Good morning readers! It’s Day 11 – our final day of the 2015 Greater
Colorado Tour. Today we’ll be doing a double bill of Hansel and Gretel for the students at Bauder Elementary School in
Ft. Collins. As much as we’ve had happen
in the past two-weeks, it’s still hard to believe that we’re already on the
last day. Time… it just keeps rolling, doesn’t it? Breakfast consumed, we load
the cars and head to the school. It’s raining again and is supposed to most of
the day, so loading in will be a challenge. On the drive, the conversation
turns to the intelligence quotient. You know, would you rather be intelligent
and savvy about the world around you or would you rather be more naïve and not
as aware of things? I know… way too deep for this early in the morning.
We arrive at the school and Brett and I head to the office to check-in.
We’re immediately greeted by Deanna, the music teacher. She’s been waiting in
the office to welcome us. She walks us down to the gym, where we’ll be
performing and on the way, we’re greeted by more of the teachers. Everyone is
so excited that we’re here. Looking around the gym, I may have to make some
extra rules for today. There are far too many temptations within easy reach;
jai alai weapons, balls of every size and bouncy-ness, hula hoops and more.
Taylor and I move as many of the items out of the set up area as we can to
lessen the temptation factor (and give us room for the set). It’s not the
students I’m concerned about – it’s our group. We’re easily distracted. Andrew moves
the van around to the load-in sight and we get things into the space as quickly
as we can to avoid getting soaked. As the Young Artists get into costume and
makeup, Taylor serenades us with various selections on the piano. The students
begin to come in. For the first performance, we have 3rd-5th
grades. They are being very quiet and respectful. I go out to do the pre-show
talk and as soon as I say that we are here to perform Hansel and Gretel, there’s a room full of excited faces. The
performance goes well and the students really enjoy it. There’s a lack of
energy, but at this point on tour, it’s something to be expected. It’s early in
the day and they have another performance to go, so saving a little in the tank
is a good idea. For the Q&A, we get a young man who asks a very thoughtful
question, “Why did you have a Witch in the story and not a Warlock.” He’s
picked on up the fact that the Witch is sung by a man, so that question makes
perfect sense. Brett answers by telling him the reasons that opera sometimes
casts a man in a female role or female as a male character. There’s unanimous
agreement that having the Witch sung by a tenor makes the character creepier
and funnier at the same time.
We wave goodbye to the students and reset for the top of the show. As
the re-set is happening, I talk with one of the teachers who is just gushing
about the performance. She admits that she doesn’t like opera; that it’s always
just been people screaming. I tell her if it sounds like screaming, then its
opera being done wrong. She agrees with me and tells me how much she loved the
show. Everyone’s voices were beautiful, the production was like a fairytale and
everything just came to life for her. Hmm… we may have a new opera convert…
Touring productions aren’t just for kids.
After everyone gets out of costume, we jump into the car and head to a
local spot for a very quick lunch. We’ve got less than an hour before we need
to be back for the second performance. At lunch, there’s very little talking.
Sure the food is good, but it’s more than that. It is… technology. As I look
around the table, just about everyone has their eyes glued to their phones. I
don’t begrudge them that; we’ve been in the mountains for 2-weeks and had
little to no reception. They have lives outside of opera after all. I haven’t
missed it though. A break from the cyber world has been quite welcome. We
finish lunch and head back to the school. There’s just enough time to get
everyone back into costume before the second group of students arrive; this
time we have Kindergarten – 2nd grade. They are adorable. Apparently
today is pajama day!
