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:

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.