their instrument? Do pianists? Violinists? No, only singers work on creating their instrument as well as playing their instrument. And on top of that, it's an instrument they can't really touch or see -- they can feel it and hear it only. That's a tough assignment! Many times, the musical intelligence of the singer goes hand in hand with their vocal intelligence -- what their voice can or can not do -- but sometimes it's just the opposite. This is also tricky and can pose great challenges: the "smart" singer who gets in their own way, or has a "talent" deemed less than others because their instrument sounds like a Kawai upright instead of a Steinway grand; yet the singer with the Steinway in their throat can barely read music, let alone hold onto the tune if it turns to harmony, etc. These are all issues that many of us recognize, and have seen derail young singers.
Once a singer is moving forward in their vocal and musical intelligences, it's time to crack a score and learn an opera aria or role. Now much more is at play -- how to go about learning a vast array of information that goes beyond musical (as in the text, character, etc.). Lots of singers have their problems with learning scores -- some actually find it surprising that they have to LEARN music all the time, for the rest of their natural lives. If this is a bother, or a chore, or something that you can't do, find something else to do with your life! Studying, learning, rehearsing is what the life of a musician is about -- it's not about the day of the show, y'all ! No applause greets your practice room exit or greets you in an audition or rehearsal. Applause is not the reward, neither is it the performance, at least in my book. (Yet, another idea for a blog!)
Once a singer gets to an opera score, there's TEXT and that's the 2nd multiple intelligence: Linguistic. See where this is headed?!
That one's next...
"Multiple Intelligences" explained: Howard Gardner, a Harvard professor of education and psychology, created a theory of multiple intelligences. He identified these as Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Body-Kinesthetic, Spatial, Musical, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal. I believe that Prof. Gardner’s theory represents the seven aspects of training that students undertake to sing opera successfully.
I thought I'd discuss these "intelligences" on this blog, as I've been thinking a lot about what my students at McGill need to learn and work towards, operatically speaking, over the coming school year. Professor Gardner's theory has influenced my mode of thinking about opera, and particularly the training and processes that go into creating a young opera singer and an opera production. This idea of taking the various aspects of music, singing, acting, and moving in opera and focusing on them individually based on Professor Gardner's ideas, is a theory of mine that I've not read about elsewhere, but I've shared in a variety of ways (most recently last semester at McGill in a presentation that's available to see online at: http://podcasts.mcgill.ca/music/ (I must admit it's a long lecture captured on some crude video, but the core of what I'm talking about is there, and boy does Philippe sound terrific!)
I thought I'd discuss each one in a separate blog, here goes: #1 Intelligence -- MUSICAL!
Why of course, you need some musical intelligence to sing opera (although many are surprisingly deficient in this intelligence!). We're talking about the capacity to think in music, to be able to hear and recognize patterns and manipulate physically (as in with the voice, or with your fingers on a keyboard, etc.) or mentally (as in remembering a musical phrase, hearing music in your head, or composing music from your imagination). Sometimes this intelligence is called "talent". Mine was called, by my sainted mother, "your God given talent"! (Usually expressed after a phrase like "you're not practicing, don't you know you are wasting YOUR GOD GIVEN TALENT!") Talent is tricky -- there are those with lots of "talent" (and what does that mean exactly?!) who do not work, yet still progress, as well as lots with less "talent" who work harder than most and progress farther, etc. Musical intelligence is something more, for me, akin to cooking without a recipe -- you need to have skills and imagination to get it to turn out right.
Training this intelligence seems to be THE focus of music schools and music teachers all around the world. Musicians need to learn to speak and decipher a new language made up of black dots and lines and symbols on white paper. This is done through learning to "read" music, later in theory classes and in solfege classes (which I don't get for us English folk -- why train musicians to translate the names of the scale into "fa" and "re"? We know it's "F" and "D"... but that's another blog!), and then in other classes that start to define what "style" might be or "form".