This is a big school, so each performance is packed. I go out to do the
pre-show talk and I can tell that we’ve got a very special group of kids. They
are so excited, but so well-behaved too. As the performance begins, they are
hanging on every word, every note. It’s almost as if they take a breath each
time one of the singers does. As I sit backstage, I’m treated to hundreds of
little voices shouting “bravo” after every number. Andrew, Daniel and Brett are
inspired backstage as well. During the dance scene, they get their groove on. I
stop giggling long enough to snap a picture. On stage, things continue to go
well. The kids are so responsive. Leah and Katherine make their exit as Andrew
sings his aria and Leah becomes very emotional. The kids have grabbed ahold of
her heart (metaphor – go with me readers). She says that the little ones in the
front were copying every dance move she made; clapping their hands, snapping
their fingers, tapping their feet. Sometimes, during a live performance, there’s
just a feeling in the air. Something happens that’s magical – you connect with
your audience in a way that words can’t quite describe. That’s what we’ve got
going on here and we all feel it. Daniel goes on for the Sandman scene and the
kids are yawning along with Leah and Katherine. When Brett goes on as the
Witch, the laughter in the room is contagious and we’re laughing backstage,
listening to the kids respond. Daniel can’t resist and peaks through a gap in
the set to watch the action unfold. Brett takes his cue from the energy in the
room and plays the Witch as completely goofy. His rhyme today? “I’ll go inside
and feed my pet llama; I hope you don’t mind, but I’m your new mama.” The kids
are howling with laughter and this time, I can hear the teachers laughing too.
When I’m directing a show, I make choices based on what I think will
appeal to an audience; try to tell the story and showcase the art form in a way
that represents the truth of what opera is. I never really know if I’ve gotten
it right until I put it in front of an audience. The way these kids are responding;
we got it right. I wish that words could convey what it sounds like as the
Young Artists take their bows. The students are cheering for them, standing up,
calling “bravo” over and over; and the best part? Their joy at what they’ve
experienced is completely genuine. It’s probably the best performance of Hansel and Gretel that the Young Artists
have given all season. The final show on our tour – and it’s one I will
remember for a very long time. We go out for the Q&A and, sadly, we’re only
able to take 3 questions. There’s been a surprise visit from the superintendent
and they have an award to present to one of the students. It’s a wonderful
thing, but we would have liked to spend some more time answering the students’
questions – they were such a fabulous audience.
There’s an official presentation with multiple speakers and then there
are numerous photos taken of the superintendent and the winner, on our set, so
we have to wait to begin to take things down and load out. The teachers come
backstage to tell us how much they enjoyed the show and ask us repeatedly to
come back. Deanna, the music teacher, says that Opera Colorado’s program is
something that her school highly values and she’ll be bringing us back for
sure. We get to the business of loading out for the final time on tour.
Everyone is tired, but the energy of the kids is still buzzing in our minds. Load out complete, we get in the cars and
begin the drive back to Denver. Within minutes, everyone but the drivers and
copilots are asleep.
We have one final stop on tour – it’s become something of a tradition to
have the final stop of tour be a unique Colorado experience. In 2014, we stopped at the Coney Island Hot
Dog stand in Bailey, Colorado. This year… it’s Johnson’s Corner for their world
famous cinnamon rolls. Funny… they always seem to involve food. We sit at a
booth the size of Rhode Island and I snap a picture of the group as they
consider the volume of what they’re about to ingest. Daniel makes a toast to tour. It’s been a busy,
challenging and incredibly rewarding two weeks. Cinnamon delights consumed, groans
of the overly-indulgent in process, we make the final leg of our journey back
to Denver.
That’s it readers. We’ve been on the road for 11 days. Traveled over
1,600 miles, been snowed in, on roads that go nowhere, attacked by bugs of
unusual size and seen amazing sights. We’ve taken opera to more than 1,500
people. Tour is over… or is it? We’re actually not done with our travels. We
have a performance in Colorado Springs on Wednesday. We couldn’t fit that into
our official tour weeks; there were just too many requests that came in, so the
Young Artists will be doing a day trip. I won’t be blogging about that one. My
digits are fatigued. There’s more exciting news… You have a chance to hear the
Young Artists in person one final time before they complete their residency
with Opera Colorado. On Sunday, May 31st at 2:00PM, they will be
singing their Farewell Concert. Tickets are available now and we hope to see
you there. You can find more information about the performance here: 2015
Young Artists Farewell.
To those of you who have contacted me about the blogs, thank you for
your support. We’re glad that you enjoy them. Rest assured, tour commentary
will continue in 2016. Well beyond that we hope. Time keeps rolling… and so
will we. All in the name of this incredible art that we love… opera.
Thanks for joining us on our journey.
Till next year,
Cherity