Opera colleague Matt Boresi and I experienced the strangest sort of musical split personality this afternoon- because from 2:50 to 3:55 we rehearsed Mozart’s delightful comedy “The Marriage of Figaro” – and then from 4:05 to 5:15 we drastically shifted gears and rehearsed “Black September,” the opera we created this past January and premiered in early February. It gives one- with a single glance- a sense of how extraordinarily rich and varied the world of opera is. It can be hilariously funny ….. and it can be heartbreakingly poignant – and everything in between. And Matt and I are not the only one’s experiencing this odd pivot between light and dark; Four of our young guys are crossing that same divide as well. If you picture that iconic image of the two theatrical masks – one smiling, one frowning, side by side – that’s our life this week.
We are having a ball with The Marriage of Figaro, which is easily one of the finest comic masterpieces in all of opera history – but also an enormous challenge for a school of our size. It calls for a large cast- and if you do the entire score, then you are talking about a mammoth amount of music. We are doing a rather heavily abridged version, but adding a couple of narrators to help fill in the gaps of the story. We did the same thing when we last did Figaro five years ago. The idea is that there are two women working down in the kitchen of the castle, washing dishes, who are also catching up on the week’s gossip. (One of them has been out sick for three days- and it was while she was gone that all of the mayhem of the opera’s plot took place.) I came up with the idea after seeing an abridged Marriage of Figaro at Luther while I was a student there- in which the story was set in a court room, with various characters called to the witness stand to explain their perspective on recent events. That worked well- but I like our scenario even better because it nicely highlights the Upstairs/Downstairs… Downton Abbey aspect of the story. At any rate, my collaborator- Matt Boresi- is so brilliant when it comes to comedy, and he is giving our singers all kinds of fun business to do that I think will only enhance our audience’s enjoyment. And I think one of the best parts of the rehearsal process has been those moments when someone in the cast will remark on how genuinely funny this story is. Comedy is a strange thing in that not everything that is funny now will remain equally funny two years from now, let alone two centuries later – but somehow the hilarity of The Marriage of Figaro endures. And whatever miracle makes it so, it just underscores how privileged we all feel to be bringing this stunning work to life again.
And it feels great to be reviving “Black September” as well. This encore performance came about somewhat accidentally when due to a couple of different factors the big choral concert planned for this weekend no longer became doable. One option was to simply cancel the concert, but our department chair was very reluctant to do that- which is when I suggested the possibility of bringing back “Black September.” The concert was intended as the finale to No Hate Week at Carthage (the last of a plethora of related events on campus) and there are ways in which our opera folds nicely into that theme. Our department chair agreed, and that’s how performance #3 of “Black September” found its way on to the calendar.
Of course, one immense challenge is trying to get all eleven guys in the cast together in the same room at the same time. We managed it for about ten minutes today (literally) but otherwise everyone’s class and work and rehearsal schedules makes it absolutely impossible for us to rehearse with everyone there …. at least until this Friday (the day before the performance) when we can finally do so. And beyond just the logistical nightmare of trying to get everyone together, there is also the reality that everyone is knee deep into second semester, with all kinds of obligations that can’t be ignored. So folding this unanticipated revival into everyone’s already busy lives is no simple matter. Fortunately, the guys seem to remember the score remarkably well- to the extent that when someone is gone, everyone else in the cast seems fully capable of filling in what’s missing. (In other words, people seem to not only remember their own parts but those of everyone else as well!) At any rate, it means a lot to me that the guys remember my music and Matt’s words as well as they do- and that they seem excited at the prospect of doing it again.
By the way, although this is the same opera, this particular performance will be different in a couple of ways. Because the evening will also feature some singing by the Carthage Choir, the stage can’t be set up the way it was in February- but the simpler, more spare setting should work fine. Also, we are going to have a larger screen for our projected supertitles, which in turn will also allow us to project some photographic images of the real life events depicted in the opera. So the audience will catch a glimpse of the joyous opening of the Munich 1972 Olympics- a view of the building where the athletes were taken hostage- the scene at the airport where the last 9 athletes were killed- the Olympic flag flying at half mast at the memorial service in the stadium- and so on. It’s a way to bring the story further to life. The guys are also going to be more properly garbed in matching outfits rather than in their own personal athletic gear and garments from their own closets. But otherwise, we want this performance to be very much like those two memorable performances back in February – fairly spare and straightforward …. because it is this powerful story that matters the most.
“Black September” will be performed in Carthage’s Siebert Chapel this Saturday evening at 7:30. Admission is free. “The Marriage of Figaro” is being performed Saturday and Sunday, April 30th and May 1st- and both performances are at 3:00 in the afternoon. Again, admission is free.