Hysteria Hangover

Well, it’s all over, but the shoutin’. And what an experience, eh? I really believe that, due to the monumental efforts of the staff and board of Piedmont Opera and the Operators, Winston-Salem caught a bit of the Crucible bug. Maybe even some Crucible hysteria, if I may be so bold. I’m sure it’s a big letdown at Piedmont Opera and Fletcher Opera after the last show. So much effort and psychic energy was spent on this project. So much blood, sweat, and tears. As a consumer, I just want to thank everyone behind the scenes for (1) undertaking this bold, risky project during uncertain opera economic times and (2) pulling off the whole project with great aplomb.

I guess, technically, my blog is over. Just like in Salem, Mass. the hysteria has to stop at some time. But rest assured that Vögelchen has enjoyed this experience, especially the speaking in third person. By the way, does anyone know why I call myself Vögelchen?

Of course, this blog has essentially been like giving me a microphone, which is a bit dangerous because once I have the microphone, I don’t want to give it back. As such, I am reserving the right to post a few more entries on various Crucible-related topics.  So, don’t turn off your computers just yet—you never know what Vögelchen will come up with.

Final Crucible show tonight!

Vögelchen is not a licensed opera reviewer, but he does have opinions, which he will give below. For the actual reviews, see the following links:

Ken Keuffel’s insightful review:

http://www2.journalnow.com/entertainment/2012/mar/18/wsmain02-masterpiece-triumphs-once-again-ar-2055164/

And I completely agree with reviewer Peter Perret’s assessment that “The Piedmont Opera continues its stellar trajectory with its current production of Robert Ward's The Crucible.” For Peter’s review, see

http://cvnc.org/article.cfm?articleId=5430

I’ve spoken with several first time opera goers who attended The Crucible and who were impressed. How about that! What is Winston-Salem becoming? An opera town? People are attending their first operas, and these aren’t even main repertoire operas. I love it. It’s nice to live in a town that doesn’t only produce Mozart operas. The last 2 operas in this town were Robert Ward’s The Crucible and Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor.

I truly enjoyed The Crucible on opening night. It’s difficult to discuss all of the singers with such a huge cast, but I would like to single out Janine Hawley’s performance as especially powerful. She was able to convey not only the meekness of long-suffering Elizabeth Proctor, but also Elizabeth’s all-knowing strength. Well done Janine. I would also like to compliment the entire list of Fletcher Opera Institute singers; let’s just say that there was no step down from the pros to the younger singers. The evenness in the superb casting made the evening that much better, and the Piedmont Opera audiences have come to expect such evenness in casting.

Overall, this Crucible experience has been fantastic for the Piedmont Triad, and I hope that the house if full tonight for the final show.

Opening Night!!!

Go to the show. Opening night tonight!!! It's a must see event.


Then go see Robert Ward tomorrow morning at the Stevens Center for a once-in-a-lifetime interview.

A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute

And the answer is...Fletcher--Allen Fletcher was the original stage director, and the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute is a co-producer of the current production.


Only a few more days until opening night! Get out and tell all your friends about this landmark production. And remember, Saturday morning at 11:00 AM at the Stevens Center, the composer of The Crucible, Robert Ward, will be present ready to discuss everything from the previous night's performance to his experiences at the genesis of this amazing opera to his time here in Winston-Salem directing the North Carolina School of the Arts during its early years.  A must-see experience!

The Crucible opens this Friday!

Can you believe that The Crucible opening night is this Friday!?! Vögelchen can't wait. 

Quick Wordplay question:  what last name (family name) connects the original production team of The Crucible with a producer of the Piedmont Opera production?

