The Castleton Diaries- Week 5: How to Keep Calm and Carry On with Allergies

By the time this goes online, it will be Monday, late by 2 days. Well, I have my reasons. I've been so busy with my job that I haven't been able to process everything that has happened.

Rehearsals man! Physically and mentally draining. 6 hours a day on one show. Staging, music, tech. These three things must be perfected before the work can go before an audience. But when it does, boy is it beautiful.

Butterfly set

So essentially we had a rehearsal every day this week, only one break per rehearsal, plus lunch and dinner. I have to be on my toes when my boss isn't in the room, due to a flood of daily emails and calls. But luckily, nothing severe has happened apart from the swallowing of flies by singers and one minor glockenspiel snafu. I had to put all the keys back on after we accidentally unloaded it upside down. Thanks to perfect pitch (and the fact that the notes were etched onto the keys) it took no time at all.

Theater House Stage, Bradley Moore at Piano, Daniel Lelchuk with Cello

I went to Sperryville for an off the clock event: US vs Portugal. What a game. So many people atvthe bar were screaming and shouting. Probably hadn't been that excited about soccer in a while. Before the game, I walked around town. So many sweet little shops. And then I bought a copy of The Piedmont Virginian at the corner store. Why? The Castleton Festival program was inside. I found my name!! I was so thrilled. Just think, my name is attached to a major opera festival. It puts things into perspective. It was also amazing to read about the singers and musicians participating. I then bought the most delicious goat milk caramels I ever tasted. It was a good Sunday.

Bridge over river in Sperryville

Stress levels were at an all time high. Which is probably why I was so susceptible to summer allergies. Oy vey! I'm surrounded by musicians and singers that need to stay healthy, and I'm in the back sneezing and coughing with a runny nose. (In a nasally tone: too many tissues, so much cough syrup, and all the hand sanitizer!!). Luckily, no one got seriously sick before opening night. Did Maestro Maazel conduct? No. Did the Assistant Conductor do a fantastic job? Hell Yes! Madama Butterfly's opening night was wonderful. But boy was I uneasy. Between running around, being medicated for my allergies, and just the lack of energy due to late nights, I don't know how I managed to not explode. Honestly I love working here, but the responsibility I am given has not been the easiest thing to carry on my back. Plus, THE BUGS!! I hate the bugs in Virginia. I miss the lack of weird flying creatures that buzz on Long Island. But luckily, I have bosses and coworkers that care about me, which I am so lucky to have.

Tchaikovsky Wax Figure in Theater House

To tell you the truth, I am probably not going to make a career out of managing orchestras, but now I have a greater respect for the people who work at places like The Metropolitan Opera and The NY Philharmonic, who deal with this kind if stuff on a 24/7/365 schedule. Also, watching Donald Runnicles conduct was pretty awesome. Can't wait for Alisa Weilerstein to get here.

I will be back on Saturday. Until then, this has been The Castleton Diaries.

Knick Knacks at Pink House

The Castleton Diaries: Week 4- “Get that child off the stage!” and the Hiking Trip that Wasn’t

Not too much happened this week to be honest. Everyone is really starting to reach beiling point because the opening night is next Saturday, June 28^th. People are busy with rehearsals and recovering mentally from rehearsals. Sitzprobe and full staged runthroughs in the theater have begun for Madama Butterfly, the final staging rehearsals for Don Giovanni were completed at the local elementary, and orchestral rehearsals for the symphonic concerts have been going and going as they are allotted. 

The Orchestra Management Work Corner

            One thing that happened on Sunday was that my housemates and I were to go to Shennandoah National Park for a nature hike. That day, I decided to go shopping at Walmart for a few house necessities: shower mat, dustpin, water bottles, and air fresheners. When I got back, I found the house was empty except for me. Everyone was gone and I assumed that they left without me. So I drove out to the park, spent $15 on admittance, and drove up the mountain, enjoying the incredible views. Absolutely breathtaking. Too bad that when I finally got a message to one of them, it turned out they went to the pool at Meadows house across from the festival tent. So after taking some more pictures, I rushed back to Castleton, pissed that no one had informed of their change in plans. Luckily, they had never meant to leave me out of the trip had it happened. So we spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool, playing ball and barbequing. It was a much-needed break from all the hubbub.

