NPR: To reach the prompter's box at the home of the San Francisco Opera, Matthew Piatt heads under the stage and walks down a long, narrow passageway.
Then he shimmies up a metal ladder.
"I always have to be careful not to rip my pants," Piatt says, as he hoists himself into a seat and pushes a button to propel himself upward several feet, using a hydraulic lift.
6 comments:
Having a prompter in Opera is not a necessarily new concept, but it is a great article on an interesting perspective of a show. Similarly to a lot of technical positions, they are relatively unknown outside of the world of theatre and opera. Often times there will be Assistant Stage Managers on either side of the stage to tell the performers when to enter if they do not have a prompter to do so. It is always important that things get learned as well as they can possibly can be by the performers, but it is not always possible when pieces are complex, fast-paced, and even often in another language, so having a role such as this is helpful from a stage management and perhaps even a conductor’s perspective, and certainly it means a lot to the performers and in turn the audience whether or not they are aware of it.
I never knew that being a prompter for an opera is a profession or that people sit in a box on stage to direct the cues of others during the show. I find this whole concept very interesting and enlightening. I had no idea how intensive this job was, or how much it entails on the prompter’s part. I realize now how crucial this job is to ensuring that the production runs smoothly. I find it very interesting that the performers don’t wear earpieces so it takes the prompter waving his arms, speaking or shouting to help the performers know their cues. Even more surprising is that the audience has no idea this person is here the entire performance. Also, the fact that they have to have perfect pitch is really interesting to me, because it’s clear that it takes a certain skill set to be a prompter for an opera. Next time I go to an opera, I’ll be on the lookout for the prompter’s box at the front of the stage.
I think that this is a really unique article because it deals with something that we do not experience a lot here at CMU or really at most places. Even the article mentions that Opera prompters aren’t commonplace in all Opera houses. Personally, I would really like to watch this in action or work with this person as a stage manager because I think that it’s a really neat opportunity to see happen. I have also worked on theatre productions with in ear prompting and that makes a little more sense to me personally because it’s much more direct and discreet. I find myself wondering how an opera prompter would correct someone if they were in the middle of an Aria across the stage from where he was. I think that this is a great article to include here because it is certainly a really unique job and something that someone who is interested in music but also a job that's adjacent to stage management might be interested in trying if the opportunity came about.
This is a job I’ve never heard of! It’s fascinating to learn that the actors sometimes have to be helped out to be cued and that’s a whole role. I’ve never been to one of the big operas so I’ve never actually seen the box. Based on the photo, it looks like the little single person lift was fabricated by a theater person. It’s a tiny little spot, but in this case space is at a premium. I’m also fascinated by the need for someone with perfect pitch and because of that requirement, I’m curious if this is a well paid position. The other thing that was surprising to me about this article was that they had an over 250 person cast and crew which is not only massive, but because it’s a development piece, they are spending six months making it just right and it must be so unreasonably expensive.
I’d never heard of an opera prompter until I read this article. It seems like a pretty useful role, especially in large operas that might be hard for the singers to follow. Or even for moments where the singer is not facing the conductor. It makes sense to me that most prompters would have perfect pitch, especially since their job is to help keep the singers on track both in pitch, cueing, and rhythm. The fact the composer adamantly wanted a prompter used for the production of Antony and Cleopatra says a lot about how even the composer views the complexity in how the singers are able to stay on track. I also feel like having a prompter would help keep the singers more in the present, since if they get off track someone is there to guide them back. Where without a prompter they would either have to figure it out on their own (if they aren’t facing the conductor), or have the conductor help get them back on track.
I had no idea this was a job. I knew that opera singers are usually not required to be as familiar with blocking and entrances as a typical musical performer would be. I got to work on an opera at the New England Conservatory with student performers and we had two deck crew backstage on either side cueing performers when to go on stage. I understand that operatic singing requires a high level of focus and concentration, and it seems like its industry standard to not expect the performers to be focused on anything else. The lighting designer I was working for said, “that’s why they’re called opera singers, not actors.” I didn’t know it went as far as having someone in the stage counting beats and waving at the singers. I guess if at the end of the day, the end result is a good performance and an impressed audience who cares what tools you need to get there
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