I was looking forward to this week’s Bastianello & Lucrezia rehearsals so that I could report from the front lines. It was clearly delusional thinking, for the last 6 days have left no time at all for writing.
As one can only do in a small company (and I know that many of you out there see yourselves in this…), I have been playing the piano, compiling the program, shopping for props, pulling costume pieces, moving furniture, taking blocking, spiking the floor and doing the daily schedule. In the meantime, Rahree is holding down the fort in the office, trying to advance the 2010 summer operas (which begin rehearsal in 8 weeks), processing contracts, coordinating the videotaping of this Friday’s performances (for future internet broadcast) and putting things in motion for our upcoming workshop of The Inspector; and SSW is furiously xeroxing librettos and match-making artists and homestay housing placements.
All of this is sufficient to keep me plenty humble in the face of my 15 minutes of fame, which played out a few days ago. I was interviewed for the Washington Post Sunday magazine’s “First Person Singular” column, and the article ran this past weekend. It’s scary doing an hour-long interview for a piece that you know is capped at 400 words, for no matter how careful you are, it’s too easy to spit out combinations of 400 words that would read spectacularly badly out of context. No worries, for Amanda Long did a nice job with the piece, and even if I sound like a bit of an opera iconoclast, it’s not too far from the truth.
Even though it’s for a good cause, raising the profile of the WTOC, this visibility makes me more than a little uncomfortable. (Actually, it’s mostly the pictures, of which I’m mortified. I harbor a near neurosis about seeing photos of myself.) But it has netted a few fun moments – the 4-year-old at church who asked for my autograph, the neighbors who tweeted the article, and the fact that my son posted it proudly on his Facebook wall.
So it’s back to the rehearsal room for some more Musto, Bolcom & Campbell. I continue to adore these comic opera gems, and the artists who are performing this weekend have done astonishing work and preparation. I intend to keep just enough energy and focus in reserve so that I can lose myself in what I know will be a truly enjoyable night in the theatre.
Friday at 8.
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