A Lazy Person's Guide to Opera: Don Giovanni - Part 3

I have figured out that people who don't like opera seem to have one thing in common - they don't know anything about it.  So, I've provided a few tips on enjoying opera: (1) Try not to read the supertitles the whole time! and (2) Remember, operas are NOT movies.  With today's tip, I hope to give you the secret to why opera is fun.

Tip #3: Be a Snob! - Appreciating and Expecting the Impossible

The funnest part about opera is that it is so difficult.  Composers know this, singers know this, and now you do.  Composers wrote difficult music on purpose, singers spend months preparing and training for the most difficult moments, which are usually no more than a few seconds long.  For the audience, this is GOLD!  No matter what, it's worth getting excited about.  If the singer performs the hard parts well, it's really exciting.  And if they completely fall apart in a difficult section, we won't admit to cheering for this but it is equally exciting nonetheless.

So, why be a snob?  Well, you're not really a snob - you're a fan.  And to be a good fan, you have to know what to look and listen for.  It's just like a basketball fan in a lot of ways.  You have to know strategy and technique and you certainly have to appreciate the half court shots and big dunks.

The most important part is knowing the music.  In this case, (Don Giovanni) Mozart wrote in a very clean and perfect style that's called the Classical style, which was the style during the Classical period (1750-1830).  So, not all pretentious, artsy-fartsy music is Classical, just the music in this period.  There's nothing too confusing about Classical music, so you will have no problem understanding what can be problematic for singers: high notes, holding a note for a long time, singing a bunch of notes really fast, jumping from low notes to high notes, etc.

So, let's try it out with a few moments from Don Giovanni.

Ok, now listen for all of the high notes that she has to hold out.  Each of those takes a lot of air, and as soon as she gets a breath she has to sing another high note.  And even when you think it's over, Mozart keeps it going - how cruel.  But this is very exciting - she sings this immaculately!  What an athlete!  Trust me, her abs are getting a huge workout.

I love Bryn Terfel, but this is not one of his shining moments.  This aria keeps me on the edge of my seat to see if (1) he can get all the words out and (2) to see at what point he passes out from not breathing.  Mozart was really mean when he wrote this.  It's only a minute and a half, but he gives no chances to rest or breathe.  It gets really exciting about halfway through when it sounds like it could end soon, but instead Mozart puts in a held high note, then teases us again, and keeps giving him all kinds of leaps and a bunch of words.  So, he barely stayed alive, but I sure was excited to see if he would make it.



I have to sing this aria in our production, and I have to say it is one of the most difficult arias I've ever had to sing.  I get so nervous watching him between 1:00 and 2:00, he looks like he's about to give up or lay an egg on the high note, then he has to sing all of those pesky runs.  Once again, Mozart pushes the physical limits of the human body, but Stuart makes it through.  Not everyone makes it with this aria.

Now you should be able to go back and listen to these again and have your own opinions, but a live performance is like nothing else.  Sometimes the most glorious and virtuosic music is made and it is so exciting.  Other times, it keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering if the singer is going to make it - honestly, I prefer the former but sometimes the tough stuff is just as exciting.

I only have one more tip to give before you can be a great lazy opera-goer, and since tomorrow is opening night (even though I'm not in it), I'll try to help you through one of the most important parts of going to an opera with Tip #4: Speak the Best Opera BS - Lingo of the Opera Elite.

Sex and Death - A Lazy Person's Guide to Don Giovanni

It's performance week for Don Giovanni!  I am very excited to perform my first opera with the Conservatory this week.  Tickets are only $13, and it will be full of sex, violence, Italian words, really old music, Tim Burton-esque designs, supertitles, and hopefully a few laughs. So, if you are interested and are in the Kansas City area, please visit us.  Like I mentioned last week, the opera is double cast, so I will only be performing on Friday at 7:30 and Sunday at 2:30 at White Recital Hall on the campus of UMKC.

Because it is a special week for me, it will be a little different for my World of Opera blog.  Every day this week, I will have a special something about Don Giovanni.  So please check back every evening for a little entertainment and some insight into what this opera is all about.

Today's post:
SEX AND DEATH - A LAZY PERSON'S GUIDE TO DON GIOVANNI

Ok, so I understand.  You don't know Italian, you don't like to read, and you think three hours of classical music can get a little too boring.  I get it, you're lazy.  I'm here to help you out though.

