- November 13, 2021
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The cast of “The Barber of Seville,” a production from Opera on the James, rehearses at the Academy Center of the Arts on Tuesday.
The maestro conducts the orchestra during a rehearsal of “The Barber of Seville,” a production from Opera on the James, at The Academy Center of the Arts on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021.
A cast member of “The Barber of Seville,” a production from Opera on the James, rehearses at The Academy Center of the Arts on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021.
A cast member of “The Barber of Seville,” a production from Opera on the James, rehearses at The Academy Center of the Arts on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021.
A cast member of “The Barber of Seville,” a production from Opera on the James, rehearses at The Academy Center of the Arts on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021.
After being shut down for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the nonprofit arts organization Opera on the James is preparing to emerge triumphant with its first major production in almost two years.
A classic, world-famous opera, Gioachino Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” will be performed at the Academy Center of the Arts historic academy theater for two shows this week.
“The Barber of Seville” was supposed to be performed in spring 2020, said Peter Leonard, the show’s conductor and general director of the organization. Though talk of a dangerous virus known as COVID-19 was floating around, no hard guidance had yet been issued in terms of performing arts operations. One week into rehearsals, Leonard said, things started shutting down. Opera on the James had to make the decision to close down its season, like so many other organizations nationwide.
“It was a very traumatic time. And what proceeded thereafter for months was the shutdown that we all remember maybe too well. Performances of most any kind were not possible,” Leonard said.
The orchestra rehearses with the cast of “The Barber of Seville,” a production from Opera on the James, at the Academy Center of the Arts on Tuesday.
Leonard stepped into the role of general director of the organization in October 2020, having guest-directed productions for it periodically since 2015.
Before the cast parted ways, Leonard said the artists recorded themselves singing selections from “The Barber of Seville,” which was made available to audiences online to enjoy. The digital offering was like a sign the Opera on the James still was alive, Leonard said.
While the organization maintained financial health during the pandemic, the last year and a half was not easy for the nonprofit, Leonard said.
Opera on the James stayed afloat through pandemic closures with help from sponsors, donors and grants. Despite this support, Leonard said the organization had to slash its normal annual budget by one-third to one-half of the usual amount, which was normally about $500,000.
Members of the cast (above, below) rehearse at the Academy Center of the Arts on Tuesday.
In addition to the original “The Barber of Seville” cast recordings of song selections, Opera on the James engaged in other online projects, though none of them drove revenues.
Opera on the James collaborated with Lynchburg-based performing arts nonprofit organization, The Listening, on a project that connected young poets with classically trained composers from around the world. The result was three poetic, musical works collectively titled “Life These Days.”
“That was a project which, at the very least, kept our audience on a virtual level — online — aware of us, but more importantly, I found that it was a tremendous advantage for us that in this terrible time. We found creative ways to be to be a viable opera organization,” Leonard said. “It was a fascinating process.”
Earlier this spring, Opera on the James held some concerts outdoors at Lynchburg’s Point of Honor.
Called “picnic concerts,” Leonard said the venue was a beautiful setting, and excellent sound equipment was available. One down side, he said, was sound had to be amplified through equipment as opposed to the “magic of hearing natural sound from a human voice or an orchestral instrument.” There was no orchestra, either; an electric piano was used at the picnic concerts.
Despite the uncertainty of the shutdown, Leonard said the closure offered some time for internal organization within Opera on the James, something of a benefit as he stepped up to the helm in the thick of the pandemic.
Leonard said the Opera on the James staff and cast of the upcoming show had mixed feelings about reopening.
The biggest, overarching feeling, Leonard said, is joy. The other feeling clouding that joy is a bit of stress over how to hold an indoor production safely when COVID-19 remains a risk.
“This is a wholly new field for all of us. I spend a huge amount of time dealing with the questions of safety, the questions of appropriate behavior regarding COVID risks,” Leonard said.
Members of the cast of “The Barber of Seville,” a production from Opera on the James, rehearse at The Academy Center of the Arts on Tuesday.
After obtaining feedback from everyone involved in the production, Leonard said all chose to wear masks, despite that extra layer making singing a bit more physically strenuous. Staff and the cast also are fully vaccinated.
Cast members are grateful for the health precautions being taken, although they do not come without unique obstacles.
“Singing is breath turned into tone. And anything that kind of impedes the breath makes it difficult to sing, so having the masks … it’s a challenge,” said Robert McPherson, a Seattle-based opera singer, comedian and recent Grammy winner portraying Count Almaviva in the upcoming production. “But, with that said, I am so incredibly grateful to be back in a rehearsal process with people again. I mean, it’s overwhelming to look across the room and just see people! And we’re rehearsing, and we’re making music together. I’m grateful that the opera takes this seriously, and we’re going to usher back a live performance to Lynchburg, Virginia.”
McPherson said he got vaccinated as soon as it became available to him, having seen some fellow singers contract COVID-19 and struggle with long-term harm to their lungs.
“The Barber of Seville” is a natural fit for comedian McPherson, being a comic opera. Especially in such a challenging time as a pandemic, comic relief has perhaps become more important than ever.
Hilary Ginther, an opera singer portraying Rosina in the upcoming production, noted masking also prevented the show’s director and the company from seeing facial expressions, nonverbal communication which lends to the opera’s comedic element. However, she affirmed it was “a safer idea” to rehearse wearing masks. The cast was able to rehearse without them during their final week at the Academy historic theater venue.
Recently returned from a production in Hong Kong, her second major job since things started reopening, Ginther was used to the various public health precautions implemented. After losing gigs throughout the pandemic, pivoting to remote work for many months to sustain a livelihood, she is happy to be part of her third opera work since shutdowns.
Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 will be required by patrons for admittance to the show.
“This is a policy that some other companies are using all through the country,” Leonard said. “Our impression is that having the requirement of proof of vaccination actually improves the audience’s experience, that more people are willing to come to a performance when they know that that level of control or safety has been established.”
What: Opera on the James, Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville”
Where: Historic Academy Theater, 524 Main St., Lynchburg
When: Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 14, 3 p.m.
Cost: $15 to $240
More info: operaonthejames.org
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The cast of “The Barber of Seville,” a production from Opera on the James, rehearses at the Academy Center of the Arts on Tuesday.
The orchestra rehearses with the cast of “The Barber of Seville,” a production from Opera on the James, at the Academy Center of the Arts on Tuesday.
Members of the cast (above, below) rehearse at the Academy Center of the Arts on Tuesday.
Members of the cast of “The Barber of Seville,” a production from Opera on the James, rehearse at The Academy Center of the Arts on Tuesday.
The maestro conducts the orchestra during a rehearsal of “The Barber of Seville,” a production from Opera on the James, at The Academy Center of the Arts on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021.
A cast member of “The Barber of Seville,” a production from Opera on the James, rehearses at The Academy Center of the Arts on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021.
A cast member of “The Barber of Seville,” a production from Opera on the James, rehearses at The Academy Center of the Arts on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021.
A cast member of “The Barber of Seville,” a production from Opera on the James, rehearses at The Academy Center of the Arts on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021.
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