One down, two to go!

Mitridate has been over for almost a month, and now that I'm no longer still hearing the recitatives in my dreams, I think it's about time to tell you about my experience before I forget it entirely.

This was definitely a different experience from any of the other operas I've been in. With a low budget, there just wasn't enough money for certain things that I've gotten used to more recently. One of these things was having stage managers backstage to give you your entrances. The last time I can remember not having someone tell me when to enter was during my years at Westminster for undergrad. I remember thinking when I got to USC and found out that it wasn't my job to know when to enter the stage, that having someone paid to do that was very silly and unnecessary. After one production, I was sold. There are so many other things we need to worry about as singers, and having someone else be responsible for a small part of them is wonderful. The good thing with Mitridate was that at our little black box theater in the JCC Manhattan, the backstage area was right behind the stage, so we could hear exactly where we were in the show at all times. This made entrances far easier. Speaking of the theater, it was unfortunately not built in any way for musicians. The acoustic was, by far, the worst acoustic I've ever sung in, or heard other singers sing in. And just when we thought it couldn't get any deader (singing into a pillow, perhaps?), the audience arrived and it was even worse. When a room is that dead, it makes it incredibly difficult to sing, and due to the lack of any reverb, the audience loses out on vocal warmth and color. It's difficult to work so hard at something and then learn that you're not going to sound your best no matter what you do.

Rehearsals were very interesting, and also quite different from what I've been used to. There wasn't a whole lot of time to rehearse, so we didn't rehearse musically as much as I would have wanted. In a show with so much recitative, more music repetition would have been very helpful (especially since I loved working with our conductor). We spent a lot of rehearsal time reading through the libretto in English, which I don't recall ever doing in the past. To me it seemed like a great learning tool for young singers, but not for professionals. Also, when a show has limited time, I would expect the singers to show up absolutely prepared, and know their translations. In most cases, we did show up prepared, so the repetitions in English just took away from our time to rehearse musically or on our feet.

Our director, who comes from a theater background, ran rehearsals in a way unlike any other with whom I've worked. I've had directors so specific that they even tell you where and when to move your arms; I've had directors who give a basic outline of where to go and let you fill in the rest; and I've worked with directors who let you play a little bit first, and eventually tell you what they want. Our director told us where to enter, and then said: "Let's try it." We would sing through an entire scene, staging it ourselves, then he would have us go back to the beginning, try something a little different, and move on to the next scene. We were double-cast, so basically, whichever cast went first in the staging process staged that scene. We also never had any in-depth discussion of our characters, so each individual singer developed his own character viewpoint. Occasionally, when repeating the staging of the other cast, we would change where we went on stage depending on how we thought our characters would react, thus having two different casts with two different stagings. The director was fine with this, and it gave us a lot of freedom. The lighting designer was not quite as thrilled, since none of us were moving to the same places on stage! I feel like this kind of staging took much more time than something more traditional, but it was definitely interesting doing the majority of it ourselves. With my doctoral minor in opera directing, I started staging the scenes in my mind before going to rehearsals, which I felt prepared me very well.

The performances went well, and the audiences seemed to really enjoy themselves. Thanks to the Manhattan location, some of my friends and even one of my students were able to attend, along with my family. I was especially pleased to be able to perform a lead role for my 91-year-old grandpa. I was told he couldn't stop giggling when the countertenors were singing. Being in the opening night cast, I received my first reviews, and you can read them on my website if you're interested at http://www.ericamillersoprano.com/page13/page13.html.

One of the biggest joys for me in the productions was singing with Serena Benedetti, another high soprano who was playing my (male) live interest. Her singing, her ornaments, her musicality, her stage presence, and the research she had done on the opera before the first rehearsal really inspired me. Our duet, the only one in the show, I will remember forever. As soon as we have a DVD of the performance, I will post some clips on my website and let you know. I'll also have some pictures, which I'll put on my website and on my blog.

Two weeks after Mitridate was over, I flew to Houston to sing for a fundraising dinner for Opera in the Heights, where I will be singing Marie in Daughter of the Regiment this fall. Everyone was very welcoming, and I got to stay a few blocks from the theater in a gorgeous house with wonderful hosts, Mike and Pat Journeay. I apparently made a lovely houseguest, and they offered to have me stay with them when I come back at the end of August. I hope they don't forget! At the end of the dinner, I sang Glitter and be Gay from Candide to an enthusiastic and tipsy crowd (the best kind!). It was a huge hit! I spent the next day getting the tour of Houston from a friend who lives there and will also be in Daughter of the Regiment. Rather than hit the museums and the hot spots, she told me she'd show me what real Houstonites do when it's 99 degrees outside – drink. We started at a coffee shop, since it was before noon, had lunch, and then basically went bar-hopping, with a little vintage-store shopping in between. Bars do keep you cool! After a $1.50 taco truck taco for dinner (can't wait for more of those!), I was dropped off at home, and flew back to NJ the next day. I've started learning Marie, and I LOVE it! I can't wait to get back to Houston.

I also bought my flight for Macau – I'll be flying in two days early, so I can try to get used to the 12-hour time difference before my first rehearsal. I am hoping to have both Marie and Ännchen learned and memorized before leaving for Houston, so I definitely have my work cut out for me over the next couple of months.

At home, my voice studio has been expanding quite nicely. In the past couple of weeks, I have nearly doubled the number of students taking lessons. I might have to start turning singers away pretty soon! I'm really enjoying teaching, although I did just get a 12-year-old belter (humongous voice), and I'm not entirely sure what to do with her. I guess I'll figure it out!

Happy summer (almost)!