I've just returned from a glorious week singing in the Tanglewood Festival Chorus in a concert of Act III of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg and can't say enough how wonderful it was to sing in such an exceptional collaboration. Maestro James Levine taught all of us what it means to perform together in a taxing ensemble piece, and I will take his words to heart in many lessons and rehearsals to come.
Levine emphasized the meaning of ensemble and collaboration in this opera. Wagner was a pioneer in his concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, or great work of art, which means that every little facet from regional dialect in the libretto to the second violin part has a distinct meaning that has been painstakingly tweaked to perfection. Dynamics and tempo are exaggerated to add to the emotion and excitement of this act, and the orchestra plays as important a part as the principal roles.
We in the chorus also learned a lot from Levine's knowledge of the staging of Die Meistersinger and how important it was to remain engaged as if we were townsfolk mingling in the festival scene, and how we were to laugh and scorn Beckmesser's poor interpretation of Walther's song -- not an easy task when the single act is over two hours long.
My single take-away from our intensive rehearsals and concert is how important collaboration is in performance, that learning a single part or overview isn't nearly enough to properly interpret a piece of music. Our rehearsal notes stated this concept ad nauseum, so I think our conductor on to something.
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Saturday's concert was a success, though extra-dramatic due to a strong thunderstorm. The Shed proved to be a fantastic venue and our audience was enthusiastic, if a little water-logged. I couldn't ask for a better TFC debut!
Look for me in the NY Times photo shown above, too! Upper right corner, third row.
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