Orchestra rehearsal and sitzprobe: OMG this was so fun! I was thinking it would be kind of mundane since I know the show well and gosh it is really long and all, but it was AMAZING. We have a fabulous cast and the orchestra did great mostly (being our first run through and all).
The orch rehearsal went well, then we had a dinner break and the cast came (a sitzprobe is when we rehearse with the cast without them on stage, we just all sit around and perform, kind of like a concert version of the show. Usually the first rehearsal with singers is a sitzprobe at this theater) So when we started with the big chords at the beginning, the whole cast cheered because it was so exciting to hear the whole orchestra (I suppose) after the rehearsal piano - we have about 20 people.
I actually thought I sounded pretty good in the orch rehearsal, but during the first 1/2 of the sitzprobe I had TERRIBLE water in my keys (common oboe malady). It was probably the worst it has ever been - kind of nightmarish because nothing really sounds right. It was in ALL the keys of my upper joint, and I kept swabbing and blowing and it just flooded! So discouraging because you want to sound good (first impression for many of the people) and I had many little solo-y things. Finally during the break I was able to get things dried out a bit, because in the second half is this oboe concerto (HUGE solo) - apparently during the "sewer scene" where Jean valjean drags Marius through the sewers. Lovely. Actually it is a glorious solo - hopefully I will do it justice. It was terribly gratifying that the cast clapped for me when it was over.
I am really excited to do the show now, even more than before. And it is really great that we are among the first community groups to do it - it has just been released so if you have seen this show before it was probably a tour of the Broadway production (or the high school version they released a few years ago). Well, come see it if you're in the area!
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