On Friday evening there was an excellent BBC4 documentary following the vibrant soprano
Danielle de Niese as she worked towards a performance in a leading role as Susanna in the
Marriage of Figaro by Mozart. Part of the ritual of staging an opera is having
distinct rehearsal types in sequence:
- Music
- Staging
- Technical
- Sitzprobe
- Orchestra staging
- Full dress rehearsal
Yes,
Sitzprobe also struck me as the most fascinating rehearsal, as well as the most unusual word, derived from the German: sitzen (to sit) and proben (to rehearse). The film showed the full cast sitting and listening to the orchestra as all the sections were played, both instrumental and accompaniment. And that's all the cast did, just listen...
In my early days as a musician I noticed more experienced players would stop and listen all the way through as a piece was introduced rather than start playing along as I was prone to do. This gave time to detect extra nuances and other important elements that I was missing by my 'keen to impress' musically immature participation.
Sitzprobe is an important and often overlooked discipline in many aspects of our hectic lives...
