The DMMO Years
The 2001 Season
The 2001 DMMO Summer Festival season was among the most memorable of my nineteen seasons with the company. For two reasons. First, the repertory was extraordinary. Dr. Larsen had chosen the repertory with care. In January 2001, the company presented an off-season production of Puccini’s La Boheme, which is one of my all-time favorites, and I had the good fortune to be invited to participate in the rehearsals and performances of that production. Much of the company personnel were the same, but many of the regular personnel of the orchestra were not available, so musicians from Des Moines and the local area filled in. Another difference was that all of the rehearsals and performances took place at the Civic Center in Des Moines. This meant that we had to find our living arrangements during the run of the show, as the regular Simpson College facilities were not open to DMMO during the off-season. I was fortunate enough to find accommodations with the family of Kenny Hutcheson, a one-time branch president of the Indianola Branch. He and his wife were my gracious hosts during this period. I will come back to this off-season production later in this blog post.
In addition to La Boheme, the three main-stage productions for the summer festival were Verdi’s La Traviata; Puccini’s Il Trittico, and Samuel Barber’s Vanessa. Taken all together, these operas made for a powerhouse of a season musically.
The second reason for the season being memorable was the fact that the orchestra was no longer to be housed in Kresge Hall, at least for the summer of 2001. Kresge needed renovation and the powers that be decided that the summer of 2001 was the time to get it done. Those of the orchestra members who used dormitory housing as I did were to be accommodated in one of the sports fraternity houses, which were quite comfortable. The place where I stayed was a dorm-style frat house – with a bathroom shared between two rooms. It was quite comfortable nonetheless, and a nice change from Kresge, which was getting kind of seedy -hence the renovations.
The Repertoire
As I mentioned in earlier blog posts, the repertoire for almost all of my nineteen seasons with the company was extremely interesting, and none more so than this 2001 season. Let’s start with the off-season production – Puccini’s La Boheme. Like Bellini’s Norma from the 2000 season, I had previously taken part in two performances of a semi-staged version in Oslo in 1996. This was the series in which our conductor, Mariss Jansons, suffered a heart attack eight minutes before the end of the first performance and nearly died. The performance was never completed, and the second performance was conducted by Klaus Weise, who miraculously happened to be free that particular weeknight. So, I was not a stranger to this opera, which also happens to be one of my personal favorites. I do have to mention that after the experience of Mariss Janson’s collapse near the end of that Oslo performance, to this day the memory of the incident comes back into my mind as if it were yesterday. However, for some reason, I wasn’t as bothered by the memory during this off-season production. I was very much looking forward to performing it again and especially doing it at the Civic Center in Des Moines, which was a normal concert hall with a large stage and orchestra pit. I mentioned earlier in this post that while many of the members of the regular festival orchestra took part – those of us who could travel to Des Moines – many of our colleagues had other obligations and could not get free, so they were replaced for this production by members of the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra.
What also made this production memorable was the fact that I didn’t have to bring out my instruments. The Des Moines Symphony Orchestra graciously let the DMMO borrow their timpani, which was a set of Hinger-Light retrofits. These are Hinger timpani that have been renovated in that the original Picking bowls have been replaced with bowls made by the American Drum Mfg. Co. – the sizes were altered – the 31 inch was now a 32 inch – and the pawls replaced. I was naturally very curious to actually try them.
The initial rehearsals were held in the Civic Center’s lobby, much as we did in Indianola. It was an ample open space with room for singers, chorus, and orchestra. The first two rehearsals were done there and went smoothly enough. It was good to hear the opera again, and I was getting familiar with the Hinger-light retrofits. The two dress rehearsals were held in the theater, and the orchestra assumed its position in the relatively roomy orchestra pit. There was plenty of room for the orchestra, and I had a good sight line to the conductor. Acoustically, the orchestra sections could hear each other and from what I was told, everything sounded very good in the hall.
Playing on the Hinger-Light retrofits was an enjoyable experience. They were very well-maintained and had Remo Renaissance heads on them. From the looks of them, I had the impression that they were recently replaced. Not a mark on them. Sonically, they sounded very good and were easy to play. Pedals worked easily, and it made my job easier in that I was familiar with the type of drum, however altered they were. I am a fan of the original Hinger Touch-tone timpani, and of the Light timpani as well, having had both types of timpani in Oslo during my tenure.
