Problems of an Operatic Producer

New Zealand Listener, Volume 18, Issue 465, 21 May 1948, Page 28

Problems of an Operatic Producer

ONG before the public had heard of the coming Carmen season in New Zealand preparatory work had been started by the NZBS in the various branches of theatrical activity which spring into life when opera is planned. As only the two principal singers are imported from England, and the rest of the company recruited in New Zealand, the producer, ‘chorus masters, costume experts and scenery painters have been working from the ground up, studying the music, casting, designing settings and attending to the mass of details which must dovetail smoothly before a production of this size is offered to the public. : Just as the music director must see that orchestra, soloists and chorus know the score, so the producer must be sure that music and movement will be intelligently combined to bring out the essential drama of the story. Bernard Beeby (supervisor of productions for the NZBS), who will produce Carmen, told The Listener-in a short interview between working out a lighting chart and calling at the Police Station to see about a permit for his operatic soldiers to shoulder muskets-something about

an opera producer’s job. First, he said, the whole opera had to be read, word by word and phrase by phrase. Then he had to listen to recordings (they were in Italian and French, but easily followed) to get an all-over picture. From all this he built up a plan of the "business," as they call it in the theatre, to be put in by the players. Timing is Vital "The production of grand opera differs from straight-out dramatic plays and musical comedy because there are no spoken words," Mr. Beeby said. "The producer must study all the movements to be made on the stage and line them up with the crotchets and quavers. In many instances the orchestra is heard alone, so stage movements must be accurately timed to fit the score; nothing can be left to chance." No two producers, he said, had exactly similar ideas, but all tried, of course, to make their productions as- picturesque and alive as possible. Once the stage plan was sketched in, rehearsals started and the next job was to teach the singers to act their parts. The whole company, principals included, worked to the instructions of the producer,

Lighting an opera is a department all its own, and that, too, must conform to the producer’s requirements. The general equipment on a stage of any size consists of footlights, border lights and strip lights. Localised lighting gear includes bunch or floodlights, spotlights and battens. And the localised group can further be divided into fixed and portable units, Units placed in the foremost part of the stage (behind the proscenium arch) illuminate the foreground; and another set of lights is generally used for the back-cloths. General illumination originating from overhead is the function of border lights which are suspended and so, arranged that they can be raised and lowered at will. Bunches and floods are used in many forms to light a given area to a higher intensity, or to flood scenery with a diffused or coloured light. Bridges spanning the whole width of the stage are suspended at various places to send shafts of light to different parts of the stage. The proscenium spotlights which are nearest the proscenium-arch can also be supported on these bridges. Aid to Imagination The true function of light in the theatre, Mr. Beeby explained, was to stimulate. the imagination. There were

no limitations to stage lighting and a producer could use his ingenuity and imagination to fhe fullest extent. In Carmen, as in other spectacular productions, all lighting went to the centte of action. In making up the plan for the electricians, the preducer started with a blackout stage, gradually building up

pools of light where they were most] effective and allowing for sunlit and moonlit scenes, "Tt’s no use having the whole stage brilliantly lit because, as in nature, there is always a shadow somewhere, A light of low power may be used for an actor entering a scene, changing to flood as he reaches the centre of action. To illuminate a piece of scenery representing a hill or a crag at night-time, lights are placed at the back, giving a misty touch with green, blue and magenta, To draw the eyes of the audience to a table or some other piece of property where action is going on, a ‘baby’ spot can be used." Another part of the producer’s job is to see that stage properties are made up correctly to period and ready for use when required. After that the stage manager takes over and then it’s up to him, "If, as in many operas, one player has to threaten another with a dagger, then he must have that dagger in his hand, or deposited in some known place where he can find it. In the latter instance, the sword; dagger, musket or whatever is wanted for the deed, comes within the category of ‘discovered’ properties, as against those in positions obvious to audience and players alike." Mr. Beeby added that the scenery for Carmen had been made specially high so that the curtain could be raised to its limit, giving people in the gallery an uninterrupted view. Minor headaches for the producer include such problems as the acquisition of quantities of the correct make-up, while the costuming for Carmen is such a big item that it has taken some weeks to manufacture just the epaulettes for the soldiers, Mr. Beeby has already visited Dunedin, where the opera opens on May 27, to look over the rehearsals. He wiil also visit each of the other centres to be played. Forty members of the National Orchestra of the NZBS and a chorus of 65 will take part in this season’s Carmen. The minor principals will be the Dunedin singers Bryan and Dora Drake (who are cousins), playing Escamillo and Micaela. Dates for "Carmen" Between Thursday, May 27, and Saturday, September 4, there will be 32 public presentations, of Carmen in New Zealand, under the direction of the NZBS. The dates of performances have now been fixed. They are: His Majesty’s Theatre, Dunedin-May 27 and 29, and June 1, 3, 5, 8, 10 and.12; Theatre Royal, Christchurch-June 24, 26 and 29, and July 1, 3, 6, 8 and 10; Grand Opera House, Wellington-July 22, 24, 27, 29, 31, and August 3, 5 and 7; His Majesty’s Theatre, Auckland-August 19, 21, 24, 26, 28, 31, and September 2 and 4. ' Carmen will be broadcast from 4YA on Tuesday, June 1, and Saturday, June 12; from 3YA on Tuesday, June 29, and Saturday, July 10; from 1YA on Tuesday, August 24, and Saturday, September 4. During the Wellington season Station, 2YD will broadcast a portion of the opera on Thursday, July 29, and on Saturday, July 31, Station 2YA will broadcast the complete performance. Station 2YC will also broadcast the whole opera on Saturday, August 7.