Presentation of the Rose

Two pics from the scene from "Der Rosenkavalier" that was inserted into the final performance of "Fledermaus". Meaghan Heath (Octavian) is wearing her Cherubino costume from "Figaro". As Emily Murdock (Sophie) was singing Adele in the performance, she already had a gown. The guests at Prince Orlofsky's party are taking it all in.

Castles in the Air

Someone took pictures during the scenes program. Here is the scene from my opera "Everlasting Universe" that contains the duet "Castles in the Air". Mary Shelley (Meaghan Heath) is reading her letter from London while Claire Clairmont (Sarah Bauer) is obsessing over the note she has just found from Lord Byron banning her from the villa. John Polidori (Cameron Young) is introducing the scene before he rifles through Byron's papers, finds Albe's love poetry to his half-sister Augusta and then has an emotional melt-down. As this is a scenes program props are minimal and everyone is wearing stage black.

Adieu aux Arks

The name 'Ozarks' is thought to derive from the French 'aux Arks' = in the land of the Arkansas Indians. The Ozarks are actually not a mountain range in the strict sense of the term, but rather a vast plateau that was eroded during the last ice age. This would explain the fact that the elevation is modest and that the area consists of sharp mountain ridges or, as they are known here, razorbacks. We live on such a ridge. The state highway 62 runs the length of it and sometimes it is so narrow that there is a precipitous drop-off on either side of the road. Two thirds of the Ozarks are in Missouri.

Our Opera Scenes Program was, in a word, fabulous. Somehow we managed to put the right singers in the right roles for each of them. Everyone rose to the occasion. The large audience was quite enthusiastic. We heard eveything from Monteverdi to contemporary composers. From the former there was one scene from "Ulisse" and one from "Poppea"; two scenes from Britten's "Midsummer" -- the Awakening Quartet (for which we had a pair of horns off-stage to play the horn calls) and the Quarrel Scene; the Third Act Quartet from "Bohème"; the Card Trio and Quintet from "Carmen"; the Act II finale Quartet from "Abduction"; the Quintet (three Ladies, Papageno and Tamino) from "Magic Flute"; and, for the finale of our program, two duets and "Weekend in the Country" from Sondheim's "A Little Night Music". "Every Day a Little Death" always has me in tears; it is so poignant. We also heard a scene, "Castles in the Air" from my opera "Everlasting Universe". It was beautifully done and was well received.

As the annual convention of the National Federation of Music Clubs was in town during the last week, the participants were able to attend the last three performances of our three main operas and see "Pirates" at another venue. The final performance of "Fledermaus" was a gala event with three scenes inserted into the second act, Orlofsky's party: a scene from "Showboat", the luscious Garden Scene duet from Prokofieff's "War and Peace" and, as a special treat, the Presentation of the Rose from Richard Strauss's "Der Rosenkavalier" I took it upon myself to re-orchestrate that scene to fit our modest ensemble here. It was a time-consuming project, but a labor of love. The end result was worth it. The singing and playing were splendid. The orchestra members were thrilled to play the piece.

We all had to vacate the premises by noon on Saturday. I bid Bubba's BBQ Pit goodbye (no kidding -- it's right down the road) and headed down the mountain one last time. I enjoyed the leisurely four-hour drive north to KC (a welcome change from the 25-hour drive home from Schroon Lake) and was glad to sleep in my own bed, cook my own food and chill out (quite literally) in the luxury of central air. I left OIO with a feeling of sadness, but also with great satisfaction in a summer well spent. After the final performance of "Little Women" (finally a bit cooler in the theater after thunder showers) there was the traditional singing of "Climb Every Mountain" with everybody participating, and many tears at the realization that our tightly-knit group would be thrown to the winds the following morning. Whatever has a beginning has an end.

Le Nozze di Figaro

Our lovely set for Figaro was also used for the Opera Scenes evening program.

Die Fledermaus

Scenes from Act II, the party at Prince Orlofsy's.

Little Women

Here are a few pictures from the OIO production of Mark Adamo's opera "Little Women", the four sisters: Meg, Beth, Amy and Jo. More to come later. Stay tuned!

