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Visiting Esther - (69) more edit 2008-05-05 - rec# 514

Esther was involved in a performance of Monteverdi's L'Orpheo last April. As a part of the Yale summer music program at Norfolk it was being presented again. I timed my trip to the US to visit Esther with one objective being to see this performance. The concert was on Saturday, we arrived on Thursday, giving me a great opportunity to watch the rehearsals. The rehearsals are always the best part of putting on a show. There were three “bands” performing, one of contemporary strings using antique period bows, one of baroque winds (coronetts and sackbuts) and one of lutes, viols and recorders. It was incredible to hear the music of Montverdi being performed on these period instruments by these professional musicians (all from NYC, I believe). The staging was on the most part somewhat authentic. I think the idea was to give a sense of the baroque experience without getting all hung up over the details of how it would have been done. If so, I think they did an outstanding job. Somehow they were able to coordinate a large thunder storm with the first performance. The storm followed the action in the story perfectly. Not so well for the second performance. There was so much rain before the performance that about half the audience didn't show up. I was one really proud daddy.