The other training, and much more important, that singers have to do is BUILD THEIR INSTRUMENT. Outside of those terrific double-reeders (who learn to make their reeds), what musician do you know has had to physically BUILD their instrument? Do pianists? Violinists? No, only singers work on creating their instrument as well as playing their instrument. And on top of that, it's an instrument they can't really touch or see -- they can feel it and hear it only. That's a tough assignment! Many times, the musical intelligence of the singer goes hand in hand with their vocal intelligence -- what their voice can or can not do -- but sometimes it's just the opposite. This is also tricky and can pose great challenges: the "smart" singer who gets in their own way, or has a "talent" deemed less than others because their instrument sounds like a Kawai upright instead of a Steinway grand; yet the singer with the Steinway in their throat can barely read music, let alone hold onto the tune if it turns to harmony, etc. These are all issues that many of us recognize, and have seen derail young singers.
Once a singer is moving forward in their vocal and musical intelligences, it's time to crack a score and learn an opera aria or role. Now much more is at play -- how to go about learning a vast array of information that goes beyond musical (as in the text, character, etc.). Lots of singers have their problems with learning scores -- some actually find it surprising that they have to LEARN music all the time, for the rest of their natural lives. If this is a bother, or a chore, or something that you can't do, find something else to do with your life! Studying, learning, rehearsing is what the life of a musician is about -- it's not about the day of the show, y'all ! No applause greets your practice room exit or greets you in an audition or rehearsal. Applause is not the reward, neither is it the performance, at least in my book. (Yet, another idea for a blog!)
Once a singer gets to an opera score, there's TEXT and that's the 2nd multiple intelligence: Linguistic. See where this is headed?!
That one's next...
Friday, July 30, 2010
Moving On
Pirates of Penzance was a terrific experience. Conducting again, after a year's passing, teaching young students what it's like to sing with diction, sing with a conductor in a pit, and sing with intention, was all loads of fun!
Glad it's over, though.
The orchestra ended up playing the piece extremely well. It was comprised solely of students, except for the concert master (an amazing Timothy Christie) and a trombonist who subbed in for an ill student. My viola section showed up for one rehearsal with eye patches and bandanas, so I referred all of my viola notes to the Pirate section. I had a good feeling from them, and aside from the usual blips that one hears from ALL orchestras, their performance was splendid. The cast was great too. I had to talk to them about not listening to the orchestra and then singing behind because of said listening (it's an evil little loop that so few conductors understand); frankly I wonder what anyone is teaching young singers nowadays in their schools when it comes to singing with orchestras in pits...
I digress.
A lovely time was had by all, including the sold-out audience of almost 1900 people.
Time to move on. Time to focus on the November 2010 Black Box Festival at McGill (I'm now thinking about doing a VERY German opera...), La Boheme, Imeneo, the outreach programs to start up in Montreal, plus the new-yet-not-done-when-will-it-be-done website (ACK!), the in-laws coming in September, and putting the Montreal West house together (as in UNpacking all those bloody boxes.)
Plus I have to finish "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius". So far, it is just that.
Glad it's over, though.
The orchestra ended up playing the piece extremely well. It was comprised solely of students, except for the concert master (an amazing Timothy Christie) and a trombonist who subbed in for an ill student. My viola section showed up for one rehearsal with eye patches and bandanas, so I referred all of my viola notes to the Pirate section. I had a good feeling from them, and aside from the usual blips that one hears from ALL orchestras, their performance was splendid. The cast was great too. I had to talk to them about not listening to the orchestra and then singing behind because of said listening (it's an evil little loop that so few conductors understand); frankly I wonder what anyone is teaching young singers nowadays in their schools when it comes to singing with orchestras in pits...
I digress.
A lovely time was had by all, including the sold-out audience of almost 1900 people.
Time to move on. Time to focus on the November 2010 Black Box Festival at McGill (I'm now thinking about doing a VERY German opera...), La Boheme, Imeneo, the outreach programs to start up in Montreal, plus the new-yet-not-done-when-will-it-be-done website (ACK!), the in-laws coming in September, and putting the Montreal West house together (as in UNpacking all those bloody boxes.)
Plus I have to finish "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius". So far, it is just that.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Style
What is style?
Tell me. Write in, weigh in.