Tip #1 - Try not to read the supertitles the whole time! (supertitles are like subtitles in movies, but appear above the stage in operas)

I know the opera is in Italian and you want to know what is happening.  Go ahead and glance up there a few times, but for goodness sake, if you find yourself reading the whole time, you are on a dark and torturous path towards the worst kinds of sleep - the kind often experienced in high school statistics class and ends with an embarrassing snore or drool.  Reading the libretto, line by line, slowly over three hours is something you can avoid simply by understanding the plot and knowing when to look up at the supertitles.  First, you have to understand how the opera is set up.  Mozart's music is REALLY old and it follows a pretty strict form.  There are recitatives and arias or choruses.  The recitatives (or recits) are where most of the action occurs.  You should probably read the recit supertitles so you know the little details in the story.  Recits kind of sound like spoken dialogue, and it has very little accompaniment.  Pretty much any time that there isn't an aria or chorus (any time that there isn't a lot of music going on) that's a good time to read the supertitles.  As for the arias and choruses - don't feel like you have to read the supertitles all the time.  Most of the time, not much is going to happen: a singer sings "I love you" in about twelve different ways, and the other person sings "It's not you, it's me" twelve different ways.  For these moments, go ahead and watch and enjoy the beautiful music, sword fights, sex scenes, descents into hell, etc.  That's the fun part of the opera.  Let's have some practice:

Come back tomorrow evening for tip #2: Remember, Operas are NOT Movies, which will include a two paragraph lazy person's synopsis of Don Giovanni.

As for the arts crisis in Kansas, the state Senate is voting on Wednesday at 2:30 to repeal the executive order by Governor Brownback, which eliminated public funding for the arts in Kansas.  Please visit the Kansas Arts Council website to see what you can do to help in a last minute push to help overturn the order.

Also, Happy Birthday to the late Albert Einstein - one of the greatest minds in human history, and whose birthday happens to fall on Pi day (3/14 - Pi is about 3.14).  And a small unrelated note to those wanting a recording of the Monteverdi Vespers, you should hear from me later this week.  I had more people interested than I expected - sorry for the delay.

Like every week, I have some schedule additions again.  I will be performing the Star Spangled Banner at the Kansas City Royals baseball game on April 18 at 7:10 PM versus the Cleveland Indians and I will be performing the Star Spangled Banner and O Canada for Sporting KC's soccer game on June 25 at 7:30 PM versus the Vancouver Whitecaps in the beautiful and brand new soccer stadium in Kansas City.  I am a HUGE Major League Soccer fan, and I am really excited and honored to perform in only the 3rd game in their new stadium and being the first to sing Canada's National Anthem in the stadium, which will be broadcast nation-wide in Canada.

New Sporting KC Stadium

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

• Don Giovanni (Don Ottavio)- Conservatory Opera - 3/18 & 20
• Wichita Symphony Orchestra Naftzger Young Artist Auditions - 4/2-3
• National Anthem - Kansas City Royals vs. Cleveland Indians - 4/18
• Conservatory Finale  - Poulenc Gloria (probably on my top 10 favorite pieces ever) featuring the Conservatory Choirs and Orchestra - 4/23
• National Anthem - DOE Small Business Conference & Expo - Kansas City Convention Center - 5/10
• Administrative Director of the 33rd Annual Summer Choral Institute - 6/5-11
• National Anthem - Sporting KC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps - 6/25
• Sugar Creek Opera Festival (Chicago) - role: tba, opera: Daughter of the Regiment, maybe Little Women as well - 7/20-8/7
• Kansas City Symphony Chorus Auditions - tba

March Madness

What an exciting time.  Don Giovanni is opening next week at the Conservatory and I should be hearing back about my audition with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City soon - it seems like I am constantly looking forward to something. Even if there is bad news, there seems to always be something to get excited about.

The Conservatory opera, Don Giovanni, will open next Thursday and I am very excited for it.  Our preparation has been stellar - I am still trying to get used to the level of proficiency that is expected.  I am very excited that there is always someone trying to push me further.  On the other hand, it can get mentally draining at times.  I have learned so much about dealing with these situations, and if anything, it has made me take time to appreciate when I can relax, because they mean business here.  Hopefully, I haven't had too many "tenor" moments to make anyone frustrated.  I feel bad for my wife who will one day have to deal with both my "tenor" moments and "senior" moments (she probably already does deal with that).

