Blog – Page 107 – Madison Opera

Production week

March 10, 2009

I have not been writing nearly as much as I would like the last few weeks, but as it sometimes happens, along with Cosi being in production, a few other projects have landed at the same time (namely, it’s also the time of year when most of our grant applications are due). But here’s a fun shot of wig-fittings in our offices from last Friday morning.

Despina gets her locks.

Before rehearsal tonight, our High School Apprentices will be dining with Mary Mackenzie (pictured above) to learn about her path as a singer from Madison to New York. As someone in the early stages of her career, I think it will be a great learning experience for the high school juniors as they consider their college application choices.

Tomorrow night is the final dress for Cosi, and Friday the curtain goes up. Reports from rehearsals have been glowing, and I can’t wait to see the final product. We’re almost sold out, so I suggest clicking or calling for tickets today!

Cosi on YouTube

March 6, 2009

Sorry for the delay, enjoy!

Notes on Cosi

March 4, 2009

The cast has been working through Act II this week and are set to finish up tomorrow. Friday night they’re scheduled for the first full run through, after which our hardworking and incredibly efficient production crew will be unloading the Cosi sets into the Capitol Theater. Next week starts with a piano tech rehearsal on Sunday, which is sort of a big practice for everyone minus the orchestra: the singers feel out the sets and the auditorium, while the crew and designers tweak lighting and get used to placing props, etc. Monday afternoon will be the sitzprobe, with a piano dress rehearsal that night, followed by orchestra dress rehearsals on Tuesday and Wednesday. And then Friday night, it’s showtime. Tickets are a hot commodity, so hurry to the box office before it’s too late!

On another note, I’ve been typing out goofy names like “Guglielmo” and “Fiordiligi,” and even “Cosi fan Tutte,” for months now, so this is well overdue. Click the links below to hear how these names and titles are all pronounced:

Find more opera pronunciations here courtesy of Arizona Opera.

Check back tomorrow afternoon for Madison Opera’s latest YouTube installment.

“What happens in Naples, stays in Naples”

March 2, 2009

If you were at Opera Up Close yesterday, you’ll know what I’m talking about in the post title. General Director Allan Naplan’s preview of Cosi fan Tutte was a hit, and asides from all of the laughing the audience did, they surely learned a ton too. We were transported to Salzburg and Vienna, and learned of Mozart’s great gifts as a child. We saw the progression of his operatic writing, and learned that Cosi was commissioned by Emperor Joseph II, who likely provided the idea for the plot based on a story he heard while at war with the Turks.

Did you know that Cosi was Jacqueline Kennedy’s favorite opera? Well, that came up too, with Allan providing exciting (photoshopped) footage of an infamous incident at one of Kennedy’s “Concerts for Young People”: during a performance of Cosi at the White House, Ferrando’s turban caught fire on a wall sconce. And pictured above is the start of the segment “From Ten Chimneys to the Met,” a special exploration of Wisconsin native Alfred Lunt’s historic production of Cosi fan Tutte for the Metropolitan Opera, which is largely responsible for reviving the work’s popularity in the US. With never before released images from the Met, Allan shed light on Lunt’s masterful interpretation and his comic dealings with opera singers (he at one point said their acting was like “cold, rancid oatmeal”).

And that was just the first half of the presentation. After intermission, conductor Kelly Kuo and director Kristine McIntyre came out to talk about their views on Cosi. Kelly demonstrated on the keyboard how recitative in Mozart operas works much like accompaniment for silent movies. He also clued us in on why he thinks certain woodwind instruments in the orchestra represent different characters in the opera.

Kristine spoke about the comedy in Cosi, relating it to smarter, more subtle sitcoms like Frasier because it’s about fairly normal–if exceptionally witty–people finding themselves in extraordinary situations. She says she has emphasized to the cast that the action takes place in Naples, which at the time was a seaside resort (“It’s summer, it’s warm, you’re away from home on vacation…”); in essence, the characters adopt a “What happens in Naples, stays in Naples” mentality, which allows for them to act outside their typical behavior, to be extra flirty and silly. But actions have consequences, and that is where the line between comedy and drama blurs in Cosi. This conversation led to a discussion of the opera’s ambiguous ending. There is a question as to whether the couples end up back together in their original formation, or whether they have switched, or whether anyone gets together at all; one’s interpretation of this represents how seriously one takes the notion of forgiveness in the opera. Our director takes it seriously, but you’ll have to see what exactly that means onstage for yourself.

The next Opera Up Close will be for Faust, on Sunday, May 10, from 4-6 p.m. at MMoCA.

This Sunday: Opera Up Close

February 27, 2009

Opera Up Close: The Cosi fan Tutte Preview
Sunday, March 1, 4-6 p.m., MMoCA Lecture Hall
General Admission: $20

Join General Director Allan Naplan as he explores Cosi fan Tutte in an entertaining multimedia presentation. Gain insight to the Madison Opera production and the history and music of Mozart, and enjoy the special segment “From Ten Chimneys to the Met,” a look at Wisconsin native Alfred Lunt’s historic production of Cosi at the Met.