Played Madam Butterfly by Puccini. It was so exhausting! Can anyone relate? Is there any ways of getting through these things easier! Ha
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Double Bass Just played a 3 hr. Opera th past three days straight!
- Thread starter Blass702
- Start date
Well, I've done musicals but never an opera. My only advice is to make friends with the low brass, who usually have the best jokes and embarrassing stories about the conductor. Another survival skill, on a more serious note, is not to eat a heavy meal before the show.
Musicals are like that. I did a few in high school and college and I'm not looking to repeat those experiences. It's really a lot of work!
Worst part is, after the last night all the actors/singers are seemingly overwhelmed with Flowers and Photo Ops. As for the bass players, all we get to do is pack up our crap, tear down the pit and go through the late night drive through at Wendy's. Once I even got scolded by the production director for having the audacity to bring a sunkist into the pit. Oh and if you view it as an opportunity to hit on the sexy lead actress, keep dreaming.
Hate these things!!!
Hate these things!!!
I learned as early as high school that the "cast party" is for everybody but the musicians. It bothered me for roughly ten minutes. Then I remembered that I was getting paid.
My first gigs were playing cello in pits.
My first gigs were playing cello in pits.
For musicals I tend to play electric whenever possible. It is just less tiring then upright with less gear to move around (if you can use the house amp that is). I will always favor the upright bass but when it comes to a 3-4 hour musical with one break you gotta do what you gotta do.
Lucky you man! That r"cast party" rule is the same today, except I DONT get paid. Its required
Wow, you guys have some horror stories. Haha. My opera was just exhausting because it was three hrs long and it was three days straight. The cast was nice to me and I got hit on a few times by some of the singers (I'm engaged so it didn't matter.. Haha). I even got offered to go drink with them all on the strip (i live in vegas) for the cast party. Unfortunately it was for the college and required so I didn't get payed.. Haha. Thanks for all the replies everyone!
3 hours? That just make the beer and snacks after taste all the better!
A friend of mine played the Ring cycle a one week period. He said it was pretty exhausting. One opera was a 2.5 hour first act, a half hour break, 1.5 hour second act, a half hour break, then another 1.5 hour act. Blah! That's like playing Beethoven 9, Schubert Great C major and Mahler 2 in one concert.
He said all you could think of was how to survive until the end of the run. It was good coin though.
A friend of mine played the Ring cycle a one week period. He said it was pretty exhausting. One opera was a 2.5 hour first act, a half hour break, 1.5 hour second act, a half hour break, then another 1.5 hour act. Blah! That's like playing Beethoven 9, Schubert Great C major and Mahler 2 in one concert.
He said all you could think of was how to survive until the end of the run. It was good coin though.
Reminds me of an old joke, perhaps from Groucho Marx:
"Went to the opera the other night. When they started playing, I looked at my watch. It was 7:30. After they'd sung and played for several hours, I looked at my watch again. It was 7:45."
This!
At 2:00, I'll be on my third show of four of "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"--it is pretty exhausting playing for three hours, but I wouldn't rather be anywhere else, honestly.
I'm 16, and the musical is conducted by the school, so I know everyone playing in the pit to some degree--you develop some inside jokes and whatnot that counteract the pain of sitting on the lip of a stool and standing for 1 and 1/2 hours at a time.
But yeah, the low brass in my pit are great guys. French Horn player, our two trumpeters and the trombone are a lot of fun to play with. The flutes don't play for most of the show and they're really energetic girls who can put you in a great mood just by being around them.
I've been eating salads for the past week because I can't make anything fast enough, really, and I've found when I eat a little before the show, so that I'm hungry halfway through it and not bogged down with a lot of food, my playing and attentiveness improves. At the end of the show I make a huge salad and barrel into that, but it's a well-earned meal, I think. ;D
I'm pretty late to the party, but I didn't want your reference to go unappreciated.
As for operas, I kind of like them. Being hidden away in the pit takes the spotlight off of you, but you still get to play music and have fun. That, and it seems like opera is more interactive and unpredictable playing than orchestra, since there's always some unplanned nonsense happening on stage at some point. Just finished a run of Fledermaus and had a great time, even if it was pretty exhausting.
Also, this thread should probably get moved to miscellaneous.
I thought it was moved here, actually. I remember seeing it either in the miscellaneous section, I think?
3 performances in a week and your complaining? I'm doing the Billy Elliott musical 8 x's a week at 3 hours a pop for a whole month! We have five shows over the weekend. 
This week is cake after opening last week and needing soundcheck and rehearsal.
This week is cake after opening last week and needing soundcheck and rehearsal.
Ugh... I find anything Theater-related to be absolutely GRUELING, much less doing it for 3 hours!
I dislike having to remember verbal cues from the actors, as I generally prefer to zone out during the acting after the 3rd or 4th time through...
I dislike having to remember verbal cues from the actors, as I generally prefer to zone out during the acting after the 3rd or 4th time through...
