The DMMO Years
The 2007 Summer Season
In many ways, the 2007 summer season of the Des Moines Metro Opera Festival was one of the most memorable. In terms of repertoire, this was a power-packed season. There were three mainstage productions, as was the norm for this period in the company’s development, plus the Artist’s Apprentice Concert. (If memory serves, this concert was not yet called “The Stars of Tomorrow”.) Each of the three operas was a heavy hitter: Bizet’s Carmen; Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Verdi’s Otello. I was quite familiar with Carmen, having played it several times during my Lake George Opera tenure. Both the Britten and Verdi operas were new to my experience, although I had attended a performance of Otello at the Metropolitan Opera when I was a college student. (I had the privilege of sitting next to my teacher in the pit, and was wowed by the experience.) I was very much looking forward to the experience, and prepared well for the season, procuring recordings of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Otello. I already had the Bernstein recording of Carmen, and I did my due diligence in familiarizing myself with the parts. I was determined to be as ready as possible for the season.
With regard to equipment, I would use the complete set of Light Mark XIs – all four drums. What made this load-in and load-out different is that for the first time, I would be doing the whole move it on my own. Our 1999 Dodge Caravan was big enough (with seats removed) to handle all four timpani, plus sticks, music, stool, stand, and household items. These included my PC and printer. Not quite a tight fit, but close. All in all, a lot easier than having a car that was not sufficient to handle all of the necessary items, both musical and household. Room 100 was awaiting me once I offloaded the drums, stool and stand in the lobby of the Blank Performing Arts Center. The ride out to Indianola was uneventful, and the load-in went smoothly.
The Operas
Bizet: Carmen
Our production of Carmen was produced and conducted by Dr. Larsen and was sung in French. I had loved this opera for years and absolutely reveled in performing it. What really excited me was that I had a full set of first-rate timpani to use. It is always great to have good equipment at one’s disposal. It makes the job at hand so much easier and musically satisfying. My experience at DMMO since I joined the orchestra was that the productions were always first-rate, and this Carmen was no exception. With an excellent cast including Scott Piper as an excellent Don Jose; Janara Kellerman as an excellent Carmen; Laura Portune;
Kelly Van Horn; Chris Fusco; Brandon Mayberry; Todd von Felker; Corey Trahan; and Karina Barone. The Heartland Children’s Chorus joined us for this production, and my memories of this production was that was a lot of fun. It is not an easy opera to stage, but it has wonderful music, drama, and all the ingredients for the great opera that it is. When I first performed Carmen with the Lake George Opera back in the day, I was struck by the beautiful music that one didn’t hear so often. Many of us were familiar with the suites and the oft- played and sung excerpts. . But playing the entire opera from beginning to end was amazing. I didn’t realize how long the opera is until we had performed it twice at the Lake George Opera, and then the final three performances had to be cut. The cut happened in the final act, and it was substantial. Union rules for overtime dictated it. The opera is two hours and thirty-five minutes of actual music. Add two intermissions to that; one is in for a three-hour-plus evening. What is great about Carmen, is that the music is so good, one doesn’t think about time. That, in my opinion, is the essence of great music – and great opera.
Fortunately, we did not have to make any cuts, and it was so much fun to perform and enjoy the music. My favorite recording of the opera is the one that DGG recorded with Leonard Bernstein conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Manhattan Opera Chorus with Marilyn Horne in the title role and with James McCracken as Don Jose. Richard Horowitz was the timpanist on the recording, and I copied his tuning scheme for the Prelude (known as the “March of the Toreadors” in the suite and in several other parts of the opera. It was great fun to try these out and see how well they worked. One had to work a little harder, but the result was worth it.
Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Although I was somewhat familiar with the music of Benjamin Britten, having played excerpts from Peter Grimes, his Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, The Young People’s Guide to the Orchestra, and his chamber opera Albert Herring. I had also heard his War Requiem, which has long been one of my favorite pieces. As for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I was completely unfamiliar with it, so this was to be a voyage of discovery! (I have forgotten to mention that DMMO had performed his Gloriana during the 2005 season.) As soon as I knew that we were to be performing the opera, I went and got hold of a recording. I believe it was Britten’s own recording with the London Symphony Orchestra on Decca. It was a bit of a revelation as it seemed so different from the Mendelssohn incidental music (as it should be, since it was an opera and not incidental music). Britten’s music is extremely well-written, and his knowledge of the voice and instruments of the orchestra is quite remarkable. The opera was so different from what I knew of his music, but well within the spirit of the Shakespear story that it proved to be a remarkable experience. I loved the “story within a story” aspect of the opera and the different musical effects were amazing. The timpani writing was first-rate, and there was much pedaling. At certain points I was required to use brushed on the timpani head.
Rehearsals were intense, and the overall result was very, very good. The production was staged and conducted by Dr. Larsen, with future DMMO music director Davi Neely as assistant conductor. The cast was a large one, which included Randall Scotting; Jane Redding; Jack Langenwalter; Marc Schreiner; Kellie Van Horn; Daniel Cillie and Kimberly Roberts, among others. Overall, it was an excellent production and was generally well-received. However, if my memory serves me well, it was not without a “road bump or two”. For some reason, during the opening night performance, the opening to one of the acts was a bit muddled in the orchestra, so Dr. Larson called a one-half hour orchestra rehearsal prior to the second performance, which happened to be a Sunday matinee. We were a little apprehensive as to what he was going to say, but after going over a couple of spots that had not gone to well at the opening night, he kept his remarks civil and on point, and we were done within the allotted time. Needless to say, the performance that afternoon was perfect, as was the rest of the run. It was an education for me to learn this opera, as it always is when Benjamin Britten’s operas are on the schedule.
Verdi: Otello
This was my first experience of Verdi’s penultimate opera. I had heard it once before, sitting in the pit of the Metropolitan Opera. My teacher, Fred Hinger, had some of his students sit near him in the pit to observe him at work and experience the music of a great composer. I was blown away! Who wouldn’t be, what with that incredible opening? Mr. Hinger pointed out to me that the singer in the role of Desdemona, was absolutely incredible, and this was one of her first appearances in that role. He was right. (The singer in question was Kiri Ti Kanawa.) Ever since that day, I had hoped for the opportunity to participate in performances of this wonderful opera. It took thirty-two years, but the opportunity finally presented itself. I was particularly glad that I had the Light timpani with me for this particular season and for this opera. The pitch on those drums was so clear and that made my job much easier. I mentioned the opening – while on a smaller scale than the Met (due naturally to our much smaller theater), was just as dramatic. The end of the first act contains some of the most sublime music that Verdi ever penned, and every time we reached that point, I never once failed to be moved by that conclusion. I am here referring to “Gia nella notte densa”.
The production, of which there were five performances, was again staged and conducted by Dr. Larsen. Richard Cordova was assistant conductor, and the excellent cast included Allan Glassman as Otello; Todd Thomas as Iago; Marc Schreiner as Cassio; Dana Beth Miller as Desdemona; Gwendolyn Jones as Emilie; and the Heartland Children’s Chorus also took part in the production. I must say the artist apprentices, who also functioned as the chorus in all our stage productions, really gave their all in this opera. Kudos are due to all in making this a very exciting and well-received production.
This was, for me, one of the most exciting seasons, as all three operas kept me on my toes and extremely busy. Below, are links to each opera. I hope you enjoy them as I much as I did (and still do).
Here is the link to the Bernstein recording of Bizet’s Carmen:
And now, comes Britten’s own recording of A Midsummer Night’s Dream:
And last but not least, Verdi’s Otello in a performance at the Met in 1978!
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