Well, we’re roughly halfway through the rehearsal process for Donizetti’s “Elixir of Love,” the J-Term opera production at Carthage College, and I have to say that this is shaping up to be one of my happiest and most satisfying artistic undertakings in all my years at Carthage. It’s a combination of a great opera, a wonderful cast, and enough time to make some magic happen – unlike the operas we mount during the regular school year, which tend to leave us battle scarred, ulcer-ridden, exhausted, and just grateful to have survived the experience. During both the fall and spring semesters, there really isn’t sufficient time to easily mount a full opera or the equivalent of a full opera- especially when our singers our juggling all of their other classes, plus their lessons, plus their ensembles, plus extracurricular activities. We somehow manage it, but it’s a tough gauntlet. During J-Term, by contrast, most students are only doing the opera- or, at most, the opera and one other class. There are no music lessons- no choir or band rehearsals- very few meetings, etc. so we feel a little more like we sort of “own” the singers during these J-term operas. Well no, we don’t own them, but we don’t have to vie for their attention and energy with quite so many competing interests, which is absolutely huge when you’re talking about something as complex and challenging as a full-length opera.
But there is something else afoot here- a kind of energy that you wish could be put in a bottle and shared with the rest of the world . . .the kind of energy that regenerates itself, that charges rather than drains . . . the kind of energy that feels almost limitless, as though almost anything is possible. It isn’t something we always- or maybe even often get to experience- but I’m certainly experiencing it right now with this production of Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love.”
Part of it is that this is the first time (at least in my memory) that Carthage is undertaking an opera from what’s called the Bel Canto period (the early 19th century)- and I think for just about all of our singers this marks an exciting entry into a new musical world. It’s not that bel canto and Mozart or bel canto and Handel represent different solar systems or even different planets – but they are certainly different musical and artistic landscapes. It’s also challenging music to sing, but this particular score is so wonderful because its difficulties are, for the most part, manageable by our fine cast- and those moments that are a little too demanding are easily amended or snipped away. On the other hand, the steep challenge which this music poses is drawing superlative singing from our cast- including some of the best singing that these young people have ever done in their lives. It’s about being inspired by some of the most gorgeous music ever written, in or out of opera. But on the other hand, it’s in service of a delightful, funny story that’s as much fun to perform as it is to follow. And it’s about some incredibly gifted young singers who are perfectly cast for their roles, who know (at least subconsciously) that they are richly blessed to be in an opera that is not only a wonderful showcase for their talents- but also a catalyst to propel them to another level of excellence. How thrilling that must be for them (although I’m not sure that they even fully realize it at this point) and how thrilling it is for me and for stage director Matt Boresi to be playing a small part in that experience for them.
But the other ingredient in the invigorating energy of our production stems from the lovely chemistry of our cast. First of all, this is basically the first time in my twenty years at Carthage that we have double cast lead roles in an opera… (aside from the role of Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, which was Dr. Sjoerdsma’s final production before retiring from Carthage.) We have double cast not one, not two, not three, but four lead roles . . . and in all four cases, we have singers of comparable excellence who are the best of colleagues rather than competitors- and who are managing to bring out the best in one another. We have also split the pivotal comic role of Dr. Dulcamara into the Doctor and his very sharp assistant, which allowed us to fold into the mix a gifted mezzo soprano who otherwise would not have had a significant role. But we are also delighted with the fine singers we have in our ensemble, who are bringing such energy and enthusiasm to our rehearsals.
So we’re home free? Hardly! We have finished staging act one – but the music of act one still needs to be fully polished and memorized. And in the meantime, we have to proceed to act two, which is shorter than act one but which includes some of the trickiest music in the score. So our work is cut for us, to be sure- but I’m just as sure that this cast really cares about this production and will bring their very best to the task at hand. I’ve seen evidence of it already, especially in how many of the leads have gotten together on their own to work through tricky scenes- and also when one lead quietly asked me the other day to play less melody so he and the others would be more on their own and a little less dependent on my help from the keyboard. (You know you have a fine cast of responsible musicians when they ask of their own accord for a musical crutch to be taken away.) And Friday night, when five cast members came to my house to watch the PBS telecast of the Met’s production of “Elixir of Love,” I was delighted to watch one of our Gianettas and two of our ensemble members sing along with most of the big ensemble scenes without a stitch of music in front of them. That tells me it’s not just the lead singers who care about this production or about doing a good job in it; that commitment to excellence is evident top to bottom. And yesterday, ten singers in the “Elixir” cast spent more than three hours Saturday afternoon experiencing the Met’s production of another Donizetti opera, “Maria Stuarda,” in their latest HD simulcast to movie theaters across the country. Six of them were with me at the Renaissance Theater in Racine, and I can’t tell you how thrilling it was for me to see them so swept up in this work. It told me that these young men and women are not just in love with the spotlight- but are falling deeper and deeper in love with opera itself. And it’s not because of drinking some fake elixir- but because opera itself is mighty hard to resist once you’ve given yourself over to its unique, and ultimately irresistible charms.
pictured above: The Elixir cast listens carefully to stage director Matt Boresi. left to right: Laurie Coleman, Bryanaa Fujino, Steve Hobe, Max Dinan, Leah Orr, and Maren Schutz. I love how their eyes are fixed on Matt; he is the kind of director you can’t help but give your full attention to because he’s so good at what he does- and so incredibly fun as he does it.