but I'm sooooo tired. Thankfully, Madama Butterfly opens tonight - or as I affectionately refer to it, Mad Butt. The cast seems pretty confident if a bit ragged energy-wise. They all sound vocally fantastic, but I can tell the rehearsal schedule has gotten to them as well - most, like me, have day jobs in the city.
Mom and dad are here for opening and the Pineda's Jersey apartment will be packed to the rafters with family. Hopefully, we won't kill each other before it's all over. Oh, wait, it's not over. This just means it's time to start rehearsals for Pirates... and Oklahoma! I can't wait until August when I have my evenings and weekends back again. Well, some of them. I have a sneaking suspicion that Carmen will start usurping my life in the fall. More on that and the Mad Butt opening (that sounds dirty!) later this weekend.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Duets Concert Pics...
Me with Zach Infante, "All For the Best" fr. Godspell
"I Feel Pretty" fr. West Side Story w/ Pami Marks
"When We Grow Up" fr. Free to Be You and Me w/ Rebecca Glaser-Baker
Photos courtesy of Darleen Caruana
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Word of the day: Barihunk
From urbandictionary.com:
barihunk: A handsome or pretty baritone. Especially, but not exclusively, one who removes his shirt for the sake of opera.
barihunk: A handsome or pretty baritone. Especially, but not exclusively, one who removes his shirt for the sake of opera.
I'm going to the Marriage of Figaro because I like the
opera but also to see the barihunks on display.
From Parterre.com:
BARIHUNK: Emphasis on the "hunk." A singer of limited range-- usually F to F and not much more-- and even more limited repertoire. Schaunard, Papageno, Guglielmo, Figaro, Malatesta, Billy Budd, and well... that's about it. But boy, are they ever cute! Famous barihunks include Alan Titus, Hakan Hagegard, Dmitiri Hvorostovsky, Boje Skovus, Rodney Gilfrey, Nathan Gunn (pictured) and all those others whose headshots look so dreamy on a CD of Schubert lieder. Some synonyms for "Barihunk" include "Santa Fe Apprentice Artist," and "Bernstein protege" and "Opera News cover story."
Sleep is highly overrated
We’re finally into tech week of Butterfly and I couldn’t be happier for it to be over. Don’t get me wrong, the cast is incredible, the orchestra sounds wonderful and the set even looks clean and classy, not just thrown together with furniture from friends’ living rooms like we usually end up doing. But this schedule of sitting behind a desk for nine hours and then commuting out to NJ for a four hour rehearsal is just tedious. Not to mention I’m way behind on episodes of Lost, American Idol and The Biggest Loser. I mean, you have to have your priorities. Anyway, Butterfly looks to be a great success, ticket-wise. The phone has been ringing off the hook with orders. So hopefully we may even get paid someday. Now that would truly be remarkable.
I think we may have even hit an LOC milestone, we’ve run through the entire opera and we still have two more run-throughs scheduled! I can’t remember when we’ve ever gotten one full run-through in before opening night. I can’t even remember the last time we got an entire show blocked - well, blocked a week before opening. Scary.
As I mentioned, the cast is crazy talented. John, our Pinkerton, could easily blow out your eardrums if you’re standing too close. Luckily, the voice is also gorgeous. Kam, (Cio-Cio San) sounds beautiful as usual and Jessica (Suzuki) is just remarkable. The kids told her that they call her “chocolate” because her voice is so smooth and creamy. We’ve even dangled a production of Carmen in front of her, hoping to win her back for next season. She seemed genuinely moved by our offer and we’re keeping our fingers crossed.
Tonight is the first run-through with costumes, so we’ll see what falls apart and who ends up running around the stage naked. Either way, I’m looking for tomorrow’s day off and vegging out in front of the TV, just me, the remote and a bag of chocolate.
I think we may have even hit an LOC milestone, we’ve run through the entire opera and we still have two more run-throughs scheduled! I can’t remember when we’ve ever gotten one full run-through in before opening night. I can’t even remember the last time we got an entire show blocked - well, blocked a week before opening. Scary.
