Yesterday, I went to see a production of Cimarosa's opera Il Matrimonio Segreto (The Secret Marriage). This was the first time I've actually seen a live production of an opera! But, there was a bit of a twist. Halfway through the second act, the lights went out. At first, I assumed it was part of the production, but a few seconds later, both the orchestra and the singers stopped. The stage director then informed the audience that the power was out, due to a storm.
Now, we all know the saying, 'the show must go on,' but what do you do when the orchestra can't see their music and the audience can't see the stage? Well, the entire cast and crew handled the situation very smoothly. The pianist played a Rachmaninov prelude while everyone else gathered flashlights. It turns out that the last scene involved everyone carrying flashlights anyways, so the director explained what would have happened during the next two scenes, and then skipped to the last scene. The pianist played all the orchestral parts, and the singers performed the finale of the opera while holding flashlights under their faces. Not really what you expect attending an opera for the first time!
By the way, I got my saxophone on Thursday, and I've really been enjoying it so far! It wasn't very difficult to pick up, considering the clarinet experience. I'm already looking into ways of implementing it in a recording.
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