Werther at Sedonie

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Orlando Opera presented Werther, with music by Jules Massenet libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet, and Georges Hartmann at  Sydonie Mansion (5538 Sydonie Drive Mount Dora, FL 32757).

This mansion is just a short drive from the Lake County Studio. The roads I traveled were the same ones I take each day when I head down to Orlando. The mansion is down a long dirt road and sits on a beautiful lake. It is such an unexpected beautiful surprise off of winding country roads. I am starting to fall in love with traveling these hidden roads.

There was valet parking in the parking lot and yet when I arrived the valets were off duty. A young assistant at the ticket table gave me the lowdown on how the opera would unfold but as we were speaking the music for the opera began. I jogged out back and found the audience seated as the opera unfolded on the large porch of the gorgeous home. The opera is set in the German town of Wetzlar around 1780.

I was only able to sketch the first act because the next act took place inside the home and I spent that time finishing the sketch I had started.

What I did discover is that Werther, Gabriel Preisser, falls desperately in love with Charlotte, Chelsea Laggan, a woman he could never possibly have. Their affection is mutual, but she was set up in an arranged marriage by her parents to an older man named Albert, Thandolwethu Mamba, that she would never love. The opera explores the themes of impossible love, rebellion, and the consequences of convention. I felt heart broken for Werther because societal norms would keep him from his true love.

By the time I was adding color to the sketch the actors and audience had moved inside. There was another staging area on the far side of the hose staged around a beautiful fountain. As I worked all the chairs that were in front of the porch were moved to a gorgeous sloping lawn behind me that overlooked a lake. There was lighting set up so it is possible that the opera might go until the moment the sun set.

I considered sketching the outdoor scene but the setting was so panoramic that I decided I had my sketch for the moment. It was such a beautiful setting and such a heartbreaking story. I decided my heart was full and I left before the final act. I knew that tragedy would follow and I preferred to leave with hope in my heart that love might find a way to endure, but being an opera, I ran from what I assumed would be a tragic finale. I came to experience the beauty of the first act and I was satisfied, with sketch in hand.

Carmina Burana swept into the new Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center.

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I went to a dress rehearsal for Carmina Burana at the new Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. I was told to enter the stage door which is off Anderson Street. This was my first time in the brand new building. I nervously asked a security guard if I needed to sign in but he just pointed me up a stairway. The stage door opened up leading me right back stage. Dancers were stretching and nervously waiting for the run through of the show to start. Hundreds of singers were on stage standing in bleachers and on a second level balcony. I searched for the entrance to the auditorium seating and got lost with one of the dancers who was doing the same. I felt a bit more at ease knowing this new venue was also new to the performers.

The show features The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park and the Orlando Ballet as they re-mount the acclaimed 2013 performance of Carl Orff‘s Carmina Burana for one night only, during the Grand Premiere of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts presented by Dr. Phillips Charities and Balfour Beatty Construction.

This program marks the third time the Bach Festival has presented this work as a joint choral–ballet presentation, first in 1992 with Southern Ballet Theater and the second in 2013 with the Orlando Ballet. The Bach Festival Society has performed this work as a concert piece several other times since 1990 under John Sinclair’s baton, as well as with the London Symphony Orchestra in 2009.

Three noted vocal soloists are singing with the Bach Festival Choir, Youth Choir, and Orchestra on this program: soprano Julia Foster, tenor James Hall, and baritone Gabriel Preisser. Robert Hill, artistic director of the Orlando Ballet, is the choreographer for this performance.

From my front row seat, I got a fabulous view of the large orchestra pit. One of the French Horn players, Kathy Thomas waved to me from the pit. Robert Hill greeted me and talked about how exciting it was to be in the new space. I felt at home, althouch the sketch was a challenge. John Sinclair was in the spotlight. What makes the theater impressive are the many booth seats that are stacked along the side walls of the theater. It isn’t a particularly large or ornate theater but the eyes are drawn upwards towards the high ceilings.  The chorus was still “on book” and John scolded them to memorize the music before the performance. My wife sang Carmina Burana and it is challenging to memorize. The hundreds of voices combined with the ballet was mesmerizing. The dark sometime sinister music has been used again and again in movies so it’s driving theme is instantly recognizable. Male dancers supported female dancers making them appear to leap forward and backwards, weightless and in slow motion. This is an incredible performance to christen the new space. There was only one performance of the show on November 22nd at 7:30pm. It must have been magical and overwhelming with a full house. It felt nice to execute my first sketch in the new space. I hope it is the first of many.

Florida Opera Theater

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Tonight is your chance to see that Opera is very much alive in Central Florida. I went to a dress rehearsal for “Opera’s Greatest Hits” and “Trouble in Tahiti” at The Venue (511 Virginia Dr, Orlando, FL). The first half of the evening was a recital of incredible music by Rossini, Mozart, Donizetti and Bizet. Robin Stamper, the music director, accompanied every song on piano. I focused in on a performance by Morgan Davis from Carmen. Terry and I used to attend every Opera production when large productions were staged at the Bob Carr. That company went bankrupt but even this small recital brought back all the grandeur of what opera could be. My book light unfortunately died, so I struggled to sketch in the darkness.

There was a short intermission which I used to start painting while the house lights were up. Trouble in Tahiti began with a smiling jazz trio singing about the perfect life in suburbia with its little white houses and perfect loving families. It was an advertiser’s ideal with Crest white cleanliness.  This musical by Leonard Bernstein centers around a couple who are not living the ideal. Every discussion becomes a drawn out argument. Dinah (Rachael Marino) suspects Sam (Gabriel Preisser) of having an affair with his secretary which he denies. They live separate lives yet long for their lost happiness.

Scene six was hilarious. Dinah (Rachael) went to the cinema alone to see “Trouble in Tahiti”. She dismissed it as sentimental drivel but as she recounted the plot, she became caught up in the South Seas romance musical number, “Island Magic.” The Greek jazz trio would back her up with their shining enthusiasm. What made me laugh out loud was the way Rachael recreated the villagers dance. She recreated their music with a nasal whining drone and waved two handkerchiefs to simulate their dance. She was hilarious! The chorus put on sailor’s caps as the saluted during the patriotic finish to the movie. Dinah, is suddenly embarrassed because she realizes she was swept away by the imagined romance. She catches herself and resumes cooking diner for Sam.

The trio sings of evenings of domestic bliss but the couples talk about their relationship once again results in an argument. Sam suggests they go see “Trouble in Tahiti” which is the movie  Dinah just saw and hated. The “bought and paid for magic” of the silver screen is a substitute for love lost. “Before there was ‘Mad Men’ there was… ‘Trouble in Tahiti.”

Mark your calendar! There are two performances TODAY, at 2pm and 5pm at The Venue (511 Virginia Dr, Orlando, FL). Tickets are $30 at the door.