Woke up after a good night's sleep and made boiled eggs for breakfast. There's a long day ahead and protein keeps me going better. Rehearsal started at 2pm with the orchestra. It was really an orchestral alone rehearsal, but as often happens at final orchestra rehearsals, the conductor, John Mauceri, had asked the singers to come along. This helps both singers and orchestra to get to know the music and how it all fits together. When the orchestra has to accompany the singers, it helps for them to know what is going on in the bars where they are not playing.
The rehearsal went well and the orchestra sounded great. It's not easy singing in rehearsal rooms as the orchestra sounds much louder than when they are in the pit in the theater. But it's always fun to be among them and really hear them up close.
The tenor and I were given 45 mins break while they rehearsed other sections, so we went to Starbucks and got some much needed caffeine. We returned to sing part of our big duet, then had an hour's break before the evening rehearsal.
With such a short time, the tenor, Michael, the stage manager, Rachel, and I went for something to eat across the street from the theater. I have worked with both Michael and Rachel before and it's always nice to renew friendships. I had a delicious salad, as I knew my husband would have something ready for when I got home. We had a very pleasant hour gossiping about this and that...TV shows and catching up on news of people we knew. Rachel is a great stage manager, who I last worked with in San Francisco a few years ago. The stage manager, as the name implies, is in charge of everything that goes on during the show. She is actually in charge of the entire theater when a show is in progress, even over theater or opera management. The stage is a very dangerous place and it's important that there is someone everyone knows is in ultimate control of any situation. The opera "Aridane" has, at the end, real fireworks on stage. This is the first production I have even heard of, let alone been in, that has fireworks, and they are very exciting. She was explaining how they work and how they will be rehearsed. I'm very much looking forward to seeing them, as I am on stage when they go off and get a bird's eye view.
The evening rehearsal was another run of the whole show. It went well, though everyone was a little tired after the afternoon's work. But it's sometimes good to run the opera when you are not feeling your best, so you can figure out how to pace yourself if you don't feel really in the mood. It's also a chance to find new things with the characters and I took the opportunity to try a few news things, which the director Chris Alexander was pleased with. Sometime things work and sometimes they don't and that's really what rehearsal is all about.
After a long day, I walked back to the apartment with Michael and Lyubov and walked in to the delicious smell of my husband's cooking. He really is an amazing cook! I played a few games of online backgammon, losing most, but that helped me relax and pretty soon, it was time for bed.