Success at Smetana

Saturday July 15, 2006

Well, this is it! The day we have been working toward - our performance at Smetana Hall. This week has really flown by. We've been keeping busy and having such a memorable time too, even with the few set backs. But tonight is where it culminates and we are ready!

We woke up and had a relaxed breakfast (mmm, the granola is so yummy), and the plan was to just have a small rehearsal with Dr. Walders to go over any last minute trouble spots. We were given pep talks and words of encouragement from everyone, Dr. Walders, Dr. Gutierrez, and Jirka. Then we were released for lunch and then to get all dolled up for our afternoon dress rehearsal at Smetana.

We were bused down near the concert hall, but had to walk the remainder of the way due to major road construction being done. So there we were, 140 people, dressed in black concert attire, walking past Czech construction workers, crossing over wooden planks through dust filled air, to make our way to Smetana Hall. What a sight we must have been to the locals! :-)

Once at the hall, the ooohing and aahing began. Smetana Hall is within the Municipal House. The building was so very beautiful, with an interesting stain glass piece hanging at the entrance. On the sidewalk was an advertisement for this evening's performance. We were here! We were part of Prague Proms, which I am assuming is a summer music festival of sorts, with a variety of different concerts given over the season. We really had no idea how many people to expect for our concert, but it was pretty heavily advertised around Prague.

We were excited to go inside as it had AIR CONDITIONING!! Not a very strong one, mind you, but still enough for us not to melt during our dress rehearsal! Inside was glorious! Everything was stunning with the neo-gothic architecture and art nouveau elements. At the stage end of the hall was the original organ from the high art-nouveau period. (Prague is just a melting pot of different architectural styles, which is one reason why it is such an interesting place.)


Looking from the stage out was a breathtaking view of warm glowing lights and beautiful stain glass windows, especially the huge oval window in the middle of the ceiling! This was by far the most glamorous place I have ever seen as a performer, and I have sung at Carnegie Hall!

Once situated in our singing places (I was back row, first female on right next to basses), our Maestro began the dress rehearsal. The sound that came from our group and the orchestra seemed unworldly. I could not believe that I was actually a part of the music that filled the hall with such power and beauty. It was at that moment that it finally struck me full force, how incredibly lucky I was to be here. I mean I knew I was lucky, and I couldn't thank my family enough for allowing me to go...but it was more than that. I felt as if I was about to be part of something very special.

Rehearsal went great, and then we were allowed to have bathroom and snack breaks before we had to take our places in line-up to go on stage. We had 40 minutes before the concert. The time flew by, but it was with relief to know we could now enter the stage...the anticipation which had been building for over year, was simply becoming to much to bear.

The seats were full in the audience, and it was up to us to make the people happy, which could have been a daunting task. Praguers know their music!! There's a saying "Every Czech is a musician." The Czech Republic has a very strong music tradition. If you go there, you'll hear music playing everywhere. It is in their blood. So if we do a bad job...we will know it! But what if we do well? How would they respond? When I went to the opera, the response was good, but no standing ovation or wild applause as we would expect in the States! We were going to sing for a tough crowd!

The downbeat of Oh Fortuna rang though the air, and our mass of voices soon followed. We sang our fullest, enunciated every consonant, stressed every accent, watched the Maestro for every direction. We sang for ourselves, our families and friends, our directors, our audience. We were singing in Prague!

The soloists sang their sections, and Dr. Jones really was the best of the three. Not only vocally, but he played to the crowd quite humorously. Using his black music folder, he would act out his words, his swan song, and turn back to the chorus of men with a face that pleaded "please don't cook and eat me"! But the men would sing back their chant, and Dr. Jones would turn back to the audience with solemn resolve. It really was wonderful and we saw several audience members smile with delight or laugh at the added theatrics presented by Dr. Jones. They KNEW what he was singing about...which proves these people know their music!!

Carmina is really a song full of testosterone. Men LOVE singing it, for the middle movements are Men Only, singing as drunken monks to some of the most complicated music around. The temp is very fast, and there is an overload of text, so the men really have it work hard at their sections. But they did it perfectly!! We women stood and watched in awe and wanted so badly to applaud when they finished...we are always so impressed with the work they do on those sections.

But we had to sing to the finish, a total of 24 movements, close to an hour in length. When we sang our very last note, a most powerful moment, and the baton came down to make it all end...you could still hear our voices reverberating around the hall in echo, and then the applause began. The people stood up and applauded, and continued as the Maestro took his bow, as the soloists were presented for bows, as Dr. Walders came out for a bow, as the Maestro swept his arms back toward us, the chorus and then the orchestra. On and on it went. It went on still when the Maestro and soloists left the stage.

TWO times the Maestro was called back, and TWO times we sang sections from Carmina again for the crowd. It was absolutely incredible! When we finally left the stage, beaming with elation at what we just accomplished, we were greeted with a crying BuBu, who said she was so very proud of us! She then told us that NEVER had she seen such a reaction in Smetana Hall. Her words were "The Czechs do not give standing ovations...we are cold and reserved!" Well, that night, they were the warmest most open people in the world, and it was a honor to sing for them!!

Our night was still relatively young, but I need to take a break. Until I come back, enjoy the official photographs of that evening!
Love,

Renee