Tartuffe Sept. 10-12

We have been in rehearsals now for Tartuffe for 2 weeks and have fully blocked the 1st and 3rd acts. They are looking good! We were excited for our Tartuffe to join us this week upon his return from New York and are looking forward to our Damis to come in on Thursday and make our cast complete (and so we can block Act 2). To order tickets, go to the Capitol City Opera website at www.ccityopera.com.

Tartuffe is an opera in English by the composer Kirke Mechem and Capitol City Opera Company is producing it on the stage at Oglethorpe University on Fri. and Sat. Sept. 10 and 11 at 8PM and Sun. Sept. 12 at 3PM. The costumes will be fantastic, but will not be able to overshadow the great singing that is going to happen. The opera is based upon the play by Moliere that premiered in 1660, but the opera premiered in 1980 at the San Francisco Opera. It is very easy to listen to and the comedy should make it easy to watch as well; however, that does not diminish the fact that it is tough to sing.

I can only speak for myself, of course, but the entrances are tricky and the first note of each phrase is sometimes elusive. I have never worked so hard to learn something. My part is also dauntingly large for me at this time in my life, but I am relishing the hard work. I play Dorine, the maid. She is intrical in scheming the overthrow of Tartuffe and therefore, I have conversations with each of the characters separately, sing the well-known aria "Fair Robin I Love" and laugh a lot (which in opera makes for some very difficult music).

I did some interesting research this week on the time period. The king of France at the time was Louis XIV. He reigned for a whopping 72 years, the longest of any European despot. He loved the theatre and was a dancer himself, taking part in several productions at court. Moliere plays were a favorite at court; therefore, Moliere frequently wrote scenes in deference to his sovereign (as seen in Act 3, Scene 2 of our opera). It was a relatively peaceful time for the country so our bourgeoisie characters would be living a life of pious devotion in the country, which is where all the trouble begins. In search of true Christianity, Orgon invites Tartuffe into his home. Everyone else in the house, Damis and Marianne (Orgon's children), Dorine, and Valere (Marianne's fiance) can all see Tartuffe's true colors, which include his lust for Orgon's wife Elmire, and must plot to get him out of the house and keep their inheritance at the same time!

I am thoroughly enjoying figuring out this character and learning the music and rehearsing with some other great singers. Now, if only we had an audience.....

Summer is coming to an end

Capitol City Opera Company gave another Summer On the Lightside on Saturday night. This year, we sang the music of Rogers and Hammerstein to a sold out crowd.

Next up, Build the Basement #4: Upon this Rock. The very talented Tom Gregory and I have been working on some of the Christian music I wrote when I was younger, bringing it back to life. Edward Galaviz will join us on drums on Saturday night, August 14th at 7PM in the basement. Franco and I have framed out the recording booth and Franco has been working on the wiring. So, the next step is the sheetrock. Then, it will really look like a room!

Next week, I begin rehearsals for Tartuffe. I'll be playing Dorine, the maid. It's a fantastic part for me and I am very excited about it. Tartuffe plays September 10th and 11th at 8PM and September 12th at 3PM at Oglethorpe University.

The Reminiscents are working on some bookings for the fall. I'll keep you updated on that.

The Michael O'Neal Singers and Chamber Singers are getting started again soon and I'm auditioning for Chords of Faith this year. That ought to keep me plenty busy!

Sing for Christ

I sang on Saturday, June 26th at the Sing for Christ concert. I don't get to sing this style of music very often so it was a treat, especially because I go to sing duets with Lee Herring.

July 2010

2 things for July:
1st is the 3rd installment of the Build the Basement concerts on Saturday, July 10 from 2-4 PM. It will be an ice cream social highlighted by some patriotic music.

2nd is the annual fundraiser for Capitol City Opera, On the Lightside. This year, the troupe will be performing Rogers & Hammerstein. You know I love that! Sorry, this show is already sold out, but we're seeking another venue to have a 2nd performance. I'll let you know!

A Successful Week

I thought I didn't have anything to do this summer. Boy, was I wrong! I gave 6 concerts last week. On Saturday, June 12, I had the 2nd Basement Concert. It was such a pleasure for me to share 14 of my favorite classic broadway pieces, which included "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered", "Many a New Day", and "Much More". All of the pieces were from shows that debuted between 1940-1960 and many were by Rogers & Hammerstein, as they ruled Broadway during that time. Keri Hughes won the name that tune game. She named all 14 pieces and the shows they were from and got almost all the composers as well! Wow!

On Sunday, I went to sing in Roswell Square with Michael O'Neal Chamber Singers. I sang "The Sound of Music" as a solo also. It was so hot! But the audience still enjoyed the chamber, folk, and popular music. After the concert, John, Debbie and I went over to John's house with Allen and Catherine to practice for Dinner and a Diva. I sang through Queen of the Night twice and I was soooo tired afterwards. Long day!

Tuesday night was Dinner and a Diva at Petite Auberge. I sang "Der Holle Rache", "Chi il bel sogno", "In quelle trine morbide", "Saper vorreste", and "Caro nome". That was a lot of high notes, but I was well warmed up and it went rather well. I would have liked to have known the words to In quelle trine morbide a little more securely, but my brain was full. And Caro nome was rather funny. I got stuck in a loop on one phrase and after singing it twice, I looked at Catherine like "Help me!" and she skipped ahead, played a chord really strongly, and got me going again. John said it was the extended version of Caro nome. Luckily, the audience appeared to have drunk enough wine not to have noticed. We repeated the same program at Sugo on Thursday night and I sang Caro nome perfectly. I was so vocally tired by this time that my F's were a little closer to E and 1/4, but no one is perfect and that is the foibles of live performance.

On Wednesday morning, I did 2 Dr. Seuss's back-to-back. We don't normally have school shows during the summer, so I was glad this summer camp had hired us. Capitol City needs all the income it can get to prepare for Tartuffe.

Lastly, on Saturday night, the Alba's held a lovely party in their beautiful backyard and I got to sing a duet with Lee Herring. I sang "If I Loved You" and "Where the Boys Are" solo and then Lee and I sang "More than Wonderful" and "Upon this Rock". I closed the night out with a sing-a-long of "Que Sera Sera". In between there was a bagpipe player. Very cool! And a wonderful performance by the Tuesday Diva's. They're so great!

Lee and I will sing those duets again next Saturday at "Sing for Christ" at Chestnut Ridge Christian Church. I will also sing "Upon this Rock" and "We Shall Behold Him". I'm so happy to finally be able to sing these songs that I grew up hearing my mom sing. Very sentimental!

Then, I have to start learning the music for the Capitol City Opera Company's annual fundraiser On the Lightside. This year it is the music of Rogers & Hammerstein, so I already know a lot of it. That will be Saturday, July 24 at Callanwolde. Several tables are already sold out, so people should go ahead and make reservations. www.ccityopera.com

I definitely need to be working on Tartuffe. The role of Dorine is slighty larger than I imagined and will take some hard work to learn. Hopefully, I can perfect it before September 10th when we open at Oglethorpe.

I have my calendar ready for all the Build the Basement Concerts for the rest of the year. I'll add that here as well. Phew! I think that's it!