Opera Everyone Can Enjoy

[chasfm11]

Never sang for him. Some of my conductors were John DeMain from Houston Grand Opera, Hal France, Ransom Wilson, Lionel Friend....
John and Hal were my favorites. Hal was also the artistic director for Omaha for many years. He and Sylvia McNair were married in Omaha.
She, like Renee are both multiple Grammy winners. I have fond memories of Sylvia serving me her lasagne after a rehearsal.
These ladies are Divas in every grand sense and NOT prima donnas.

I've done operas in german, italian and french. Always wanted to try russian.
I studied french for 5 years...then never used it until we did Carmen.

I also auditioned for Baltimore Opera before moving down here, but they went bankrupt before that season started. Bummer.
I have also done some musical theater. Gilbert & Sullivan and others from Omaha to Germany and back again.

You have a very impressive resume. Would you entertain a couple of questions?

1. Out of all the operas that you have performed in, which was your favorite to do and why?
2. Out of all of the opera groups that you worked with which experience (no names necessary) was the most difficult and why
3. Out of all of the selections within an opera that you performed, which specific one was your favorite and why.

My hat is off to you. Although I had several years of voice lessons, no one ever wants to hear me sing where my voice is recognizable from the group. I seriously admire those who have much better vocal qualities.

[ssnstump]

1. Out of all the operas that you have performed in, which was your favorite to do and why?
My favorite was always my first. It was not an opera, but a musical performed by the opera. It was Carousel. That is what
prompted me to audition for the opera company. Cast as chorus, I was also given my first "part" on a professional stage.
"The Clam Aria" as we dubbed it during the clam bake scene. The following year we performed My Fair Lady. it was another
grand musical. As far as an opera, toss up. Carmen and La Boheme. Largely because both had amazing casts top to bottom
and the music was great. ALL of these were conducted by Maestro John DeMain.

2. Out of all of the opera groups that you worked with which experience (no names necessary) was the most difficult and why
My most difficult was my first. It was Maria Padilla by Donizetti. Renee Fleming sang the title role (she was wonderful). The music was difficult for me.
It was my first opera. I was in the chorus and it had over 50 minutes of chorus music in it. The stage director was very difficult. He was
changing the blocking for scenes in the dressing room on opening night. If I made it through that one. I could make it through any.

3. Out of all of the selections within an opera that you performed, which specific one was your favorite and why.
Commendatore in Don Giovanni (Mozart). it was my largest operatic role. No individual aria...small opening exchange with Giovanni,
but then comes back with a VENGENCE! A real bass role.

Most of my opera career (such as it was) was spent in one of the finest (in my opinion) opera choruses in the US. We were directed by Dr. Cina Crisara.
She lives here in Texas now. She is a great teacher and musician. I had several minor roles in addition to chorus. That's what made it so much fun.

[chasfm11]

ssnstump,

Thank you very much for sharing.

I was surprised that you started opera with a Broadway as there has always seemed to be a cultural riff between those two. I'm an instrumentalist, not a singer, and I made extra money while I was teaching in the public school by playing in pit orchestras for Broadway shows (South Pacific, Sound of Music, Applause, Brigadoon). We had a lot of talent (and a few Prima Donas) among the casts of those but none that I knew about ever had any cross-over experiences in opera. I was in the Philadelphia area at the time and there were several strong opera companies. It would have been a great time for similar cross-pollination. Maybe it was happening and I just didn't know about it.

I'm not surprised that your worst experience was with a director who apparently didn't know what they wanted. I played under a number of symphonic conductors who learned the music through rehearsals rather than studying it in advance and showing up at the first rehearsal with a clear vision. I do realize that some revision will happen but seems more the mark of an amateur to be changing blocking right before a performance. The mechanics, by then, are supposed to be out of the way so that the art can show through.

Rehearsing 50 minutes of chorus must have been grueling. Again, my hat is off to you. Not many people could have had your success.

[ssnstump]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a45YR1JZAwU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
This was from our production of Maria Padilla w/ Fleming and Stella Zamballis...what fireworks!

i wish we could have done more musicals with the kind of casting we had. We did do Pirates of Penzance (G&S)...well not really a musical but an operetta.
The other part that was great about these crossover productions was that we involved the local ballet company and that really helped those of us not so
gifted with our feet. Also our operas only ran for three performances. The musicals ran for eight or twelve performances.

We did Tosca one year with a director that we all wanted to throw out a window. The chorus is on stage for about 30 seconds during the "Va Tosca" basically the
Act 1 Finale. We spent almost a week of rehearsal on just that 30 seconds of staging. That worked out to just over 12 hours for that 30 seconds. Then when the principle singers were added, he scrapped the whole thing because he couldn't figure out how to get them in front of the procession. Great opera lousy staging.

For the record...we had a great working relationship with the Omaha Symphony. We (the opera chorus) were invited several times to participate in some of their concerts. With some mock staging in front of the symphony for a G&S concert, Carmina Burana and some other events. We always enjoyed these events too.

[ssnstump]

http://val.fm/don-giovanni-il-commendatore-mozart-mp3/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For those that are interested in opera...this is an excerpt from Don Giovanni by Mozart. It is an entertaining opera.
I really like it because most of the male roles are bass/baritone roles. In this scene Giovanni is being sung by Samuel Ramey of course
and the Commendatore is Kurt Moll. Ramey is one of my all time favorites. The other character in this scene is Leoprello. I don't know
the singer's name. I believe this was done at the Met.

