July 6

My step-by-step plan for each component of the opera

Planning

Today I went through the links I’d previously collected and made myself a step-by-step plan for everything I want to do (composing, set & costume design, producing) so that I know clearly what I am doing and how I need to do it. I didn’t get around to the ‘Producing’ plan yet because I had to go to dinner, but I will get to that tomorrow.’ Because I don’t have a lot of information about the producing aspect, I think that my next step is reaching out to some of my contacts at The Met to get information from experts. For producing I am going to contact my boss from my summer internship, Hilary Ley, who works in marketing and knows everything about the opera house, and the assistant general manager, Cory Toevs. For composing, I will contact young composer, Nico Muhly, who I met a few months ago when I went to the premiere of his new opera Marnie. For costume design, I will email the head of the costume department, Elissa T. Iberti, who I’ve met a few times backstage at The Met. I do not know anyone personally who works in set deign, but I plan to still type up questions and send them to Hilary and ask her to send them to someone in the set design department.

The Marriage of Figaro

Today, was also the date of the Met Opera Live in HD Summer Encore, The Marriage of Figaro by Gioachino Rossini, which my mom and I went to see. While I was watching, I was paying attention to musical choices made by the composer, and I got some new ideas about composition - specifically about the scene where Paris chooses Aphrodite as the fairest which I have chosen to compose. I want the scene to begin with a recitative (lyrical speaking with - usually - harpsichord accompaniment) between Paris and the goddesses where they explain to him that they need him to choose the fairest of them. Each goddess will then sing a short aria explaining why they believe they are the fairest, and Paris may or may not chime in - I have yet to decide. Paris will get a few lines to deliberate which goddess to choose and then, upon giving the Golden Apple to Aphrodite, the scene will end as a quartet; with Paris and Aphrodite singing about their joy, and Athen and Hera singing about how they will get revenge. I also decided that, while I would have liked to write this in Italian, I am far from fluent in the language, so I will be writing it in German which I have been learning since 6th Grade.