Just when I thought the summer was ending, I flew to Houston. They're rationing water (they're apparently about 40 inches short this year) and have had around 50 days this summer over 100 degrees, including all three days I've been here. Luckily, my host family has A/C, and so does the theater. And speaking of weather, just in case you were wondering, the hurricane put downtown Mt. Holly under water, but not my house. It made my marigolds very happy, though.
I've spent the last couple of months really working on Marie in Daughter of the Regiment, and I have to say, there's no way I could get through this role without my teacher, Lindsey Christiansen. Every lesson I had, she fixed something major that I just couldn't sing without doing. It's both a scary and a great feeling to leave a lesson knowing that if I hadn't gone, I'd have some serious hold-ups. Good news is, after the first few lessons of fixing everything, the last lesson I had was the perfect ending where I was told everything sounded much better. I'm still working on the technical stuff, but it's starting to feel a lot more natural.
So, I left for Houston on Tuesday, and moved in with my lovely hosts, Mike and Pat Journeay. They have a gorgeous house and I have the whole upstairs to myself. They love to travel, and the house is full of artwork and souvenirs from all of the countries they've lived in and visited. Mike builds houses for a living, and he built this one eight years ago to look like an older style house - high ceilings, hardwood floors, crown moulding, etc. It's 18 steps up to my room, which should tell you how high the ceilings are. It's really stunning. They also like to cook, and I have a standing invitation to join them for dinner when I'm not stuck in a rehearsal during that time. And they only live two blocks from the theater. I couldn't have gotten more lucky!
We had our first rehearsal last night. My cast sang through Act I and the other cast sang through Act II. The singers are all wonderful, and very friendly. Best of all, everyone appears to have excellent French, so I don't think we'll be in need of too many grueling dialogue rehearsals. My tenor, David Robinson, sounded wonderful despite being jet-lagged (he flew in a couple of days ago from Vienna, where he currently lives). I was told by a colleague this summer that the bass, Stefano di Peppo, was terrific, and he certainly lives up to his reputation. The other Marie is tiny, but has a big bright voice, and a high E-flat that I would kill for.
Today I had a private coaching with the conductor. He is very clear and easy to work with. He seems very impressed with my legato line (thanks, Mrs. Christiansen!) and overall musicality. Tonight, we're rehearsing a few scenes between the tenor, the bass, and me.
It appears that the opera will be coming together quite quickly. We have a basic schedule for the month, and assuming we stay on schedule, we're having a stumble-through with the lighting crew next Thursday. We don't start staging until this weekend, and we have Monday off, so that doesn't leave us much time to stage the entire opera. The good thing is that while I was in Berlin, I grew accustomed to short rehearsal periods. Hope I can remember a few things!
I'll post again soon once we get deeper into rehearsals. Wish me luck!
September 1, 2011
June 18, 2011
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)!
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)!
April 15, 2011
China, here I come again!
Great news! In my previous post, I wrote about singing in the NYIOPs. Through that, I was invited to a second audition for the Savonlinna Opera Festival and for the Macau International Music Festival. I am still waiting to hear from Savonlinna, although my agent tells me I have a good chance of getting the lead in a world premiere next summer about the fire of La Fenice. I did, however, get a gig singing Ännchen in Weber's Der Freischütz in Macau this fall!!! My contract runs from October 16 through November 5, with three performances. Before I auditioned, I was told that for this production they were looking to hire "singers with considerable international experience" and that Kurt Rydl would be singing Kaspar. When I was in Beijing in 2008 covering Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Kurt Rydl was singing Baron Ochs, and I am so honored to be able to share the stage with such an amazing performer. I am excited to see who is in the rest of the cast!
A few notes about the audition for Macau....In addition to Warren Mok (who is the casting director for Macau, Shanghai, and Hong Kong), also in the audition was Brian Jauhiainan, who is the American casting consultant for those companies and Savonlinna, and about five little old Chinese women. Kathy, my agents, couldn't be there, so she sent another woman with the agency, Sandra. Kathy told me to start with one of Ännchen's arias, so I sang one even though it doesn't really show off my voice too much. No high notes, but a lot of good German diction. Warren asked me what else I brought, and looked fairly uninterested as I listed off all of my other arias. The last thing I mentioned, which I really didn't think made any sense in this situation, was Madame Mao's aria. Brian immediately turned to Warren and said "You have to hear her sing this, oh my God, I mean, you just have to hear it." Warren looked at me and said "Well, you are a dead ringer for the dead wife of Mao Tse Tung!" After telling him that's why I picked up the aria in the first place, I then, in front of a room filled with Chinese people, sang the second half of "I am the wife of Mao Tse Tung." Brian seemed thrilled, and I am so happy to have him as a supporter of my singing! I can be fairly certain that if he is ever asked to help cast a Nixon in China, I'll be the one he calls for Madame Mao. Warren seemed very impressed also, and asked how high the last note was (a D). Oddly, he seemed surprised that I could sing that high, even though my resume is filled with Queen of the Nights. A couple of weeks later, I got the offer! Macau looks like a fabulous place, and I even know the lead trombonist in the orchestra because we went to USC together. It'll be great to have a friend to show me around and point me in the direction of good street food.
Daughter of the Regiment is definitely a go at Opera in the Heights in Houston this September. I'll actually be heading to Houston in June for a weekend to sing in a fundraising event for the company. I've asked to stay an extra day so I can see some of Houston, and not just have a quick turnaround. I'll be singing Glitter and Be Gay, which is always a fun party piece. Opera in the Heights has just gotten a new artistic director/conductor, and I am very excited to work with him. His name is Enrique Carreón-Robledo, and he has worked all over. I spoke with him yesterday about the fundraising event, and I can't wait to collaborate with him on Daughter of the Regiment. It looks like we'll be doing the version with spoken dialogue, so I will have my work cut out for me.
