Greg Antonelli – Danielle De Niese Tour

We were all lucky enough to see Cosi Fan Tutti at Lincoln Center a few weeks ago. Unfortunately due to some time issues and hectic schedules, not everybody was able to go on the tour before hand. I was lucky enough to be able to make it (I played hooky that day during classes) in time to see the Q&A and get a backstage tour with Daniele De Niese, the woman who played Despina. During the Q&A we got to hear a little about Ms. De Niese’s life and upbringing. We learned about her television show in California, her move to New York to attend college at a conservatory (I think it was Mannes. Correct me if I’m wrong.), and a little about her career so far. We were also lucky enough to see a bit of her performance as Euridice that was filmed at the Metropolitan Opera. She spoke about her voice coaching and how she choses what shows to do based on what is healthiest for her voice. After the question and answer session we were brought on the massive stage. Here we were taught a little about how the stage works. It can hold several, entire sets at once for different operas and works mechanically to rotate whole shows around when needed. This was my favorite part of the tour. The stage was massive. There was enough fly space (space above the stage) for a several story building. Also what I thought was cool was that there is a constant mist spray that is going to keep the actors throats from drying out. After this we were shown the dressing rooms and got to see some of Ms. De Niese’s costume pieces and props. We also saw her lucky bent nail collection, which apparently is an old Italian theatre superstition. This was a great tour. I had never seen an opera before so to be able to have my first experience be accompanied by an informative back stage look at one of the most famous opera houses in the world, was a great way to start what I hope will be a recurring habit.