We've been working for four days here at Sarasota Opera - but it feels like a long week already. Since starting up on Friday morning, the apprentice artists have had 10 and 12 hour days basically every day. When we aren't in rehearsal, coaching, or classes, we're working on music, translating, memorizing, and warming ourselves up for our next whatever.
If you want a relaxing vacation in Floriday, may I recommend that you stay the hell away from Sarasota Opera. If however, you want to work your butt off, and learn Romantic opera from serious experts; if you want a music staff whose passion for 19th century music is extraordinary, all-consuming, and infectious; if you want to spend every possible minute thinking about music... then Sarasota Opera is the place for you.
I've really enjoyed it so far. Yes, the days are long. Yes, we get hardly any time to be non-musical. This really is opera camp: for three months, you're paid to do nothing but opera. I know that to a lot of people, that sounds awful... but I love it.
I will write some specifics about the kind of things I've been learning so far, but right now I'm exhausted and have worked (another) long day. Tomorrow will be much harder I think... I'll be actually applying everything I've learned over the weekend. So you guys will have to give me some time, and I promise I'll write out the choice elements of my notes.
Note to any of my Sarasota colleagues who might tease me for screwing around on the Internet (as our artistic director might put it) instead of actually doing music. I write this stuff to help solidify it in my own head. I find that I clarify things very well by writing them down... and if writing them in a public place can help out a few other singers, then I'm happy to do it. I happen to believe that our art form is in a terrible state at the moment, and anything I can do to spread the gospel of artistry as I discover it is a Mitzvah.