While these were excellent drums, in good shape, and with good heads, I preferred then and prefer now the sound of the original Hinger timpani and the original Light timpani. It seemed like a good idea to get the best of both worlds by making a retrofit (as I call them), but the loss of the original sound of the drums outweighed the advantages. Not that they sounded bad – not by a long shot. They just weren’t Hinger timpani any longer. I guess it’s a matter of personal preference. Still, I was delighted at the chance to play opera on a set of professional-quality timpani.
The initial rehearsals were held in the Civic Center’s lobby, much as we did in Indianola. It was an ample open space with room for singers, chorus, and orchestra. The first two rehearsals were done there and went smoothly enough. It was good to hear the opera again, and I was getting familiar with the Hinger-light retrofits. The two dress rehearsals were held in the theater, and the orchestra assumed its position in the relatively roomy orchestra pit. There was plenty of room for the orchestra, and I had a good sight line to the conductor. Acoustically, the orchestra sections could hear each other and from what I was told, everything sounded very good in the hall.
Playing on the Hinger-Light retrofits was an enjoyable experience. They were very well-maintained and had Remo Renaissance heads on them. From the looks of them, I had the impression that they were recently replaced. Not a mark on them. Sonically, they sounded very good and were easy to play. Pedals worked easily, and it made my job easier in that I was familiar with the type of drum, however altered they were. I am a fan of the original Hinger Touch-tone timpani, and of the Light timpani as well, having had both types of timpani in Oslo during my tenure.
While these were excellent drums, in good shape, and with good heads, I preferred then and prefer now the sound of the original Hinger timpani and the original Light timpani. It seemed like a good idea to get the best of both worlds by making a retrofit (as I call them), but the loss of the original sound of the drums outweighed the advantages. Not that they sounded bad – not by a long shot. They just weren’t Hinger timpani any longer. I guess it’s a matter of personal preference. Still, I was delighted at the chance to play opera on a set of professional-quality timpani.
The performances went extremely well. They were joyous occasions – the singing was first-rate, and the orchestra was more than up to the task at hand. For my part, for some strange reason, the opera felt easier to play than when I played it in Oslo back in 1996. The part is not difficult to play; however, one needs to be attentive to the music, as Puccini can be subtle in his writing for the instrument, and while there is not a whole lot to play in La Boheme, there is much subtlety in the part and sensitivity is required. The opening of Act IV has the opening motto from Act I, and the part for timpani is written with the notes on the low G. My mentor, Dan Hinger, used to play the motto with the bass line – pedaling it, and it was most effective. I decided to do the same, it came off easily and with great effect. It felt like I had been playing it for years.
The whole opera had that same supercharged feeling when it came to my playing. It was as if my teacher was playing, instead of me. The evening of that first performance, after we had finished and I was back with my host family in Indianola, I received a phone call from Sal Rabbio, a good friend of mine and former timpanist of the Detroit Symphony. He was also a good friend of my teacher and had known him for many years. He was calling to tell me that Dan had just passed away that evening at the age of nearly 81. He missed his birthday on February 2nd by a few weeks. We commiserated with each other, and I rang off and meditated upon the news. I thought to myself “No wonder it felt easier tonight. Dan was “checking in” on his students on his way to the other side, and I felt he was giving me a little “edge” in the performance. I still feel this way to this day, and it is a memory that I will cherish.
La Traviata
Now, on to the mainstage productions for the 2001 Summer Festival. The first offering for the summer festival season was Verdi’s La Traviata. Again, this wasn’t the first time I had played the opera. I had performed it in Schenectady, New York at Proctor’s Theater, back in the late 1970s. The singers and orchestra were more than adequate – during my tenure with the Albany Symphony, and the orchestra was made up of many of my colleagues from that orchestra. The conductor was a decent musician, but somewhat irascible and was sometimes voluble when making corrections or if something didn’t quite go the way he expected it to go. He rather loudly complained about one of those mishaps during a performance and was reprimanded politely but forcefully by a member of the audience who happened to be sitting behind him in the first row. Towards the end of the performance, during Violetta’s death scene, Violetta asked if it was day yet. Her maidservant was opening the window shade and just as she did so, the light went on and it was more a spotlight than sunlight. And you could hear the light switch being thrown as if someone was late in the lighting cue. The maidservant (this was done in English) must have done some comedic acting, because her reply was “Oh it’s daylight, alright!” Many of us in the orchestra could not keep a straight face. That was my memory of the opera up until that point.
Fortunately, there was nothing of that slapstick quality to the DMMO’s production. Dr. Larsen loved the opera and with the help of the DMMO’s production staff, artists and musicians, turned out a first-rate production. If memory serves me, this production was also sung in English, although to my mind this translation was much better than the one back in Schenectady. Singing and acting were first-rate, and this was another opera in which I doubled on percussion – during the “Anvil Chorus”, Mark Dorr took the anvils while I played bass drum and cymbals for those bars. This production opened my eyes as to what a masterpiece La Traviata is when done correctly.
Il Trittico
Puccini’s Il Trittico is a series of three one-act operas: Il Tabarro; Suor Angelica; and Gianni Schicchi. The three operas are often performed together, but they have been performed separately as well. My introduction to the music of Il Trittico happened during my college years. More specifically, during my second year at Manhattan School of Music. The Opera Theater and Repertory Orchestra combine d for a series of performances of two parts of the triptych – Il Tabarro and Gianni Schicchi. The performances were quite good, and I played percussion in Il Tabarro and timpani in Gianni Schicchi. I did not experience Suor Angelica until I participated in the full triptych with the DMMO during the season I am now writing about. Anton Coppola conducted, and he always made any performance he conducted memorable.
If memory serves me well, Dr. Larson staged this production of the triptych (trittico) quite masterfully, especially Gianni Schicchi, which is a comedy, and comedies are what Dr. Larsen specialized in. The music of Il Tabarro is very reminiscent of Debussy, and the timpani part is quite interesting. As with many Puccini operas, the composer uses the instruments tellingly. He doesn’t overdo it, except when necessary, and this opera requires one’s full attention if one is to do it justice. The second opera in the triptych, Suor Angelica, is quite beautiful, and the most emotional of the three. Mark Dorr did the percussion on all three by himself – no doubling for me here, and in this second opera of the triptych, he outdid himself in getting the chimes just right.
As I stated earlier, the last opera in the triptych, Gianni Schicchi, is the comedy in the series, and as such, is the most popular. It is fun to play and to watch – I had the opportunity to attend the piano dress rehearsal and laughed my head off. The timpani part is fun to play, and is tricky, especially at the beginning. If one is not careful, one can get into a world of hurt if one does not count! Once you get past that opening section, it is pretty much straightforward, but as with all opera, especially Puccini’s operatic output, be on your guard!
The whole production was excellent – and Schicchi was a riot! One thing that stands out in my memory of this production, indeed of this period of my tenure at DMMO is that every so often, they would add an extra performance in which the Apprentice Artists – some of whom were backing up the principal artists – would take the principal roles for this special performance, and the assistant conductor would conduct. In the case of the triptych, it was decided to put on Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi, with the apprentice artists filling in for the principals, and the assistant conductor for each opera on the podium. Dr. Larsen managed to get involved on stage – he took the role of the lawyer in Gianni Schicchi, and I must say he made the most of it! He was funny!
Vanessa
The high point of the 2001 summer festival was the production of Samuel Barber’s Vanessa. I had become familiar with the music of Samuel Barber when I performed his Overture to “A School for Scandal” and Violin Concerto during my tenure with the Oslo Philharmonic. The music was tuneful and vital, and I was most curious to play this opera, which I was not familiar with. If memory serves me, Vanessa was a favorite of Dr. Larsen and he had wanted to program it, but wanted to make sure he had the right person for the role. Apparently, he had found her, and so it was that we would be performing Barber’s Vanessa for the 2001 festival. It is a very accessible opera musically and dramatically. I found it a challenge to play, but there was nothing super difficult in the timpani part – there was enough in it to keep one’s interest up and to keep one on one’s toes, so to speak. I enjoyed the production. It was well-staged and well sung. A great success, but it hasn’t been revived at the DMMO since. It appears to be one of those operas that make a great impression when it is produced but have relatively few revivals. It is too bad, because the music is quite compelling.
This would be the last season that I would be using a mixed set of timpani for the festival. For my first season, Iused Simpson College’s Ludwig Dresden timpani, and for the 1999 and 2000 seasons I used my two Yamahas with the Ludwig Dresdens as outside drums. It was also the last season for my Safari, although I didn’t know it yet. The Artist Apprentice concert at Drake University rounded out the season, and before I knew it, I was packing up to return to Illinois with another successful season behind me.
Here are some videos of the operas that were produced during the 2001 season. These are, of course, other productions, but these will give one an idea of what we were up to. First, here is La Traviata:
And from Il Trittico, Gianni Schicchi:
And last, but not least, Vanessa:
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