
An Entry from the Production Log by Assistant Director and Guest Blogger Allison Lingren
The date is Sunday, April 14th, the time is 7:30 p.m. As I write this, I’m sitting in the 10th row of the gorgeously elaborate Orpheum Theater, and my Pandora radio is set to the Omaha Symphony, Kara Shay Thomson, and Samuel Ramey – oh, wait, no – this is real life, and we’re 30 minutes into the first joint rehearsal with singers and orchestra!
Seeing a whopping 70 members of the Omaha Symphony (including an extra brass section and two harps, ladies and gentlemen) incorporated so beautifully into the set for Bluebeard’s Castle makes me even more excited about Andrew and Julia’s concept for this production, if that’s even possible. Of course, seating the entire orchestra on stage for a staged opera is a very rare occurrence, but that’s not the only reason I’m so keen on it. I’ve already talked at some length about three of Bluebeard’s characters: Bluebeard, his newest wife, Judith, and the Speaker. Tonight, a fourth, and major, character makes an entrance – the castle itself.
Bluebeard’s castle is a living entity, and in Bartok’s groundbreaking score, the orchestra creaks and sighs; it moans and trembles. The symphony embodies the castle just as much as Julia Noulin-Merat’s amazing designs. It is only fitting that they are completely surrounded by, and made part of, the labyrinth that forms Bluebeard’s castle. Beyond all aesthetics, it truly is such a pleasure to watch wonderful musicians play such fascinating music.
*Oh my goodness, I have to interrupt this perfectly formulated blog post to report that Kara Shay is singing her first high C in the theater, supported by the entire orchestra. It is earth-shattering. Seriously, that note alone is worth the price of admission.
The next few days will be comprised of hours and hours of light and projection cues, spacing rehearsal with the dancers from Ballet Nebraska, a piano dress/tech rehearsal, and a wandleprobe (where the orchestra, singers, and blocking come together for the first time). This all leads up to the final orchestra dress on Wednesday evening, featuring Opera Omaha’s first ever Tweet Seats! Check in on Twitter at #bbcastle on Wednesday night for the first informal reviews!
And, if you are still ticketless, don’t miss out! Visit Ticket Omaha online or call 402-345-0606 to reserve your seats for either Friday, April 19 or Sunday, April 21.