The opera is double cast, which means that there are two complete casts.  I will be performing on Friday, March 18 and Sunday, March 20.  As part of the role of Don Ottavio, I am singing two arias (in addition to many recitatives and ensembles) that will hopefully be amazing - one of them is legitimately one of the most difficult things that I have ever had to sing.  I will give lots of information next week on that.

Also, I had my costume fitting.  We have been having a difficult time with costuming and other aspects of the production for various reasons and I won't go in to those details, but it was the location of the costume fittings that was a surprise.  The costume department is in the Kansas City Underground.  Literally right underneath downtown Kansas City there is a giant abandoned salt mine with hundreds of businesses.  You can drive right down into it from 31st street and it is HUGE.  It is a very daunting drive though - definitely not for the claustrophobic

.

Last Saturday, I was the tenor soloist for a production of Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, with a 200 person choir and orchestra.  But what really blew me away was the venue.  It is one of the largest churches that I have been to in this part of the country.  It was in Independence, MO at the world denominational headquarters for the Community of Christ.  There are two venues there, the auditorium - which on the outside looks like a mix between New York's Grand Central Station and Basketball Arena (enormous to say the least).  And the temple, which I posted a picture of last week.  It was probably one of the very best performing venues I know of or have ever performed in.  It was spectacular with a giant spiral-cone roof (I later found out that you can walk an enormous spiral staircase to the top!).  To put it another way, it was like there were two capital buildings across the street from each other.

I have a secret passion for architecture, but I will spare you the nerdy-ness of that for now.  As far as the concert was concerned, it went very very well.  The orchestra was incredible and the choir was so vibrant and energetic.  It really is an exciting piece with war marches and large choral blocks of sound that can't help but send goose bumps down your body.  I had a brief "freak-out" moment however.  In a small quartet section, I breathed in and the back of my throat dried up very fast.  I needed to cough really loud, but forced myself to fake a couple of words until it subsided.  I have never had something like that happen before.  Luckily it wasn't a solo line and it happened at a point that other voices and the orchestra were doubling what I was singing.  Nevertheless, it was scary - and it kept my blood pumping at a nice rate for the rest of the piece.

Also, this week I received the recording of the Monteverdi Vesper's Concert from last December with a chamber group made up of members from several ensembles including the St. Louis and Kansas City Symphonies.  I practically had solos in every moment (except the two all female movements).  I have put together some highlights of my solos from the piece (these are just some of the things that I did, there are many more awesome choral movements that aren't featured here - if that's what you're in to).  If you are interested in getting a complete recording, please shoot me an email at bryanpinkall@gmail.com.  Remember this is REALLY old music - 400 years old - and the style and ornaments are weird at times, with weird instruments.  Hopefully you will find it interesting.  We spent a lot of time trying to figure out some of these performance techniques.  Another interesting part was that the singers move during the piece to different parts of the church and sing from different areas giving echo effects and other exciting elements.  You should be able to tell in the recording what a difference it makes.  I find it really interesting and exciting!  Enjoy!

Another schedule addition (sort of).  I will have a short solo in the Poulenc Gloria concert in April.  This is one of my favorite pieces of all time.  And I have just learned that the Royals wanted me to perform the US and Canadian National Anthem for the Toronto series.  Unfortunately, it already conflicts with SCI in June.  Hopefully, I will be able to sing another time.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

• Don Giovanni (Don Ottavio)- Conservatory Opera - 3/18 & 20
• Wichita Symphony Orchestra Naftzger Young Artist Auditions - 4/2-3
• Conservatory Finale  - Poulenc Gloria (probably on my top 10 favorite pieces ever) featuring the Conservatory Choirs and Orchestra - 4/23
• National Anthem - DOE Small Business Conference & Expo - Kansas City Convention Center - 5/10
• Administrative Director of the 33rd Annual Summer Choral Institute - 6/5-11
• Sugar Creek Opera Festival (Chicago) - role: tba, opera: Daughter of the Regiment, maybe Little Women as well - 7/20-8/7
• Kansas City Symphony Chorus Auditions - tba

Top 10 Musical American Presidents (and other stuff)

Well, if I'm counting correctly, I'm in the middle of my twenty-first consecutive year in public school, and I am completely ashamed that I missed one the few sacred opportunities to sleep in on a school day.  After over 200 college credit hours, I still fail to read the syllabus to see that we do not have class on President's Day.  Oh, what could have been!

