| Rigoletto at the Met
Attending the Met for the first time, I was amazed at how elegant the lobby area is. From the white marble and red carpets on the floor to the gold hand rails and red velvet on the walls, this place was exactly what it should be: Grand!
Our seats were on the floor on the right side. The 5 balconies were certainly impressive, as was the gold scalloped ceiling, the red velvet seat, the enormous gold curtains on stage, the huge chandelier in the center of the hall, and the 12 smaller chandeliers that were retracted to the ceiling when the lights dimmed.
Rigoletto begins with the solo trumpet and the “curse theme”. David’s playing was simply impeccable. His sound floats into the hall and is captivating and demands attention. Likewise the orchestra sounded fantastic!
When the curtain opened I wasn’t ready for what I saw. The sets are the best that I have ever seen and make you feel like you are in a palace, or later outside the home of Rigoletto on the street. The sky even captured a late evening feel with clouds and just the right lighting.
The banda parts (with Peter Bond and Guy Piddington) were also fantastic. The “at a distance” sound was in sharp contrast to what was just played by the pit. Well done!
And the voices and staging and costumes were simply magnificent. I’ve seen a lot of operas in Santa Fe over the years, and while they are world class, this Rigoletto performance pushed the bar up just a little higher.
Conductor: Friedrich Haider
Gilda: Ekaterina Siurina
Maddalena: Nancy Fabiola Herrera
Duke of Mantua: Joseph Calleja
Rigoletto: Juan Pons
Sparafucile: Paata Burchuladze
After the 1st act, my Wife and I went up to the pit and David directed us to the side hallway so that we could meet him backstage. He gave us the full tour! We worked our way to the pit and got see the setup. This was by far the biggest pit that I have ever seen, and the stage didn’t extend over the pit at all (all the musician could see what was happening on stage). Every one had plenty of room too, and that’s amazing when you consider it’s a complete orchestra (100+).
David showed us the two parts that he had on his stand (the original part and his working part). The original part was an historical who’s who of the principal trumpet players in the Met. A grand tradition began years ago, and the principal player would write their name, the date of the performance, and the name of the singer in the role of Rigoletto. This part dated back to 1899 and had dozens and dozens of entries! A number of the early performances showed that Caruso had played the role of Rigoletto. Mark Gould was the last one to have signed the part. How I would love to have a copy of that sheet for my scrapbook!
It was at this point that I took out my own copy of the 1st trumpet part for Rigoletto that I put on heavy card stock and had David sign it. I’m going to put it on my practice room wall along with the program, tickets, and the picture that my Wife took of the two of us. I have one just like it when we heard the CSO (An Alpine Symphony) in 2000, and have a picture of myself, my instructor, and Mr. Herseth. I smile every time I see it and it certainly brings back fond memories.
We crossed the pit and walked by the “prompter’s” box. This is not the job that you want to have if you are claustrophobic! The prompter must know everyone’s lines in all different languages, and if someone forgets something, they simply glance down to the box and see the prompter mouthing the words to them. It is literally a chair inside a black wooden box with their head just above stage level.
Next we walked behind the pit and below the stage and saw several levels of sets with lots of ropes, pulleys, and steel staircases. We worked our way through lots of passages and corridors with “watch your head” signs everywhere, and went up and down many steel stair cases.
Finally we made it to the orchestra rehearsal room. Guy Piddington was practicing in here when we stepped inside (sounded great!). It’s a huge room with hardwood floors that’s large enough to have full rehearsals when other things are happening out in the main hall. Then we peeked in the next rehearsal hall and saw the singers for a different opera rehearsing with a piano player. This place had something going on in absolutely every space!
We passed by the cafeteria and then out to the main hall where my Wife snapped a picture of David and me. All I can say is, “What a treat!” The rest of the opera was superb and this is an experience that will stay with me forever!
Thanks David!
__________________
Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona |