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Don’t Make Me Sing…

Tonight’s task: final editing of supertitles for the Antonia Act of The Tales of Hoffmann. In short, the heroine of this act is a sensitive artiste, a former singer who has become so weak that she may not survive the physical exertion required to sing again. The villain is determined to make her sing, and

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Hoffmann’s Ladies

The Tales of Hoffmann enjoyed an exhilarating final run-through in the rehearsal room. Full set of photos on Flickr. At left, our hero (sung by Nathaniel Peake) tries to resist the allure of the three ladies who moved through his life: The eerily perfect Olympia (Jamie-Rose Guarrine)… The sensitive Antonia (Marcy Stonikas)… And the earthy

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Move On

Tonight’s Vocal Colors concert at Wolf Trap (to be reprised Thursday evening at the Phillips Collection) felt like the soundtrack to this whole crazy, hectic and beautiful summer. Heartfelt Vaughan Williams, luscious Poulenc, cringeworthy Tom Lehrer, raw Mahler, and the perfect inspiration from – no surprise – Sondheim. Stop worrying where you’re going – Move

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Painting the Room with Sound

The WTOC goes to D.C.’s Phillips Collection Thursday night for a Vocal Colors concert. Surf on over to their Experiment Station blog for a preview, courtesy of pianist and WTOC staff member Stephanie Rhodes. Musicians Paint the Music Room with Sound: Vocal Colors Part II    

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Bourdonnement Derrière la Scène

Tonight’s Backstage Buzz artist panel yielded up quite a few secrets from its participants. Director Dan Rigazzi, French language consultant Pierre Vallet, soprano Jamie-Rose Guarrine and tenor Nathaniel Peake chatted with WTOC’s own Ryan Taylor. Topics included the challenges of putting together the jigsaw puzzle / scavenger hunt that is Tales of Hoffmann and the

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The Intern Engine

The Wolf Trap From the Inside Out blog recently featured this great photo of Scenic Painting and Props intern Kristen Prescott-Ezickson. We would not be able to function without our interns – they are one of the most important engines of this opera machine.  At this point in our season, when the accumulated fatigue and

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Sweeney Live Blog: And We’re Off!

The end of the countdown happened while I was visiting dressing rooms, helping to advance the show, and delivering the preshow talk. (What a nice full house – a special shout-out to the group from Fairmont State University!) I was a miraculous night; a not perfect but beautiful show. Full of guts and humanity, shimmering

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Sweeney Live Blog: T-2

Some of our cast rose extra early this morning at the very last minute to be interviewed by NBC 4 in Washington, D.C. Their upbeat attitude after a long night of rehearsal was inspiring! Click here to watch their interview!  

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Sweeney Live Blog: T-3

Friday 7/22 – 3:35 pm The Dripping Barber of Fleet Street Temp: 89.5 DEGREES! YESSSSS!!! Brief burst of rain and a 13-degree drop in temperature.  Worried about wilting at our show? Now you’ll be fresh as a daisy, especially with that lovely breeze that’s wafting through the fins and across the house. And the Demon

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Sweeney Live Blog: T-4

Friday 7/22 – 4:28 pm Trivia Temp: 102 Reviewing my notes for the pre-perf discussion. Did you know that… Hugh Wheeler (Sweeney lyricist) wrote murder mysteries under pseudonyms? (Q. Patrick and others) Hal Prince & Stephen Sondheim did 13 backer’s auditions for Sweeney and didn’t raise a penny? John Lahr of Harpers panned the Sweeney

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