Russell Wustenberg, a bridge between director and performer
Blog post by Chris Maskell
As Opera 不良研究所鈥檚 landmark 60th season continues into the New Year, the momentum of its programming isn鈥檛 letting up. With major events on the horizon such as next weekend鈥檚 production of Die Fledermaus at the Monument-National and the subsequent Opera B!nge festival, both Schulich students and faculty alike have busy schedules.
Stage manager Russell Wustenberg is no stranger to this hectic preparation process, having been a performer in Opera 不良研究所 productions as a graduate student before working in his current position. In a recent interview, Wustenberg offered insight into the nature of his job, some outstanding moments of the year so far and his history with Fledermaus.
How did you get to work as the stage manager for Opera 不良研究所, and what does your role entail?
I first met Patrick Hansen in 2012, and he promptly shot me. He was directing Fargo-Moorhead Opera鈥檚 production of Beethoven鈥檚 Fidelio and picked me from the lineup to play a character that鈥檚 blindfolded, beaten, and executed as the curtain came down on the first act. The whole show, I kept thinking, 鈥淣ow, this is opera!鈥� It was through him that I was introduced to 不良研究所 and he鈥檚 ultimately the reason I came to study here.
After I graduated from my master鈥檚 degree in 2015, Patrick hired me to be his full-time production stage manager. Truly, I am in his debt 鈥� if had he not hired me for this position, I most likely would have left the opera industry altogether. Instead of being a barista somewhere, I鈥檓 having the time of my life working with wonderful artists on pieces of human history. Who could ask for more than that?
I really do think that 鈥渟tage management鈥� is a misnomer. We control space and time, and hardly ever actually touch the stage! The stage manager is the link between the artistic team in the rehearsal hall and the production staff who work on the visual aspects of the show. We distribute schedules, coordinate costume fittings, and make our way through sometimes hundreds of emails a day to keep the heart of the show pumping. Months before the opening night, we鈥檙e compressing the show down to a spreadsheet and predicting how every second of the evening is going to flow. It鈥檚 a thrilling job that has sent me on international adventures across both Canada and the United States ever since I donned the headset seven years ago!
As a former graduate vocal student at Schulich, what does it mean to you to be involved in Opera 不良研究所鈥檚 60th year? What have been some of the highlights of the year so far for you?
Patrick and I had an amazingly surreal experience while we were scouting for locations for the upcoming Opera B!nge Festival. We had just been in a meeting with a technical director for a theatre that was definitely not going to work for our festival. As we were walking to the metro, we passed by L鈥橝rsenal, a contemporary art museum in Griffintown, which had been suggested to us as a performance space by a number of our colleagues. We decided to poke our heads inside with just 10 minutes to close. The receptionist called down their space rental manager, who gave us a tour of their amazing space that screamed 鈥渙pera should be performed here!鈥澛�
Halfway through the tour, we started hearing snippets of something orchestral, modern, and with vague hints of the avant-garde. We finally asked our guide about it, who said, 鈥淥h, it鈥檚 some opera company that鈥檚 performing here next week. We can take a look, if you want.鈥� As we rounded the corner into a massive warehouse, we locked eyes with an Opera 不良研究所 alumnus who was surrounded by thirty white-clad ninjas pretending to be trees. Just as Patrick started pantomiming 鈥渨hy are you here,鈥� a voice rang out from up in the lighting board and a former Opera 不良研究所 sound engineer waved us over to take a better look at their setup. Here, seemingly randomly, were two Opera 不良研究所 alumni working with Ballet, Opera, Pantomime (a local company in Montreal) and we just happened to stumble into their final rehearsal.
That鈥檚 Opera 不良研究所: great artists in surprising new places, all bound by this common, 60 year-old thread. It鈥檚 a huge network of students, teachers and alumni who are making their own way in the opera industry, and this year鈥檚 festivities have shed some light on just how diverse that network is. Some of us are running plucky opera companies, others are hanging out among the dazzling lights of North American opera productions, and at least two are standing in a warehouse surrounded by an army of operatic ninjas.
