Singing at Tanglewood
Review of Act III from Die Meistersinger in the New York Times:
…as the players, especially the strings, started tentatively in an act that begins, after all, in medias res, in the subdued aftermath of the riotous end of Act II. But as matters progressed — with the Mastersinger and cobbler Hans Sachs coaching the young knight Walther von Stolzing for the climactic song contest, which would in the end win Walther the hand of his beloved Eva — the orchestral fabric grew richer, more coherent and more vibrant throughout its ceaseless flow.
My first Tanglewood residency as a member of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus was inspiring, at some times grueling, jovial and cathartic. The week-long rehearsal process under Maestro James Levine and alongside a full orchestra of bright young artists and internationally renowned opera stars gave me a fresh start in how a full-scale production is formed. Sort of, anyway. This was Wagner, where a single act of this opera was nearly three hours. To me, Maestro Levine’s opera knowledge gave us the color, background and story behind these culminating scenes and it made standing in the Shed under a thunderstorm more fun than it was ever imagined possible.