Winston-Salem Journal Article

For those who do not get the Winston-Salem Journal, make sure you check out Ken Keuffel's excellent article about The Crucible from the Sunday paper. 

http://www2.journalnow.com/entertainment/2012/mar/11/wsliving01-the-crucible-is-tried-and-true-ar-2023777/

Crucible Quiz #2 Answers

We have another winner. Uccellino wins the second Crucible Quiz with the following comment: “According to the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/11/arts/music/11kelley.html?fta=y), the American tenor Norman Kelley premiered the title role of Schweik and was also in the premier of The Crucible.”  Yes, uccellino is correct about tenor Norman Kelley premiering the title role of Schweik, and he was the Reverand Samuel Parris in the premiere of The Crucible. Two other overlaps between The Good Soldier Schweik and The Crucible were Mary LeSawyer, and Chester Ludgin.

Now on to Part B of my question: sadly, no one made a stab at this one, even after my pretty blatant hint. The correct answer is none other than High Point’s own Anthony Dean Griffey. He performed Schweik at Glimmerglass Opera in 2003. Below are images of ADG as Schweik:

OK, so I hope that everyone enjoyed this quiz. You might be wondering where Vögelchen is getting his information for his quizes. Vögelchen cannot reveal his sources yet, but all will be disclosed at a later date.

Anyone?

So far, Vögelchen has received no answers for his Crucible Quiz #2.  I will give you 24 more hours to attempt this 2 part quiz. The second part shouldn’t be too difficult.  Hint: High Point. 

Crucible Quiz #2

You've had a few days to recover from the last Quiz, and Vögelchen thinks you are ready for more difficult questions, or at least questions that will make you think a bit outside the box. This is a multi-part question. 10 points for each part.

Crucible Question 2:

            (A) A handful of the performers who created roles for The Crucible also created roles in Robert Kurka's opera, The Good Soldier Schweik, which premiered at NYCO in 1958. Name a few of these performers.

            (B)  What locally grown talent made a splash, more recently, as the title role in The Good Soldier Schweik? Where and when?

Make a stab at either Parts A or B, or both. You can enter your answers in the Comments section or can email Vögelchen at jonathanburdette67@gmail.com.

Good luck!

Quiz #1 Answers

Congratulations to Judy for her fantastic answers. She is 100% correct. The answers are Normal Treigle/John Hale/Blitch and Frances Bible/Elizabeth Proctor/Augusta Tabor.

The original John Hale was one of the great bass baritones:  Norman Treigle.  Norm was known as an acting singer, and he was THE bass at New York City Opera (NYCO) until Sam Ramey came along. He was known for being the first great Blitch in Carlisle Floyd's Susannah (he sang the New York premier, though he did not sing the world premier).  Here's a link to his performing Blitch, just so you can get the flavor of his singing and acting and get a flavor of American opera:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1952135373709808204&ei=sTIDSsDQJ47ergk09JH_Ag&q=Treigle&hl=en#

The original Elizabeth Proctor was Frances Bible, another great American acting singer who spent many years with New York City Opera. She helped originate (though she did not premier) the role of Augusta Tabor in Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe, another highly successful American opera from the 50s.  Bible died in 2001, not long before NYCO produced a new Baby Doe production.  One of the performances was dedicated to her memory--some of her family were there.  Here's a link to her singing Augusta's main aria at NYCO: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1Gl25Hphn8&feature=related      (the aria starts at the 5:00 minute mark).

Vögelchen hopes you enjoyed the first Crucible Quiz and wants again to congratulate Judy for her hard work and correct answers. There will be more quiz questions in the future. In the meantime, Crucible Hysteria has officially started as all of the artists are in town and have begun rehearsing.

(Disclaimer: Vögelchen wants everyone to know that there are tons of people out there who know so much more about this stuff that he does, and it's possible he is incorrect.  If you think he is wrong, definitely let him know.)

Crucible Quiz #1

Hello Everyone. It's time for the first ever Crucible Quiz. Vögelchen has used one of his opera connections (more on this in later blog entries) to help construct this first question. You may use as many lifelines as you want to answer this question. You may even call Terry Allen. So, here it goes: 

Robert Ward's The Crucible premiered at New York City Opera (NYCO) in 1961.  Two of the performers who created roles in The Crucible were American opera singers who gained renown, in part, through their influential portrayals at NYCO of roles in two earlier American operas (from the mid-1950s), Carlisle Floyd's Susannah and Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe, operas which, like The Crucible, are also still performed today.  Who are those singers, what roles did they create in The Crucible, and what was their signature role in either Susannah or Baby Doe, respectively?