I've heard a number of young singers over the years worry if they are singing in the appropriate "style"; i.e. singing Britten in the style of Britten, singing Mozart in the style of Mozart, etc. Typically this worry causes them to sing in no style, or worse, something akin to "correctness" that functions as words&music sung where/when/how the composer wanted them. This results in that lovely mediocre performance where nothing is wrong, but sadly -- nothing is right. Lots of people I meet like that sort of thing.
"Style" is defined by Merrian-Webster as "a distinctive manner of expression." It can also be defined as "the state of being poplular." I think the two are linked when it comes to music.
Style, in music, changes over the years. As well, how musicians view a certain time periods' "style" also changes with the years. Remember Raymond Leppard? His 1962 production of Monteverdi's "L'incoronazione di Poppea" set the whole baroque opera craze in motion. Yet, many of my close and most-respected friends in the Early Music wing of this business can't abide the mention of his name. This is mostly due to the fact that his score has fallen massively out of fashion.
Now some of this is due to the fact that so much has now been learned, written, and understood about early music that we no longer need someone like Mo. Leppard to "translate" a baroque score for us -- with all those confusing numbers and little-to-no actual musical notation being put down for us non-Early heathens who can't figure out figured bass.
I grew up on Leppard's "Poppea" and certainly enjoyed IMMENSELY his rendition of Cavalli's "La Calisto" that was presented in 1989 at the Santa Fe Opera with Tatiana Troyanos and James Bowman (and a young Joanne Kolymejic singing Juno as well as a young Elizabeth Koch singing a Furie in the chorus, complete with electronic lights catching her costume on fire one night!) Now, was it stylistically correct? For 1989, barely. For 2010, not really. I would label it "romantic baroque" now. Particularly Troyanos' full-throated (and gorgeous) voice blossoming next to Bowman's thrilling counter-tenor. It's a performance that made me LOVE baroque opera and music, inspired me to investigate it further. It was EFFECTIVE. However, now it would not be considered CORRECT.
So what is the correct style of singing Mozart? What is the correct style of singing Donizetti? Really, these are important questions.
If the answers are about appoggiaturas, or about trills starting from above, or about cadential ornaments, then I'd venture to say one is searching for pieces of the style -- like buttons on fashionable pants that come and go with the winds of the runways of Paris. These are arbitrary rules and/or collections of rules that one uses to dissect art or music. I find them useful, but not the point.
It's much more interesting to try to get into the head of the composer. To get into the time period in which they were writing. To know and understand who the singers were, (and perhaps what their voices were like), that were in the ears of the composers as they were writing. It's also much more interesting to think about what sort of individual style YOU might have that could connect into another composer's sensibilities.
And, if that fails...worry less about style. Think more about being an effective communicator of music, text, character, vocal line, and emotional subtext. That would be my advice.
Tell me. Write in, weigh in.
I've heard a number of young singers over the years worry if they are singing in the appropriate "style"; i.e. singing Britten in the style of Britten, singing Mozart in the style of Mozart, etc. Typically this worry causes them to sing in no style, or worse, something akin to "correctness" that functions as words&music sung where/when/how the composer wanted them. This results in that lovely mediocre performance where nothing is wrong, but sadly -- nothing is right. Lots of people I meet like that sort of thing.
"Style" is defined by Merrian-Webster as "a distinctive manner of expression." It can also be defined as "the state of being poplular." I think the two are linked when it comes to music.
Style, in music, changes over the years. As well, how musicians view a certain time periods' "style" also changes with the years. Remember Raymond Leppard? His 1962 production of Monteverdi's "L'incoronazione di Poppea" set the whole baroque opera craze in motion. Yet, many of my close and most-respected friends in the Early Music wing of this business can't abide the mention of his name. This is mostly due to the fact that his score has fallen massively out of fashion.
Now some of this is due to the fact that so much has now been learned, written, and understood about early music that we no longer need someone like Mo. Leppard to "translate" a baroque score for us -- with all those confusing numbers and little-to-no actual musical notation being put down for us non-Early heathens who can't figure out figured bass.
