Dixieland Opera

From Eric Hale:

When I wrote my earlier post, I had forgotten about a chorus rehearsal. So, at tonight’s rehearsal, we got to sing without blocking one more time.

Kevin Badanes is our chorus master. In addition to his other qualifications, Kevin is very funny. In his rehearsals, we laugh a lot. I can’t reproduce Kevin’s impeccable comic timing in a post, but one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard was in the first rehearsal when he said “I know what you’re thinking - 400 pages…but at least it’s in French.” If you understand the joys of being an American who’s trying to sing in French, that’s really funny. If not, maybe I can write about it in another post.

Meredith College provides rooms for rehearsal, saving us from many of the indignities of using found space. (For those that don’t know the term “found space” it just means a room you are able to get without paying for it.) However, the circumstances of tonight’s rehearsal were exceptional. Imagine an entire opera chorus packed into a 15’x15’ cinderblock room. In the next room, imagine a Dixieland band. Really. There’s nothing I can say that will do it justice.

We were only in that room an hour, after which we moved to a bigger room, one with tiny desks. No Dixieland band this time.

Most of the chorus members are either working or full time students. So, when rehearsal starts at 7:00, we’re already tired. However, the music soon perks us up. When we got to the Habanera, which we were rehearsing without Carmen, Kevin said “Indulge yourselves.” Half the room went nuts. Kate, our very talented accompanist, started playing all these flourishes on the piano. A lot of the women, and several of the men, started singing Carmen’s part. The rest of us enjoyed the show until it was time for our entrance. It was fun.

We needed the fun moments, because we worked hard. This rehearsal was aimed at strengthening the places we are weak. So, we moved with a lot of speed through the score. That, in itself, is confusing. You have to jump into a section of music without the usual lead in, and while the last section you worked on is still echoing in your brain. Even worse, it is the nature of the rehearsal that you spend little time on the parts you know and lots of time on the parts you don’t. Oh, and did I mention that we’re singing in French? By the end, I had guacamole for brains, but you could hear the improvement in the chorus.

Still, I have work to do. I have a lot of work to do. There are two days before the next rehearsal.