Curtains Down

Quickly, cuz I'm dead...


The premiere went very well. Act One was very well received. No booing after the blackout. I was actually quite surprised that there was such warm response to it. I felt I sang well. The hall changes a lot acoustically with a full house, so it took a moment to accustom oneself to the new "feel." I was surprised to find a young girl of around 8 years old sitting in the front audience. During my "Go Ask Alice" scene, tripping on drugs, I took the opportunity to wave at her. Wagner's music IS a big ol' LSD trip. I hope the maestro didn't mind me mimicking him with giving cues to the orchestra! Before going on, Calixto said: "You're free. Invent. Go crazy. Do new things. Have fun."


I did. 


Act Two is the big scene for me. It opens with Claudio Otelli with a flame thrower shooting a swathe of flame 30 ft long. No kidding. Followed by him humping a wall. The man is a maniac onstage. In the Blumenmädchen scene, I am staged to rip off the seran wrap off a woman, who is naked underneath.
My wife is the epitome of longsuffering! I tried not enjoy my work too much. Val said my agent nearly peed his pants on the "Amfortas. Die Wunde..." scene. It really DID go well. Vocally, this piece presents some challenges in the passaggio. Sometimes tenors get into trouble singing the F/F#/G range wide open, and I refrained from going down that path. What makes it most challenging is the regie. It is so active, so intense, that sometimes we forget what the wiser choice is (to sing with a slim sound) because our temperaments get the better of us. Mine didn't. I just had a blast singing it and it the reception at the end of Act 2, again, was really tumultuous.


Act 3. I'm staged to be onstage at the beginning of the Act. Hard to sit in my pile of trash and start singing 20 mins later. I snuck a bottle of water on with me and took a good swig before beginning in on "Heil mir..." Thru the dress rehearsals I kept trying to close my mouth and stop mouth breathing acting, but never managed to get the hang of it. I always acted tired...with my mouth open. I learned though and have hid bottles of water around the stage. Unlike most productions, once I enter the stage in all three acts I stay on for the entirety (except Act 1 where I pled with Calixto to let me go off after being on the top, so I could re-warm up before singing 45 mins into the show).


I didn't have any senior moments. Thankfully the prompter was there for me and kept me on track. There's always something about the final act of a show for me. I get tired and my memory is the first thing that goes.


Lights out.


For the singers, the response was TREMENDOUS. Thrilling. Mind-blowing. For Maestro Honeck, even more. Fantastic.


It was my honor to present the "penguins" to the public (the designers and the director). I brought them onstage and kinda ducked, wondering if people would start throwing things. The place broke out into sheer pandemonium. People screaming booo and people screaming bravo. The most divisive reaction I have ever heard from a stage ANYWHERE. 


I'm happy to report the Bravo's won. I guess the show is a certifiable hit. My agent was here and well....let's just say I'll be a very busy boy in the coming years. He knew it was the right choice for me to make, and from the first day it was clear. I've found a new home.


Thank you Eva. Thank you for your kind and wonderful words. And thank you Alan. Your foresight was fortuitous. Carin, every day you become more and more valuable to us. You are a real treasure. Thank you, my friends the Padars for making the trip from Berlin. And to Maurice LaCroix for their support. I look forward to seeing you all this week.


Good nite!


edit: FYI, the show was sold out long before we had finished staging the end of the opera.