Oh-oh! Guess who did not come to the rehearsal today?
I left my residence, which is all of two blocks north of the Met. On the way, I was sure that I saw Angela walking in the same direction. This struck me as odd, as I knew that she was staying south of Lincoln Center. And it was only 30 minutes before rehearsal was scheduled to begin.
Upon arrival, I checked in with the musical crew. About seven minutes before we were to start, Craig came over to the pit, grumbling about problematic sopranos, only not in very nice words at all. The rest of us did not understand what was going on and it was then that we were informed that Angela said she was too tired to sing and act today.
Now what were we supposed to do?

[and further down on the entry …]

Looking at the orchestra, whom I had only seen twice before, there were some faces that were not familiar. With a standard rep opera this is not uncommon. Everyone is supposed to know the music backward and forward. Traviata is performed practically every year at the Met.
But what I might have said in rehearsal to one player, or a section, may not have been put in the music. And so there were a couple of minor traffic accidents. The players always caught themselves but it still seemed awkward at certain moments.

-Leonard Slatikin

Days and Nights at the Opera (Part II)

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