Figaro qua, Figaro la, Figaro su, Figaro giu

Edward Parks and Adelaide Muir in Yale Opera's production of "Orphee aux enfers" in April 2007. (Photo by Jennifer Lester)
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It's Grant Meachum again, writing from rainy New Haven.

In the opera "The Barber of Seville" (which I will alternately refer to as "Il barbiere di Siviglia" to maintain my operatic street cred), the only real break that singers get after the end of the overture is during an instrumental storm scene in Act II.  Here it's left to the creativity of the stage director to decide exactly what Figaro and Almaviva do during the storm.  There are solutions both dramatic (finding a technical way to have the singers climb Rosina's wall onstage) and cost-effective (bringing in the curtain and making it "Imagination Time" for the audience).  These final days before we leave for Italy have us all a bit like Figaro and Almaviva during the storm - racing around (literally in the rain today) trying to take care of details in a limited window of time.

These final days before we leave for Italy have us all a bit like Figaro and Almaviva during the storm - racing around (literally in the rain today) trying to take care of details in a limited window of time.

Edward Parks, Nicholas Masters, Christy Lombardozzi, Zach Borichevsky, Elona Ceno, and Diego Matamoros in Yale Opera's production of "La Boheme" in February 2007. (Photo by Jennifer Lester)
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Today our concert performance of ORPHEE moves to the New Haven Green for a walk-through at 1:30pm and a dress rehearsal with the New Haven Symphony at 7:30pm.  No one likes inclement weather, but it has special hazards for musicians.  For instrumentalists, changing humidity does a number on carefully calibrated instruments, especially those made of wood and glue.  For singers, just about any change in climate means a change to the delicate mechanism of the human voice.  If you ever want an interesting party conversation, just ask a group of singers about various vocal ailments.  You'll be looking for a seat next to the Aluminum-Siding salesman in no time.

Outdoor opera is a chore to produce, but if the weather cooperates the results are fantastic.  Singers are used to singing in front of audiences of about 1000 people, but in the great outdoors that number can easily grow five times over.  Opera outdoors becomes an even more communal experience due to shared space and the wildly divergent backgrounds and interests of the audience.  Suddenly the good seats aren't the ones you paid top dollar for - they're the ones that you camped out for eight hours to secure.

I can promise Yale Opera's usual fantastic performance standards for any of you who will be attending on Thursday evening at 8:00pm.  These singers get a fantastic education at the School of Music, and it's gratifying to be able to share their talents with as wide of an audience as possible.  During the day we all fight our stress over time and varying weather conditions, but once the stage lights are on it's all about the music.

And bugs - those guys can really mess up an outdoor concert.

Thursday night, 8:00pm, New Haven Green.  Arrive early, bring blankets and a picnic.  We'll see you then.

Grant