Posted by mco on Jul 21st, 2007
The opera workshop starts on Monday. I’m very excited and very keyed-up about it — I keep having goofy anxiety dreams (as I always do) about workshops and performances and so forth. My subconscious is very busy, lately.
We had a great production meeting last week — it was quite impressive to see how many people are now involved behind the scenes in this shindig. It was a small band when we started, although many of those folks are still around: Judy Reade, our ubiquitous props mistress, who knows everyone and everything theatrical in Halifax; Colin Richardson, the Dunn Theatre Crew Chief, who is now lighting designer for the shows; and, of course, Tara Scott, music director extraordinaire …
It’s going to be a big crowd in room 121 on Monday morning — and I can’t wait!
Posted by mco on Jul 9th, 2007
Sometimes it’s just so much fun. Take today, for example. As I’m gearing up for the start of rehearsals for the Halifax Summer Opera Workshop, and my production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare, I’m gathering all sorts of props, costumes and knick-knacks that we’ll need.
Well, the best one arrived today — a severed head!
(The precipitating event of Giulio Cesare is the murder of Pompey by the Egyptians, and the stage directions do indicate that General Achilla needs to produce Pompey’s severed head …)
I’ve got AK47s on order too: they’ll be traveling across Canada on a Greyhound bus …
Gotta love show business!
Posted by mco on Jun 30th, 2007
I’m thrilled that I’ve been asked back for my fourth year as Artistic Producer and MC for the Opera Nova Scotia Opera Valentine. This is a great event that raises money for a very worthy company!
Posted by mco on Jun 28th, 2007
We just finished up the Festival last weekend — which this year included a tour of SW Nova Scotia! Exhausting but rewarding. Spending four hours in a small car with Andrew Tees and Keith Klassen was funnier than anything I could put on stage … And louder. Traviata went really, really well — I ran the surtitles on the road, and kept thinking what I would do with the show if we were staging it — so look for Trav to pop up on the HSOW schedule in a year or so!
So now I’m getting ready for this year’s HSOW, which starts up on July 23rd. Lots of things to get ready, and I’m very excited about directing Giulio Cesare, my first Baroque opera as a director. What a great work this is, and what great casts we have coming out to sing in it!
