Last May proved to be a month of exciting cultural and artistic adventure for four James Madison University undergraduate students when they had their first opportunity to perform with the Mid-Saxony Opera Theater, a professional opera company in Freiberg and Döbeln, Germany, in a production of Mozart’s opera Die Hochzeit des Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro).
The project began in March of 2004 when I met with Jan Michael Horstmann, general music director of the Mid-Saxony Opera Theater, and the Intendant of the Freiberg company, Mark Schönwasser-Görke. The Mid-Saxony Opera Company performs regularly in the main house in Freiberg, and the sister house in Döbeln, about a 45 minute drive from Freiberg. JMU students had the opportunity to perform in both houses during their three-week stint.
To prepare for the auditions at JMU, students began musical and German diction coachings on the roles in the spring semester of 2005. JMU’s new opera director, Don Rierson, planned a spring semester program of opera scenes from Die Hochzeit des Figaro to help the four singers prepare their scenes before going abroad, and Giuliana Fazzion, head of JMU’s Foreign Language Department, invited the opera workshop to perform scenes from its repertoire at JMU’s Freedom Conference banquet. The project also tweaked the interest of Susan Webb, recently retired from the Metropolitan Opera, who gave a special master class for the ensembles and soloists of the JMU opera workshop.
Mid-Saxony Theater GMD Horstmann came to JMU in April to audition and coach ensembles from “Figaro.” Four students—music education majors Jim Myers and Lindsay Russell, and music theatre majors Justin Senense and Laura Yanez—were invited to spend three weeks in Germany rehearsing for their performances in the roles of Don Curzio and Barbarina at the Freiberg and Döbeln theaters.
Once in Germany, the students worked with an international company of performers from Germany, Romania, Austria, Bulgaria, and Italy. In addition to coachings and rehearsals with the company, the students took a ballet class, and a special vocal master class given by Wielland Müller, a professional singer and coach in Chemnitz.
The entire Freiberg company welcomed the students and gave generously of their time, talent, and expertise to help the students feel at home and comfortable in their roles. Klaus Kühl (Don Curzio) and Susanne Engelhardt (Barbarina) gave extra coachings and advice to help their young understudies grasp the intricacies of their roles. Herma Otto, a repetiteur with the company, worked diligently with the students during musical and blocking rehearsals, giving cues and offering suggestions through translation.
Younger members of the company were able to work with the students in English, and as the weeks progressed, Tobias Schäfer, the younger spieltenor of the house, sat in on some rehearsals and went to lunch with the group, offering valuable advice to the young JMU tenors. Sabine Bergk, the assistant stage director, took early staging rehearsals with the students, and costume designer Ilka Kops took time out to talk with the students about her concept for this modern staging of a classic piece.
In the final week of preparation before the performances, Bettina Giese, stage director of the production, worked tirelessly to develop characterizations that were individual to each student’s performance, and the students had their first opportunity to work with a professional prompter, Torsten Voigt. Intendant Schönwasser-Görke invited the JMU students to the cast party in his apartment after their first performance in Döbeln. Joachim Goltz—the Figaro of the cast, who spoke excellent English—befriended the students and invited them all, during free time in the evenings, to watch episodes of Desperate Housewives dubbed in German.
With jet-lag, culture shock, and the intense rehearsal period of only three weeks, the students didn’t have much down-time to relax, but they made time to go bowling with other cast members, swim, run, and work out at the local gym in-between excursions and rehearsals. The students also gave up one morning of sleep to attend the Lichtenberg middle-school English class and taught the students the rules of baseball, and the tune and words for “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” followed by a physical-education class where everyone had a chance to demonstrate and practice. They also helped as moving bodies in a technical lighting rehearsal at the Döbeln Theater. Lindsay Russell had an extra opportunity to fill in the women’s chorus for one performance when a member became ill; she actually got to perform twice!
The students also had an opportunity to see a mixture of German musical theatre genres. They saw the classical operas The Tales of Hoffmann (in Chemnitz), Gustav Albert Lortzing’s Rolands Knappen oder Das ersehnte Glück (in Freiberg), and Lohengrin (at the Dresden Staatsoper). They attended Germanic operetta performances of Paul Abraham’s Die Blume von Hawaii in Leipzig and Ralph Benatzky’s Im Weissen Rössl in Freiberg. Music theatre performances included Cabaret in Chemnitz and Jesus Christ Superstar in Leipzig, as well as the play Fabian, with music and dance, performed in Freiberg.
Would the students return to Germany? It is early in their careers for these students to make a life-changing experience of that importance, but they definitely had time to start forming opinions and thinking of their futures. Their opinions at the end of the trip were mixed.
Lindsay Russell wrote in her journal, “For lunch, we met Susanne Englehardt and went to this cool café in the square. We got to ask her lots of questions about her career, and I gained a lot of respect for her. It’s so cool that she was able to have a family and still perform. She really seems happy here. If I were to perform, it would have to be in a repertory company like this, where you stay in one place and are guaranteed stability.”
Jim Myers concluded that he was ready to return home, but added, “I have had the opportunity to make my debut with a professional opera company. I have seen [some] wonderful shows. I have learned so much, and made a number of friendships. I feel so blessed and I look forward to returning to Germany again someday.”
Laura Yanez’s final journal entry sums up her positive experiences. “It’s my very last day in Freiberg. As corny as it sounds, I really think meeting the people I have met, and living here for this short time has changed my life! I have always loved the European lifestyle, but this is my first taste with the arts in Europe and I want more! Could I really perform in Europe like the Freiberg company? Who knows. I am going to do my best to learn German, and I hope to go back [to Germany] through JMU, if I can. What a great adventure that would be!”
Justin Senense grasped the essence of a repertory ensemble and thought of returning when he wrote, “This theater is a great family full of support and encouragement for each other. I definitely want to find a theater such as this one, even though it is difficult in the United States. At least I know and understand the necessity of being a family and making friendships quickly in this business. … It was wonderful to see “Figaro” for the last time. It brought everything full circle. This was an amazing experience and I now have learned of a different world that I can be a part of if I want, and work for it. Only the future can tell, but I sure have enough inspiration to last me till then. Goodbye Germany. Hello Future!”
Plans are underway to send students again to Germany during the spring of 2006 to work with the company in a production of Verdi’s Falstaff.
