Winging it

Nothing like showing up to the Tabarro musical rehearsal on Saturday and discovering an entire page of music (ok, only five measures) that I’d never seen before! Sight-reading for Mo. Levine – awesome!

It was really not bad at all; the music staff was very helpful. We quickly ran to the library and got me a part score, then headed to P’s studio to run through it once or twice. But I think I’ve said here before that I only really get nervous when I’m unprepared, and this definitely counted as unprepared!! Shaky hands and sweaty palms when I sat down after singing my few bars, absolutely.

(How did this happen, you ask? Turns out there is a line for “Soprano/Tenor Interno,” sung offstage, earlier in the opera. Since I only had a part score for the “Young Lovers” and am unfamiliar with the opera, I knew nothing about it; the library didn’t know that the two parts were to be sung by the same people, since only the YL parts are credited on the program. Easy mistake to make, easy to let something like this slip through the cracks. And since we didn’t coach or rehearse these parts until the whole show was put together, we only discovered it on Saturday.)

The Suor run-through on Friday went very well, too. It is such a moving piece; I really had no idea. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when we finished. Bring your hankies to the movies!

The donkey (yes, Sarah, a “for real” donkey!) was adorable, and – of course – pooped onstage. “Welcome to the Met!” I didn’t get a picture, but I promise I will this week. (Of the donkey, not the poop.) We’re onstage every morning this week, and in fact, I’m about to head out now to meet my destiny with the Tabarro bridge… Wish me luck!!