Hofstra Opera Theater 2014- Dido and Aeneas/ L'Ivrogne Corrige

With a new year comes a new opera production for the Hofstra Opera Theater. This year, we are proud to present a double bill. The first opera will be Henry Purcell's only full opera Dido and Aeneas. The second half will be Christoph Willibald Glück's comic masterpiece L'Ivrogne Corrige, ou Le Mariage du Diable. Both operas will be presented during each of our three performance from January 31st- February 2nd at Hofstra University's JC Adams Playhouse. For tickets and times, refer to this link.

As with last year, I am happy to be blogging our process during the rehearsal period as well as exploring the history of the works on this blog as well as my youtube channel, which is in no way affiliated with Hofstra University. This is simply an exploration through the eyes and ears of one of the performers. I am fortunate enough to be a member of the chorus for both operas and look forward to sharing my experience.

Production Concepts and Synopsis:

Dido and Aeneas (1689) (Sung in English) - Dido, Queen of Carthage, has been mourning the loss of her husband for almost two decades. One day, the greek warrior Aeneas gets shipwrecked along with his crew. Dido allows the men to stay and offers anything they desire. Her handmaiden, Belinda, believes that a marriage with Aeneas will bring an end to Dido's depression and make her a stronger leader. The two fall in love, and Dido soon accepts Aeneas' marriage proposal. Meanwhile, the evil sorceress plans to ruin the lovers' lives by tricking Aeneas to return on his mission to found Rome and then sink his crew at sea. Following a day of hunting and romance between Dido and Aeneas, the people of Carthage seek shelter from a rainstorm. However, Aeneas left alone with the sorceress' elf, disguised as Mercury, who tells him to leave Carthage and return to finding Italy. The next day, Aeneas and his men prepare to leave. Aeneas says goodbye to Dido, who curses him for leaving her. He decides to stay and defy the gods, which still leaves Dido upset because he was still willing to leave. After Aeneas sails away, Dido commits suicide by using Aeneas' sword, followed by a funeral pyre constructed from items Aeneas left behind.

The production, directed by Isabel Milenski, will delve into the psychological aspects of why people are willing to give everything for love. The set, designed by Jian Jung, takes on a minimalist perspective. From above, long incandescent lightbulbs will rise and descend to create the emotional and physical atmosphere, along with two large white boxes that will serve as a bed, a pedestal, and ship, and finally, a coffin. The choreography will be a homage to the work of Martha Graham and Pina Bausch. The costumes are a mix of modern style and classical greek fashion, changing throughout the story as the characters move from depression to happiness and depression again.

L'ivrogne Corrige, or The Drunkard Reformed (1759-61) (Sung in French with English Dialogue)- Mathurin and his pal Lucas constantly neglect their work to drink. Mathurin decides to give Lucas his niece, Colette, to wed as a token of his friendship. However, Colette is in love with Cleon, a young actor. Together with her aunt Mathurine, Colette and Cleon devise a plan to get the drunken uncle to quit the bottle and consent to the marriage of the two lovers. They decide to dress as furies and trick Mathurin and Lucas into thinking they have drunk themselves to death. Cleon, in the role of Pluto, offers clemency to the two misguided men if Mathurin consents to Colette and Cleon's union and they give up alcohol. After the marriage contract is signed, the masks are removed and Mathurin becomes a changed man, while Lucas returns to the bottle in anger and confusion.

The action for this production will take place at several bars in 1960's France. The concept is to convey the light and dark sides of alcoholism. In addition to a new set and actors, this opera will incorporate set pieces and chorus members in costume from Dido to play Cleon's actor friends. Mathurin and Lucas will be mailmen, a profession where some can get away with being late. The set will be lopsided when the two men are drunk, and straighten out with their realization of soberness.

Program Notes on Maurice Durufle's Requiem

Recently, I had the great privilege to perform Maurice Duruflé's Requiem, his opus 9. Its a brilliant work and the performance itself was brilliant. My fellow choir members and myself received great reviews. Another opportunity I had was to write program notes about the work. Due to the high attendance of the concert, not everyone went home with a program. Therefore, I have decided to post the notes here, along with the notes my classmate Sean Kelly also wrote concerning the Latin text of the Requiem mass. We hope that they enlighten and open your mind.

Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986) began his musical career in Louviers, France, where he was as a choirboy and assisted at the organ. He eventually studied with organists Charles Tournemire and Louis Vierne, who, in addition to their rigorous instruction in organ technique, gave him a deep appreciation for the liturgy and its reliance on Gregorian Chant. In 1929, Duruflé succeeded Louis Vierne as the head organist at St. Etienne-du-Mont. He remained at this position until injuries he and his wife sustained in a car crash in 1975 forced him to stop playing. He died 11 years later in 1986, having composed only a setting of the Lord's Prayer in the interim.

First published in 1947, Duruflé's Requiem combines ideas old and new. The use of ancient Gregorian chant as melody lines pervades each movement, and the corresponding liturgical chants for each movemet are presented at least once. As each movement progresses, the chant melody is then morphed in simple ways, such as transposition and augmentation, as well as more complexly. In the Kyrie for example, the chant is sung by the Basses and then answered by the Tenors in a fugal exposition. Later on, the organ augments the line as a cantus firmus under a new melody sung by the singers.

But while utilizing centuries-old melodies as building blocks, Duruflé was simultaneously concerned with a more modern interpretation of the requiem text and use. "This Mass," he writes, "is not an ethereal work which sings of detachment from earthly worries. It reflects...the agony of man faced with the mystery of his ultimate end." Like Fauré before him, Duruflé removed much of the Sequence, (otherwise known as the Dies Irae: “This day of wrath shall consume the world in ashes”), thus mitigating the atmosphere of fear and damnation which are so prevalent in the requiems of Mozart, Berlioz, and Verdi.

When listening to this requiem, I believe we are not necessarily given an answer to what lies beyond the world of the living. This requiem allows the listener focus on life rather than death, while receiving some comfort in the face of the unknown. In this writer's opinion, this beautiful work can be enjoyed by people of all religions and ideologies; it neither confirms nor disproves an afterlife, and allows the freedom to question what is ahead for us all.        -Andrew Weinstein, junior, music history major

Repost: Princess Ida Production Concept

I was asked by the stage manager to remove the photos from the original version of this post. This will help those of you who have never seen this opera to get an idea of the director's interpretation.
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"What is Man?" According to women, all men are Cavemen! Thus begins the idea for the Hofstra Opera Theatre production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Princess Ida. The 8th of their 14 collaborations, the opera is about a prince who seeks to regain the princess betrothed to him at the age of two years old. However, she has formed a women's university and cut herself off from men, thinking them stupid, vile, and disgusting creatures. How does this idea get translated to a modern production? By showing the extremities of separatism between men and women, in the eyes of womankind. Director Isabel Milenski has taken the medieval storyline and set it in 50,000 BP (Before Present).

Act One takes place in a primitive caveman dwelling. There are rocks, piles of wood, and even a rack to hang dead animal carcasses. It is essentially the world of man as seen from the viewpoint of women of Ida's University. King Hildebrand, Prince Hilarion, Florian, Cyril, and the rest of the kingdom are all neanderthals. They are uneducated, wild creatures. Suddenly, they have their first welcomed guests, King Gama and his three sons, who represent the other side of man as seen by women: Greedy Wall Street Tycoons. (We apologize that this may not make sense historically. The director did not seek to recreate a historically accurate setting.)

Act Two moves the action to Princess Ida's all women's university at Castle Adamant. She and the other ladies are models of class and distinction. They all wear matching uniforms and see themselves as the dominant gender in the world. They do not believe in the regular christian god, but rather give praise to Minerva, or the greek Athena, goddess of learning and strength. This is also important because according to mythology, she was born from Jupiter's forehead.

Act 2: "Gently, Gently": As Hilarion and his friends enter the university, they pass a display showcasing the atrocities of man. Freddy Kreuger, a man on a toilet, a caveman, a football player, and Kim Jong Il.

Act 2: "The World is but a broken toy": When the men, now disguised as lady graduates, meet up with Princess Ida, she sings of how the world has been destroyed of all innocence and peace by men. A large tank rolls behind the display case as the four sing the touchingly beautiful song, a metaphor for the world we live in today.

Act 2: "A Lady Fair of Lineage High": When the boys run into Lady Psyche, she tells them about how evolution proves that man is filthy and vile. She brings the display forward and adds photos of Monkeys to the heads of the figures, and to the men.