As I mentioned, the cast is crazy talented. John, our Pinkerton, could easily blow out your eardrums if you’re standing too close. Luckily, the voice is also gorgeous. Kam, (Cio-Cio San) sounds beautiful as usual and Jessica (Suzuki) is just remarkable. The kids told her that they call her “chocolate” because her voice is so smooth and creamy. We’ve even dangled a production of Carmen in front of her, hoping to win her back for next season. She seemed genuinely moved by our offer and we’re keeping our fingers crossed.
Tonight is the first run-through with costumes, so we’ll see what falls apart and who ends up running around the stage naked. Either way, I’m looking for tomorrow’s day off and vegging out in front of the TV, just me, the remote and a bag of chocolate.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Duets Concert
That was just insane. There is no reason we should not have just crashed and burned last night. We must have some major Karmic payback coming to us, because there is no explainable reason as to how we got through that concert. A) We had never run through the show, B) we hadn’t even rehearsed with some of our duet partners and C) we didn’t even know the running order or exactly who was accompanying each person until right before each song. Not to mention finishing up a four hour Butterfly rehearsal directly before the concert.
I really can’t explain it. The lyrics for each song magically burst forth from my mouth. The first full performance (blocking and singing with the accompaniment) of three of the four scenes I had been assigned, occurred on stage during the actual concert. I’ve really never been so unprepared ever and based on the crowd reaction, rehearsal is highly overrated. Not that it was a perfect show by any stretch of the imagination, but the audience seemed to forgive the somewhat long pauses between numbers as we frantically set up for each scene or tried to decide who was accompanying which songs. I audibly whispered, “Am I playing this?” to Val as she was standing on stage ready to sing. The audience, of course, thought it was all part of “the script” and laughed at each seemingly ridiculously moment, thinking it must have been staged for their entertainment. Little did they know…
Another “it-had-to-have-been-staged” moment occurred when I forgot that I was accompanying the song directly after mine. I was busy patting myself on the back for being so brilliant in the “When We Grow Up” baby scene when I heard the intro to “Two’s Company.” I thought, “Um, I’m supposed to be playing that song.” I ducked out the side door, ran around the back of the theater (I couldn’t cut straight across the front because of the lighting and seating arrangement), reached over Val’s shoulders (who started playing because I was nowhere in sight) and took over while she slid off the bench and I stepped over it to sit down. Later, Trish told us she thought something was different about the song but wasn’t quite sure what.
A stressful evening for the Pineda’s, but apparently parents will overlook anything if their kids are front and center; definitely, a good thing to remember for future fundraisers.
I really can’t explain it. The lyrics for each song magically burst forth from my mouth. The first full performance (blocking and singing with the accompaniment) of three of the four scenes I had been assigned, occurred on stage during the actual concert. I’ve really never been so unprepared ever and based on the crowd reaction, rehearsal is highly overrated. Not that it was a perfect show by any stretch of the imagination, but the audience seemed to forgive the somewhat long pauses between numbers as we frantically set up for each scene or tried to decide who was accompanying which songs. I audibly whispered, “Am I playing this?” to Val as she was standing on stage ready to sing. The audience, of course, thought it was all part of “the script” and laughed at each seemingly ridiculously moment, thinking it must have been staged for their entertainment. Little did they know…
Another “it-had-to-have-been-staged” moment occurred when I forgot that I was accompanying the song directly after mine. I was busy patting myself on the back for being so brilliant in the “When We Grow Up” baby scene when I heard the intro to “Two’s Company.” I thought, “Um, I’m supposed to be playing that song.” I ducked out the side door, ran around the back of the theater (I couldn’t cut straight across the front because of the lighting and seating arrangement), reached over Val’s shoulders (who started playing because I was nowhere in sight) and took over while she slid off the bench and I stepped over it to sit down. Later, Trish told us she thought something was different about the song but wasn’t quite sure what.
