Opening night is past. Les Troyens, Part I is a magnificent beast, and it has already bloodied the cast—poor Dwayne Croft had a cold the likes of which I’ve never heard from someone singing a part like that. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief at the end of the duet. All the soloists were magnificent, but the prize has to go to Yvonne Naef, or as I called her in my Facebook status “Yvonne Fricking Naef” in homage to John Moltz’s Jennifer Fricking Connolly. Her Cassandra is vulnerable, fierce, and fey, and easily the strongest presence on stage. A close second would have to be our women: hats off to Fanw and other women of the chorus, whose second act number is one of the great heart-seizing moments in Berlioz (or in all women’s chorus literature, for that matter).
I’ve been overwhelmed with the rehearsals, but now I can’t wait to sing it again. Good thing we repeat Part I three more times!