Act Three begins with the women preparing for battle. The ground from the display case is cleared and is shown as the merger between the worlds of Act 1 and 2. This is the moment when the ladies and Ida become more like men, because war is not of womanly nature. And after the battle, the ladies begin to associate themselves with men and find they are attractive and not at all bad. When Ida surrenders, she decides that her separatist views will not help the world. She must share the knowledge she has learned with the world in order to make it a better place. She and the other women leave the university and join the cavemen, who are pure and innocent creatures, to rebuild the world.

Thoughts? Leave a comment below. Share with your friends. Come see Princess Ida at the John Cranford Adams Playhouse at Hofstra University on February 1st and 2nd at 8pm, and February 3rd at 3pm. 

Princess Ida Production Blog: Day 4

Today, I sat in on the dialogue rehearsal for the principals. Due to the fact that it is 2013 and that the production is extremely different from the original, some cuts had to be made to the script and score. But it is life however. I will be sad that there will be no version of "The woman of the wisest wit" or 'Merrily ring the luncheon bell". Lines are cut or rewritten, songs are shortened, etc. But most importantly, the actors must enhance the dialect to match the fact they are cavemen. No victorian english accents in 50,000 BP. So add on some lovely caveman grunts. But honestly, this is necessary when you do something that isn't a normal Gilbert and Sullivan production.

Isabel Milenski is great when it comes to teaching. I took her Opera Scenes course in the previous semester. We not only took on singing, but we took on one of the toughest things I ever dealt with at school: acting. I learned so much in that class and from sitting in on today's rehearsal. Character work, playing with pitch and energy, word accent choice, etc. I personally believe that the show is in good hands with my classmates. They took great care in figuring out what makes their characters tick. The art of acting certainly has evolved since the days of Gilbert and Sullivan, especially in the opera world.

This is it for now. I will be back again on Tuesday after the first orchestra rehearsal.

Princess Ida Production Blog: Day 2

Day two consisted of the chorus working with the assistant conductor and the principals working with the music director. I sat in with the choral conductor. Boy was I impressed. He presented himself professionally and with a great knowledge of the score. He went over the notes he took yesterday and the tempos that the musical director will take during the show. It went rather smoothly, except at parts where the dividing of the vocal lines became hard even for me to decipher. At least the singers can learn each other's parts to strengthen their own.

The patter songs were a challenge at the beginning, but the singers managed to take them on with eagerness. And once they got it, they sounded amazing.

I have high hopes come show time. Tomorrow, the day of the blocking commences.

Princess Ida Production Blog: Day 1

Principals, Conductor, and Vocal Coach/accompanist run through the music for the entirety of the show in this order: Act 1, Act 3, Act 2.

It is interesting as a instrumentalist to observe a vocal rehearsal. The Conductor works with the pit and the singers separately until close to a week before showtime. Therefore, learning how the vocalists think and act as you play gives you new insight into the art of performance.

Going through each number, the singers run through the song until either they made a mistake or when the conductor had a suggestion about breathing, pacing, and tone color. In sections where words are repeated, it is important to have a different tone each time, as if the words change meaning.

In patter songs, the vocal coach suggested to accent at mid bar. The singers are actually sounding secure on the tougher/faster sections than would be expected on the first day.

We unfortunately had some cast members missing, so not every number was rehearsed.

Everyone was incredibly professional. Total focus and attention was paid to the conductor and to the others as they worked.

Tomorrow, they will combine with the chorus from Act 1. And then the next day, blocking begins. I will give details about the set design, if I can, on Friday's blog.

Introduction to Princess Ida by Gilbert and Sullivan

In 1859, Charles Darwin published his famous "Origin of the Species", concluding that humans and apes evolved from the same ancestor. Thus, a line was drawn between science and religion. During that time, Victorian "scientists" were pondering the effects of women participating in activities normally permitted to men, such as education and politics. According to Stephen Gould, they "found" that it would lead to a decrease in reproduction. Ridiculous if anything else. So then comes the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson, who in 1847, wrote a poem entitled The Princess, about a young prince who seeks a feminist princess who runs an all female university. This work was adapted to a play by W.S. Gilbert in 1870. Having been successful with the play, Gilbert teamed up with long time collaborator Arthur Sullivan to adapt it to an operetta. Thus, Princess Ida was conceived.