I grew up on Leppard's "Poppea" and certainly enjoyed IMMENSELY his rendition of Cavalli's "La Calisto" that was presented in 1989 at the Santa Fe Opera with Tatiana Troyanos and James Bowman (and a young Joanne Kolymejic singing Juno as well as a young Elizabeth Koch singing a Furie in the chorus, complete with electronic lights catching her costume on fire one night!) Now, was it stylistically correct? For 1989, barely. For 2010, not really. I would label it "romantic baroque" now. Particularly Troyanos' full-throated (and gorgeous) voice blossoming next to Bowman's thrilling counter-tenor. It's a performance that made me LOVE baroque opera and music, inspired me to investigate it further. It was EFFECTIVE. However, now it would not be considered CORRECT.
So what is the correct style of singing Mozart? What is the correct style of singing Donizetti? Really, these are important questions.
If the answers are about appoggiaturas, or about trills starting from above, or about cadential ornaments, then I'd venture to say one is searching for pieces of the style -- like buttons on fashionable pants that come and go with the winds of the runways of Paris. These are arbitrary rules and/or collections of rules that one uses to dissect art or music. I find them useful, but not the point.
It's much more interesting to try to get into the head of the composer. To get into the time period in which they were writing. To know and understand who the singers were, (and perhaps what their voices were like), that were in the ears of the composers as they were writing. It's also much more interesting to think about what sort of individual style YOU might have that could connect into another composer's sensibilities.
And, if that fails...worry less about style. Think more about being an effective communicator of music, text, character, vocal line, and emotional subtext. That would be my advice.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Conducting in Two
So it's Thursday, July 15th and David Gately is almost finished staging Pirates of Penzance. He started less than a week ago, and in between starting stagings and now, we've performed Die Fledermaus with the same set of singers! Brevard certainly doesn't waste anyone's time, and the singers are beginning to realize just how packed a day can be.
As the conductor, staging rehearsals are a time of patience, a time to focus on the full score, a time to wave your hands at people not paying any attention to you because they're trying to remember where the director wants them to go, or what the choreography is, or simply focusing on their lines or a prop. For whatever reason, the past few rehearsals have been on numbers in the show either written in 2/4 or 6/8 or a quick 4/4; i.e. all numbers where the conductor is going to conduct "In 2" (down, up, down, up, repeat...) It's a rather simple pattern, something that one normally doesn't focus on. In fact, I've taught it to my 8 year old son, and he's been doing a rather good job waving his hands during the rehearsals!
However, conducting in two -- day after day -- has been difficult for me. Not only is each "2" slightly faster or slower than the other, but the repeated injury occurring to my right shoulder has now resulted in the need for a massage. Remember, please, that I don't conduct all that often anymore -- I spend my time at McGill directing shows, not conducting them. It's like a marathon runner not running all year and then jumping into a race (this race being conducting from 10am to 10pm).
I'm really not complaining, but it has been an adjustment on my getting-older body, shoulder and arm. It's something I'm not all that proud of having to worry about, let alone complain about.
It'll all be over rather soon, however. We start running the show (and there are numbers in 3 and in 4!!) later today. This Sunday there is an aria concert which I'm playing on, then Monday morning I have my first orchestra reading.
We open (as in an open dress rehearsal that they sell tickets to) a week from Tonight!
down, up, down, up, down, up...
As the conductor, staging rehearsals are a time of patience, a time to focus on the full score, a time to wave your hands at people not paying any attention to you because they're trying to remember where the director wants them to go, or what the choreography is, or simply focusing on their lines or a prop. For whatever reason, the past few rehearsals have been on numbers in the show either written in 2/4 or 6/8 or a quick 4/4; i.e. all numbers where the conductor is going to conduct "In 2" (down, up, down, up, repeat...) It's a rather simple pattern, something that one normally doesn't focus on. In fact, I've taught it to my 8 year old son, and he's been doing a rather good job waving his hands during the rehearsals!
