Success!

Well, it's my birthday today, and what better way to take my mind off turning 31 than writing another post about singing Marie! I should start by saying that I've had two performances so far with two left, and they've gone very well. The audiences are loving the show, and the critics are, too! I've gotten two reviews so far, both from opening night.


The first is from the Houston Chronicle (click here for the full review):


"Soprano Erica Miller as Marie, mesmerizes us and takes us to that place of coloratura heaven where few have trod. Her bright and shining instrument so powerfully and profoundly touches us, that all we can do is wait until the end of every aria she conquers so we can scream 'Brava!' Ms. Miller finds the center of Marie and runs with her, taking us with her as her life changes drastically." 


The second is from the Houston Press (click here for the full review):


"And what a stunning cast: Coloratura Erica Miller sings Marie as if it had been written for her. She sails through those treacherous roulades and filigreed passages for which Donizetti was so famed and then, slowing down, wraps her supple voice around those honeyed tunes of romance. She's also an agile comedian, with her hairs in tufts and sporting a corset, she's an appropriate tough girl."


The process of putting this show together has been very similar to that of Mitridate, the opera that I was in in NY. Our director for Daughter is not very hands-on (he, like my director for Mitridate, comes from a theater background, not a music one), and instead wanted to see what we could bring to the table ourselves. I got to put on my director hat again (thank you USC and Ken Cazan for that doctoral minor in opera directing!), and explore the character of Marie and her actions and interactions myself. There were a number of times where the cast met in the afternoon to work through some staging by ourselves, and I like to think that the scenes I'm in have my own personal touch. By the end of the rehearsal process, the director added much-needed finishing touches, and staged some wonderful chorus scenes. Again, the directing style is very different from what I'm used to, but all in all, I think we all worked together to put on a terrific-looking and sounding show.


There were originally two roles that were double-cast - Marie and Tonio (the tenor with the famous aria that has nine high C's). Unfortunately, the tenor in my cast was having some health issues and had to pull out of the production. Almost immediately, another local tenor was hired, and about a day later, decided it would be too much for him to have to learn the role in just two weeks. We now have one tenor doing all seven shows, and luckily for us, he's an excellent performer and singer. He is so realistic on stage and it's a pleasure to act/sing with him. His only fault is that he's shorter than me by a few inches, and at Saturday night's performance I accidentally forgot about the height difference and ended up kissing his nose.


Our bass, Sulpice, is sung by Stefano de Peppo, who is a very seasoned performer who has sung all over the world. He has sung just about every comic bass role in the Italian repertoire (he's from Milan), but this is his first role in French. Lucky for us, he knew the conductor and decided to try out this new role here at Opera in the Heights. Having someone with so much experience on stage is absolutely wonderful. He brings so much to the production, and I can't imagine anyone singing and acting his role any better.


The orchestra is marvelous! Many of them play for Houston Grand Opera, and it is so nice to sing with a real orchestra again. The theater does not have a pit, so all 22 players are sitting bunched up to the right of the stage. It's a little tricky to catch cues from the conductor because he is off to the right instead of centered, but with each performance, it's getting a little easier.


My parents flew out for opening night and really enjoyed themselves. Hal will be flying in this afternoon, so he'll see this Thursday night's show. I've gone to see Hal in so many productions, and it is really nice to finally be the one performing with him in the audience instead! He almost made me cry opening night when I went into my dressing room and saw a beautiful bouquet of flowers that he had sent. What a sweet husband I have!


Two down, two to go! I'll leave you with some pictures, all taken by Shannon Langman at our final dress rehearsal. My hair is now in French braids, and I have a blue dress instead of a white dress. (For some silly reason, the costumer thought that a 5'8" size 6 and a 5'0" size 0 would be able to share dresses for Act II. Not so much.)