Florencia en el Amazonas

    I am an aspiring opera singer, I am pretty sure that most of you are aware of this, however just in case it is an important piece of information for this post. Recently I made my operatic debut! I was in the chorus of my school’s winter opera, Florencia en el Amazonas. I absolutely adored being a part of this production, and I have to tell you, for me, the magic never left. If you have never been in an opera before let me enlighten you about just how much actually happens.
    First there are music rehearsals where everyone learns their music, this is if you are in the chorus. You spend about 2 hours at a time learning what you have. I have to tell you one of my favorite things about being in Opera Chorus is that you get wail! It’s awesome, it is literally sing as loud as safely possible it’s amazing! Rhythm is very important in opera because you are working with an orchestra and everyone has to be together. Not only does your singing have to be extremely accurate, you also have to be involved in the story. Dr. LaCosse who helped lead some of the chorus rehearsals, and who Directs some of Piedmont Opera’s productions as well as works with School of the Arts said that the chorus can make or break a show: if they are not putting in enough energy, or the right energy, or they are not in the story enough, it definitely hurts the production. So you have to sing accurately and you have to move in a certain way, and act a certain way and be thinking about things that are not, “What comes next?”
    Not only did I learn about what it is like to sing in an opera, I learned about wigs, and I learned how to do some really cool make up tricks, and I met some truly wonderful people. I absolutely adored working on Florencia. I loved the story, (Click to read more about the story!) and I loved getting to share the stage with some super talented singers. Every night in rehearsal or at the actual performances I was Totally happy. While I was at the theater nothing else mattered, it was amazing. It was a lot of work, but I cannot tell what a wonderful time I had, and how grateful I am to have been a part of something bigger than myself, I am so grateful for the opportunity I had, and I hope many more come my way!
    

I took SO many Pictures and even got a couple of time-lapses of me putting on my makeup, so I really want to share those with you all! If you have any questions about them, comment!

Opera Makeup Timelapse from Bonnie Blackwell on Vimeo.