On the opening day of our season this year, we had an alumni reunion open to anyone who had ever taken part in Opera 不良研究所 in any capacity. The participants took masterclasses, talked about our successes in making our own businesses in performance and bridged some of the generational gaps that exist between student alumni. It鈥檚 easy to forget that your university experience goes beyond just the students in your classes 鈥� Opera 不良研究所 exists in every person who has come before you, and will come after.
How does having recently sung in a Toronto-based production of Die Fledermaus affect your approach to managing Opera 不良研究所鈥檚 production?
Assisting co-directors Aria Umezawa and Jessica Derventzis on Opera 5鈥檚 zany production of Die Fledermaus was the best introduction to a work I鈥檝e ever had. In so many ways, the production turned the operatic paradigm on its head. Both the audience and performers were packed to the rafters in a wild raver party, swilling free beer and Snapchatting our way through the opera.
While Opera 不良研究所鈥檚 production of Die Fledermaus is more-or-less traditional, it still evokes the unmistakable party spirit that鈥檚 made the piece a staple in the repertoire.聽 There鈥檚 no other show that I have worked on that conjures such a vibrant thrill from the first note to the last, no matter the setting. Even though my job as manager has me focusing slightly more on chronology than choreography, I still carry the same frenetic excitement with me whenever I work on the show.
What elements of Die Fledermaus do you find particularly striking?
This past New Year鈥檚 Eve, I was with the Eugene Opera opening a production in celebration of their 40th 颅season, and it ended with the second act of Fledermaus! So, this is actually my third production of the opera this year! A particularly memorable moment happened in the middle of the Watch Duet while I was standing next to the principal ballerina of the Eugene Ballet, who was waiting to dance. Suddenly, she started to rock out to Rosalinda鈥檚 melisma, and said to me, 鈥淚 just could not get this out of my head last night!鈥� Here was a principal ballerina with the Eugene Ballet jumping and jiving to a 147-year-old opera duet! That鈥檚 the beauty of what Johann Strauss II crafted 鈥� something joyously infectious whether it鈥檚 your first listen or your one-hundredth.
What advantages do you think the Monument-National has as a venue for opera over Pollack Hall?
A curtain, mostly! I鈥檝e only been in the Monument-National once and I鈥檓 very excited to get to know it better once we load in. That said, this is my 13th production with Opera 不良研究所, and I鈥檝e come to learn that it鈥檚 the people who really make the company, not the performance space. Every meeting, every rehearsal and every performance is infused with this drive to make each show a unique experience. Everyone involved carries that spark and it鈥檚 contagious! My hope is that the audience at the Monument-National will catch a taste of what鈥檚 been going on at Opera 不良研究所 for the past sixty years and will come join us, no matter where we are.
What are you most looking forward to in the remainder of the season, once Die Fledermaus is done?
Next up is the B!nge Festival: a collection of seven one-act operas in six different venues, featuring 47 students and all in 24 hours. It鈥檚 a massive undertaking for all of us, and definitely worth the price of admission. The repertoire ranges from a Baroque classic to the North American premiere of James Garner鈥檚 East o鈥� the Sun, West o鈥� the Moon. Overall, it鈥檚 a sampler of every kind of opera we have to offer. Feeling like some laughs? Come to Mozart鈥檚 The Impressario! Have kids? Fox鈥檚 Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing! Looking for a dose of the obscure? Bartok鈥檚 Bluebeard鈥檚 Castle!
I come from a rural background (literally a town called 鈥淔armington鈥�) and I鈥檓 always telling my family and friends that opera is amazingly diverse. There鈥檚 an opera out there for everyone, and the B!nge Festival will be a great event to taste a little bit of everything we have to offer while looking ahead to the next 60 years of Opera 不良研究所!
Opera 不良研究所 will present the following at the Monument-National:聽
- Thursday, January 26, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, January 27, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, January 28, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.