[chasfm11]

For the record...we had a great working relationship with the Omaha Symphony. We (the opera chorus) were invited several times to participate in some of their concerts. With some mock staging in front of the symphony for a G&S concert, Carmina Burana and some other events. We always enjoyed these events too.

I think this is a great way to get more people interested in opera. I always enjoyed it when the symphonies that I played with had guest opera artists. Some (not all) of the opera music is very enjoyable to play without voices but most of the Italian opera really needs a vocal line rather than just instruments. I would have loved to have done Orff but it never got programmed while I was playing.

G&S is another area where some are introduced to the operatic concepts. There at least, the words that are sung can be understood by most audiences. Another way to get to get some introduction is through the oratorios. Messiah is the most famous one but Elijah and even Belshazzar's Feast are ways to get people more comfortable with the types of voices used without them having to work their way through a multi-hour performance in a different language. I do think that the latter problem (American audiences not being to keen on non-English songs) is a factor in why opera doesn't play better in this country.

[BigGuy]

http://val.fm/don-giovanni-il-commendatore-mozart-mp3/

For those that are interested in opera...this is an excerpt from Don Giovanni by Mozart. It is an entertaining opera.
I really like it because most of the male roles are bass/baritone roles. In this scene Giovanni is being sung by Samuel Ramey of course
and the Commendatore is Kurt Moll. Ramey is one of my all time favorites. The other character in this scene is Leoprello. I don't know
the singer's name. I believe this was done at the Met.

Thanks for the link. You've got me intrigued. I'd like to see all of that.

[BigGuy]

This look like a youtube vid of the whole 3 hour thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVP22QCbLHI

Edit: ehhh, looks like a different one. And though it is subtitled, the subtitles aren't in english. I'll keep looking.

Edited again: OK, I'll shut up soon. It's obvious my ignorance is legion. However, I see now that the above video IS the one i was looking for.(Except for the wrong subtitles.) Additionally, it filled in the back story of a video I saw in college "Don Juan in Hades*"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-MQsrp0ztg
I wish now that I'd paid more attention to this genre. There's some really good stuff here.
* Forum won't allow true title.

[ssnstump]

I appreciate the discussion about opera.
Bernstein wrote Candide (operetta) and A Quiet Place both in english. Never performed either, but I have heard Candide.
I also got to watch a rehearsal of The Rakes Progress at the Met with Samuel Ramey. It was very inspiring to watch real pros
sing up close.

That was the main reason we performed Carousel and My Fair Lady...to draw in a wider audience. Same with G&S, but they are
always a large draw. We also did a Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) as a hybrid. Music in german with english subtitles and dialog in english.
After I left, they did Little Women which I understand was a wonderful opera in english and was very well received.

We always used subtitles projected above the procenium.

[ssnstump]

This look like a youtube vid of the whole 3 hour thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVP22QCbLHI

Edit: ehhh, looks like a different one. And though it is subtitled, the subtitles aren't in english. I'll keep looking.

Edited again: OK, I'll shut up soon. It's obvious my ignorance is legion. However, I see now that the above video IS the one i was looking for.(Except for the wrong subtitles.) Additionally, it filled in the back story of a video I saw in college "Don Juan in Hades*"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-MQsrp0ztg
I wish now that I'd paid more attention to this genre. There's some really good stuff here.
* Forum won't allow true title.

I couldn't find the full opera with english subtitles. It is an entertaining opera.
OH and we are all ignorant in our own ways. I have a recording of Ramey doing Giovanni and one of him doing the role of Leporello his servant.
Anything with Ramey in it is great. Some day when I have the extra funds I'll buy a bunch of Met production dvds including this one.

[chasfm11]

Big Guy,

That link really brings out another point. La Scala (The Stairs) in Milan is definitely one of the best opera houses in the world. I worked near there for most of year and did my best to see anything performed in that hall. The opera tickets are booked years in advance I never was even able to get a tour of the place. The acoustics are supposed to be phenomenal.

It is funny that Candide is mentioned. I've been fortunate enough to play the orchestral parts (overture) several times and it is wonderful music. But there is so much more to it. To provide some insight, the first few minutes of this clip
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=cMIzHnyuiNY[/youtube]

include commentary by Bernstein himself about some of the nature of the work. A casual hearing of the music by itself would never disclose any of that. So it seems to be with many operas. Just listening to the music isn't sufficient (normally) to understand the nature of what is going on. Add in the movements on the stage which are supposed to contribute to the overall theatrical presentation of the music and the lyrics and it gets downright hard to follow, at least for me. But I certainly didn't sit down to read the Brothers Karamazov and get that from the first reading of the words either. I'm a very elementary student of opera at best.

[ssnstump]

When I was in Germany La Scalla was undergoing renovation and was closed.
Of course when it had its re-opening you couldn't even dream of a ticket. Wish I could have been present
for just one opera there. Omaha has a very nice opera house converted from an old vaudeville theater.
Acoustics are very good. At least I think so.
The Omaha Symphony now has their own performance space. I hear it is very nice, but haven't been there yet.
Dallas Opera is running Barber of Seville and it will be my first in Dallas. Next season Salome and La Boheme.
Should be great!

[Songbird]

I know it's not Opera but I got to sing the Rachmaninov Vespers in Russian. One of the most moving performances ever for me.

[nightmare]

I enjoy Mozart more than Wagner.

I also use the browser.