From Individual Rehearsals to Stage Orchestra Rehearsals
The third cycle of performances at the Festival has begun, and the performances are running smoothly. The almost eight-week rehearsal period lays the groundwork for this, not only for new productions but also for revivals. From the first rehearsals on the rehearsal stages, to stage rehearsals with piano, to orchestral seating rehearsals, and finally to stage orchestra rehearsals, the productions are fine-tuned in the run-up to the Festival: fragments of music, singing, scenes, stage design and makeup, as well as technical processes. In the course of the process, the various aspects come together to form the Gesamtkunstwerk of music drama.
An opera production, in its creation, resembles a piece of jewelry: each individual stone, each setting, is prepared as well as possible individually. Now everything must be assembled and coordinated so that the individual parts also come into their own optimally in the ensemble. However, while a piece of jewelry can still be extensively reworked, an opera has only a limited rehearsal time: until the respective premiere.
All Threads Come Together for the First Time on Stage During Stage Orchestra Rehearsals
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– with orchestra and all the trimmings. They are the last chance to review what has been worked on before the public dress rehearsal. Three to four hours are dedicated to each act here. Many details only become visible in the spotlight and “in action”. This applies, for example, to the costumes: a soloist’s trousers are still too big – they constantly slip and hinder her singing and acting. For a soloist singing a new role, the costume looks fantastic and fits like a glove… but he cannot move according to his role. Not only for new productions, but also for revivals: what was developed in theory as an ideal solution for costume, wig, and makeup often proves unsuitable in practice during the performance and needs to be adjusted. Because the singers must now sing and move. Occasionally, costume and makeup are also a matter of type. So it can happen that a newly cast character wore a wig in the rehearsal for Act I, which was then replaced by normal hair in the rehearsal for Act II – because the overall picture was no longer right.
There is also only now an opportunity for musical fine-tuning: a Bayreuth debutant, singing with the orchestra in the pit for the first time, still has problems with the unusual acoustics of the Festspielhaus. In this unique building, with its covered orchestra pit and the wooden resonating body formed by the overall hall construction, singers can (and must) often sing more quietly than is generally customary elsewhere. The orchestra is less dominant here; the voice is, as it were, carried over the orchestral sound into the auditorium. If a singer sings at a volume that is otherwise usual, especially at the front of the stage, it sounds as if they are shouting. The conductors, in turn, who have conducted in “normal” orchestra pits and concert halls throughout the year, must get used to the Bayreuth-specific acoustics. Due to the almost enclosed pit, which sends the sound first to the stage and then to the auditorium, special rules also apply to the interplay within the orchestra. Much is theoretically prepared by the conductors in the orchestral seating rehearsals, which take place with soloists but without a choir in the restaurant, the provisional orchestra rehearsal room of the Festspielhaus. However, how it sounds in the auditorium (especially with the choir) can only be checked with the help of their assistants during the stage orchestra rehearsals. Because in the pit, the conductor hears almost nothing of the singing on stage – unlike in most other pits. He must rely solely on the announcements of his assistants sitting in the auditorium.
For the directors, who are on site with their teams for the revival, the rehearsal period also offers opportunities: in the spirit of “Werkstatt Bayreuth” (Bayreuth Workshop), they get the chance each year to review their work and make changes if they deem it necessary. Some new casting brings new ideas, or simply changes in costume and makeup. Only during the stage orchestra rehearsals can the directing team truly check whether the transitions between scenes, which were rehearsed individually with the old and new soloists, are correct. Whether not only all old, but also the 25 new members of the Festival Choir and the extras master the choreography in the stage space. And whether everyone in the big procession in Act 1 of Lohengrin can get out of their rat costumes quickly enough and find the hooks for them so that they can ascend into the stage sky. Whether the interaction between old and new soloists, choir, and extras works with the music…
The rehearsal time for an act in the stage orchestra rehearsal usually consists of a run-through and subsequent corrections. There are a variety of facets to consider. Participants from all areas of the production are present for this: direction, costume, makeup, technical, video, stage design, dramaturgy, lighting, choir, and numerous assistants. All details must be coordinated in the shortest possible time. The relatively flexible correction time helps with this, with the musical direction setting the tone. Whatever did not go optimally with the music during the run-through in terms of technical aspects, personal direction, or singing, is then specifically addressed and worked on. Details concerning direction and technical aspects must then be “dry” polished in discussion. So that every facet can shine later in the performances.
Incidentally, the production photos for the program booklets and press work are also taken during the stage orchestra rehearsals. Due to changing casts and alterations to the productions, new photos are needed every festival season. It is the only opportunity for our production photographer, Enrico Nawrath, to take photos, because the auditorium is then fully occupied during the dress rehearsal.