Epic Fail

Yesterday was the first time I had gotten to see the opera from the vantage point of the audience, as the girl I am double cast with has finally returned and was performing the role of Martha.  So I settled into the plush theater seats, armed with a book light and a large novel, and prepared myself for three hours of French opera.  My final verdict: our production is strikingly similar to a so-so community theater show.  And before some of you "community players" get your knickers in a twist, I assure you that I spent most of my formative years in community theater and it is where I learned my "craft."  A few of the productions were pretty spectacular and these, plus the shows I did at school, helped create an impressive resume for colleges.

However, this production of Faust falls short of the "spectacular" heading.  It is especially depressing, not just because I am in it, but because of the amount of time we have all had to sacrifice to put this opera on.  Starting at the end of March, I was in rehearsal nearly every night of the week, and some of the bigger roles were rehearsing up to six hours a day, every day, for weeks! So I am disappointed to see that all this rehearsing (to the point of numbness) is for naught.

The two bright spots are that the leads (especially the two women playing Marguerite) are fantastic and the sets are stunning, so that might save the whole thing.  On the flip-side, the blocking is wooden, the chorus scenes remind one of a giant clusterf**k, the orchestra is trying to set a record for loudest ensemble of all time and the tech guys can't seem to get the set changes together fast enough, despite already having FOUR days in the theater.

In the chorus scenes, the conductor is unable to line up the singers with the orchestra, no matter how hard he tries.  While the chorus may be watching carefully, the orchestra has built up enough resentment to our alcoholic leader that they no longer bother to look up at him for tempos and beats.  Funny?  Yes.  Devastating to the show?  Most definitely.

And speaking of the chorus scenes, of which my character is forced to wander through, everyone is just standing in a semi-circle, with gaps developing on various parts of the stage. And we are all crammed upstage, with center stage lying bare, because we never know when the dancers and acrobats are going to make an appearance and we want to be as far as possible from the carnage.  And those acrobats scared the crap out of me as I was sitting in the auditorium.  The stage is raked and they keep throwing themselves off the various levels in order to perform a series of backflips.  It would be impressive, if I wasn't terrified about the lack of space and fearful that I am going to witness a terrible accident.  I have no doubt that a "real" audience will feel the same way. 

I could go on and on about the anemic sound the chorus is making next to the orchestra and the bizarre costumes (all from different centuries), but it all just depresses me too much.  I made the right decision in leaving this place, but right now it is hard to feel smug.