After a restful weekend, the intrepid POGO troupe assembled on a chilly Monday morning ready for another week of staging rehearsals!

Monday was a work through day.  We started at the beginning and scene by scene we went through fixing and polishing The Magic Flute.  There was lots of repetition, but it was a very productive and rewarding day.

We had a safety class on Tuesday.  On the Portland Opera To Go tour we are our own road crew, therefore, we needed instruction on proper lifting and carrying procedures.  Mission accomplished!  After the meeting we had another run through.  The show is going to be awesome!  Everyone sounds amazing!  At 1 o’clock we broke for lunch.

Most of the artists are really good about fixing their own lunches, but I like to sample the cafes around the opera.  Cooper’s Coffee is a great place for lunch.  Cooper’s has great sandwiches, wraps, soups, and an amazing Mediterranean quiche.    Across from Cooper’s is a great little taco truck!  La Merced has handmade tamales and some of the best burritos I have ever had!  Kevin, Anthony,  Claudia and I all give La Merced 2 thumbs up!  This is my 9th season with POGO, and one of my favorite lunch spots is Tennessee Red’s.  They make some great BBQ on 11th and Grant!

As of Saturday, with the help of our fearless leaders, Alexis Hamilton & Kristine McIntyre, POGO has already completed the staging of The Magic Flute. Everyone is excited to bring this revival to the masses across the State. I, for one, may just bust from excitement before our second week of rehearsals can be completed. Our morning starts have been given a little boost by the close proximity of coffee and chocolate bars, but the ball quickly gets rolling and we’re off to the races for the rest of the day.
 

A few photos from our rehearsals!

We have lots of great treats to offer this year! Returning POGO members are Ainsley Soutiere as “Pamina,” (that's me!) Dru Rutledge as “Papagena / 2nd Lady,” Stacey Murdock reviving the role of “Papageno,” collaborative pianist David Saffert, and tour manager Samm Hawkins. We are also so excited to have new friends from all over the country join us! Anthony Ballard as “Tamino,” Claudia Chapa as “3rd Lady,” Kevin Bertin as “Sarastro” and Ksenia Popova as “The Queen of the Night / 1st Lady”. These new artists have so much to offer to POGO, the kids, and are fantastic singers to boot! Stay tuned to the blogs, you will love their approach to this experience.