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.