It's now officially over...both Il Trovatore and my opera career, unless I'm asked to return, of course ;) What a ride it has been, and I can't thank Jamie, Steve, and everyone else connected with the production enough for putting up with my rookie mistakes. Last night's performance was over the top in every respect! The only sad part is that we didn't pack the house full every night. Was there anything better going on in town? I doubt it. But many thanks to all who did make it. A large, enthusiastic audience is a very good thing indeed for all concerned!
For everyone who hasn't had enough opera to suit them, don't forget that Piedmont Opera and the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts will have a "debut" of sorts this Saturday, Oct. 9th at 1:00, the first Live from the Met HD transmission in Winston-Salem! The opening production is Das Rheingold, the first opera in Richard Wagner's epic Ring Cycle, starring the hunky Bryn Terfel as Wotan. Tickets are selling fast, so you'd better call the HanesBrands Theatre box office at 747-1414 to grab yours. I have mine, and I don't care how much you offer me, you can't have them! A total of twelve operas will be shown, at least one per month, through May of 2011.
And if you haven't already bought a calendar for 2011, get one and put down these Piedmont Opera dates:
Feb. 12 at 7:30pm, Love Scenes at Hayworth Fine Arts Center on the High Point University campus
Feb. 13 at 3pm, Love Scenes (repeated) at Brendle Recital Hall on the Wake Forest University campus
March 25 at 8pm, H.M.S. Pinafore by Gilbert and Sullivan at the Stevens Center
March 27 at 2pm, ditto
March 29 at 7:30pm, ditto
May 21, Magnolia Ball fundraiser at Forsyth Country Club
Support the Opera! Call the opera office at 725-7101 for more information on any of these events.
I'll be signing off for now, but I might reincarnate as a new personality ere long. Stay tuned, and thanks for following my opera adventure!
Judy/The Diva/La Zingarella/Mother Superior/Head Monk
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
The Show is On!
What a weekend! With opening night on Friday and the second performance on Sunday afternoon, things have been busy with the opera plus family and friends visiting. How wonderful it all is, though. And the flowers...my sister and brother-in-law arrived on Friday with flowers in hand, my nephew and his family sent flowers to my dressing room on Friday night, and friends from Blowing Rock brought more flowers after the performance yesterday! I don't get to participate in the final bows (for good reason), but these flowers make me feel like a little bit of a diva anyway.
I can't tell you how much fun it is to be on stage with a large audience reacting to the beautiful singing going on all around me! Luckily that audience is pretty much a big blur from the stage. I could tell that most seats downstairs were occupied, but that's about it, so I don't have to worry about someone making a face at me. Now I'm wishing that there could be a DVD done of this production, so I can keep it close by for a "fix" after Tuesday night's final show. Many of the arias simply take your breath away with the beauty of the music combined with its presentation by the exquisite voices of our cast and the fantastic symphony musicians led by Maestro Jamie Allbritten, not to mention outstanding work by the chorus!
Some have asked to see pictures of me in full costume, so reluctantly I comply:
La Zingarella in the flesh...I don't think I'll be dying my hair black any time soon!
And Mother Superior, don't I look pious (it's all an act.) I didn't get a photo of me as a monk, just envision a hooded dark brown, well, monk!
And best of all, the beautiful flowers sent by my nephew Keith, his wife Jan and their children Corinne and Jacob!
One more performance coming up tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7:30, your last chance to see (or re-see!) a great show!! Special thanks to Ken Keuffel of the Winston-Salem Journal for a fine review in Saturday's paper.
See you at the Stevens Center,
La Z
I can't tell you how much fun it is to be on stage with a large audience reacting to the beautiful singing going on all around me! Luckily that audience is pretty much a big blur from the stage. I could tell that most seats downstairs were occupied, but that's about it, so I don't have to worry about someone making a face at me. Now I'm wishing that there could be a DVD done of this production, so I can keep it close by for a "fix" after Tuesday night's final show. Many of the arias simply take your breath away with the beauty of the music combined with its presentation by the exquisite voices of our cast and the fantastic symphony musicians led by Maestro Jamie Allbritten, not to mention outstanding work by the chorus!
