So it has been two days of round the clock activity, and today looks as though it will be much the same. I have two hours of classes this morning, there is the last performance of Carmen this afternoon, and more social activity this evening no doubt.........work hard, play hard!
Rewind - Friday ended with the postponed opening night party for the Carmen cast. This second performance built on the first - the dramatic and emotional temperature is pretty overwhelming in this small theater. Since the perfomance ended at 11:30 the jollifications only swung into action at midnight. The Maazels are fantastic hosts and somehow manage to be completely unphased by the mass invasion of their home for the consumption of magnificent productions from their kitchen and cellar. Just another family party really! Amazing.
Yesterday afternoon there was the most heart warming, indeed in many ways shattering, performance of Beethoven 9. And there was not single performer over the age of thirty, other than the conductor and concertmaster. These superb young players, from the finest conservatories on the planet, display a skill and energy which is transforming. They will gain the experience that refines this into the polish of a Concertgebouw or Vienna Phil - but for now this is music making and passionate commitment of the highest order, led and inspired by experience in spades.
There was a lovely quartet of Joyce el Khoury, Valerie Nelson, Adam Frandsen and Evan Hughes, and the chorus of fresh (though very hardworked) young voices dealt fearlessly with the stamina sapping music of the last movement.
And last night we all zoomed off to George Mason University in Manassas where their Hylton Arts Center hosted this exceptional conceert performance of Bohème. Jennifer Black and Jonathan Burton were in cracking vocal form, with Rebecca Nathanson ripping up the stage (insofar as that is possible in a concert performance) as Musetta. The whole affair benefited by not having the clutter of sets and costumes!
My classes start at 10 this morning. I must be on my way.
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