Note from Miss Debbie:
Overall, I felt like rehearsal went fairly well. It was very encouraging to see how well everyone did tonight. That being said, I recognize that there is still much work to be done. Along those lines, I have quite a few notes to pass along to the cast members. Song by song, here they go.
Preludium: "Donec ponam . . . " - Shallow sound, pitch not matching. Ladies, you MUST ALL USE TALL VOWELS!!
"De torrente . . . " - Couldn't be understood at all, mostly due to not being together. Watch each other carefully...and listen.
Morning Hymn - Move, move, move the beginnings of phrases! Mother Abbess, that will have to come from you. But, you must also stay together; otherwise, it turns into a train wreck. Also, you must listen and balance your sound. Sister Sophia, sing a little louder on that final, high note.
Alleluia - Nice job in general. Tempo could be just a little faster. Remember to accent the first beat of each measure slightly more than the other two beats.
Maria: Ahhhhhh!! Excellent! The CD rushed you guys at the end. Don't worry about it. Take your time (within reason) with those luscious chords, and we'll stop the CD, then restart when you're holding your last chord.
My Favorite Things: Mother Abbess, try to keep this light and fun with a lilting, dancing feeling. Watch your first few pitches. You've been missing them only recently. Just settle in and have fun with your "childhood song". It's fun to watch the two of you!
I Have Confidence: Maria, your breathing is getting better. Keep doing those strengthening exercises. As you move into the key change, you have a couple of measure to take a big, cleansing, relaxing breath to help you attack the final part of the song. Good job!
Do-Re-Mi: Maria, when you sing "oh, oh, oh" that first time, try to accent and separate each of those a little.
Do-Re-Mi Encore: Brigittas, when you sing alone back to Maria "anything", use the same Do-Re-Mi pitch we hear throughout the rest of the song.
All Children: When you get to the section where each of you holds out "Do", "Re", "Mi", and so on, please listen carefully to be sure you get and keep the correct pitch. Also, review your harmony notes at the end. Overall, very good job!
Sixteen Going on Seventeen: Rolf, watch the sliding up/down to pitches in the beginning. Listen carefully to stay on tempo in that first section of the song. Also, when you sing "wait a year or two", keep it light, not heavy on your voice. That will help you nail those higher pitches. Very good work considering how little we've actually worked together on this piece....impressive.
Liesl: Project more on lower pitches. Those low notes were getting lost in the orchestration. Well done, kiddo.
The Lonely Goatherd: Maria/Liesl, excellent duet!! Children, you're wonderful!
How Can Love Survive?: Marilyn, whenever you speak-sing, pitch your voice up rather than down. Nice coverage when you realized Max wasn't going to sing his "capital gains" line. Good job, you two.
Reprise: Sound of Music: Much better staying on tempo, although the longer you sang, the slower you were trying to sing it. Keep listening to the orchestration and stay on tempo. Keep working those notes and harmonies....we're getting there!
Soloists, enter without hesitation or slowing the tempo down. It MUST keep moving so you can stay with the orchestration.
Captain, watch your pitch as you come in. Once you've sung the first couple of phrases, you're good. Listen to the orchestration there. If I'm not terribly mistaken, it actually plays your notes. On the end, the tempo doesn't slow quite as much as you think.....just listen carefully. Really good keeping it moving, otherwise.
So Long, Farewell: All Children, sing on "to you" in the beginning.
Marta, correct entrance on your solo. Just be confident.....you've got this!
Gretl, slow your solo down just a little bit. You rock!
Morning Hymn: Nice work overall, ladies! Sop I, a little louder throughout; Sop II, a little softer throughout. Listen carefully for balance. I'll say again, ladies, TALL VOWELS!!! They're way too pop-sounding at times. You know I love you!
Climb Ev'ry Mountain: Mother Abbess, "mountain" is always pronounced "mawn-tehn". When you sing it in your lower register, the pronunciation sometimes gets warped somewhat. Don't breathe before the first "dream"; breathe before "your" that time. Second time is fine. I know you're trying to get as much air as possible for that final high note. You're awesome!
As I said, all in all, tonight was very pleasing. We'll keep working together as we have been already. We're SO close, gang! I'm very, very proud of how far we've come.....don't let up on the excellent work now! YOU'RE ALL WONDERFUL!!!
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