I like the idea of what you said you did for your recital, doing scenes… can you post your recital program? Deanna
Sure!
I alternated duets/ensembles with solos, sung by my graduating seniors and one adult who hadn't sung before. The performance was called "Like Real Life, Only Louder: A Voice Recital of Scenes from Opera and Musical Theater." (Taken from a friend's sig line, "Opera is a lot like real life, only louder.")
We opened with two girls dressed in formal black gowns with long black gloves ... and cat ears. Of course, they did the Cat Duet. They started out as opera divas one-upping each other, went into the 6/8 time as very "mira, o norma" and ended by fighting over a rubber fish.
After that, we did:
"Not while I'm around" "Can't help lovin' that man" (duet) "O mio babbino caro" "All that jazz" (duet) "Dulcinea" "Barcarolle" from HOFFMANN (in English, featuring two of my youngest students, one in a tux -- oh, they were cute!!) "Lasciatemi morire" "How do you solve a problem like Maria" "Try to remember" "If momma was married" INTERMISSION
"This is the moment" "Trees on the mountain/I'm a lonely man, Susannah" (This I cut udiciously -- these kids were very young to sing it but they both have huge voices and it was amazing - my Susannah had never acted before and she just tore up the stage!!!) "Suppertime" "April Showers" (which I staged with a small child singing the melody and 3 of my older girls as backup singers, all wearing rubberized raincoats and carrying umbrellas!) "Bring him home" (adult tenor) "Kiss me/ladies in their sensitivities" (Sweeney Todd quartet - quite difficult - we just did that concert version and they kicked butt) "Take me to the world" FINALE: "Make our garden grow"
Lasted about 90 mins with intermission and my presentation of flowers to my graduating seniors.
It was fun - I want to get that duet from FOR THE BOYS though! I love that! I hope to do this as a year-end recital every year - I also discovered I LOVE to direct.
Christine Thomas, Mezzo Soprano
"I love to sing-a, about the moon-a and the June-a and the spring-a!"
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