However, conducting in two -- day after day -- has been difficult for me. Not only is each "2" slightly faster or slower than the other, but the repeated injury occurring to my right shoulder has now resulted in the need for a massage. Remember, please, that I don't conduct all that often anymore -- I spend my time at McGill directing shows, not conducting them. It's like a marathon runner not running all year and then jumping into a race (this race being conducting from 10am to 10pm).
I'm really not complaining, but it has been an adjustment on my getting-older body, shoulder and arm. It's something I'm not all that proud of having to worry about, let alone complain about.
It'll all be over rather soon, however. We start running the show (and there are numbers in 3 and in 4!!) later today. This Sunday there is an aria concert which I'm playing on, then Monday morning I have my first orchestra reading.
We open (as in an open dress rehearsal that they sell tickets to) a week from Tonight!
down, up, down, up, down, up...
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Update from Hot Brevard
So it's gotten hot here up in the mountains of North Carolina! Not as hot as Montreal currently - which is simply weird - but still darn tootin' hot!
Being stuck with a cold hasn't helped either. It started in the first week and simply won't let go of me. I tried sleep, tried lots of liquids, tried over-the-counter meds, tried beer, tried starving it, etc. Nothing has worked. If anyone has any great ideas for getting rid of a summer cold - please send them my way!
In it's first three weeks, Janiec Opera Company has produced the musical "TinTypes", taken part in the von Stade concert, and performed a rather large scenes program off in Hendersonville. The scenes program went quite well, considering that the students were cast on just the second day of the program and had little time to prepare the scenes. But as many of us know, if you have two weeks, it'll take two weeks; if you have two months, it'll take two months. That's a good lesson for all.
But it does beg the question: When is something ready (as in ready to perform)?
When it's perfect? No, nothing's ever perfect.
When it's almost perfect? Well, if you're measuring against something that doesn't exist, then how can you know you're "almost" to it?
When someone in authority (a coach, conductor, or director) says it's ready? No, how should they know when something outside of themselves is ready?
It's a difficult question to answer. Perhaps we shouldn't be looking for "ready", perhaps we should be looking for something that's ready to be shared that has as much information in it as possible. Information like text and character, vocal colors and line, physical gestures and content, musical thoughts and subtextual emotions. Stuff like that is great to share. One doesn't have to be "ready" to share these things. One has to be WILLING to share these things.
It's a choice, really.
Wanting to share all that important information, by entertaining an audience (I tire of my colleagues who don't get that we're ENTERTAINERS!), is what motivates me to be "ready".
The quote from Maryanne Williamson comes to mind as well: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be?"
Pirates starts staging this Friday. Can't wait...
Being stuck with a cold hasn't helped either. It started in the first week and simply won't let go of me. I tried sleep, tried lots of liquids, tried over-the-counter meds, tried beer, tried starving it, etc. Nothing has worked. If anyone has any great ideas for getting rid of a summer cold - please send them my way!
In it's first three weeks, Janiec Opera Company has produced the musical "TinTypes", taken part in the von Stade concert, and performed a rather large scenes program off in Hendersonville. The scenes program went quite well, considering that the students were cast on just the second day of the program and had little time to prepare the scenes. But as many of us know, if you have two weeks, it'll take two weeks; if you have two months, it'll take two months. That's a good lesson for all.
But it does beg the question: When is something ready (as in ready to perform)?
When it's perfect? No, nothing's ever perfect.
When it's almost perfect? Well, if you're measuring against something that doesn't exist, then how can you know you're "almost" to it?
When someone in authority (a coach, conductor, or director) says it's ready? No, how should they know when something outside of themselves is ready?
It's a difficult question to answer. Perhaps we shouldn't be looking for "ready", perhaps we should be looking for something that's ready to be shared that has as much information in it as possible. Information like text and character, vocal colors and line, physical gestures and content, musical thoughts and subtextual emotions. Stuff like that is great to share. One doesn't have to be "ready" to share these things. One has to be WILLING to share these things.
It's a choice, really.
Wanting to share all that important information, by entertaining an audience (I tire of my colleagues who don't get that we're ENTERTAINERS!), is what motivates me to be "ready".
The quote from Maryanne Williamson comes to mind as well: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be?"
Pirates starts staging this Friday. Can't wait...
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