Her 2021-22 season will include singing the title role in Tosca for Gulfshore Opera, Mozart’s Requiem with the Palm Beach Symphony and Master Chorale of South Florida, and Beethoven’s Egmont with Orchestra Miami. Virtual, outdoor, and socially distanced concerts, street stages, livestreams -even a “porch concert” in her neighborhood -are among the ways she lifted her voice, and spirits, remaining connected with her craft and audiences. Our rehearsal last night was challenging, but then I remind myself that the challenge is why I started singing opera.Robyn Marie Lamp, a powerful Florida-based soprano, wasn’t quiet for too long during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. The confusing aspect is that we are all interacting at the same time, but singing different parts based on our characters. Some of the chorus members also sing a Madrigal part and others are coupled as Beaus and Abbes. We are a chorus of 42 men and women who are divided into characters of students, girls, citizens, and villagers. I have been working on this music for most of the past two weeks and I don’t feel like I have even made a dent in my memorization or knowledge of the notes! I am very grateful that we started music rehearsals this early because if we had started at our normal date, mid December, I would be very scared.

Now the two Maestros have to have long phone conversations about particulars in the score.Īnd that leads me to the score itself.

Usually Maestro Davis can recall tempos and cuts in music that Maestro Lyall has done in previous performances. Since Opera Grand Rapids has not performed this show before, none of the chorus singers, or the pianist, or the chorus master has a past in which to refer.

Maestro Lyall and the Board of Opera Grand Rapids decided it was time to try the very first success that the master had composed, Manon Lescaut. In recent years we have presented the more famous works of Puccini: Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La Boheme and Turandot. Opera Grand Rapids has started chorus rehearsals for the February showing of Giacomo Puccini’s Manon Lescaut.

Puccini opera in grand rapids