The cast and directors had a little meeting this morning. It was discussed that although we all had concerns about pulling off a project of this magnitude in the time allotted, we could do a really fantastic job of a more limited production. Today's rehearsal is a "cutting board" rehearsal (my term, not an industry one). We sing through the entire show, and decide which recits etc can be cut. We'll have a limited narration to fill the audience in on the happenings they missed, but it will essentially be a normal cut production of Figaro.
And I'm relieved. At the very least, 4 hours of Italian without surtitles is a lot to ask of any audience. 2 hours and a bit is much more reasonable.
My part is not a large one, but my biggest problem is a common one - how to keep vocally warm in the long break between my scenes! My first scene, at the beginning of Act I, includes my big aria. I have to be warmed up for that. But my next entrance isn't until the Act II finale! In rehearsal at least, there's about 2 hours in between those scenes, where I'm sitting quietly studying music. That's a lot of fallow time... and so far, by the time I've come on for the rest of my singing, my voice is cold and even a bit tired. More on this later...
