First Week Review

Thank you to EVERYONE for the exhaustive (and exhausting) effort during the first VERY long week of SIOP. We have all made progress toward being more efficient in rehearsals, scheduling, arranging, etc.. There was also a lot of individual progress made in musical/language preparations but there is still a significant amount of concern in this regard.

First of all, let me thank all of those who came well prepared and ready to dive headlong into the intensive program we had planned this to be. I am extremely sorry that not everyone came equally prepared and we have been forced to address so serious deficiencies at the expense of those who could really benefit the most. I am extremely grateful for your patience through this, and assure you that attention will be turned to you in increasing amounts beginning this week. While a BIT of this had been anticipated, much of it had not. It is important to all of us organizing and administering this program that you all have the greatest musical experience possible. I promise you we will be working to ensure your time is not wasted.

For those who did not arrive "ready to go!", you must surely be well aware by now that the responsibility to learn your words, learn your notes and learn your rhythms lies exclusively with you the individual. This is a program designed to teach young professionals the tools of character development, musical analysis and rehearsal processes necessary for success in the opera world. Repeating the most basic of german text over and over again, much less spending extremely valuable rehearsal time on notes and rhythms simply is not a part of the process offered here. In any professional environment an unprepared singer will be replaced. We too will do what we need to do to ensure a quality experience for our well prepared participants, and to ensure the success of our performances. This means that those who do not raise their level of preparation to an acceptable and workable level immediately will be replaced/reassigned for the performances. Please take note of everything we worked on during the first week and apply those same lessons to everything forthcoming. We have not employed a staff of coaches to teach you your parts from the ground up. That should have been done before coming to Seoul. That work is solely your responsibility and I hope everyone will catch up very soon.

With that said: time you are not called to be in a rehearsal or coaching should not be assumed to be "free" time. If you are struggling with your parts/words...use that time wisely. You are all adults and young professionals in this program. You do not have the luxury of time to wait for someone else to teach you these things. If you have an hour, study your parts. Read your libretto; practice reciting your words; count your rhythms, etc.. DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO so that we do not have to waste anyone else's time in rehearsals.

Of course we all want you to enjoy your time in Seoul and make the most of this wonderful experience. The sooner you obtain a level of comfort and confidence with your part, the more enjoyable the entire process and experience will be.

Thanks again for your hard work and patience during week one. Now, let's pick up the pace and make even greater progress during week two!