Some have asked to see pictures of me in full costume, so reluctantly I comply:
One more performance coming up tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7:30, your last chance to see (or re-see!) a great show!! Special thanks to Ken Keuffel of the Winston-Salem Journal for a fine review in Saturday's paper.
See you at the Stevens Center,
La Z
Friday, October 1, 2010
Tonight's the Night!
Well, it's finally here, opening night of Il Trovatore! After a great final dress rehearsal on Wednesday night and a day of rest, everyone should be pumped up to give it their all. It was fun having an audience to play to, and happily they were sitting far enough back that I couldn't see a single face! I try not to look out into the hall, afraid of seeing some people I know making faces at me (you know who you are, don't do it!)
Speaking of the dress rehearsals, I must pay homage to Terry Allen and his crew of OPERAtors and Piedmont Opera board members, who so deliciously fed the cast and crew both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Here is a photo of the kitchen crew from Tuesday night. Chief Terry, also known as Chef Terry for bringing three sumptuous pecan pies each night plus many other goodies, is second from right. I found the pecan pie irresistible, so much so that I felt like Scarlet O'Hara getting laced into her corset when it came time to put on my gypsy dress. Relief came with a change into Mother Superior's forgiving robes!
Sharing a dressing room with Amanda Moody has been a real privilege. Not only is she beautiful and extremely talented, she's a really nice person! I've learned a lot about singing and the life of the performer from her. Here she is (above) in her beautiful costume for the role of Leonora's confidante, Ines.
Next door to us is Shannon Magee, aka Azucena, the wild gypsy woman! One of the joys of being "on the hall" with most of the principals is to hear the warm-ups going on all around. I can attest that Shannon's voice is really stunning and powerful! Here she is, looking especially ferocious, but note the cell phone in her hand! She was probably checking in with the baby-sitter for her son, aged 2 1/2, who travels with her wherever she goes. After the photo, she invited me in to view a very large spider in her dressing room and to determine whether it was dead or alive. When it started crawling toward us, we both knew the answer, it had to perish, and I was the one asked to do the nasty deed. Luckily I had on substantial shoes. We all have our special calling.
I have special guests arriving this afternoon, my sister Elinor and brother-in-law Billy from Columbus, Georgia. They will attend tonight along with my long-suffering but patient husband Bill. (The rehearsals do take a toll on your at-home life.) On Sunday my nephew Keith from Atlanta arrives, along with several friends from Blowing Rock and environs. That doesn't help in the nerves control area!
But on with the show, be there!!
La Z, M. Superior and H. Monk
I have special guests arriving this afternoon, my sister Elinor and brother-in-law Billy from Columbus, Georgia. They will attend tonight along with my long-suffering but patient husband Bill. (The rehearsals do take a toll on your at-home life.) On Sunday my nephew Keith from Atlanta arrives, along with several friends from Blowing Rock and environs. That doesn't help in the nerves control area!
But on with the show, be there!!
La Z, M. Superior and H. Monk
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
In boca al lupo!
We have our final dress rehearsal tonight, and I hope anyone who reads this will wish us in boca al lupo! I kept hearing this Italian phrase and wondered what it meant, but no one could tell me other than that it's the opera equivalent of "break a leg" or good luck. The internet came to my rescue again, although I do have friends that could have translated it for me. The phrase literally means "in the mouth of the wolf"...I suppose you would need good luck to get out of there! The other phrase often used for good luck is Toi...Toi...Toi! One internet source said that this phrase is derived from the German for devil (teuflisch), while another said "it's to represent spitting, when properly done it is said over the left shoulder of the recipient of the good wishes." Whatever, wish us luck!
