List of Bloggers

Monthly blog archive

Name

Jess Crawford

Bio

PDX OPERAbeat | A Company Blog is the blog for all things Portland Opera, featuring a variety of guest contributors who will provide insider's tidbits on all we do to celebrate the beauty and breadth of opera. Jess Crawford is our primary blogger. Jess spends much of her time eating enormous amounts of cake, making long lists of books she'll probably never read, and challenging people to arm-wrestling contests. During the day (and sometimes at night) she is Portland Opera's music librarian. She writes more about her escapades at her personal blog: http://bravissimi.blogspot.com

PDX OPERAbeat's Blog

DON GIOVANNI Character Breakdown

Submitted by PDX OPERAbeat on Tue, 10/30/2012 - 15:54

Jason Hardy, Mary Dunleavy, Nicholas Nelson, Sandy Eddy, Jonathan Boyd, and Stefania Dovhan sing about how big of a jerk Giovanni is.

We are in the thick of things over here. Don G -- this is the colloquial way we all seem to be referring to the show around these parts -- moved over to the Keller last Wednesday and Thursday, and we have been hot in tech mode ever since. During this week of technical and dress rehearsals, those directly involved with the production pretty much eat, sleep, and breathe whatever show we're doing. Many of the production staff arrive to the theater by 9 every morning and don't get home until midnight -- or later. During the day they focus the lights cue by cue; they fix places on the set that might need reinforcing or repainting; they modify props based on what has and hasn't worked in rehearsal. (For example, a recent comment from our director in our post-rehearsal notes session: "The blood is all wrong. And there needs to be more of it.")

The rake punished: A peek at our Don Giovanni

Submitted by PDX OPERAbeat on Mon, 10/22/2012 - 17:01

Dan Okulitch as Don Giovanni, gazing at our fantastic makeshift crucifix, hereby proving you really can make anything out of gaff tape

It's Saturday morning; I'm sitting in our first Don Giovanni orchestra reading. Normally I require beta blockers in order to function in the first reading of a show, because it's during the first orchestra rehearsal that all sorts of things I didn't realize I'd forgotten about tend to leap from the bushes. (This doesn't actually happen all that often but it could happen, so of course I get anxious about it). I worry that I forgot to mark a cut in someone's part. I worry that maybe somebody has the wrong rehearsal numbers somehow, or that I forgot that important Act I finale orchestra 3 insert (there is a great Charles Ives-ish section in the Act I finale where there are THREE DIFFERENT ORCHESTRAS all playing at once). I even worry -- seriously-- that the musicians will forget to show up. Fortunately, Don Giovanni couldn't be farther from the Big Night gala in terms of the orchestra librarian's experience. We are performing this piece without cuts, and there is little to jump out and eat me. Then again, we aren't even an hour in so ask me about this again in a week.

Clutching our pearls: Our racy Don Giovanni

First, a delightfully concise summary of the action, from PBS's website:

Big Night 2012

Submitted by PDX OPERAbeat on Tue, 09/25/2012 - 15:01

Did you hear? We threw a gala this weekend.

Side note: how do you pronounce gala? I say gal-a, like "that gal is rocking that dress." Some people say gall-a, like, "who would have the gall to say it any other way?" And some people say gay-la. All three ways are technically accurate, but we have definitely gone around the office discussing the best way to say it. The jury is out. (I'm right).

Anyway: Big Night 2012!

As last year, the lead up to our Big Night event was a whirlwind. There are a ton of logistical issues to deal with: food carts to bring in, a beer garden to permit and rope off, a giant screen to hang. T-shirts to order for the street fair staff, bands to hire, volunteers to organize.

Exceptionally attractive stars of locally-shot TV shows to hire as emcee. OMG.

Sasha Roiz, who plays Captain Renard on NBC's Grimm, with (from L): Tracy Wenckus, Lauren Bryan, Claudie Fisher, Julia Sheridan, and Casey McDermott, members of our Communications team

Also: sheet music to rent, sheet music to buy, sheet music to build, book, copy, distribute, cut, rearrange, sort, erase, remark, etc. Also, shiny new orchestra folders to build out of black cardstock and gaff tape.

folder-making station.