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During a five-day residency, Friday can feel a bit sad (“It’s almost over”); it can feel unsettling (“Some things just aren’t ready”); it can be anxiety-producing (“We have four hours to knock this show into shape”). This year we managed to avoid all those negative...
It has been wonderful to work as a group and to let all the singers—and Amber, our pianist—watch each other’s coachings. Bénédicte and I hope that they enjoy being privy to their colleagues’ progress, and that they relish having a front-row seat at the Steve and Béné...
Wednesday has a special significance in a week-long residency. On Monday you do reconnaissance. On Tuesday you start to figure out where the doors and windows are, which latches are open, and what’s movable. On Wednesday, having a sense of how far each artist can...
I am not quite sure how it happened, but the day started with a conversation between me, Bénédicte, and the cast. It began with them debriefing us excitedly about their previous night out at a restaurant with a patron, and then veered off into a variety of unexpected...
I rolled into the Music Room at Caramoor, after spending an hour riding up to Katonah with my confidante and co-director Bénédicte Jourdois, and I thought of that silly kid’s song, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands [clap clap].” I know that it’s light...
Most people assume that all performers want to hog the spotlight, and that singers in particular care about nothing but their solo moments. After all, what other musicians warm up by braying, "me, me, me, ME, me, me, me" at the top of their lungs? Yet what we have...