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.

Coming Soon: Blogging from Castleton Opera Festival

If you don’t normally don’t read my blog, here is an update. I am spending this next week, plus June and July, working at the Castleton Opera Festival in Virginia as an Orchestra Management intern. I will be at rehearsals daily, which will be led by Lorin Maazel, former music director of the NY Philharmonic and current chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic. The music this summer will include Madama Butterfly, Don Giovanni (of which he recorded the score for the 1979 Joseph Losey film), a staged reading of Don Juan in Hell by George Bernard Shaw, and plenty of concerts featuring Mozart, Prokofiev, Maazel’s own compositions for children, and plenty of others. Special guests include Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sir James Galway, Eric Silberger, Alisa Weilerstein, and more. Performances start June 28th.

Now that I’m done advertising, I’m here to inform you that I will be blogging about here and on my Tumblr page: <http://www.maestroweinstein.tumblr.com>. Be sure to read all about it starting this Saturday.

HOT January 7th: First Day of Staging

After an hour and a half of chorus music rehearsals, my fellow cast members spent the afternoon choreographing the overture for Dido. For me, this was the moment of realization. You aren't just a singer, you are an actor and a dancer, not for just one 3 minute scene, but for 2 hours. It also reminded me of how much work goes into staging. 

Choreography takes much more time then people might realize. You not only need to make the dance applicable for the chorus, but also that it works with the set, is viewable to the audience, and fits the timing of the music. Do we have enough people for this part? Where do we place you? How many steps should you take and will you start on this foot? As someone who spends most of his time sitting down to play notes on a page, it's interesting to not feel so restless in a chair and to actually move. 

Which brings me to a point I'm terrified about: I don't want to stand out during group numbers. We are suppose to become one entity. But I do fear that I can't move fast enough, or move fluidly. Despite these fears, I must move forward. If I do something wrong, I can always ask the choreographer or my castmate. I just need to stretch and practice. 

This is also the week we go off book. Even for me, it's not easy. I still have a few spots I'm unsure of. But once I get those down, I'm all set to start learning the music for L'Ivrogne. I'm very excited about getting to participate in both shows. 

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

Songs sounding the same? Brave vs. Roar

I'm sure that I am not the only person who listens to popular songs on the radio and think they all are the same thing. The most common defense is that everything has the same backbeat, chords, and structure. Why, just listen to comedian Owen Benjamin explain it to you.

It is not unusual that some music is very similar. Recently, there has been a dispute between Katy Perry and Sarah Bareilles. People are arguing over whether Roar was copied from Brave or vice versa. I listened to both songs individually, Roar during last night's Video Music Awards, and Brave in a music video. The similarities are scary. Then I heard this mashup:

Talk about scary similar. So I found another:

Still incredibly similar! What was going on? Its as if the songs were meant to be performed together. Marketing ploy? Who knows? Honestly, this may just seem like one of those instances of creativity that just seem to strike at the same time. 

But consider the lyrics as well:

Roar: 

[Intro]

I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely
I guess that I forgot I had a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything

You held me down, but I got up
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, your hear that sound
Like thunder, gonna shake your ground
You held me down, but I got up
Get ready 'cause I've had enough
I see it all, I see it now

[Chorus]

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter,
dancing through the fire
Cause I am a champion and
You're gonna hear me ROAR
Louder, louder than a lion
Cause I am a champion and
You're gonna hear me ROAR
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You're gonna hear me roar

Now I'm floating like a butterfly
Stinging like a bee I earned my stripes
I went from zero, to my own hero

You held me down, but I got up
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder, gonna shake your ground
You held me down, but I got up
Get ready 'cause I've had enough
I see it all, I see it now

[Chorus]

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter,
dancing through the fire
'Cause I am a champion and
You're gonna hear me ROAR
Louder, louder than a lion
'Cause I am a champion and
You're gonna hear me ROAR
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You're gonna hear me roar

Roar-or, roar-or, roar-or

[Chorus]

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter,
dancing through the fire
'Cause I am a champion and
You're gonna hear me ROAR
Louder, louder than a lion
'Cause I am a champion and
You're gonna hear me ROAR
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You're gonna hear me roar

Brave:

You can be amazing
You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug
You can be the outcast
Or be the backlash of somebody's lack of love
Or you can start speaking up
Nothing's gonna hurt you the way that words do
And they settle 'neath your skin
Kept on the inside and no sunlight
Sometimes a shadow wins
But I wonder what would happen if you

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave

Everybody's been there, everybody's been stared down
By the enemy
Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing
Bow down to the mighty
Don't run, stop holding your tongue
Maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

Innocence, your history of silence
Won't do you any good
Did you think it would?
Let your words be anything but empty
Why don't you tell them the truth?

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you.

They both are about coming out of your shell and being able to defend yourself. Weird.

What do you think?

Review: Swan Lake in 3D from the Mariinsky Theatre

The Mariinsky Ballet in Russia made history on June 6th, 2013 by presenting their first 3D ballet broadcast across 50 countries in 1200 cinemas. The brain child of conductor Valery Gergiev and Cameron Pace Group, the company behind Hugo, Avatar, and Life of Pi. The ballet was Swan Lake, one of the most essential works in the repertoire. The performance was recorded live in the famous Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, simulcast to the New Mariinsky Theatre in 3D, and subsequently transmitted to cinemas around the world in 3D with time delays.

The ballet itself was absolutely amazing. Maestro Gergiev led the orchestra, and featured soloists included Yekaterina Kondaurova as Odette-Odile, Timur Askerov as Prince Siegfried, and Andrei Yermakov as von Rothbart. All three were absolutely flawless. The entire company was thrilling to watch. I give props to the quartet of swans in Act 2 who performed together as one. Not an easy task, but executed so well. The choreography was from the 1895 Ivanov/Petipa revival and revised by Konstanin Sergeyev in 1950. Amazing how great works can stand the test of time. The sets were beautiful and breathtaking. If you look at the makeup for von Rothbart, you will be terrified by how good it is. The 3d was a great addition, bringing a new depth to the average viewer and drawing people in.

All that being said, I was not pleased with the overall production of the cinema presentation. The picture quality, compared to The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD, was equal to that of a late 1990s videocassette. You would think that James Cameron would be able to bring high definition cameras to Russia. Lets hope that a blu ray release comes in the future that will make up for it. Second, there was something wrong with the configuration of the 3D. I had to wear my 3D glasses upside down. The graphics of the credits and name cards were probably from the 90s as far as I could tell. The time spent in between acts, while enjoying the interviews with the artists, could have also been spent showing behind the scenes segments. 

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the ballet. I would always suggest a great Tchaikovsky ballet to anyone who has never seen one before. Remember to go out and support your local company.