Friday, July 14, 2006

 

Orchestra Rehearsals



Katherine Hannauer: Principal Second Violin

Because we’re working on something completely new, right from the start the learning process is different. I can’t just go to the library and check out a recording of this piece. It’s a clean slate for everyone. An added challenge is that we got the music for the second act only a few weeks before the rehearsal period started, and we have the other three operas to learn, too! The first step was to go through the part and get all of the notes under my fingers. At the same time I would find areas that I knew I really had to count carefully, places I’d have to keep an eye on the conductor, and passages that I needed to spend more practice time on. Because it is a new piece, I didn’t really know how my part fit in with the broader picture.

Coming into the first orchestra rehearsal, I finally had a chance to start working out how my part fit into the score. Even now, it is an incomplete picture because we haven’t had the singers yet. They’re doing staging rehearsals while Stewart Robertson (music director/conductor) rehearses us. So far we’ve had three orchestra rehearsals, totaling about eight hours. We’ve gotten a lot of great work done, but it is a very accelerated process. You have to be a quick study to make something like this work. Stylistically, there are challenges that you wouldn’t encounter in music of more familiar composers. You’ll be in a fast tempo, changing meters every bar or so, switching between arco and pizzicato, and then suddenly you realize you missed a dynamic marking. It takes a while to get a hang of because it is not as instinctive. If I sit down to play Mozart, I’ve been doing that all of my life. I know what he sounds like. Learning the language of this score has been such an interesting process. Working with a living composer is great, because there is no guesswork – if you have a question, he’s right there! With a piece as challenging as this one it would have been great to have another rehearsal, but I think due to budgetary reasons it’s not possible. I think the orchestra is starting to get a handle on Hartke’s sound at this point, but it won’t really come together until the sitzprobe, a music rehearsal with the singers and orchestra, tomorrow. Fortunately we have two of those for this production, which will really help with getting the music solid.

photos:
1. The orchestra in rehearsal for The Greater Good with Maestro Stewart Robertson
2. Violinist Katherine Hannauer

# posted by Glimmerglass Opera @ Friday, July 14, 2006
Comments:
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# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 11:01 PM
 
hi kath
mary lou can't find your email address...
hope your summer is off to a great start. say hi to sam and we'll see you when we get back from maine

:-)
jim & sharon
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 8:55 AM
 
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