You can find a few videos on YouTube of ‘Così fan tutte: Some Assembly Required’ … but I’ll post just a couple here for you to view.

This first gives you an example of what was done during the first half of the evening; this is a sample of what the recitative would sound like if the singers were to sing in perfect rhythm what is written rather than the way they are normally done, in the more believable, conversational, flowing way. Note the huge difference!:

I missed this lovely portion of the opera … but you can hear Cory Tiffin on first clarinet, whom I met a year ago when he came to San Francisco

clarinets – Cory Tiffin, Boris Shpitalnik
bassoons – Daniel Liao and Berke Hi
Ferrando – tenor John Carlo Pierce
Guglielmo – baritone Gregory Gerbrandt

I would love to see “Some Assembly Required” become an annual event, doing a different opera each year (I wonder if it might be easier to assemble one that uses a smaller orchestra?) I would love it, too, if Jennifer would have me back. And of course I would love it if it worked with my schedule. (Psst, Jennifer … I rarely have anything in August!) I think this could really grow into something great.

I’ll end with my two faves from Act 1
from Part 1 of ‘Così fan tutte: Some Assembly Required’
at the Gershwin Hotel, Aug 17-22, 2010:

Act I, No. 9 Quintet “Di scrivermi… ogni giorno!”

CAROLINE WORRA – Fiordiligi
JENNIFER BERKEBILE – Dorabella
BRIAN ANDERSON – Ferrando
JAMES BOBICK – Guglielmo
DENNIS BLACKWELL – Don Alfonso

Fiordiligi – soprano Caroline Worra
Dorabella – mezzo-soprano Jennifer Berkebile
Don Alfonso – baritone Dennis Blackwell

Figures there would be no oboes in my faves, eh?

If Dan gets some more pictures to me I might just post them later today or this week at some point.