Today is my only day off for the next week and a half, so I'm asking myself - what tasks do I need to get accomplished?
The big one is character development for the Ash Lawn opera scenes. The problem is, how much should one work on a character for this sort of presentation? Obviously, with time so short there's no way I can build a fully fleshed out character with depth for all of these scenes. So how far should I go? Which characters get precedence?
Personally, I'm giving preference to Bartolo first, then Leporello, then Sulpice. I give Bartolo first hit because I'll actually be performing the full character in the fall, so I need to get on that work anyways. This means reading the Beaumarchais play, and asking serious questions about this guy and how his mind works. Leporello is next, because it's a role I want to study in the next few years. By no means is it an easy role to sing, but it's a fun one, and one that gets a lot of play. Sulpice is last because when was the last time you saw Fille du Regiment? It's hardly ever done, and when it is it's a more buffo bass in that role.
I'm interested in comments here though - how much role prep should you do for a scene, or an excerpt? How much would you do?
