Speedy Mezzo...

Last night I got a chance to work with one of the student accompanists on The Mikado and I am eternally grateful we went over the score because the damn thing is frickin' FAST.  The very nice coach at Tri Cities helped me before I left, but he is used to playing everything one step above the speed of "death," so no matter how hard I pushed him, we still weren't up to speed. So when my accompanist here in New Jersey brought out her metronome and showed me just how fast the whole thing was supposed to go, I nearly had a heart attack.  You know when you fast forward a tape, and all the voices get kind of high and screechy?  Well picture that speed, only you have to produce a full, mezzo-y sound.  I felt like I was trying to tap dance whilst wearing cement booties. 

I finally figured out that in order to keep up with the blistering tempi, I need to be at least one step ahead of the beat so that the sound lines up correctly.  That way it doesn't sound like I am trying to play the world's lamest game of tag with the piano.  And every time I relaxed and assumed I had it all under control, I fell behind.  I'll get it, but I am pretty sure I am going to need a shot of adrenaline in the butt before we rehearse with the conductor.  Either that, or I have to figure out where the switch is on my body for "hyper-speed."