We didn't get to all the questions, so we've answered more of them here! Join us at a Wednesday performance during intermission for the next installment of BLO Exposed.
To David Angus:
How do you think Macbeth compares to Otello and Falstaff?
Those
other two are his final works and are in a much more developed style of
writing, where the orchestra plays much more complex music and everything is
much more dramatic and continuous. Macbeth is an early work, in the older style
of separate "tunes" for each character to say how they feel. I
love both styles--the simple and attractive one that makes us all smile with
pleasure, and the richer one which is more exciting and real.
What is your favorite part of the performance?
In most
operas my favourite bits are the big ensembles, when everyone is singing
together about their own feelings. It is so complex and overwhelming. If they
really all sing the same things together, like the ends of Act 1 and Act 2 of Macbeth, the emotional power of
the music blows me away! There are also fantastic arias (solos) and duets which
I also love.
Can you
tell us about how unusual it was in Verdi's time to have three trombones in
opera? And can you tell us about the Cimbasso?
It was
quite normal to have 3 trombones and either a bass trombone or a Cimbasso which
is just a giant member of the trombone family. What they didn't have was a
modern tuba, which makes a much fatter sound and doesn't fit so well with the
trombones in this sort of music, although the tuba has been used instead for
the last 100 years. I am very glad that we are going back to bass trombone and
cimbasso, to get a harder brighter and clearer sound.
Was that the Italian anthem when the king arrived?
Absolutely
not! It is a very light-hearted bit of music. However, the
unofficial Italian "Anthem" is a very famous chorus by Verdi from his
opera Nabucco (Va pensiero) which everyone here would recognise but in Italy
How
true to Shakespeare is Verdi's Macbeth?
Very true
to the spirit and story, but not the actual words, because they were
translated. Verdi simplified the story greatly (it would have been much
much too long if he had set it all to music) but kept the characters and the
relationships the same. He added a few bits, such as the wonderful chorus of
the Scottish Refugees, probably to please his political audience.
What
goes into preparation for conducting Macbeth?
About a
year of study--on and off--listening to very many recordings, studying the
vocal score at the piano, studying and marking the full orchestral score at my
desk for weeks, reading all about it in reference books, and then working with
the singers and orchestra for 4 weeks solidly before we perform it.
To
Carter Scott:
What is
your dream role?
I have two...one is Minnie in Puccini's La fanciulla del West, which I will be singing with Knoxville Opera for the first time, the second is Bruennhilde in The Ring Cycle by Wagner.
I have two...one is Minnie in Puccini's La fanciulla del West, which I will be singing with Knoxville Opera for the first time, the second is Bruennhilde in The Ring Cycle by Wagner.
To
Daniel Sutin:
Is it
hard to sing while lying down?
I do not
mind it is a challenge to see how close you can get to the Director"s
vision.
Is this
part a dream role for you? How does it feel? What's it like to portray
a villain?
This part
is truly a dream role for me that I waited for twenty years to sing. It
is one of the greatest Verdi roles for the baritone. I am glad I
debuted this role at BLO; working with a great team of David Angus and
David Schweitzer. Boston
To the
witches (answered by Marie McCarville):
It
seems like you carry the opera. Is that a lot of pressure?
Rather
than carry the opera as if it were a large weight, I see the chorus of witches
as an integral force of controlled energy and sound that push the main
characters to their limits of depravity and nobleness. Instead of pressure, I
feel challenged in the best sense of the word. Every chance I have to be
on stage, to create the witch persona, to literally vibrate with sound
singularly or in unanimity with my fellow choristers is absolute exhilaration.
It is also absolutely exhausting!!!
About the production:
How many singers and orchestra members and directors are involved with this production?
About the production:
How many singers and orchestra members and directors are involved with this production?
36
choristers
1
conductor
54 orchestra
members
8 principal
singers
7
supers
2 directors (Stage and
Assistant)
1 movement
director
1 fight
director
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