Last night was the first dress rehearsal with wigs and makeup. That made for some glamorous gypsies, of which I was NOT one! I don't think I was cut out to have long, curly black hair. But the process of "wigging" is interesting. First you have to pin up your hair as well as you can using bobby pins, then put on a stocking "skull cap" over your head. The wig/makeup expert next places the wig over your head and proceeds to pin it down to the skull cap using lots more bobby pins. It's not the most comfortable experience I've ever had, but tolerable. Of course when the wig comes off one's hair is sticking out every which way, which makes for a frightful sight.
So off I go to get wigged and into my favorite character,
La Zingarella!
Last night was the first dress rehearsal with wigs and makeup. That made for some glamorous gypsies, of which I was NOT one! I don't think I was cut out to have long, curly black hair. But the process of "wigging" is interesting. First you have to pin up your hair as well as you can using bobby pins, then put on a stocking "skull cap" over your head. The wig/makeup expert next places the wig over your head and proceeds to pin it down to the skull cap using lots more bobby pins. It's not the most comfortable experience I've ever had, but tolerable. Of course when the wig comes off one's hair is sticking out every which way, which makes for a frightful sight.
So off I go to get wigged and into my favorite character,
La Zingarella!
'Piano Dress' Photos Amongst the Halls and Dressing Rooms
This beautiful gypsy band will also take on even more flair once the black wigs are in place - you may not recognize us then! But notice how stunning the gypsy costumes are, all different. We may be poor, but we know how to dress!
Why is Manrico looking so happy when he has to die for the love of Leonora??
Monday, September 27, 2010
Getting into character
This morning's Triad Arts Up Close with David Ford on WFDD radio (88.5) featured Part I of David's interview with principals Jill Gardner and Mark Walters! If you missed it like I did, don't despair. Just turn on your speakers and go to http://wfdd.org/tauc.php/ts1285605373, click on the Listen button and there you have it. It's a great spot. Part II will be aired on Triad Arts Weekend on Friday (opening day!) at 1:30 pm. In case you miss it, that interview will also be available on WFDD's website after it airs.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Moving to the Big Stage!
Friday night's rehearsal was a run-through of the entire opera in the UNCSA rehearsal hall, our last night working there. It was fantastic! Everyone was in full, beautiful voice, the fight scenes were fierce and realistic and the acting incredible. There were not many pauses for corrections found to be necessary. And there was an enthusiastic response from our nice audience. I was only able to get a couple of photos before the action began, these of two intrepid soldiers:
After the rehearsal Jamie told us some unfortunate news - trouble had occurred during the load-in of the set at the Stevens Center - luckily no one was hurt when one of the large columns collapsed and fell onto another one of them! Adjustments were having to be made to the set to compensate and our rehearsal set for yesterday afternoon was moved to last night.
When I arrived at the Stevens Center through the stage door entrance, I immediately got lost in the rabbit warren of the "underground" regions of the backstage world! Fortunately, Amanda Moody rescued me and showed me the way to the dressing rooms. I found the room designated for the female chorus, and saw racks of costumes set up, arranged in order of last names. What a wonderful sight! That is, until I could find neither my name nor my treasured gypsy attire. Then Amanda reappeared to say that I was to share her dressing room! She led me through more doors and down several stairways, to a lovely space outfitted with super-bright makeup lights and even a bathroom to be shared with Azucena, Shannon Magee, next door. "Our" door is marked "Ines (Amanda's character) and Super Lady", such a privilege to be in this rarefied atmosphere. Other close neighbors are "Ferrando and Ruiz" (Richard Ollarsaba and Marvin Kehler.) Our costumes were there but we are not allowed to put them on until the wardrobe people arrive to dress us. Pity! But I'm pretty sure tonight (Sunday) will be the night this happens for the first time.
After we scoped out our arrangements, the entire cast gathered in the audience of the theatre to receive instructions for the evening. The stage crew was there, as well as the lighting folks. We had a chance to get up on the stage to walk about on the raked (remember? that means inclined) platform, which does feel a little strange after the flat floor of prior rehearsals. Jill Gardner said it helps to "think of cows on a hillside, they put one leg a little ahead of the other to balance themselves!" There are also two steps up to be aware of, one from the base of the stage in front, another at the back. In addition, enhanced props such as carts and benches were introduced, as well as two giant crosses for the convent scene. So you have to be alert as to where you are at all times, while often dodging the swordplay!
