Directed by Ira Siff, who managed a winning “Cosi Fan Tutti” here a few seasons ago, this “Don Gio-gfgbugcw0
cw-4vanni” was highlighted by clever acting and excellent singing.
(Yes, the spacing was like that.)
Sometimes things just make me laugh. This was one of ’em. I’m going to guess it gets fixed soon, so this link my not show the problem any more.
I’m still trying to figure out how to pronounce “Don Gio-gfgbugcw0
cw-4vanni”
😉
… I’ll be meeting up with my carpool to go to the first Cosi fan tutte rehearsal. I haven’t worked for so long … my last job was June 7. Wow! Close to 2 months. Let’s hope I remember how to play well with others. 😉
Here is the overture and E la fede delle femmine:
As you can hear, the principal oboe has a bit of an important part in the overture. I’ve heard both the opening solo and the faster part at so many different tempi I never know what to expect with a new conductor. When I practice I work on everything at a variety of tempi, just to make sure I can do whatever the conductor asks. And of course the one tricky bit near the end of the opera is the biggest question mark of all. Time will tell!
You can hear the oboe solo at about 2:55 in the following video (I’ve done the solo at that tempo as well as a much speedier one, so who knows what tomorrow will bring.):
You might be an oboe geek if the best thing to happen to you all summer is an RDG half price sale on cane…
“Hallway Oboe”?? So a bassoon played in a hallway becomes an oboe? Say what?!
For something that is, perhaps, a bit more fun, here is the Bocal Majority (is this a bassoon quartet, or four hallway oboes?):
Members of competitive high school marching bands may not be considered athletes, but they work like them — and get injured like them.
Gary Granata, an exercise physiologist in New Orleans, reached that conclusion after surveying 172 members of the local Avon High School Marching Band about how hard they work.
“We saw a level of physical demands and injury incidence comparable to what we see in high school sports,” said Granata, owner of PerformWell LLC, a firm providing nutrition, fitness and wellness services to sports teams, bands and other groups.
The Avon Marching Band members completed an anonymous questionnaire for the study, which was presented at the recent annual meeting of the Indianapolis-based American College of Sports Medicine.
As a result of rehearsals or performances, 17 percent reported they were always tired, nearly 44 percent said they were frequently tired, and 38 percent indicated they were occasionally tired. Nearly one-fourth had experienced episodes of faintness or nausea after band participation, and more than half had heat-related illnesses.
Nearly all of them, 95 percent, had sore or stiff muscles after rehearsals or practices. About 39 percent reported an injury that was a direct result of band participation, while a fourth of them said they had a previous injury that was worsened by being in the band. Injuries to nearly 28 percent of them were serious enough to see a physician. A variety of injuries were reported, including those to ankles, knees, hips and lower back.
What is completely missing in the article is something I am well aware of these days: hearing loss.
Knowing more than I used to about this issue, I wish that band students would have annual hearing tests. And I wish even more that they wore musician’s earplugs — especially when they rehearse in small band rooms and blast away.
You just don’t get a second chance with your ears.
