Mary Dunleavy Masterclass

On Friday afternoon, four Young American Artists, accompanied by pianist Jonathan Kelly, sang at a master class with Mary Dunleavy, the festival’s Violetta in La Traviata. Open to the public, the class was held at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown. Dunleavy’s coachings were highly specific to each singer, addressing dynamics, interpretation, diction and vocal style.

• While it is acceptable to slide between notes in a Verdi or Donizetti aria, one should not attempt to by “syrupy and slurpy” in Mozart.
• Singing a sad aria from a comedic opera requires a different interpretation than singing a sad aria from a tragic opera.
• When singing a vengeance aria, the voice itself should not sound angry, rather, the words, diction, dynamics and facial expressions should convey the emotion.
• The most repeated advice from Dunleavy was that, whether singing German, Italian or English, each word and phrase should be sung with a specific intention.

The afternoon was educational and enjoyable for the featured vocalists and audience members alike.

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Lyndsay Werking, July 15th 2009 | Tags:
Posted in rehearsals

All’s Fair in Love and Art

“For each of us, our job is to try to make sure our show is the best one of the season. We’re pretty competitive personalities.” Yesterday a group from Oneonta’s Center for Continued Adult Learning met with Production Stage Manager E. Reed Fisher to learn more about the rehearsal process. While staff members in other departments (props, costumes, titles, etc.) work on several shows at once, each stage manager focuses all of his or her energy—and then some—on one show.

I’ve always thought of stage managers as uber-collaborators; they’re the ones who make sure that there is smooth communication between all departments throughout the rehearsal process. If a goblet full of red wine is needed, they not only ask for the prop, they check with wardrobe about how best to avoid stains in the event of a spill. They also check with the singer—would they prefer dyed water, juice, what? (As far as I know, actual wine is not an option.)

But in a repertory situation, where several operas are being produced at the same time, some competition is inevitable. YES, the props department can upholster that chair for you, but they’re also working on some briefcases for another show. So who gets their stuff first? Shows that are closer to opening tend to take priority, of course, but every stage manager worth his clipboard will push (gently) to make sure his show’s rehearsal needs are met as quickly as possible.

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Kelley Rourke, July 3rd 2009 | Posted in rehearsals

Creating a World Onstage: Details, Details

Whether this season’s singers are performing their roles for the first time or the fifteenth, they’ve spent a lot of time studying them—before even arriving in Cooperstown. The same goes for the directors and designers, who have been planning the productions of the 2009 Festival Season for over a year. But when you are creating an entire world from scratch, certain needs only become clear once everyone is in the same room. During rehearsals, stage managers circulate notes daily to keep everyone abreast of the latest developments. A few excerpts from this week’s rehearsal notes:

“Please add a horsewhip to be used during the dance in Act III. We are having our first rehearsals of this dance tomorrow. Is it possible to have something to use for this rehearsal? A crop would be fine. Or a stick. Or something.”

“Please add a small amount of real sugar in the sugar canister. It will be spooned into a teacup nightly.”

“We were able to determine that the total number of glassware in act I is 26. Sadly, we were unable to determine how many of these glasses are for wine and how many are for champagne. We’ll try to nail that down for you when we hit the scene again this Thursday.”

“Please ADD two pieces of biscotti. They will not be eaten.”

“The invitations should be made from a medium weight card stock so they stay open when held from the bottom but can also be folded into fours to pocket.”

 

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Kelley Rourke, June 24th 2009 | Tags: ,
Posted in artistic team, rehearsals

New Beginnings

This week, artists for La Traviata and La Cenerentola arrived in Cooperstown and began rehearsals. Although preparations for the 2009 Festival began over a year ago, the first day of rehearsal feels like the real beginning for many of us. It is a time to welcome returning friends, from those who made their debut only last season to those who have a long history with the company. La Cenerentola is the fifth Glimmerglass production for tenor John Tessier; he will be joined by Eduardo Chama, who last appeared with Tessier at Glimmerglass in The Barber of Seville (2006). Ryan MacPherson, last summer’s Luzio, plays Alfredo Germont in La Traviata. Malcolm MacKenzie, who made his debut as a member of the Young American Artists Program in 1994, returns to play the elder Germont.

The season brings plenty of fresh faces, too, including Mary Dunleavy. Violetta, the heroine of La Traviata, is a signature role for the American soprano. Although she has sung the role on major stages around the world, she feels each new production offers fresh insights: “When you know a role very well, you can start to get attached to certain ideas about who a character is, how she would act. The first day of rehearsals I have to remind myself to stay open to new ideas, to allow myself the possibility to look at something from a different angle. I used to get a little defensive, thinking I knew her better than my colleagues did, but I learned I didn’t always. You have to be able to look at things from a different perspective. I’m definitely excited to be working with Jonathan Miller. I’m pretty sure he’s going to change something about how I think about the piece. I look forward to that, especially with an opera I know so well.”

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Kelley Rourke, June 19th 2009 | Tags: , ,
Posted in rehearsals