Backstage at the Met

Music Lane

It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes.

Last weekend's trip to NYC included a Metropolitan Opera performance of Rossini's "Barber" in which my friend John D-C, an avid audiophile, sang the Bartolo. Working this connection for all it was worth, we got primo seats (row C, aisle) and were placed on the Backstage list for post-performance visiting.
So just what do you get for your $205-a-pop plush red chair at the Met? No less than the best the world of opera has to offer. I've visited many great European houses--Vienna, La Scala, Rome, Covent Garden, Berlin, Salzburg--and the San Francisco Opera is home territory, so I have attended rehearsals, performances and, as an AES SF Section bigwig, backstage. When I lived in Munich I worked and hung out with singers, Americans in particular, by the dozen. It was my introduction to the world of serious music and had career consequences which persist to this day.
The new Met (opened 1965, replacing the cramped 39th St house built in 1883) is cavernous, seating 4000. The auditorium boasts the classic horseshoe shape, and orchestra seats are raked up towards the back. Our seats were within 10ft of the pit with excellent views of orchestra, conductor, and singers. The Met orchestra is so good it tours regularly as a symphony, with sweet strings, delicate and nimble winds, and clear but subdued brass and percussion. And I do mean subdued. It takes big voices to big heard in such a vast space, so the orchestra accommodates them by never playing much above forte.
However, in the many ensembles pivotal to Rossini's masterpiece (on the Met's first program in 1883, with 500 performances since!) chorus and orchestra combined to thrilling effect. Direction, costumes, stagecraft (four rotating sets 35'W x 25'H sturdy enough to hold 25 choristers and 6 principals on 2 levels for seamless scene changes), and above all voices, virtually define what you can do with this music at the high international level.
Most impressive of all, cast, orchestra and conductor comported themselves as if the music had just been handed to them. All characters had to sing while in constant motion, yet there was absolutely no confusion, no bumping, no drowned notes. The standout was my friend John, whose Bartolo was virtually in a class by himself. Huge voice, great comic timing, original schtick worked out over dozens of performances. After 187 years, "Barber's" characters still engage, the music still captivates, and the jokes still work.
The backstage area is enormous, dwarfing the huge sets being taken off the turntable. There is at least 150 ft depth of storage
so no sets end up far away. I could not actually see to the back of the area, so much room (including flys and stage trap doors) was there. I got good pix of family members, yours truly including, on stage looking out into the audience.
How does the Met sound? Excellent by opera house standards, very good by any standard. Close up there was great definition, no wolf notes or other colorations, and the only part of the musical spectrum I could fault is the low bass, which bumbled considerably even with the string basses to the far left, directly in front of me. This is a function of an orchestra in a pit: the bass has no boundaries to follow and is trapped in the walls of its small enclosure.
Conductor Bruno Campanella led a lively rendition of the score with a big, clear beat. A hidden prompter mouthed every word and gave hand signals of the notes to forgetful soloists. John told us at dinner afterwards how this fine lady threw up her arms in horror and gave Basilio the "stink-eye" when he sharped and flatted several notes of his aria. But of course only John and other performers on stage can see the prompter, and Basilio is a one-dimensional comic figure, so dropping a few tones is no handicap.
On the whole I'd say the Met surpasses all competition at the moment.
John told me how he always gives his very best at the Met, just because it is, well, THE MET!
The Met has broadcast its Saturday matinee under the sponsorship of Texaco/Chevron for nearly 70 years now; this is the last year of the broadcast, victim (like the Met's recording career) of changing economic and demographic times. If you love music, or opera, or both, I recommend a visit at your earliest opportunity. The cheapest seats are only $35 and should be just fine.
As for John, he sings the last Bartolo of his current engagement tomorrow, and is in rehearsal for Benvenuto Cellini (Berlioz) never before heard here. After that it's off to Turin, Seattle, San Francisco, Aix, and the festivals. That's the artists' life: six months on the road, living in hotels or small apartments, daily study and rehearsals, and performing every 5 to 7 days. Now in his early fifties, John's voice is in its prime, thanks to solid training and his being careful not to oversing (he tells me this having strode offstage holding an Eflat fortissimo for at least 15 seconds!).
John hopes to sing into his 60's, and I wish him all the best.
Big B

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Topic - Backstage at the Met - Brian Cheney 18:52:50 11/13/03 (8)

So far, so good - Moldog 17:05:12 11/17/03 (0)

Re: Backstage at the Met -- caveat! - chicagomike 17:29:17 11/14/03 (4)

Re: Backstage at the Met -- caveat! - Brian Cheney 19:07:05 11/14/03 (3)

Re: Backstage at the Met -- caveat! - chicagomike 20:16:52 11/14/03 (2)

Re: Backstage at the Met -- caveat! - Brian Cheney 20:36:42 11/14/03 (1)

Re: Backstage at the Met -- caveat! - chicagomike 07:18:47 11/15/03 (0)

How did this modern performance stack up to the old guys? - daveclark 21:22:21 11/13/03 (1)

Re: How did this modern performance stack up to the old guys? - Brian Cheney 13:58:09 11/14/03 (0)

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