The Rehearsal Accompanist

This sounds like the title of a best selling novel, along the lines of "The Reader" or "The Illusionist". Since this is my blog, I can address those issues that concern me. Who gives a thought to the rehearsal accompanist, the person who sits uncomplainingly for hours on end at the keyboard, playing the same scene over and over again? Who shows up for EVERY rehearsal, sits patiently through hours of boring staging rehearsals? Who tries his best to be the ersatz orchestra and allows the conductor to make all his mistakes before moving on to the real thing? It's the rehearsal accompanist, that's who! We're often used and abused and completely taken for granted. But we know our worth and quietly do our work. I love what I do and am grateful that I have the opportunity to do something as interesting and challenging as "Der fliegende Holländer". And I'm not complaining at all about my treatment here in Mobile. Everyone is wonderful. The chorus members think I'm god's gift to music. (it's nice to be appreciated.)
When I started working on the score of FH I realized that it would take a lot of work to learn it. I wanted to do my best and practiced lots of difficult passages in the score. When I arrived here I quickly learned that the Maestro's tempi were mostly faster than I anticipated and the piano in the rehearsal hall has a stiff action, meaning that I couldn't execute many of those fast octave passages and the like at all. So, I have been re-working much of the score, simplifying as much as I can. I feel like I am on a fast moving ship, throwing things overboard. No one is interested in how deftly I can play the details. It's all about the basics. There are parts of the score I can almost play on automatic at this point, other sections require continual concentration.
The concert at the Mobile Public Library the other day was a great success. We had lots of opera arias, but also a few art songs and musical numbers. The audience was very enthusisastic. I got to play Strauss' "Morgen" on a fine instrument. This is the kind of concert I enjoy playing the most -- no pressure and for an appreciative audience.