My Husband the Ham

Two years ago, I sang in the opera "Carmen" with Utah Festival Opera.  Last year, Bryce and I had too much traveling to do for me to give my summer up for the opera again.  This year, Michael Ballam came to us at an American Festival Chorus rehearsal to ask for help with "Boris Godunov," a huge work by Mussorgski.  This opera requires a very large cast and they wanted to have many volunteers from AFC plus a few "Super Numeraries" who are non-singing, non-speaking parts.  When I told Bryce about it, he wanted to get involved.  He has been bugging me about doing another opera.  I have to say, I wasn't really excited about it.  Doing Carmen was a lot of work and pretty scary because I didn't know the opera, didn't know French, and had to scramble to keep up with the hired professionals.  I never really got entirely comfortable there, even though by the end I was enjoying it.

Then Sara and Eric decided they would join in, and Bryce sent a message to the lady in charge asking if they still needed a "super."  She sent him back an email telling him that they would be excited to have him in and he forwarded it to us saying "I'm hired!"  The hard work began then for Sara, Eric and I, learning the music in Russian and getting it memorized.  Sara was struggling and wondering if she had taken on something she shouldn't have.  Bryce sat at home while we had several music rehearsals.  It all changed last Thursday when we started staging the opera.

Bryce had been told that he would be a guard in the first scene.  All morning Thursday he told me he was practicing being tough.  He especially needed to practice his bows, because he knew that the audience would be overcome by his stage presence and they would give him flowers.  He was sure he would be very commanding and important.  Of course I just laughed, but then when we got to the rehearsal look what they gave him to hold!

 He took the part very seriously.  Doesn't he look commanding?  I sneaked this picture when I was on the floor below with about forty other peasants.  The director (a cute little Russian lady) asked Bryce if he was a musician and told him he must be because he had been so good at picking up his part.  He said yes, and would she write that down so he could show his mother?  She said she would.  As a guard, he has to wield the spear and herd the peasants down from this stage to the floor.  One of them said to him yesterday in jest, "Why are you so mean?"  Bryce told him that he has to stay in character. 

Saturday we rehearsed again, this time the second scene of the coronation of Boris Godunov.  The director mentioned at the beginning that she needed a patriarch.  She immediately pointed at Bryce and said she wanted him.  So in that scene, Boris will be crowned, but Bryce will be standing above him and giving him a blessing. 

You can see the stage they've built for this show and a little bit of where people can stand.  The peasants were out on break at this time, but we are scattered all over the steps and the floor.  Prince Shuisky is up there singing where Boris will be standing at the coronation. He is partly behind Bryce's axe.  Bryce will be a few steps above that as Patriarch.

After the Thursday night rehearsal, Bryce decided to start growing a beard.  He has been in to talk with the wig and make-up lady and she said she didn't think he'd have it long enough to be patriarch by the beginning of July, but to keep on working on it anyway.  She took a long look at him and said "We have so few actors who are of age, we'll give you a white beard."

When we got home Saturday afternoon, Bryce got an email from the manager asking him to come to a staging rehearsal Monday.  It seems they want him in another scene as a guard.  Sara, Eric and I have been to about four more rehearsals than Bryce, have been slaving over learning Russian, and Bryce just comes in and enjoys himself.  Our name tags say "Ancillary Chorus" and Bryce's says "Super."  Next time I think I want to be a "super" but I know I won't be as big a ham as my husband.