Richard Studer, designer/director of Longborough's 2016 production of Janáček's Jenůfa, describes the thrill of seeing a production come together for the first time...
Jenůfa Designer/Director Richard Studer: 'Part and parcel of the job of being an opera director are Q&A discussions on the pieces we are presenting. Two questions frequently crop up...'
As the downbeat is taken on these precious hours of orchestral time, it is impossible not to be overwhelmed with emotion
'Part and parcel of the job of being an opera director are Q&A discussions on the pieces we are presenting. Two questions frequently crop up: "What is your favourite opera?" - to which the honest answer is always "the piece I am currently working on" (unless it's Carmen). The other is slightly harder: "What do you enjoy most about working in production?". Without a passion for every moment of joy and crisis it would be hard to do this job, but there is one unique point of singularity in the timeline that is precious to me.
At the beginning of the process we have in our hands a jigsaw of thousands of pieces, each representing a detail or element of the opera that needs to be assembled. The first stage and orchestra rehearsal in the theatre is where suddenly the full picture emerges just as the audience will experience it - from then on we are just placing the final few pieces to complete both the musical and visual imagery. As the downbeat is taken on these precious hours of orchestral time, it is impossible not to be overwhelmed with emotion. Finally the production comes alive.
The planning and design for any production pre-rehearsal is a long process, taking a year - and often considerably longer
The planning and design for any production pre-rehearsal is a long process, taking a year - and often considerably longer - just to find and put the four corner pieces in place: the score, the design, the cast, the concept. This one brief moment near the end, when the stage crew turn off the theatre's working lights, we suddenly cross a ridge and can see the summit in clear sight: a moment that is magical and one to savour. This moment is fleeting, lasting a scant few seconds - before the behemoth of opera production mewls for attention once more, bringing me crashing back to reality with an ill-timed lighting cue or ripped costume...
If you notice a man shedding a tear in the dark at the sound of the simple percussive notes over the opening bars of Janáček's Jenůfa, give him a moment before asking the whereabouts of a missing costume piece as it is sure to be me.
(The answer to this final question is always "in their dressing room on a hanger with a large label attached with the singer's name on it...")'
Richard Studer is designer/director for Longborough's 2016 production of Janáček's Jenůfa, running 16 - 23 July.
