Rehearsals of The Tales of Hoffmann, Berkeley 2009
Photos by David Scott Marley
The 2/21 rehearsal: Sara Couden, Angela Cadelago, and Paul Christopher Murray rehearsing at the piano, working on the trio that ends the tale of Antonia.
The same trio, this time rehearsing it with the staging. Sara is playing Antonia's dead mother, for Dr. Miracle has caused her portrait to seem -- to Antonia -- to come to life.
This one came out blurred, but I like it anyway. Dr. Miracle is playing the violin madly, urging Antonia to sing, even though singing may kill her.
The cast receiving notes. Left to right: conductor Ernest Knell, director Phil Lowery, Wayne Wong, Sara Couden, Angela Cadelago, Paul Christopher Murray, George Arana (leaning forward), Adam Flowers, and Nora Lennox Martin.
Taken at the 2/19 rehearsal, working on act two. Nora here is playing the Muse, who is playing Nicklaus, who is playing Antonia's violin.
The 2/14 rehearsal, working on the prologue. Foreground left is our director, Phil Lowery. In the brown coat, leaning on a wooden dowel standing in for his cane, is Paul Murray, who is playing Councilor Lindorf and his three incarnations (Coppola, Doctor Miracle, and Dapertutto) in Hoffmann's stories.