Shenandoah National Park

            The rest of the week has been nonstop rehearsals. We finally started in the theater on Tuesday, after a few sitzprob with both show casts. I was very impressed with the design of the sets and backgrounds. I will be even more impressed once decisions of the background projections are finalized. Otherwise, everything is absolutely beautiful. There was one staging direction that went from beautiful to hilariously distracting of one person: Trouble. Of course, I mean the child actor who plays Butterfly’s child. In the scene where Butterfly and Suzuki set flowers on the floor, the way the scene is originally set is to have just the two of them. But the director wanted the child to join in setting out the flower petals. But she was too distracting, and Maestro Maazel would not have it. She was removed from that part of the scene so that it would just be a beautiful moment between to friends finding great joy in Pinkerton’s return.

A view of the pit

            This past Thursday, I made a trip out to Maryland. I was informed the day before that I would be driving two of the orchestra members to different shops in order to pick up their rental instruments for the remainder of the festival. Luckily the shops were only 20 minutes apart. L & L Music was in Gaithersburg, where my roommate Rupert got a rental horn. The cellist Stephanie had to go to Bethesda to get a cello at Potter Violins. Both store staff were great to talk to and very understanding of the time restraints and international issues for ID. They were also very impressed on our being part of Castleton. I would definitely recommend to those who need good shops to go to. And luckily, we had an enjoyable time in the car, discussing our favorite and least favorite music, the people we left behind at home, and how much we couldn’t get the festival music out of our heads. And after making a lunch break at Firehouse Subs, which was incrediblely delicious (better than Subway even), I made it back to drop them at the rehearsal in time. Good thing I get reimbursed for gas for errands in my personal car, because I probably used as much as gas that day as I had originally purchased that morning.

            Besides finally having a functioning printer/copy machine again, there isn’t much else going on. I will let you faithful readers know that the opening night of Madama Butterfly will be streamed online. So I hope that you will either come out to Castleton to view the operas and concerts, or watch the opera opening nights online. More info on that soon.

Until next time, this has been The Castleton Diaries.

The Castleton Diaries: Week 2- Emus, Printers, and the European Invasion

Wednesday, June 4^th:

So much has occurred since I began my stay. Most of it was paperwork. I have more hours than I have ever thought it humanly possible in front of a computer and a copy machine/printer. I have probably hit a thousand pages of music within first five days, probably exceeding 2000 at some point. Honestly, I have lost count. But what I do know is that I have printed out thousands of pages of sheet music for Don Giovanni and Madama Butterfly. This afternoon, we managed to do the setup for tomorrow’s first rehearsal. Finally, I could have a break from the long cycle of buttons on the computer screen: Scan, Choose printer, Scan, rotate, crop, scan, Choose printer, Scan, crop, rotate….etc. Waiting hours at the printer for collated, double sided parts to finish so I don’t get lost when organizing them. I started saying the mantra from Fight Club, “Everything is a copy of a copy of a copy…..”.

The majority of the musicians arrived today. I have the joy of sharing the house with some of them. One horn player who now shares the common room with my fellow interns and me is from NY. Finally, I am not alone! But surprisingly, three of my new housemates are from none other than the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London, England. Yes, the British are here! Living with us in the house are a horn player, cellist, and violinist. I’ve been spending the past day and a half showing them around and showing them some of our American customs. One of those customs is Cards Against Humanities. What an interesting game that was. Equal parts awkward and hilarious. But it did the job of bridging the gap and getting to know how crazy we all truly are. But honestly, these are some good people and I can’t wait to hear them in rehearsal. I just wish I were going to be playing with them. We also got to bond over a never-ending shower faucet. For at least an hour this morning, the water would not stop running from the shower. Luckily we got the plumbers to come while we were out for the day.

            Moving on from People and Things, I move on to Places. Specifically, I speak of the trails surrounding the property at Castleton. One leads to a small lake and tennis courts. Nothing too exciting. The paths were so steep that it was a thrill and and danger to go down, but a struggle to get back up. Boy did my calves feel sore after that. The other path was longer and quite exciting. I went through the woods and past many of the houses. Past the cows and deer, I rode on, fearing for my life as I sped downhill on many a winding and twisting roads. At the end of the path, I came across Maestro Maazel’s estate. It was huge, simple, but forboding. And there they were…Emus! There were at least four of them, sharing a plot of fenced off land. Strutting around like they owned the place. At this point, I was exhausted and running low on water, so I decided to head back. It was absolutely beautiful. I hope to do it again with a GoPro if I can acquire one.

