The dress rehearsal we attended last night was quite an extravaganza. First there was the world premiere of a (too long) one-act opera that was supposed to provide some context for Carmina Burana. It did that, but was not very strong material. The opening was very derivative of the opening of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera with a baron and a bookseller competing for the book of poems on which Carmina Burana is based. Then, the rest of it was, "I have the book" and "I want the book" back and forth. I found the scenery, lighting, and visual effects more interesting than the piece. The second act was the actual Carmina Burana performed by the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dayton Ballet, and the orchestra and opera choruses. The 3 main characters from the one-act opera were the soloists and got in the way of the dancers from time to time.
We did get to see a little behind the scenes stuff during intermission. Maestro Gittelman wanted to run the auction scene to correct some timing issues. It was also amusing when he messed up his part of the curtain call. They made us leave after that, but we could hear the strains of "O Fortuna" as we were leaving, so I guess there was still some work to do. I'll find out more from Sharon (opera chorister) when I see her tonight at book group.
