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L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O
18
|
November 19 - December 7, 2016
WILLIAM DENTON,
Principal Trumpet
I think the singers realize that they aren’t
singing in a bubble. While it’s true we
mostly fill an accompaniment role, like
in great visual art, the background is
every bit as important as the subject.
For conductors, clarity while preserving
the music is very important. There are
conductors who are good technicians
and easy to follow but have a dry
interpretation. Others are very emotive
but very difficult to decipher.
TERESA FREAM,
Violin
I would like for them to know and
understand the rich history this company
enjoys, and our deep ties to Italian
tradition.
MELISSA TRIER KIRK,
Viola
The Lyric Opera Orchestra has excellent
ears and is used to accompanying singers.
You are in good hands!
WILLIAM CERNOTA,
Cello
This orchestra has an incredibly high morale,
closeness, mutual respect and support – the
highest I have experienced in my orchestral
career. It’s also an ensemble that values
a conductor who raises the bar as high
as the group can go and values a singer
who is willing to take risks and can have a
dramatic impact on our 74 members and
the audience. Have trust in our flexibility
and take risks that you may not feel
comfortable taking with other orchestras.
We listen carefully and can turn on a dime
when necessary. My first experience of this
was when a singer skipped several measures:
the orchestra intuitively became quiet and
jumped as one to the correct place in the
music. On a more microscopic level, this
happens in every performance.
FRANK BABBITT,
Viola
I’m extraordinarily proud of the work
ethic of this orchestra; nothing is more
important than sounding our absolute
best at all times throughout the run of
any production. This orchestra truly
loves to work and will give all it can to
whomever is on the podium, regardless of
whether they are internationally famous
or just beginning their careers.
LEWIS KIRK,
Assistant Principal
Bassoon/Contrabassoon
There's a lot of collected experience in
our orchestra. A conductor or singer
can learn a great deal from us about
how Davis, Gatti, Elder, or Bartoletti
conducted a particular piece, or how
Terfel or Te Kanawa sang it. Also we'd
like them to know that we want, just
as much as they do, for this to be the
greatest performance possible.
What would you like debuting conductors and singers to know
about this orchestra, in order to ensure a fruitful collaboration?
How do you cope with
extremes of style in the same
season, sometimes back to
back on consecutive days?
TERESA FREAM,
Violin
This is part of our training. I believe
you must be very aware of what defines
a particular musical style, and dive into
that wholly and completely. It goes way,
way beyond playing the right notes at
the right time – which itself can be quite
difficult – and is the thing that makes a
good orchestra great. I think we have a
great orchestra.
JEREMY MOELLER,
Principal Trombone
Going from one extreme style to another
is just part of our job. Two years ago,
we were rotating between
Tannhäuser,
Tosca
, and
The Passenger
back to back to
back. That got tough, but it was actually
toughest just to remember which opera
we were playing that night. Once the
music gets started, it gets easy to get into
the part!
If you were an opera singer,
what character in one of
the 2016-17 operas would
you most like to portray
and why?
WILLIAM DENTON,
Principal Trumpet
I don’t have any idea. From where I sit, I
get to be all the characters in a small way.
MELISSA TRIER KIRK,
Viola
I’m ready for a good mad scene, so I
would be Lucia in
Lucia di Lammermoor
!
JEREMY MOELLER,
Principal Trombone
If I had to pick one character from this
season’s operas, it would probably have
to be Donner in
Das Rheingold
. He
certainly doesn’t have the biggest part
in the opera, but I can’t think of any
trombone player who wouldn’t want to
be
“
God of Thunder” for a day!
ANDREW HESSE
complicated passages I’ll look at a score so
I make sure I know exactly how my part
fits in with the other instruments.
IAN HALLAS,
Double Bass
I usually have everything I’m going
to practice laid out the day before,
and I’ve found that especially helpful
when dealing with a 40- or 50-page
part. Otherwise, it would be extremely
overwhelming to simply start at page one
every day and try to work through the
book – even when not everything needs
to be looked at.
On top of that,
it can be hard to
remember that
a few of these
productions need
to be under the
fingers at all
times. It really
comes down to
organization and
prioritizing the truly difficult or exposed
passages.
DEL HALL