FOC-Blog

Shortly after our November/December 2007 performances of Tartuffe, we decided to submit the production to the 2008 Capital Fringe Festival.  We were thrilled to be notified in March that we were selected, although they didn’t give us specific dates and a venue assignment until late April.

Unfortunately, by April the lovely costumes that our Elmire, Andrea Schewe, had pulled together from various sources were no longer available due to other commitments.  What to do?  Necessity being the mother of invention, we discussed what sort of costumes we might more easily get our hands on, and what period and locale might fit with those costumes. 

We came up with the American South in the earlier part of the 20th century.  Or, as we like to call it, “Moliere meets Tennessee Williams!”

That’s our new nickname for A View from the Bridge, the William Bolcom opera that had the last performance of its run at Washington National Opera this evening.  Your BlogMeister was in the chorus and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, rather intense though it was.

It so happens that John Del Carlo, who played the lawyer Alfieri in View, was the original Tartuffe in 1980.  I had only a brief opportunity to chat with him about the experience, but he said he had fond memories of the production, and told me about various other cast members and what they’re doing these days.  Susan Quittmeyer, who sang Elmire, is now married to James Morris.  Our own Elmire Andrea Schewe knew Susan at Manhattan School of Music.  Thomas Hammons, the Orgon, sings at the Met along with John DC.

Tonight’s performance started late because of technical difficulties which resulted in there being no projections on the big background screens.  So no atmospheric pictures of the titular Brooklyn Bridge, the docks, the tenements, etc.  Still, as evocative as those are, the real atmosphere is onstage, with such a strong cast and effective direction.

My favorite moment in the show is the scene with the tenor aria, “New York Lights.”  A couple of weeks ago during a discussion of Don Giovanni and the tenor aria “Dalla sua pace” being lovely, but essentially grinding the story to a halt, a tenor colleague of mine said, “Yes, kind of like ‘New York Lights.’ “  I had to respectfully beg to differ, and suggested that he probably had only listened to the aria without watching what’s happening on stage.  As Rodolpho explains to Eddie and Catherine about the beauty of the views at home but how they don’t compare to the New York lights, we see Catherine watching Rodolpho with rapt attention, while Eddie watches her just as intently, powerless to stop the growing attachment.

Anyway, it’s unlikely tonight’s audience knew they weren’t getting the full visuals as conceived as part of the original production, nor would they have missed them, given the intensity of the performances.  They went wild at the curtain calls, and the composer took a curtain call to rousing applause from the stage and the audience.

Since tomorrow starts tech week for Tartuffe, I’d better get to bed to rest up and get over this cold.  But first I think I’ll treat myself to a brew from the fridge. . .

I had intended to launch this blog early in the rehearsal period for Tartuffe.  You know what they say about “good intentions.”  So here we are just over a week from opening night and I’m finally posting my first entry.

Of course, I had also intended to music-direct this show and wield a baton during the performances, rather than a scourge (more about that later).  However a lack of baritones at the auditions caused Deb Niezgoda and me to rethink things.  Given the number of talented women who sang for us, we were in the enviable position of being able to double-cast most of the women’s roles (though we had to bid adieu to one of our Elmire’s, Eve, due to family commitments).

So I reluctantly agreed to take on the title role, right around the time Blair Eig agreed to tackle the significantly-longer role of Orgon.  Interestingly, Orgon is the role the playwright Moliere played in performances of his work.

It has been an interesting experience, to say the least, to oversee music rehearsals, as well as musical details during staging rehearsals, and then switch hats to sing Tartuffe.  Add to the mix my responsibility for scheduling rehearsals, rehearsal venues, rehearsal pianists, etc. and you’ll understand why I was glad to be required to shave off my ever-whitening beard to achieve period authenticity in the role.

I really must sign off now and get back to work.  I’ll put a link to this blog on the website and see what comes of it. . .