When life gives you lemons (or when ineptitude gives you lemons) make lemonade! And so in that spirit, last week we celebrated the historical anomalies of the canonized, and this week, I would like to celebrate our greatest Presidents, but this list will be configured not by their historical importance, but purely based on their musical taste and talents.

OUR GREATEST PRESIDENTS (based purely on musical talent)
10. Dwight Eisenhower - Although not necessarily musically talented, he had an ear for the divine.  He released an album during his last term in office that was filled with the music he loved including pieces by Bach, Strauss, Verdi, and Gershwin.
9. John Quincy Adams - He would have been higher on the list if he played anything other than the flute.  Guys just don't look good playing the flute - how embarrassing!
8. Bill Clinton - He also released two albums featuring the music he loves most - albeit less intellectual than Eisenhower - but he moves up the list because he plays the saxophone.
7. Chester Arthur - Even though he was president for only a few months after the assassination of President Garfield, Arthur should be considered one of the greatest presidents, because he played the most "American" of instruments - the banjo.
6. Woodrow Wilson - What can top the banjo?  Well, a more difficult instrument.  Wilson played the violin.
5. Harry Truman - Now we are getting to the true cream of the crop of presidents.  Truman was an accomplished pianist and frequently played Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin for visiting heads of state.
4. Richard Nixon - Now keep an open mind here, but Nixon was certainly one of the greatest presidents for two reasons: (1) He was an accomplished pianist and composer and (2) he played the accordion.  He would have been a perfect guest artist for The Lawrence Welk Show.
3. Thomas Jefferson - A true musician, Jefferson played the cello, violin, and clavichord, loved the up-and-coming Haydn, and declared that music "is the favorite passion of my soul".
2. Warren Harding - Harding was said to have played every instrument besides the trombone and clarinet.  Obviously, he or his historian is being very cocky, so I cannot give him the top spot, and realistically, there is no way that he could have played EVERY instrument and somehow miss the incredibly common trombone and clarinet (which are incredibly similar to many other instruments).  So, Harding is dropped to #2 for lying.
1. Franklin Roosevelt - Certainly the greatest president of all time, not for his courageous leadership through the Great Depression or World War II, but because he could play the organ.  I have awarded him the #1 spot based purely on intrigue.  As we all know, Roosevelt suffered from polio, which left him paralyzed from the waste down.  And we all know that to play the organ, you have to use your feet to play the pedal keyboard.  So, until I hear otherwise, I find this EXTRAORDINARY and he's certainly worthy of being our greatest president.

HONORABLE MENTION
Abraham Lincoln - He enjoyed opera and the new American music of Gottschalk, but his favorite tune was "Dixie".  I don't understand how this was not a conflict of interest, plus "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" is MUCH better than Dixie.  Can you imagine Lincoln singing "I wish I was in Dixie, Hooray! Hooray!"?
Barack Obama - He has opera on his ipod, but has much more rap.  And since I'm making this list, there's a substantial penalty for liking rap.

MONUMENTALLY MISSING THE LIST
John F. Kennedy - He was not a music lover, even though his wife was.  In an interview, Jackie answered for her husband saying that his favorite song was "Greensleeves".  Once again, I cannot take you seriously if your favorite song is Greensleeves, Pachelbel's Canon, rap, or anything requiring you to say that the best part is the "beat".
George H.W. Bush - Frankly, this comment is wrong in many ways:  "When I need a little advice about Saddam Hussein, I turn to Country Music." - George H.W. Bush from 1991

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This week should be very exciting!  Tomorrow evening I will be singing in the Conservatory Singers choir concert at a beautiful church in town (more information at the end of the blog).  We will be preforming a Bach cantata among other liturgical pieces, including one of the most difficult pieces I've ever had to sing: Arvo Paart's De profundis.  I have sung his music before, but he is a modern Minimalist composer.  His music is very chant-like, slow, and meditative - but this piece is substantially difficult because of virtually 10 minutes of singing a high E to high B (this is the very top of my range - and to do it for so long is incredibly difficult).  It should be a great concert for any liturgical choral music lover.  And, by the way, can you imagine what Bach's church must have been like?  The music is so intellectual, his musicians were probably some of the best musicians of their day.  There is something very gratifying about singing Bach because it does require so much of my mind to determine what is going on and how I am part of the mix.  There are so many details, that just performing to the best of my ability, I feel very accomplished.  To me, and to most classical musicians I think, this is much more fulfilling than plugging in the electric guitar and belting away, because the music itself rewards perfection.

