Making the Magic

I took the commuter plane to Boston this morning.  My fellow travelers were rocking their suits and heels, but I was happily clad in jeans. Dress code for recording studios is blessedly relaxed, and I get to spend my day helping producer Blanton Alspaugh* and composer John Musto make the magic.

We’re at Soundmirror in Boston, mastering the live recording of The Inspector – Wolf Trap’s latest opera commission. We’re obsessively comparing footage from three performances and a patch session, ferreting out errant pizzicati, minimizing random stage noise, and micro-managing diction. Easy enough to drown in the details, but when I step back for a second, I am gobsmacked by how much of this score the cast nailed.  In live performance. In a fairly physical comedy.

Did you miss The Inspector at Wolf Trap? Catch it this spring at Boston Lyric Opera. And of course, look for our recording, coming to iTunes, CDBaby, Amazon, and the lobby of a Barn near you! (You’ll need it to add to your Grammy-nominated Volpone recording. You do have one of those already, right?)

*UPDATE 12/1/2011: 54th annual Grammy nominations were announced last night, and Blanton is once again nominated for Producer of the Year!

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