Last night was the La Cenerentola cover run-thru. During this rehearsal, Young American Artists who are covering (or understudying) principal roles have the opportunity to perform the entire opera onstage with the Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra. Assistant conductor Jonathan Kelly conducted.  Photography Intern Peyton Lea caught the singers during Act I.

L to R: Claire M. Shackleton as Tisbe, Karin Mushegain as Angelina and Kathryn Guthrie as Clorinda.

L to R: Adam Fry as Don Magnifico, Museop Kim as Dandini, Karin Mushegain as Angelina, Joshua Whitener as Don Ramiro.

L to R: Karin Mushegain as Angelina, Museop Kim as Dandini, Adam Fry as Don Magnifico, Damien Pass as Alidoro, Joshua Whitener as Don Ramiro.

Each summer, Glimmerglass hires some seventy interns to assist in various aspects of production, administration and artistic administration. This year, the Glimmerglass Opera National Council, which often underwrites a specific production, voted to support the internship program. Monday night, the Council continued their support by hosting a picnic dinner for the interns. For their part, interns happily ate while discussing their various jobs with council members. Whether painting hundreds of books for the Cenerentola set, wrestling unruly tulle into a sewing machine for La Traviata’s costumes, ventilating (hand knotting hair) for wigs, hanging and adjusting lights, moving the many sets in and out of the theater or assisting administration, interns can be found in every department of the opera. The Council President, Felicia H. Blum, personally thanked the interns, who join the opera from as near as Cooperstown and as far as England, for their work and her excitement to learn more about their responsibilities. The evening ended sweetly with an ice cream truck serving up tasty cones!

Last Tuesday, Oneonta’s Center for Continued Adult Learning listened while David Angus spoke about his responsibilities as Music Director. Although some conductors will be absent during the staging of an opera, Angus described his fascination with the progression of an opera from the rehearsal room to the stage. For him, the excitement of opera lies in the transformation of the music from written score to a fully staged drama. Angus recalled conducting Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi with director Anne Bogart during the 2008 festival. As part of the rehearsal process, Bogart asked each singer how his or her character changed moment to moment within each scene. Angus was delighted to be included in the exercise. As conductor he represented the Music, which Bogart considered a character with its own development. Just as the singers playing Romeo or Juliet considered their feelings of love, anger and sorrow, Angus described how the music changed within scenes and what he felt each change revealed about the action of the opera and emotions of the characters. This summer, Angus can be seen in action as he conducts Menotti’s The Consul, opening this Saturday.

Not sure if you can sit through an almost three hour opera? Check out this one minute preview:

The company’s first Chili & Cornbread Cook-off was held yesterday to support the Springfield Fire Department. Competition was tough with 16 chili and 10 cornbread entires. Attendees voted for their favorite entries with loose change and bills. The evening raised $508.65!

THE WINNERS…

Best Chili- Abby Rodd $39.16 (production)

Best Cornbread- Andi Soerhen $23.84 (wardrobe)

Coin Winner- Brittany Lesavoy $10.71 (administration)

Best Presentation (chili)- Rosemary Sibbern (guild)

Best Presentation (cornbread)- Lizzie Mott (concessions)

Best Server (while consuming the competition)- Jeremiah Waters (maintenance)

Bean-y-est Chili- June Dzialo (administration)

Meat-y-est Chili- Robin Seletsky (orchestra)

Best use of Special Ingredient (chili)- Kathe Hannauer (orchestra)

Best use of Special Ingredient (cornbread)- Shannon Smith (costumes)

Most likely to get tasted twice- Lisa Parietti (concessions)

Blazin’-est Chili (with four hañeros)- Jenn Schroeder (administration)