Student artists of the Yale Opera program are presenting two nights of staged arias, scenes and ensemble pieces in Sprague Hall this coming Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Complementing such familiar pieces as "Don Giovanni," "Lucia di Lammermoor" and "La Traviata" are excerpts from such more esoteric fare as Rachmaninoff's "Aleko," Dvorak's "Rusalka" and Robert Ward's "The Crucible".
All ages are welcome in this discovery process of acting skills while working on scenes, monologues, ensemble pieces and character work in the Intermediate Acting class, which will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays from Wednesday through March 23 at the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach.
The Wayans brothers recent spoof, Dance Flick, offered a crudely knowing send-up of the Fame ensemble dance scene with the word "Gay!" replacing "Fame!" in the lyrics.
Grito unfolds in a clearly delineated sequence (male group, female group, trio, duet, ensemble), each scene in its own way exposing the bones of flamenco technique – the torque of the torso, the switch of shoulder and hip, the lines of limbs cleanly displayed, steps and poses pinned exactly to the musical rhythms.
The crowd scenes and ensemble work are complex but free of tangles: every crossing musical line has its own clear story to tell.
Typically, "scenes" comprise recitative, arioso, aria and ensemble elements, with occasional instrumental (sinfonia) passages.
Each separate scene is typically a mixture of musical elements: recitative, arioso, arietta and sometimes ensemble, with occasional instrumental interludes.
The perception of average, or ensemble, characteristics is beneficial, since it provides information about the texture and the gist of a scene.
The ensemble scene that ends Act I is a meticulously staged and unmotivated muddle.
