Congratulations to TL, who became an American citizen on Friday. Not too many new Americans have the pleasure of celebrating by singing the Star Spangled Banner with the backup of an entire opera company.
Volpone music rehearsals have been calm, methodical, and illuminating. We buffered in an extra 4 days of rehearsal for this show, and I believe that having had the time to sift through this score thoroughly will prove invaluable.
Stagings have just begun in earnest. Act 1, Scene 1. Volpone pretends that he’s dying. His “frends” visit one by one, ostensibly to pay their respect, but in truth bringing expensive gifts to curry Volpone’s favor so that they’ll have a prominent place in his will. The joke’s on them, of course, as Volpone and his servant intend to abscond with the loot.
Today, Corvina* brings a gold candlestick. (In a Whole Foods bag, it seems:))
[*Corvina: The Raven. Corvina is Bonario’s mother, yet she would quickly trade her mother’s milk for an ounce of gold. She is imposing and overbearing, not all that bright, and not all that pleasant.]
And, downstairs, rehearsals continue for this weekend’s Berlin Night Life concert. Pictured – the Comedian Harmonists, hard at work on Mein kleiner grüner Kaktus.
Tomorrow: the arrival of the Wolf Trap Opera Studio. As our Studio Administrator told me today in an email, “I ran into them in a huge group as they were unpacking what looked like a full-fledged cross-country move… There is a lot of energy going on in this group.”
Can’t wait.
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