I have just recently started rehearsing in New York for Mozart's Mitridate. It is one heck of an opera, with very difficult music for every singer. There are no low voices in the cast - there are sopranos, a tenor, and countertenors. No mezzos, no baritones, no basses. I find it very funny that the two brothers who are in love my my character are played by a man singing in a woman's register and a woman dressed as a man. I had previously thought that I'd be duetting with a countertenor, but instead it's a pants role for a soprano. While it would have made me giggle to sing a duet with a countertenor, it now makes me giggle that the "man" I'm in love with is a woman who is about half a foot shorter than me (maybe more) and skinnier than me, too. Hopefully the stage will have some platforms on it so she can stand taller than me on occasion! We had a musical run-through last week, and the singers are terrific. I'm looking forward to more rehearsals! I have the performance dates and the location on my website at www.ericamillersoprano.com.
Tomorrow I get to judge my first competition. Every year at Westminster Choir College, they have a competition for all of the non-graduating students for scholarships for the following year. This year, they have decided to have three alumni as judges. When I was in school, the members of the voice faculty were the judges, and I can imagine that it was very difficult to be impartial when making decisions. The three of us, who don't know any of the singers, will rank the students in each class from 1-10 (and give a score of 11 to all the ones who aren't in the top ten) and then the scores will be added up. We are not allowed to discuss the singers with each other, so it will be about as fair as can be. I'll be hearing singers from 9am to 5:30pm, with an hour for lunch. It's going to be a long day! Wish me luck!
I'll keep you updated as things progress. Happy Spring!
A few notes about the audition for Macau....In addition to Warren Mok (who is the casting director for Macau, Shanghai, and Hong Kong), also in the audition was Brian Jauhiainan, who is the American casting consultant for those companies and Savonlinna, and about five little old Chinese women. Kathy, my agents, couldn't be there, so she sent another woman with the agency, Sandra. Kathy told me to start with one of Ännchen's arias, so I sang one even though it doesn't really show off my voice too much. No high notes, but a lot of good German diction. Warren asked me what else I brought, and looked fairly uninterested as I listed off all of my other arias. The last thing I mentioned, which I really didn't think made any sense in this situation, was Madame Mao's aria. Brian immediately turned to Warren and said "You have to hear her sing this, oh my God, I mean, you just have to hear it." Warren looked at me and said "Well, you are a dead ringer for the dead wife of Mao Tse Tung!" After telling him that's why I picked up the aria in the first place, I then, in front of a room filled with Chinese people, sang the second half of "I am the wife of Mao Tse Tung." Brian seemed thrilled, and I am so happy to have him as a supporter of my singing! I can be fairly certain that if he is ever asked to help cast a Nixon in China, I'll be the one he calls for Madame Mao. Warren seemed very impressed also, and asked how high the last note was (a D). Oddly, he seemed surprised that I could sing that high, even though my resume is filled with Queen of the Nights. A couple of weeks later, I got the offer! Macau looks like a fabulous place, and I even know the lead trombonist in the orchestra because we went to USC together. It'll be great to have a friend to show me around and point me in the direction of good street food.
Daughter of the Regiment is definitely a go at Opera in the Heights in Houston this September. I'll actually be heading to Houston in June for a weekend to sing in a fundraising event for the company. I've asked to stay an extra day so I can see some of Houston, and not just have a quick turnaround. I'll be singing Glitter and Be Gay, which is always a fun party piece. Opera in the Heights has just gotten a new artistic director/conductor, and I am very excited to work with him. His name is Enrique Carreón-Robledo, and he has worked all over. I spoke with him yesterday about the fundraising event, and I can't wait to collaborate with him on Daughter of the Regiment. It looks like we'll be doing the version with spoken dialogue, so I will have my work cut out for me.
I have just recently started rehearsing in New York for Mozart's Mitridate. It is one heck of an opera, with very difficult music for every singer. There are no low voices in the cast - there are sopranos, a tenor, and countertenors. No mezzos, no baritones, no basses. I find it very funny that the two brothers who are in love my my character are played by a man singing in a woman's register and a woman dressed as a man. I had previously thought that I'd be duetting with a countertenor, but instead it's a pants role for a soprano. While it would have made me giggle to sing a duet with a countertenor, it now makes me giggle that the "man" I'm in love with is a woman who is about half a foot shorter than me (maybe more) and skinnier than me, too. Hopefully the stage will have some platforms on it so she can stand taller than me on occasion! We had a musical run-through last week, and the singers are terrific. I'm looking forward to more rehearsals! I have the performance dates and the location on my website at www.ericamillersoprano.com.
Tomorrow I get to judge my first competition. Every year at Westminster Choir College, they have a competition for all of the non-graduating students for scholarships for the following year. This year, they have decided to have three alumni as judges. When I was in school, the members of the voice faculty were the judges, and I can imagine that it was very difficult to be impartial when making decisions. The three of us, who don't know any of the singers, will rank the students in each class from 1-10 (and give a score of 11 to all the ones who aren't in the top ten) and then the scores will be added up. We are not allowed to discuss the singers with each other, so it will be about as fair as can be. I'll be hearing singers from 9am to 5:30pm, with an hour for lunch. It's going to be a long day! Wish me luck!
I'll keep you updated as things progress. Happy Spring!
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