The Wanda L. Bass School of Music delayed mainstage opera, “Così fan tutte,” to adapt to university campus closures.
The School of Music’s production of “Così fan tutte,” was originally scheduled for Oct. 30-31, but it was delayed until Nov. 4-5 due to the power outages caused by the recent ice storm which led to the subsequent closure of the main campus on Oct. 26-30.
Matthew Sipress-Banks, guest director of “Così fan tutte,” said the production was going into its first dress rehearsal on Oct. 26, the day university shut down due to the storms.
“It was really the dress rehearsals that got us all fouled up,” Sipress-Banks said. “The show was teched, and set and ready to go. Then the storm happened on Monday, and they said ‘yeah, you can’t do it,’ which is about the same time I lost power too.”
The show was double-cast, and Sipress-Banks said the original plan after the first cancelation was to continue rehearsals as planned on Oct. 28, giving each cast one dress rehearsal before opening. He said after it became clear school would not resume for the rest of the week, Jeff Cochran, professor of stage and production management, asked the deans to delay the show.
“Wednesday and Thursday of the next week were truly the only two days the show could happen because the Kirk was scheduled for other things after,” Sipress-Banks said.
Sipress-Banks said the show restarted dress rehearsals Nov. 1, four days before the new opening.
“Dress rehearsals are your final opportunity to make those small adjustments, but I wasn’t worried. Both casts are just so good,” Sipress-Banks said.
Sipress-Banks said he was impressed by the energy and originality in the performances after the show took a week off.
“I am a proponent now for taking a week off in the middle of rehearsals because they came back and brought it. Everybody was making bigger, broader acting choices,” Sipress-Banks said. “Even if those two runs the first day we came back were the only two performances, I would have been happy.”
Jason Gonzalez Larsen, music theater/vocal performance senior, portrayed “Fernando” in “Così fan tutte.” He said the greatest concern he had going back into dress rehearsals was whether or not the cast would remember their tracks.
“We hadn’t had a chance to run the show in its entirety with either cast. In tech week, each cast only had the chance to do one act per day,” Gonzalez Larsen said. “So, taking a break from rehearsal, compounded with not having put the show together, was a little stressful.”
Gonzalez Larsen said he was pleased with how the production came together after returning from the ice storm. He said the first rehearsal after the campus reopened occurred with few issues and offered many places for the cast to build on what they developed musically and comedically.
Delanie Kinney, music theater/vocal performance senior, played “Despina” in the production. During the week away from school, she said she worried the show would be cancelled entirely and was happy when the administration worked to allow the production to continue the next week.
She said the uncertainty was stressful but thought the final product was better for it.
“I think we all kind of needed a rest. It helped our voices for sure,” Kinney said. “Some people dealt with power outages or had to go back home to their parents for a week, which is tricky, but I think a week without rehearsal or homework definitely gave us the chance to get more sleep. I know my vocal health improved.”
Kinney said she hopes the new performance dates offered students a nice distraction from the conflict in the world.
“I’m just glad we were able to put it out there, and I feel like it came at a really good time with everything happening. I think everybody needs a comedic opera in their life right now.”
“Così fan tutte” premiered at 8 p.m. Nov. 4-5 from the School of Music website via the Stretch streaming portal. The show will be available via Stretch through the end of the semester.
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