After a session of fight reenactments supervised by Dale Girard and adjusted for the new setting, we began another run-through of the entire opera, but this time the singing was held back (according to my roommate Amanda) for two reasons: one is to be able to concentrate on the staging and placement, the other is to allow the voices, particularly of the principals, a day of rest. Amanda said they are rarely asked to "sing out" for two days in a row. Given that the Stevens Center stage is much larger than the previous rehearsal space, a good many adjustments were made by Steve as we went along. We only ran into each other a few times as we got used to all these changes!
I think I'll arrive early for my "dress call" tonight, hoping to get into La Zingarella mode as soon as possible! We will be rehearsing with Angela Ward on the piano for one last time before full dress with the orchestra on Tuesday night. But challenges still await for tonight with full skirts and costume changes added to the mix! On with the show...
Super Lady (or Super Woman, your pick!)
Above is James Hopkins, who coined the "turtlehead" description.
To the right is Kenneth Alexander, in "fierce" mode!
After the rehearsal Jamie told us some unfortunate news - trouble had occurred during the load-in of the set at the Stevens Center - luckily no one was hurt when one of the large columns collapsed and fell onto another one of them! Adjustments were having to be made to the set to compensate and our rehearsal set for yesterday afternoon was moved to last night.
When I arrived at the Stevens Center through the stage door entrance, I immediately got lost in the rabbit warren of the "underground" regions of the backstage world! Fortunately, Amanda Moody rescued me and showed me the way to the dressing rooms. I found the room designated for the female chorus, and saw racks of costumes set up, arranged in order of last names. What a wonderful sight! That is, until I could find neither my name nor my treasured gypsy attire. Then Amanda reappeared to say that I was to share her dressing room! She led me through more doors and down several stairways, to a lovely space outfitted with super-bright makeup lights and even a bathroom to be shared with Azucena, Shannon Magee, next door. "Our" door is marked "Ines (Amanda's character) and Super Lady", such a privilege to be in this rarefied atmosphere. Other close neighbors are "Ferrando and Ruiz" (Richard Ollarsaba and Marvin Kehler.) Our costumes were there but we are not allowed to put them on until the wardrobe people arrive to dress us. Pity! But I'm pretty sure tonight (Sunday) will be the night this happens for the first time.
After we scoped out our arrangements, the entire cast gathered in the audience of the theatre to receive instructions for the evening. The stage crew was there, as well as the lighting folks. We had a chance to get up on the stage to walk about on the raked (remember? that means inclined) platform, which does feel a little strange after the flat floor of prior rehearsals. Jill Gardner said it helps to "think of cows on a hillside, they put one leg a little ahead of the other to balance themselves!" There are also two steps up to be aware of, one from the base of the stage in front, another at the back. In addition, enhanced props such as carts and benches were introduced, as well as two giant crosses for the convent scene. So you have to be alert as to where you are at all times, while often dodging the swordplay!
After a session of fight reenactments supervised by Dale Girard and adjusted for the new setting, we began another run-through of the entire opera, but this time the singing was held back (according to my roommate Amanda) for two reasons: one is to be able to concentrate on the staging and placement, the other is to allow the voices, particularly of the principals, a day of rest. Amanda said they are rarely asked to "sing out" for two days in a row. Given that the Stevens Center stage is much larger than the previous rehearsal space, a good many adjustments were made by Steve as we went along. We only ran into each other a few times as we got used to all these changes!
I think I'll arrive early for my "dress call" tonight, hoping to get into La Zingarella mode as soon as possible! We will be rehearsing with Angela Ward on the piano for one last time before full dress with the orchestra on Tuesday night. But challenges still await for tonight with full skirts and costume changes added to the mix! On with the show...
Super Lady (or Super Woman, your pick!)
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