More Tosca Info

This photo is from the same rehearsal as the last one. Notice a few things - first, that the rehearsal is not in the theatre. In fact, we will actually spend very little time in the actual hall with the real set during the two and a half weeks of rehearsals. Similarly, none of the furniture is actually what we will be using. The pieces used are roughly the same size, and the set is represented by lines of tape on the floor. As you might guess, some imagination is required - just like in workshop classes. Opera Illinois is fortunate to have its own rehearsal space - there are many regional companies that rehearse in churches or other shared spaces. We will work on Act III tomorrow, so stay tuned...

Baritone stabbing 101

Today at my Tosca rehearsal at Opera Illinois, you can see the soprano and baritone practicing the famous stabbing scene from Act II. They are practicing for "martial realism", where the bloody deed looks real from the audiences point of view, but without all that painful knife-in-your-guts-bleeding-to-death that happens with a real stabbing. Hopefully I'll be able to give you some more inside photos as rehearsals progress. You can check out the opera company's web page about the show here.

Dr. T