A stressful evening for the Pineda’s, but apparently parents will overlook anything if their kids are front and center; definitely, a good thing to remember for future fundraisers.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
"I think I'm turning Japanese I really think so"
I'm appalled to admit that I'm old enough to remember that silly Vapors song from the 80's (although I was in diapers, hehe - not). But yesterday's trek to Pearl River (my only night off this week and next) for Madama Butterfly props sent that idiotic, yet unforgettable refrain buzzing through my head. Weren't the early 80's a freaky time for pop music? - Funky Town, Call Me, Fame, The Rose - all so cheesy and awesome and pre-MTV!! God, I'm old. Anyway, if you've never visited Pearl River, it's this crazy store downtown that sells just about anything remotely associated with Asian (mainly Chinese) culture and arts. It's proven to be our "go to" spot for props and small set pieces. I can literally waste hours just wandering around the store because they have aisles and aisles of the coolest, random sh*t. I mean, how many different styles and colors of paper lanterns do you really need, anyway? Looking for a Buddha statue (they have a wall of them), origami paper, a Saki set, bamboo poles, weird herbs, blinds or strawberry Pocky? And everything is cheap, cheap, cheap! If you need to furnish your apartment on a budget without it looking like page 107 in the IKEA catalog, check it out.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Calgon, take me away...
Who's old enough to remember that? Anybody, anybody? Anyway, Butterfly rehearsals are a sheer delight, and by delight I mean they're sucking my soul dry. Every ounce of energy and creativity is being funneled into this project which leaves little leftover for my "real job" or the myriad other projects we (the Pineda's) have on our collective plate; namely Oklahoma, Les Mis, Pineda Conservatory, Pirates, Duets Concert, et al. I guess it doesn't help that I keep forgetting to eat on long rehearsal days, often going nine hours between lunch and dinner with not much more than a diet Coke and a pee break, sometimes with neither. And I can't really complain about the singers because they are definitely working their asses off and always arrive prepared. However, working with opera singers again after mainly working with musical theater actors, I am reminded of the very specific needs and expectations that accompany an opera singer's personality. I hasten to say "ego" since I don't want to seem derogatory. I was reading an extremely interesting article about Bartlett Sher, the current directorial wunderkind responsible for the critically-acclaimed productions of Light in the Piazza (Broadway), Barber of Seville (The Met) and the upcoming first Broadway revival of South Pacific. He says the following about directing at the Met:
When you ask an "actor" to make a cross on stage he'll say, "I'll think of a way to make that work." When you ask an opera singer the same thing, they say, "Why?" I think it's a mentality. Singers subconsciously assume that the acting expectation will be lower for them, thereby excusing themselves from developing the skills that theater actors take for granted as basic. Of course, the role of the director is to help guide the performer and "fill in the blanks" when an action or direction does seem unclear or problematic. But I think opera singers are just "lazy" actors and would rather you just say, "sit/stand in that spot and don't move." If that's the case, why bother singing opera? Best to lend your talents to the recital hall where you can stand in your spot and sing your high C in a fabulous gown (and jewels, of course).
I know I'm generalizing here. So don't go sending out the AGMA hit squad or revoking my Met subscription just yet. There are tremendously talented opera singers who are also wonderful actors. It's just frustrating working in an atmosphere where you constantly have to explain yourself because the ego level on stage is so high that the singers don't trust the director. The singer's thought process is not, "How do I fit into this scene? What is the main purpose of this scene? Who is most important in this scene?" Instead it's, "Do I look good in this scene?" What the singer forgets is that only the director sees "the big picture" and it's the director, not the singer, who is at fault if something isn't working from an audience perspective. A performer in a scene can never have the perspective to judge the moment in proper context because they are only a single piece of a very complicated puzzle.
The good news is that the singers arrive knowing the music. The bad news is they’ve sung it the same way for so long that they’re not willing to change much.Those two sentences should be printed in big, bold, fluorescent (preferably neon) letters on the cover of any opera score being sent to an opera director before the start of rehearsals. If I had a penny for every time a singer said any one or combination of the following phrases to me: "that's not how we did it at [insert any opera company]", "but it's not traditionally done that way" or "I've never done it that way before" - I'd have, well, at least a buck or two in change (perhaps I should start charging a dime?). I think the main difference between opera singers and theater singers is their approach to the material. Granted, I understand that your average opera-goer wants to hear a remarkably sung Queen of the Night or Lucia or Giovanni or Almaviva and doesn't necessarily expect Oscar-worthy acting. But good singing and good acting are not mutually exclusive. I've seen the Damrau-Florez-Mattei Barber at the Met and I know that it's possible to make beautiful sounds while spinning around, falling on the floor and climbing ladders. The bar has been raised and opera singers need to get with the program.