            The most beautiful view experienced in my time here so far has not been during the day, but at night. In Castleton, there is no city afterglow that prevents one from seeing the eternal beauty of the night sky. Every star is visible, and the fireflies fill the air with a spectacular light show that can only be described as fantastic. It is the true side of paradise that I have seldomed seen before. Even as a Boy Scout, I never got to enjoy a night so peaceful and beautiful as the one following my bike ride. For once, I actually longed to sleep under that beautiful black sky, dotted with the ghosts of ancient stars. It was pure and absolute beauty in the plainest sense.

Near the End of Day

            With the majority of the preparations done, tomorrow’s rehearsal will actually be something to look forward to instead of being stuck at the printer all day. We will just have to see...

Friday, June 6^th: 

            What a busy couple of days it has been. The actual rehearsals have begun, though in sectionals. But the musicians are here and playing, and that is what I am excited about. I see them practicing in the morning around the cottages and silo. That’s what you have to do when you only have four practice barns. Anyway, I started my Thursday morning with the string sectional, led by the wonderful concertmaster Paç. He is so passionate when it comes to Puccini and Madama Butterfly. Unfortunately, that was all I got to see.

After lunch, I was assigned to drive out to Shenandoah University to pick up four percussion trap tables and a suspended cymbal stand from one of the percussion teachers. He was a delight to meet. The traffic heading back? Not so delightful. It took me an hour to get off I-81, and then an additional hour to get back to Castleton. Luckily everthing made it to its destination safe and sound.

That evening, I joined my fellow interns for a night at the movies and Chilli’s. Best tableside guac I ever had. Also, Maleficient was not as bad as I had originally thought. I actually enjoyed it. But I digress that the real point it that I am actually making some awesome friends and we are really getting along. Which is good, because I have to live and work with them for two months. But then again, who wouldn’t want to work with such amazing people and brilliant talents.

Speaking of brilliant talents, I began this Friday morning at the winds and brass sectional for Don Giovanni. Chills! It was so good. And these musicians have only had the music for a few days at the most. The assistant counductor Maestro Repicky was so insightful about the history and plot of the opera. He even relealed a few double entendres. Later that afternoon, Maestro Moore, assistant conductor for Madama Butterfly, led the winds and brass sectional. It was another spine chillingly wonderful rehearsal led by another incredibly insightful conductor. He even was singing along with the score, having quite the baritone vocal skills.

Entrance at Morning

After a long day, I did laundry and had some help cleaning up the house before the rest of the roommates came back from the wine tasting event out in Culpepper. We had another night of Cards Against Humanities, some of the players not understanding references, making it twice as hilarious. But we took a break to walk outside to enjoy the beautifully clear night sky and the dazzling firefly display. Plus, I managed to fall off the trampoline that happens to be on our property. Good Times.

But now that the evening has settled, I write these words down in anticipation of more things to come, especially since we have our first orchestra run through of Madama Butterfly tommorrow morning. I look forward to the inspiring sounds of a professional level orchestra. Let the magic begin.

Until next Saturday, this has been another edition of The Castleton Diaries. Now, here is a photo of a Zonkey!

The Castleton Diaries: Week 1: The Calm Before the Storm

This is the first of my weekly blogs detailing the ups and downs, the sights and sounds, and the lessons I have learned during my stay at the Castleton Opera Festival. First, I should give some background as to how I acquired this summer internship.  A few months ago, my curiosity about the Castleton Festival grew immensely.  I had heard about the festival in years past and had wanted to visit. However, I never got the chance. Then, I discovered that there were internships available for the summer. With help, I was able to send in my resume for consideration. After a wonderful Skype interview with the director, Nancy Gustafon, I was informed of my acceptance as an Orchestra Management intern for the summer of 2014.

 

Festival Tent

I arrived this past Monday, May 26^th, a bright and warm day. After getting my welcome packet and filling out some paperwork, I was taken on a brief tour. My first impression of the facilities and the landscape was that of shock and awe. The grounds cover 600 square acres, all of it beautiful. The hills, fields, and woods are something to behold. Plus, the wildlife is something else. Besides the usual cows and cats, there were llamas, a zebra, goats, and a zonkey (donkey and zebra hybrid). I heard that there are emus, but I have yet to see them.

