I had the unbelievable good-luck to understudy director Robert LePage's staging of Schoenberg's one act opera Erwartung when I was an Ensemble member at the Canadian Opera Company back in 2002. This was a remount of a show that has been seen all over the world and won huge critical and audience success. Recently LePage unveiled the first part of his ambitious production of Wagner's Ring Cycle for the MET. Check him out in conversation with Brian Johnson in MacLean's magazine this week.Here is an excerpt that highlights the patience and time needed to really "cook" a great opera project!
Q: How many projects have you got going?
A: There are a lot of things cooking, but they’re long-term projects. People think I have something opening every month, but it’s not true. I work for two weeks on a project, then let it cook for six months while I work on something else. I try to spread [them] over many, many years. The reality of opera forces you to do that. Singers are booked five or six years in advance. I have some projects booked up to 2016 because of that. Then there are big international gatherings and they want you to do an opening ceremony. That’s another five or 10 years. In the meantime, I try to do more humble theatre productions.
No comments:
Post a Comment