Well, here I am in Switzerland, Thun to be specific, working on the world premier of Dallebach Kari, das Musical. The idea being that every year, Thun builds a huge stage on their beautiful lake and have summer performances where people from all over Switzerland visit. 2010 is the first year since the inception of this event they have produced a brand new piece; with the book based on a local character who lived at the beginning of the 20th century.
Thun is Switzerland’s eleventh largest city – it’s about the same size as Richmond, London; and also has a similar feel. The lake is about 12 miles in length, so it’s great to have a drive around on a sunny day when I’m not working.
My role out here is Musical Associate, and most days are 12/13 hours long trying to keep all the music department functioning well, looking after the cast and chorus and generally enthusing everyone to keep going!
Last Wednesday was a highlight for me so far; I spent six solid hours conducting a recording session, laying all the vocals onto the click tracks to use in the show as support for the cast; as it’s open air we can have problems with wind on the microphones so this is a great way to keep everything sounding great. Although this was a complete pleasure, my arms felt like they needed to drop off by the end of the session. Four days later they still ache, but the pain was worth it!
I’ve had one day off since I’ve been here. I’ll try and update you again soon, but we now go and rehearse on the lake weather permitting so it starts to get more intense now.
Check back soon!
June 22nd, 2010