Final Dress Rehearsal

Our final dress rehearsal was last night. Students from the school were allowed to attend, so we had a "real" audience. I can't decide whether it was easier to sing for them because they understand what it's like to be up there, wrestling with a new costume and prop, or whether it's harder because they are less openly delighted with the art form. In any case, I guess we'll see whether the audience energy ratchets up on Thursday night.

I was squeezed into my big-bustled costume and given gloves and a new fan. Since I have to open and close my fan, using it actively as part of my character and in very specific spots in the music, I spent a good thirty minutes before I went on snapping it open and then shut again. Of course, I got the gloves about 5 minutes before my entrance, which was a different experience entirely. You don't realize how much you rely on actually being able to touch something to control it. The first pair of gloves we tried were satin, and that was a disaster - fan slipping out of my grasp like crazy. So then we went to a cotton pair which, fortunately, the costumer Becca liked better with the outfit. Whew! And then it was time to strut snootily down that aisle onto the stage.

It is very different to figure out how to move in a costume that is suddenly doubled in weight from what you've been wearing. Period clothes from the 18th and 19th centuries are especially heavy. You have the full multilayered petticoat and perhaps a hoop or "bum roll". Then there's the taffeta top and bottom. And if you have a corset, boning adds weight, too. Plus, there's the length. It takes effort to consistently remember to shift your props so that you have a hand to actually gather the gown and pick it up. And you still need to sing and act and remember all your diction and the accent and, oh by the way, you can't seem to be thinking about all of that or the audience will see that you're glazed over. So maintain your focus and pick several audience members and sing directly to them.

Yep.

Opera is the ultimate multitasking environment.

It's a ton of fun. But I do feel drained after every rehearsal and production night. I finally found an analogy. It's the same feeling as when you come out of a three or four hour exam. The level of focus demanded is very similar, so the level of fatigue afterwards is also comparable. That said, I would much rather do ten of these productions than one exam. The fun quotient is significantly different :)

Time to finish up a bit of theory homework before I practice and head off to my lesson.

Happy Wednesday!

~Hope