Following the success of Iolanthe, Gilbert and Sullivan took on the themes of evolution and feminism in an operetta with a prologue and two acts. The story concerns two kings, Hildebrand and Gama, who joined their children, Hilarion and Ida respectively, in marriage before either of them was 3 years old. 20 years later, the prince and princess are to meet for the second time. However, Gama's daughter Ida has set up an all-women's university at the Castle Adamant. In anger, Hildebrand holds the other king and his 3 sons Arac, Guron, and Scynthius until the troops come back with the princess. Instead of storming the castle, Hilarion volunteers to go to the castle to take back Ida. Along with his friends Cyril and Florian, the three disguise themselves as women to enter the university.

Meanwhile, Princess Ida acts as Principal of the University while Ladys Blanche and Psyche teach. As Florian's sister, Lady Psyche promises not to reveal the identity of the men. When Melissa, a student, finds out, she is so enthralled by seeing men for the first time that she also pledges her secrecy. Later, the three run into Lady Blanche, and when she discovers the identity of the men, promises to also keep quiet. Secretly, she wants Hilarion's plan to work so she can take the reins of the school from Princess Ida. However, Cyril gets drunk and reveals the plan. But luckily the men are saved by Hildebrand, Gama, and the three brothers.

Later, the ladies of the university refuse to fight Hildebrand. In anger and sorrow, Ida takes up an offer from her father Gama to let her brothers fight against Hilarion and his friends. If the brothers win, Ida can continue the school. If Hilarion wins, Ida is to marry. The six men meet on the battlefield and Hilarion wins, even though he and his friends are still in drag. Ida resigns from the university, leaving Blanche as the new Principal. A trio of couples are now together: Ida and Hilario, Cyril and Psyche, and Melissa and Florian. They all promise to stay together unless the men are mean to their respective ladies, thus ending the operetta in joyous delight, as is every ending of a G&S tale.


The 1884 premiere met mostly rave reviews, citing Arthur Sullivan's grand score, the performers interpretations of the songs, as well as the sets and costumes. Other critics were mixed on W.S. Gilbert's  libretto. The Leicester Chronicle said it was too predictable and illogical as compared to previous works like The Pirates of Penzance and Iolanthe, where the plots were more elaborate and complicated. Never the less, audiences loved the work. Audiences found favor with the first two acts, but were less enthralled with the final act, except for the "stripping song" sung by Gama's sons, and the finale reprise of "Expressive glances". But the opening would not have happened had it not been for Sullivan's persistent eagerness to conduct despite sickness.

The operetta finds its hilarity in the satire of women's rights and evolution. "The Ape and the Lady", sung by Lady Psyche, is the most visible satire of the work. It tells of a lady who is hit on by an ape. When he fails, he shaves, takes a bath, buys fancy clothes and calls himself a man. The lady refuses after each attempt to improve, citing that he is a monkey at heart. The song itself was only written for the opera and had not been suggested in the original poem or play. The rest of the second act and the third act do all the poking at women. Their logic in their teachings and rules, their unwillingness to fight men, and the only victory that comes to them is that the ladies agree to marry until the husbands are rude to them. Its sexist in today's terms and may be one of the reasons why it is the least successful and least performed today of the Gilbert and Sullivan canon.

Today, it is still performed, but with less frequency than the works that came before or after. But many people are still trying to decipher what can make it popular to an audience today. The philosophical and scientific ideas are both prevalent in modern culture, but it isn't as re-adaptable as The Mikado was for Jonathan Miller or The Pirates of Penzance was for it's first broadway run in the United States. Many colleges and professional/semiprofessional companies continue with traditional style productions and maybe a few changes to the script and additional jokes, as is necessary for an enjoyable performance.

Which now leads me to plug the upcoming performance at Hofstra University in February. The director is Isabel Milenski, who has also done Handel's Alcina, Die Fledermaus, Don Giovanni, and Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea for Hofstra in the past few years. The musical director is David Ramael, who will conduct the work before going on sabbatical for the Spring 2013 semester. Dates for the performances are set for February 1-3.

This has been an introduction to my coverage of Princess Ida for Music with Maestro Weinstein. Be sure to check out this blog, YouNow, Youtube, and Facebook for more as rehearsals start.

*All information courtesy of The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive at Boise State University.