When you ask an "actor" to make a cross on stage he'll say, "I'll think of a way to make that work." When you ask an opera singer the same thing, they say, "Why?" I think it's a mentality. Singers subconsciously assume that the acting expectation will be lower for them, thereby excusing themselves from developing the skills that theater actors take for granted as basic. Of course, the role of the director is to help guide the performer and "fill in the blanks" when an action or direction does seem unclear or problematic. But I think opera singers are just "lazy" actors and would rather you just say, "sit/stand in that spot and don't move." If that's the case, why bother singing opera? Best to lend your talents to the recital hall where you can stand in your spot and sing your high C in a fabulous gown (and jewels, of course).
I know I'm generalizing here. So don't go sending out the AGMA hit squad or revoking my Met subscription just yet. There are tremendously talented opera singers who are also wonderful actors. It's just frustrating working in an atmosphere where you constantly have to explain yourself because the ego level on stage is so high that the singers don't trust the director. The singer's thought process is not, "How do I fit into this scene? What is the main purpose of this scene? Who is most important in this scene?" Instead it's, "Do I look good in this scene?" What the singer forgets is that only the director sees "the big picture" and it's the director, not the singer, who is at fault if something isn't working from an audience perspective. A performer in a scene can never have the perspective to judge the moment in proper context because they are only a single piece of a very complicated puzzle.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
I have no life
This week basically sucked. Between rehearsals and work, there really hasn’t been much time for anything else. So much for taking a break and “just working a day job.” My one day off this week, President’s day, ended up being just another work day. Mark, our conductor for Butterfly, is stressing out a bit about the whole production. So we, the Pineda siblings plus “the white one,” Val, were Mark’s bitches for the day. We were each given a set of orchestra parts to edit and notate per Mark’s instructions as he determined how to re-orchestrate “bare” moments in the score. Yes, it was just as exciting as it sounds. Don’t get me wrong, we were happy to help out. It was just that this particular work session followed a full 40-plus hour work week at the office, a three hour Friday night rehearsal, a Saturday filled with prop shopping, an extremely long and uneven high school production of South Pacific and a five hour Sunday rehearsal. By the time Monday afternoon rolled around (which got us through about three quarters of the first act of the score) we had lost Val to cyberspace and Trish to the seemingly more exciting prospect of writing and emailing press releases. Sad, huh? I’m so looking forward to Thursday when I finally get an evening off, having had Butterfly rehearsals both nights this week after work. Oh, to be a normal, lazy, overweight American.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Some Enchanted (?) Evening..
There is nothing appealing about the prospect of watching a high school production of South Pacific (though perhaps only slightly more appealing than the prospect of seeing a high school production of Rent or Miss Saigon). Not that it’s a bad show. In fact, I think South Pacific is one of the under-rated R&H shows because it always gets overshadowed by its more popular siblings, Carousel and The Sound of Music. I mean, the score is brilliant: I’m Gonna’ Wash That Man Right of My Hair, Some Enchanted Evening, Bali H’ai, Young Than Springtime, A Wonderful Guy, Honey Bun - not a dud in the lot of ‘em. And the book unapologetically attacked racism and bigotry long before the current trend of obsessive PC-ness. The pitfall of the R&H canon is that on the surface, all the shows seem deceptively simple and “old-fashioned” because of their outward musicality, colorful locales and comedic predilections. But on closer inspection, these works were groundbreaking social commentaries: The King & I - racial stereotypes and feminism, Carousel - abusive relationships, The Sound of Music - Nazis, etc, etc. South Pacific is no exception. To quote one of its songs, “You've got to be taught to hate and fear,…You've got to be taught before it's too late, Before you are six or seven or eight, To hate all the people your relatives hate…” And remember, this was 1949! Compare that to just about any lyric in Legally Blond or The Wedding Singer.
