Having just completed another opera with one more on the go, it’s time to take stock and ask 'what on earth am I up to?' This innocuous statement poses further questions like: 'why do I put myself through this?', 'can I remember the words of this next bit', 'can I get the production of the voice right tonight?', 'why can’t I multitask all the things I’m supposed to be doing at the moment instead of wobbling like a jelly?!', 'is it apparent just how little rehearsal we’ve had on this piece?!' Let’s try and answer some of these.
To answer the last first: in amateur opera, your time is precious. No-one pays you for it and many outside the “business” don’t realise that amateur opera singers pay for the pleasure of singing. It is they that pay - in part - for the accompanist, the director, the rehearsal venue, the orchestra hire, the theatre, the royalties, the staging, the costumes, etc., etc. So not only do you have to be generous with money, but you have to be generous with time (spend hours waiting around in rehearsals called soon after your working day has finished and you’ll know what I mean). Add to this time involved in learning the piece, singing lessons and practice, then it's small wonder rehearsal time has to be pared to the bone.
This of course answers part of the penultimate question. With time and rehearsal so scarce its little wonder there’s confusion of mind when it comes to what – exactly – I should be doing. Not for us in the amateur world the luxury of countless rehearsals. Not for us the luxury of runs that go on for weeks (for us a double cast production has two shots at the piece!). Everything is done on the fly and it probably shows. Indeed, it’s often amazing the production has gone on at all, so who can deny I might well be wobbling like a jelly on stage!
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This then relates to the question before that. With so much being done on a wing and a prayer and having rushed there after a full day's work is it surprising that, as a singer, I’m not settled and able to produce my voice in the best possible way? I have to modify breathing, vowels, natural actions, desires and inclinations and interact with others both on and off stage. I have to know where, when and what I should be singing, have to remember all my words and music (not like the hallowed – and often expensive - instrument players with the luxury of a score), have to know where and when I should be on stage as well as knowing when I shouldn’t! In fact, with all this going on, it’s totally amazing that anything comes out at all!
Then there’s the problem of words. Males seem to have difficulty with words and my wife – a psychologist – tells me it’s a male affliction (incidentally she seems to know all words to all operas instantly!). Whereas we blokes can get you to any rehearsal venue with the barest glance at a map (something to do with spatial awareness she tells me) we have the devil’s own job to learn words (something the female brain does far better than we). I just hope you don’t spot when I sing the same verse twice or make it up as I go along (how can I do that and still make it rhyme – amazing!!), or sing the second verse first and throw the whole cast when I do!
So really that leaves us with the last question - or the first if you have realised I’m working backwards. Why do I do it? Well, I suppose I do it because I like it and enjoy the camaraderie, sensations and pleasures it brings. But I also get sick and tired of those darlings so tied up in their own success they forget why they’re there. Go and find your way in the professional world if that’s what you want (if you can, of course!). Never forget there are two sorts of amateur production: those that are excellent and those so awful some say they’re extremely entertaining! Strive for the first, but always remember – you must enjoy. If you don’t, you’re already well down the road to the second. No-one wishes that on you or your audience. Remember, you’re here to enjoy yourself and, through this, bring enjoyment to others. And, lotus-eater that I am, that’s what I’m up to!
Luigi
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