I learned about the importance of stage safety from years of sometimes hard experiences. Around 1974, in the Met’s Romeo and Juliet, I was doing my staged “dying” as Mercutio,
“Opera almost always has more vio lence on stage than (non-musical) drama. Just about every production I work with, I run into a singer who has been injured in a
I was seriously injured on opening night doing a fight scene with an Italian whose English was very limited. There was no translator provided in rehearsals so he probably didn’t
…a colleague became ill onstage? We had a chorister die on stage, of a stroke; she just collapsed in the middle of the big opening scene in Otello, was helped
At a Met Trovatore with Price and Domingo, the lighting designer reduced the lights during “Di quella pira” except for a spotlight on Domingo. As he finished with “all’armi,” he
Dead singers don’t get jobs. Sick and injured singers don’t get much work either. Companies tend not to hire singers who have canceled performances due to a chronic illness, who
International opera star Fabio Armiliato could talk about his recent triumph at Carnegie Hall as OONY’s Polliuto, his international career, or his reputation as “The Cybertenor.” He could discuss how he uses computers for coaches, his interest in opera education, etc. But instead, he agreed to share his experience on a topic he rarely speaks about anymore—“the accident.” He said, “This time the account will be read by singers who really do need to know what happened and how to prevent it from happening again. When performers forget safety, we are all in trouble!”
Singers rarely see or hear the recorded version of their own performances, unless the performance is broadcast or someone in-house bends the rules. Strict limitations are intended to protect the
Singers and performing companies may not legally record performances or rehearsals without following strict guidelines negotiated by performers’ unions. Many singers would like to use these tapes to build their
Tenor Bruce Fowler and Mezzo Vivica Genaux will appear on July 18th in the Caramoor Festival Production of Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia
In Massachusetts, it’s the third Monday in April, Patriot’s Day, the day of the Boston Marathon. Since I moved to Boston almost three years ago, I’ve been amazed at the
Last year, Christopher Hogwood and the Handel & Haydn Society were in town at BAM and I wanted to sing for him while he was here, but there just wasn’t