The winner of this week's quiz will, well, I'm not sure what they will win, but I will think of something eventually. You can put your answers in the Comments of this blog, or you can email Vögelchen at jonathanburdette67@gmail.com

Opera Lively

Vögelchen wants to point all Crucible fans to a great website and online discussion forum for The Crucible. Based in the Triangle, the Opera Lively website is a fantastic website about all of opera, all over the world. I met its owner/CEO Luiz Gazzola at the Fletcher production of The Merry Wives of Windsor, and his opera passion is infectious. He is covering our production of The Crucible, so make sure you support him and his wonderful website. In his Crucible link, he has a biography of Dr. Ward, a discussion of all of Dr. Ward’s operas, a discussion of the play and the making of the play into the opera, a synopsis of the opera, a discography of the opera, and links to several reviews of previous performances.

I know, you are saying to yourself right now, “Self, it sounds like Dr. Gazzola’s website/discussion forum puts Vögelchen and his blog to shame.” Well, I have an answer for that…(thinking)….(still thinking)…OK, I don’t really have a comeback to that statement. Oh well, just support us both—cutting edge live regional opera needs your support!

This is the link to his Crucible forum.

http://operalively.com/forums/content.php/334-Robert-Ward-and-The-Crucible

This is a link to his entire website:

http://www.operalively.net/

Vögelchen posts an opera entry a bit off subject from the upcoming Crucible production.

Last Saturday, it took almost nearly 6 hours for Siegfried to drink the potion, switch ladies, attach Brünhilde to Gunther, get stabbed in the back (literally) by Hagan, and then get carted off to some really rousing music, only for Brünhilde to return to sing her guts out, finally realizing that Siegfried had been an innocent bystander duped by the Gibichungs, and then ride with her horse Grane into the flames that are burning Siegfried, losing the ring back to the Rhinemaidens as the world of the humans and gods ends. Whew. It takes a true diehard to witness 6 hours of Wagner’s final opera in his Ring Cycle, Götterdamerung, and Vögelchen is happy to report that there were lots of diehards in the audience at Hanesbrands Theater.  These live in HD broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera sponsored by Piedmont Opera have been a big hit, even this 6 hour marathon.

I’m not a reviewer, but that won’t stop me from giving a very brief review of this Götterdämerung. I’m a bit of a neophyte when it comes to Wagner, so unlike many in the audience who have seen many different productions of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, I cannot comment on how effective this one was compared to the more traditional productions in the past. That said, I thought the production was very effective. It actually was a relatively traditional staging, just with some highly technical features; maybe “techno traditional” would be a better term for this staging. For those who haven’t seen or read about this Met Ring Cycle, all 4 operas featured The Machine, a huge, heavy, structure made up of 24 parallel steel planks (see photo), and this Machine could twist and turn and elevate and served as the “stage” for the characters. Video projections changed the look of these planks. I loved it when Gunther washed his bloody hands in the virtual river, and the videos changed the river to blood-tinged. Overall, I thought the singing was quite good, but special recognition has to go to Hans-Peter König in the part of Hagan—what a voice. The Met Orchestra was of course in good form, and the well-paced conducting of Fabio Luisi made the 6 hours fly by.

Vögelchen will return to a more Crucible-centric blog with the next entry.

Final Scene of Götterdämerung, with Brünhilde on her horse ready to ride into the flames. Note the  24 huge steel planks with video projections. Also, Hagen (far left) doesn't seem too concerned with all that's going on. Perhaps he should be--he drowns in the next scene trying to get the ring from the Rhinemaidens.

Crucible. Noun

As promised, a guest blogger: from my wife Shona. Enjoy.

