One of the things that constantly delights me during performances of Rinaldo is what I call the 'theorbo petting zoo.' I look down from the spot booth and there's John Lenti, our lutenist, standing at the rail of the pit, explaining his instrument to yet another group of interested patrons. John is one of the kindest and most affable musicians I've ever worked with, which is a blessing, because he and his instruments sure get a lot of attention!

All the instruments of Rinaldo are either period or period-style instruments. Though we didn't have space in our program to list them all, every instrument down in the pit has its own story. Many of the string instruments are as old as this opera. The others are meticulously crafted to exactly match instruments of the period. The harpsichords are both built as reproductions of particular instruments of their day (one harpsichord by Owen Daly, the other by Byron Will, both of them Oregonians! We are lucky to have Byron tuning both instruments before and during each performance). The tiny piccolo you see on stage in one number is not the same instrument you'd hear playing 'Stars and Stripes Forever' -- ours is much harder to play!

Though all of them are, frankly, amazing, I thought I'd explain a few of the more 'alien' instruments in today's post. These are the ones that look, sound, or play the least like their modern counterparts.

Theorbo

Rinaldo rehearsals are mostly finished now. We had a very grueling last 7 days -- I personally worked an 80 hour week and I know the production staff did the same -- but now the show is fully on its feet, and might I say, it is SO MUCH FUN. There might have been a moment during last night's piano dress rehearsal -- the first time we get full costumes, makeup, wigs, and (for the most part) lighting -- when I actually leaped out of my chair in excitement. (I was up in the spot booth running supertext so it wasn't too disruptive). I won't tell you what caused me to do it because it would ruin a tremendously wonderful moment for you, but guys: this show is so cool.

As you can imagine, we are all pretty tired by this point, yours truly included, so I only want to talk a little bit today about what you can expect to hear during our performances of Rinaldo. Most of the arias you will hear in this opera are in ABA format. In the A section, you hear the 'main' melody, in which the singer sings the main idea, with 'idea' being both musical and textual in nature. Then you hear the B section, which frequently changes, say, to the minor key relative of the A section's major key. The text of the B section is frequently in contrast to the A section: a character's waffling back and forth between ideas. Then the A section returns.

Last week, while everybody else was celebrating presidential birthdays (presumably this is what you did with last Monday's federal holiday), those of us who run and attend rehearsals were here in our studio bright and early to attend a design presentation from our director and designer, and then the first 'sing-thru' of Rinaldo. We kind of can't believe it, having only closed Tosca a week before (!).

Because we build it from scratch each year, the Newmark show is very special to us. There's something indescribably cozy about the process, because it is almost entirely an 'in house' production -- there are normally very few guest artists or designers. And it's true again this year: the whole cast is made up of current or former Resident Artists. There's a lot more work involved, because, of course, we're building it from scratch, but it's also immensely satisfying, a very different kind of satisfying than the other shows we produce. Plus, the Newmark is a beautiful space and we always have a lot of fun over there.

Part of the set of Rinaldo, built for us by local scene shop Stage Right. Yes, that is a sink.