This brings me to the high school production of South Pacific I attended last night at the Delbarton School in Morristown, NJ. Let me preface my comments by saying that I am not in the habit of reviewing “non-professional” productions. And this isn’t even really a review, just some observations about the production. Believe me, I give props to any school that has the balls not to cut its arts funding and any student brave enough to get up on stage in the face of peer ridicule. Face it, being the lead in the school musical is not the same as being the quarterback or head cheerleader. Sad, but true. Anyway, we knew we were in for an interesting evening as soon as we heard the opening "Bali H’ai" theme in the overture. Funeral march anyone? Kudos for even getting a full orchestra of students (with a sprinkling of ringers) to learn the score; but I’d rather hear half an orchestra play well/at the proper tempi than a large one where you sacrifice tempi so that the musicians can get through the score. If musician quality wasn’t the issue, than the conductor desperately needed a red bull or should have done a line of cocaine before starting the show. Anyway, my main gripes with the production weren’t the performances. By and large the cast was extremely talented and there were some truly outstanding voices onstage. My main problem was with the direction, or rather lack thereof. When a show is three-plus hours long, you can’t have the leads just stand there. The director didn’t seem to understand the basic defining principle of musical theater - that the songs are a continuation of the preceding dialogue/scene and shouldn't stop the show's forward momentum. “A Wonderful Guy” and “Wash That Man” are scenes between Nellie and the girls, not cute songs merely played to the audience. I won't even detail the problems with the choreography since they are the same as with the directing - it was random and had no relation to what was happening in the scene, the time period or the characters (just because someone can do a split or a flip doesn't mean that it's appropriate). The performers were all energetic and totally committed to what little blocking they were given. Nellie, Bloody Mary (for full disclosure, the actress playing Bloody Mary is one of Val’s students) and Emil were the obvious vocal stand outs.
It’s especially frustrating to see the obvious care and financing dedicated to the physical aspects of the production - sets, costumes, lighting (especially good), talent - not matched in the direction and staging. It is clear that a strong directorial vision would have elevated the production above your average high school fare considering the abundant talent on the stage. No matter, the talent and enthusiasm on stage was clearly visible and the audience seemed thoroughly pleased with the final result. And I guess when it comes to a high school production, there isn’t much more you can ask for.
This brings me to the high school production of South Pacific I attended last night at the Delbarton School in Morristown, NJ. Let me preface my comments by saying that I am not in the habit of reviewing “non-professional” productions. And this isn’t even really a review, just some observations about the production. Believe me, I give props to any school that has the balls not to cut its arts funding and any student brave enough to get up on stage in the face of peer ridicule. Face it, being the lead in the school musical is not the same as being the quarterback or head cheerleader. Sad, but true. Anyway, we knew we were in for an interesting evening as soon as we heard the opening "Bali H’ai" theme in the overture. Funeral march anyone? Kudos for even getting a full orchestra of students (with a sprinkling of ringers) to learn the score; but I’d rather hear half an orchestra play well/at the proper tempi than a large one where you sacrifice tempi so that the musicians can get through the score. If musician quality wasn’t the issue, than the conductor desperately needed a red bull or should have done a line of cocaine before starting the show. Anyway, my main gripes with the production weren’t the performances. By and large the cast was extremely talented and there were some truly outstanding voices onstage. My main problem was with the direction, or rather lack thereof. When a show is three-plus hours long, you can’t have the leads just stand there. The director didn’t seem to understand the basic defining principle of musical theater - that the songs are a continuation of the preceding dialogue/scene and shouldn't stop the show's forward momentum. “A Wonderful Guy” and “Wash That Man” are scenes between Nellie and the girls, not cute songs merely played to the audience. I won't even detail the problems with the choreography since they are the same as with the directing - it was random and had no relation to what was happening in the scene, the time period or the characters (just because someone can do a split or a flip doesn't mean that it's appropriate). The performers were all energetic and totally committed to what little blocking they were given. Nellie, Bloody Mary (for full disclosure, the actress playing Bloody Mary is one of Val’s students) and Emil were the obvious vocal stand outs.
It’s especially frustrating to see the obvious care and financing dedicated to the physical aspects of the production - sets, costumes, lighting (especially good), talent - not matched in the direction and staging. It is clear that a strong directorial vision would have elevated the production above your average high school fare considering the abundant talent on the stage. No matter, the talent and enthusiasm on stage was clearly visible and the audience seemed thoroughly pleased with the final result. And I guess when it comes to a high school production, there isn’t much more you can ask for.
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