Crucible. Noun: a severe test or trial; a container for heating substances to high temperatures. 

This is a wonderful word whose etymology takes several turns before it arrives at its modern meaning.  A crucibulum was a Roman night lamp.  Linguists are not certain why the night lamp was named this.  One theory suggests that its wick was shaped like a cross, which is why some of you may have recognized the root for cross, the Latin word crux. Another possibility is that the root of the word is not crux but crassus, the Latin word for grease or fat—the lamp’s fuel. 

By the late Middle Ages, crucibulum had been anglicized to crucible and had become the word for a kind of pot that could withstand great heat, probably because the original night lamp had to be fairly heat proof to burn its greasy fuel.  Alchemists, the forebears of modern scientists, used crucibles to melt metals in their search for the way to turn the ordinary and mundane into gold.  The literal meaning of a melting-pot took on a more symbolic shading as time went on; the great stresses under which metals were melted and fused together in the alchemists’ crucibles took on the name of the pot itself, and by 1645 we have the first figurative use of the word crucible to mean simply a severe test or trial.

So why did Arthur Miller use The Crucible as the title of a play about the Salem Witch Trials?  Both literal and figurative meanings are at work here.  The Trials were like the alchemist’s pot in which, instead of metal, society itself and its rules and rituals were being tested: mix a few things together, heat to a very high temperature, and see what happens.  Only one thing is for certain: everything will be changed afterwards.  Nothing will be the same. 

The Salem Witch Trials were themselves a crucible in which the values, laws, and power structures of colonial America were put to a severe test.  The same could be said for the McCarthy-era witch-hunts of the House Un-American Activities Committee, and the values, laws, and power structures of 20^th-century America, as Arthur Miller—and Robert Ward—were well aware. And we as audience members are left to ask ourselves, Will we be a better nation for having passed through this test of fire?  Will we have the strength to prevent it from happening again?

Spoiled!

Sorry for the delay since my last entry—it’s been a busy few days for Vögelchen (and apparently in the meantime Vögelchen has begun speaking in 3^rd person, a painful inevitability of the 21^st Century).

Back to 1^st person. Sometimes we opera fans here in Winston-Salem need reminding of just how spoiled and lucky we are. Let me give you an example. Last Sunday as my entire family was trying to get out the door, the time just kept slipping away. The big question of the day was, “Should we walk or drive downtown to attend the opera?” This was at 1:30, with the show starting at 2:00. There are not many cities in this country where you can have this conversation 30 minutes before the show starts. And then at 2:00 what did we see? Otto Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor staged by the Fletcher Opera Institute at UNCSA. Now, like all opera fans, I like to name-drop and impress others with all of the operas I’ve seen. That’s part of the sport of opera loving—impressing your opera loving friends with your knowledge of opera and casually letting them know what operas you’ve just seen. However, I have to admit that I couldn’t even fake it with Otto Nicolai. I had never heard of him.  Didn’t even know where he was from. Otto Nicolai? Is that a German name? Or Italian? Yep, couldn’t even fake it.

That’s part of our being opera-spoiled here in Winston-Salem. Every year I get introduced to new operas. And the LaCosse-Albritten team never fails to entertain, and entertain they did with this Merry Wives of Windsor show. The last show is tonight—don’t miss it if you haven’t seen it yet. It’s funny and beautifully staged, but also well sung with some definite future stars on the stage. And the lush orchestral playing in the overture and final act was a powerful contrast to the humor—these orchestral depths seemed nestled somewhere between Die Freischütz and Hänsel und Gretel. Again, don’t miss it.

Some of my favorite opera experiences over the past several years have been Fletcher productions of non-main repertoire operas; Dvorak’s The Devil and Kate and Haydn’s Il mondo della luna come immediately to mind. My family always leaves such productions, including The Merry Wives of Windsor, with the same question: “Why isn't this opera performed more often? It’s better than the Magic Flute.”  (Aside: I know, those might be fightin' words to most opera fans, but I’m still waiting for a production of Magic Flute that I really enjoyed. Just saying.)

