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L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O
18
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January 28 - February 24, 2017
The Night the Lights Went Out
I was a supernumerary in two operas at Lyric – one was Verdi’s grand opera,
Aida.
We supers were painted blue, on our knees, crawling across the stage
as a large group of silent, gesturing beggars. Each action taken by everyone
in an opera is done to the second!! PRECISION makes the magic happen.
The backstage is as magical as the main stage.
One night during the last act of the opera,
in the middle of the aria...all the lights went
out!!! We were all onstage and everyone in the
auditorium was in total darkness. The aria was
performed in
total darkness
. I realized, as silence
surrounded us, exactly what is meant by the
statement “to feel the audience is with us.” The
support the entire audience sent to those of us
onstage was palpable. We became
one
with the
audience. I will always remember this one night,
out of many that came before – and after – as the
night the lights went out, and I experienced an
epiphany!!!!
Virginia Leah Ferrara
(Chicago)
A Venue to Cherish
Aside from the fact that I’m of Italian heritage, my love of opera goes back to when I was a child. I have memories of my
grandfather cranking up an old Victrola, and playing Enrico Caruso’s 78rpm recordings. I must have listened to “La donna
è mobile” at least a million times.
As a child, I always was fascinated with the film scores of the movies I was watching. Basically all the cartoons I watched
were made in the 1940s and early ’50s All had classical scores. These were exhilarating to my young ears. I first heard
“Figaro, Figaro” in a Disney cartoon. In hindsight, as I became older and more familiar with the way the world works, the
main reason this music was used is because all of these guys were dead, they didn’t have to obtain permission, and didn’t have
to pay royalties!!!!! Haaaaa!!!
Why I love Lyric: I haven’t much live experience with opera companies, but as a
working crew member of many bands, I’ve played in many venues – you’d be surprised
how many towns have old opera houses and theaters. The Civic Opera House is a
world-class venue to hear music.
I enjoy dressing up four or five times a year and going to the opera. I like
taking my picture with the mannequins in costume you have down in the
lower level – my opera “dates”!
Louis Trombino
(Midlothian)
DAN REST
A 78rpm disc of Enrico Caruso singing “La donna è
mobile” from
Rigoletto
, a performance that helped to
instill Louis Trombino’s lifelong love of opera.
Audience member Virginia Leah Ferrara
has played a “blue super” in Lyric’s
Aida.
The supers are pictured in the 2004-05
revival, with Carlo Guelfi as Amonasro
and Andrea Gruber in the title role.