Summer in St. Louis

Just three days left in this series of US engagements that began May 2nd with the NY Phil (see my previous post), and ends this coming Sunday, June 30th with a sixth and final performance of Phil Glass’s Galileo Galilei at Opera Theatre of St. Louis (OTSL). Two months of creative joy, with one Phil at the start and another at the end!

I had heard that OTSL was a great company, but my time here in St. Louis has surpassed even the elevated expectations I had. To be frank, after a mysterious Homeland Security snafu caused my visa for both gigs to arrive just 48 hours before I was set to fly to NY, I was just relieved to have made it into the country!

To then find myself developing rich characters with our terrific cast and music staff, revelling in the sonic palette made available by the Grammy winning St. Louis Symphony, programming (and nerding out over) the show’s music technology, and developing our storytelling with Director James Robinson, everything felt like wish fulfilment on steroids. Sure, I’ve had to learn how to deal with days and days of boiling hot weather followed by the occasional storm warning, but overall, the Caribbean boy in me felt right at home!

Last night, after a lovely Tent Dinner with OTSL patrons and partners, I attended Center Stage, the culmination of the company’s Young Artist Programs, showcasing the few dozen singers selected from over 1100 applicants, accompanied by the St. Louis Symphony. In the course of an evening which offered scenes by composers from Purcell to Puccini, Gilbert & Sullivan to Richard Strauss and Handel to Bernstein, a savvy and supportive audience had the opportunity to marvel at the assembled talent, in amongst which – we were all quite certain – were a handful of future stars. Super exciting!

Even though being on the road for so long, and a flurry of Covid recastings at the very end of the run proved challenging, the incredibly warm, familial environment of OTSL made my time here really enjoyable nonetheless, and I’ll always remember this experience with fondness. We started with Philip Glass and Mary Zimmerman’s minimalistic canvas, to which the entire company added colour, humanity and heart, resulting in an artwork that clearly touched our audiences, leaving them with food for thought and beautiful music to imbibe with it. Thanks OTSL!