Spoiled, I say! We have 2 professional opera companies here in Winston-Salem at a time when opera companies are going under all over the country. Don’t search for the Baltimore Opera Company; it doesn’t exist anymore. Every year I have come to expect 4 high quality operatic productions in this town between Piedmont Opera’s and Fletcher Opera Institute’s shows, and not just of main repertoire operas. Don’t get me wrong, I love classic main repertoire operas, but it’s a real treat to be enlightened year after year with more obscure operas, staged and sung beautifully, all without destroying my checking account.

For the first time, certainly in my memory, both of these companies are pooling their resources to co-produce an opera, Wards' The Crucible, and I can’t wait for this production. The artistic talent in these two companies will guarantee an entertaining, polished, powerful show. Again, it’s good to reminded that we are spoiled in this community! We are having The Crucible staged here, a 20^th Century American opera, just 6 weeks after Nicolai’s 19^th Century German opera. It really is becoming an opera town, and it’s nice to be spoiled.

As a parting shot, back in 3^rd person, Vögelchen would like you to know that he has lined up a couple of guest appearances on this blog in order to ‘raise the bar’ a bit. Look for this in the coming weeks. Also, there will be an occasional quiz, just to make sure everyone is paying attention.

Robert Ward, Part I: The man's got some stories.

Should I be impressed or simply depressed?

I was lucky to get to hear Robert Ward speak in Winston-Salem last week when he was interviewed by Maestro Jamie Albritten. Dr. Ward told many incredible stories about the genesis of The Crucible and his years in Winston-Salem. 94 year old people are not supposed to be brighter and wittier than I, a young, sprightly 44 year old. That’s right, you did the math correctly—Dr. Ward is 50 years older than I. He was born during World War I, or should I say the year in which the current season of Downton Abbey is set.

I first heard of Dr. Ward when I was an undergraduate at Duke in the mid-1980’s. The word on the street at that time was that he is a great composer. I was then fortunate to get to see The Crucible performed at Duke, I think in 1986 (to be discussed in an upcoming blog entry).

But I digress. This entry is about Dr. Ward, the storyteller. I first heard Dr. Ward telling stories a few years ago at the 40^th anniversary celebration of the founding of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Sitting on stage in Watson Hall, Dr. Ward was in good voice telling amazing stories about the school in its early days. There’s just something special about listening to someone as lively and interesting as Dr. Ward, someone who has lived so long and so well and who has experienced firsthand the massive changes in the musical landscape over his long life.

I highly encourage everyone to attend any upcoming event associated with the production of The Crucible, especially those featuring Dr. Ward. I will go a step further. You owe it to yourself to hear this icon speak, especially at the “Conversation with the Composer” event on March 17^th at 11 am in the Stevens Center—it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience real American stories from a living composer. He has clarity of thought and a knack for just telling a good story.

So, to answer my original question posed at the top of this blog entry: I’m afraid I find Dr. Ward so impressive that I leave a little depressed. But it’s worth it—I promise!

Why all the hysteria?

Hello, my friends, and welcome to the Crucible Hysteria blog. As your blogmeister, I will endeavor to highlight the amazing upcoming Piedmont Opera-A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute production of Robert Ward’s The Crucible. Now, it must be said that I have never blogged before, and I don’t fully ‘get’ the on-line narcissistic culture. But that won’t stop me from jumping in, narcissism and all. I don’t know exactly where the blog will lead or what topics will be covered. But, as Pablo Picasso said, “If you know exactly what you are going to do, what is the point of doing it?” I do know that this Crucible project will be exciting, and I hope this Crucible Hysteria blog will capture some of this excitement, and, if you are lucky, you might even learn a few Crucible tidbits that will allow you to enjoy this show even more. So hang on and enjoy the Crucible Hysteria ride for the next month and a half.

Signing off...