Also, this Saturday I will be auditioning for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.  Their next season is their first in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, and I would do just about anything to be a part of their season. I will be auditioning for the apprentice program, comprimario roles, and the chorus.  I am so excited!!

Also, I found out this week that the Lord Nelson Mass by Haydn that I will be singing the tenor solos in will be performed with choir AND orchestra.  So, if you like loud sounds and/or appreciate Thomas Jefferson's taste in music, you should plan on attending (more information at the end of the blog).

Opera rehearsals are still in full swing.  I'm learning the art of being a weak man (go ahead, laugh)...  Very honestly, it has been very difficult (again, I'll wait until you're done laughing).  But, even though being a man that sings the very highest parts, who is also a little too skinny and still looks like a boy, I have a difficult time not getting emotionally involved (ugh, I'm not saying I need to cry or anything like that).  Oh goodness, this is a very self-degrading and emasculating paragraph, but my role in the opera is to play a weak young man (Don Ottavio) who is going after a powerful woman (Donna Anna) who is being wooed by a murderer and rapist (Don Giovanni).  Giovanni kills Donna Anna's father at the beginning of the opera, and Donna Anna wants my character, Don Ottavio, to seek revenge and kill Giovanni.  I of course am scared and actually in disbelief that Giovanni actually killed her father.  Anyway, throughout the opera, I have to let Donna Anna be more controlling in the relationship, and as an actor, I have to keep myself from being mad.  I am REALLY good at being mad - thanks to my relationship with sports - so it is hard to suppress this.  Not to mention the difficulty of relaxing my wrists when I'm using my sword in my arias (believe it or not, it actually is very difficult). --What an embarrassing paragraph! Let's just stop right here.  Here is a link to a Washington Post article someone just sent to me describing the oddities and challenges of acting in opera. If you have the time, it is a great read especially for aspiring singers and performers.

Finally, to give you an update on the arts situation in Kansas, a House sub-committee voted to repeal the Governor's order to abolish the state's public arts organization the Kansas Arts Commission, but the full committee voted to retail it.  Hopefully the Senate will abolish the act for good, but there are still many people out there, even arts enthusiasts, who are misinformed and politically motivated.  Please visit the Kansas Art's Commission site to find out how you can help, and as always please visit and attend your local arts and music events.  This week I visited the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and spent two and a half hours just on the first floor!  I saw paintings by Picasso, Degas, Monet, Dali, and almost every famous painter you can think of.  They also had an Ancient Egypt exhibit with a mummy!  I will definitely be going back to see the second floor and their modern art galleries. But the coolest things are the giant shuttlecocks on the lawn.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

• Conservatory Singers Concert of Bach Cantata No. 4 "Christ lag in Todesbanden" - 2/22 7:30pm Village Presbyterian Church, Prairie Village, KS
• Kansas City Lyric Opera Auditions - 2/26
• Tenor Soloist - Lord Nelson Mass by Haydn - Operation Breakthrough Benefit Concert at the Community of Christ Temple in Independence (where Jan Kraybill is the Principal Musician - she's one of my favorite people in the whole world) - 3/5 7:30pm
• Don Giovanni - Conservatory Opera - 3/17-20
• Wichita Symphony Orchestra Naftzger Young Artist Auditions - 4/2-3
• Conservatory Finale  - Poulenc Gloria (probably on my top 10 favorite pieces ever) featuring the Conservatory Choirs and Orchestra - 4/23
• Administrative Director of the 33rd Annual Summer Choral Institute - 6/5-11
• Sugar Creek Opera Festival (Chicago) - role: tba, opera: Daughter of the Regiment, maybe Little Women as well - 7/20-8/7
• Kansas City Symphony Chorus Auditions - tba