Music in them thar hills

We are in the seventh week of the season here at OIO. The shows are being done in rotation, to surprisingly small houses. I am told attendance will pick up by the last week. Of the two other special programs in the works, we have performed a chamber music concert on Monday in a venue not far from here. It was modern church with a fine piano and great acoustics. The orchestral players organized this for the most part. The program was varied, interesting and very well done. The highlights were the first movement of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet and at the end the program we heard a movement of the Bohuslav Martinu Nonett, a fun piece. I played in several works: the Mozart aria "Parto, Parto" for mezzo soprano from "La Clemenza di Tito" (it has a substantial clarinet obbligato part) and a trio for violin, trumpet and piano by the American composer Eric Ewazen (he teaches at Juilliard). The hit of the program was the Schubert Rondo in A Major for piano four-hands which I performed with my colleague Michael. I say that not because our playing of it was extraordinary (though it was pretty darned good), but because the Rondo is so beautiful. It is vintage Schubert: delectably sweet with that flavoring of Viennese melancholy that pervades the composer's soul. I doubt if anyone in the audience had heard it before. I performed the Rondo two summers ago in Graz on a faculty recital. It was lovely to do it again. The nicest comment I heard was: you can play that Schubert Rondo for us every day!

Of the scenes I am preparing, one of them, the Presentation of the Rose from "Der Rosenkavalier" will be performed during the second act of "Die Fledermaus", the party scene at Prince Orlofsky's. Many of the donors and supporters of the OIO program will be in attendance at that final performance of the opera. I volunteered to arrange the duet for our orchestra. It was a monumental task, but a labor of love. Strauss's orchestration is HUGE. I had to pare it down to what we have here. I can't wait to hear it. The instrumental players are very excited about doing it. Strauss meets Strauss.

We have endured blazing temperatures for many days. Only today did a front sweep in to cool things down a bit and saturate the thirsty earth. It was so warm last night that it was decided to do Figaro without wigs, costumes or make-up. It was 97 degrees in the house at curtain. Last Sunday I went on a hike with a visiting voice teacher who was here to do master classes. Linda di Fiore and I know each other from the Seagle Colony and from Graz. It wasn't the best day to go hiking -- it was 103 degrees!! We must have been nuts. The pic is of Leatherwood Lake, clogged with water lilies. The lake is tucked away in a side valley.

The Holidays

With a major holiday like the Fourth on the horizon most people would head for the hills. I did just the opposite and went back to Kansas City for a few days. It happened that I had three days off in a row. What would be the point of hanging about the OIO campus? It is too hot to do anything outside except go to the beach -- and an hour of that would be enough for me. It was a bit weird to return to my own home at the beginning of July. I haven't been in KC in mid-summer in sixteen years. But I certainly did enjoy sleeping in my own bed (zzzzzzzzzz!), cooking my own food (fresh Kansas sweet corn on the cob, for example) and enjoying my usual distractions. I was also able to replenish my supply of books and cd's.
I spent nearly all of Sunday with Jason, one of my dearest friends. We had a lovely meal together, visited the Monet exhibit at the Nelson Atkins Museum, hung out at his house, listened to music and finally went to see a film -- it was a near perfect day! I left mid-afternoon on Monday to return in Eureka Springs in time for the fireworks display. I didn't entirely retrace my steps but took a different route for the final segment in order to have dinner in Rogers, Arkansas. The road south of Joplin to the Arkansas border is surprisingly lovely. The road goes through several passes cut through the limestone hills. The area is sparsely populated and heavily forested. At the state line that all changes and one enters an extensive commercial zone. Bentonville, home to Walmart, is here. I am told it is one of the fastest growing areas in the country. I am no friend of the Big W, that predatory operation that has single-handedly destroyed the economies of thousands of small towns throughout the country, practices job discrimination and provides paltry benefits for its employees. Walmart is an example of the worst form of capitalism unchecked.
After a scrumptious dinner at my favorite Chinese joint (I have favorites now? I must be here too long!) I headed up the mountain (if one can call the Ozarks mountains -- they are more like large hills) and enjoyed a gorgeous ride in the twilight. Adding to the buoyant mood was the cd of Bryn Terfel singing Rogers and Hammerstein. It doesn't get better than that.
We are now geared up for the opera scenes evening and the chamber music concert.