What Understudies Do Nowadays

Image via WikipediaThis is an article about Arizona Opera understudies and how they spend their time while waiting to perform on the main stage with the Arizona Opera:


Arizona State University’s LYRIC OPERA THEATRE is pleased to present a new production of the Engelbert Humperdinck’s delightful fairy tale opera HANSEL AND GRETEL (sung in English), which will be performed on March 3, 4, 5 at 7:30 pm and March 6 at 2:00 pm in the Evelyn Smith Theatre in the ASU School of Music. Based on the classic fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, the opera is a charming confection of tuneful melodies, spiced with suspense and humor when the children Hansel and Gretel fall in the clutches of the Wicked Witch! For over a century, audiences have fallen under the spell of this magical work, which has been called “the perfect introduction to opera for children of all ages.”

Featured in this all-student cast are several participants in the new Arizona Opera STUDY COVER PROGRAM, in which ASU students have been engaged to learn and cover roles for Arizona Opera’s mainstage season. This year’s Study Cover participants include: Robyn Rocklein (Hansel), Christina Rivera (Gretel), Christine White (Witch), Suzanne Rovani (Mother) who were Study Covers in Arizona Opera’s production of Carmen, and Rachel Hastings (Dew Fairy) who was a Study Cover in The Pirates of Penzance.

To purchase tickets ($8 - $23) by phone, please call the ASU Herberger Box Office at 480.965.6447 or online: herbergerinstitute.asu.edu/events/tickets. 

The non-profit arts patrons organization, Arizona Five Arts Circle is a proud sponsor of the 5 major arts organizations in the Phoenix metropolitan area....including Arizona Opera!

Life as a Costume Manager

This is a story about a day in the life of Corinna Bohren, the Costume Manager for Arizona Opera...........

The costume shop is always a busy hive of activity!



On any given day AZO has as many as ten people (wigs, milliners, drapers, stitchers, crafters) preparing the singers to look their part on stage.  Most of our costumes are rented from other opera companies, which gives us the challenge of taking someone else’s design and fitting it to our singers and sets.



An average day during a show run will find me in the office at 7:30 a.m preparing paperwork and anticipating the needs of the next production and season.  By 12:00 p.m., I am in the theatre with my assistant ironing and steaming all of the garments you see on stage (usually upwards of 200 pieces) and laundering all of the skins (costume lingo for undershirts).   By 5:00 p.m. my crew arrives and they check their dressing rooms, distribute shirts, socks and any other laundered items.



We buzz around helping with zippers, calming nerves, soothing illness, checking that everything is being worn correctly and setting up any quick changes that will occur during the production.



After the show is done for the night, we pick up the laundry from each room, tidy the spaces and review how the show went. 10:30 p.m. usually finds the staff gone and by 11:00 p.m., I have done a final check, started the laundry and am saying goodnight to the security guard . . . all in preparation to come back the next morning and do it again!