Suki wrote:
<<Next round: I sang "Ah non credea mirarti" from Sonnambula, the tenor sang "O Paradiso" and then dropped dead of a heart attack.>>
<<Anybody else ever been through this kind of thing? I'm still stunned. >>
I haven't been through this experience exactly, but have had a couple of similar experiences, though none ending so dreadfully. Last year I was singing in a semi-staged performance of a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta at a local church. An elderly member of the congregation was in the audience, and just as the performance was beginning (the pianist was playing the overture), he fell unconscious. The pianist continued playing until the overture was completed, and we ladies of the chorus were waiting for our entrance in the Narthex. The gentleman fortunately regained consciousness and was helped by his companions to the Narthex. The ambulance arrived a few minutes later and the gentleman was examined by the EMS. The ambulance didn't need to take him to the hospital, but the gentleman was advised to see his personal physician ASAP. Needless to say, he and his family left, and an announcement was made to the audience, and the show continued without further incident.
I also sang in the chorus of an opera performance (of Carmen) where our Escamillo had a very bad case of the flu, but was helped on and off stage with a minimum of singing so that the opera could proceed. While he was >seated< on stage, he fainted (he didn't fall - his head went down onto the table), but he recovered. His wife (the Carmen) said a few lines to him (we were using spoken text rather than recitative in this performance), he responded, and he was helped off stage. For the rest of the performance, all the character's musical numbers were cut, and a "super" was dressed in his costume to speak a couple of lines in the one place where this was essential. The audience was only told beforehand of the singer's illness, but otherwise did not know there was anything amiss with the performance. Only a couple of people who knew the couple and noticed the wife's distressed expression guessed there was something wrong. The singer recovered from his illness, and was back to ! ! normal within a week.
Peggy
--- Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA mailto:peggyh@i... "Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
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