I was assigned to live in a house on the property. It is called Bluebird Haven. Secluded by a long and downward driveway, the area around the house is expansive and hidden by trees. I later found out I was to share the house with up to 18 people, six people on each of the three floors. Since I arrived a day early and had already made reservations to stay the night in Culpeper, I simply went to unpack the clothes and supplies I brought for my stay. The next day, my father, who had accompanied me on the drive to Virginia, went home to NY via train and plane.  I was officially away from family for the first time in my life.

The first full day I was at Castleton, I spent my time unpacking more supplies, exploring the grounds, and waiting for the rest of my roommates and coworkers. I’m happy to say that everyone working here is incredibly kind and eager to do the best they can. Two of my fellow interns and housemates were eager to get to know me and I them. We all hit it off quickly, which is definitely something I am not useful. However, I was surprised that the first night at the house was just the three of us, plus the people upstairs, stage managers for Madama Butterfly. It turns out that most of the people planning to stay with us aren’t arriving until this coming Sunday, June 1^st.

Speaking of arrivals, that was what the first week was spent preparing for. Since the performers were not to arrive until Sunday, we all had to get to work preparing. My jobs so far have included copying practice parts and uploading them online for the musicians, calling universities and percussion shops looking for instruments to borrow or rent, and making sure we have all the right music. Rehearsals are supposed to begin next week. It seems so close, but so far away. Luckily, I have a great orchestra manager to work with and wonderful coworkers who make the officework less stressful. I am mentally preparing for the weeks of being on my feet all day for orchestra rehearsals with Maestro Maazel and the conducting fellows.

The downside of my time so far has been the limited Internet access. It is either in the offices or not at all. Plus, I have trouble making phone calls on my cellphone and need to use a landline for local calls only. Besides that, this is more of a blessing than a curse. Being away from the daily hustle and bustle of facebook and netflix is allowing me time to read and socialize. We get three meals a day, served at the community firehouse, all of them delicious. It’s nice to meet everyone and find things we have in common. It’s a nice way to get to know your coworkers before the oncoming storm of musicians that will be filling up the festival grounds. I have no doubt that everything will be ready by the time that happens.

P.s. Due to the limited bandwidth, I am unable to use youtube and will not be able to upload any videos of the festival at this time. I will try to include photos with each blog.

Princess Ida Production Blog: Orchestra Rehearsal

After a break from observing singer rehearsals, I finally reached that point where I am contributing to the performance: the orchestra rehearsal. It was great to see my classmates for the first time since the end of finals. The maestro was just printing up parts from the new rental company, so he was forced to read from the vocal score. Most of the work we did was for Act 1 and the finale of Act 2. For the latter, we had to go over cuts, for which there were many. But minus a few sight reading errors, we read through the first Act relatively quickly. Unfortunately, there were other problems. Several musicians were unable to come to today's rehearsal, most of the brass and a few winds. Luckily, we have three more rehearsals this week. With technical difficulties put aside, everything is going smoothly and no major roadblocks are in the way of sounding like the great orchestra that we are.

Funniest Part of the day: little note on page that says it was left blank for easy page turn. Adds " it's a great place to write your favorite conductor joke".

The Story of Pictures at an Exhibition

I would like to apologize for all the mistakes I made in my video this week regarding the masterpiece of Mussorgsky and Ravel. So heres a condensed history of the piece:

Modest Mussorgsky was a member of the Mighty 5, a group of russian composers who seemed a nationalistic sound in the late 19th century due to resistance against the European style. Among them were Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov, Alexander Borodin, Cesar Cui, and Milay Balakirev. They all relied on one another immensely. Outside of that immediate circle were artists like Viktor Hartmann, an architect and painter who seeked out a nationalistic style of his own. Him and Mussorgsky were great friends. Hartmann's death by aneurysm at age 39 shocked Modest and most of Russia. The Art critic Vladmir Stassov set up a memorial art exhibit in February of 1874. It was this art exhibit the inspired Mussorgsky's composition.
The piano work was composed in June of 1874, following the premiere of Boris Godunov. It was not published until 1886, five year post humous. It was Rimsky Korsakov who discovered the work and had it sent to the publisher. It was not an accurate description of what Mussorgsky had wanted.
Later on in 1922, Maurice Ravel was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to orchestrate it. Successful at its premiere, it is still the most popular orchestration of the work. Some people will criticize the missing Promenade between "Samuel Goldenburg and Schmuyle"and "Limogues".
Many of the paintings of Hartmann were discovered by News Hong Kong TV in 1992 following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Many of the true identities of the movements and their corresponding paintings still remain unknown.