Jobs in Opera - On and Off the Stage

The composer does not wake up one morning and say, "Tonight I think I will go to the concert hall and present my opera for an audience. Clearly, more than one night is needed to pull together any theatrical production; an opera is no exception. Basically, you can divide an opera into two components - those under the lights and those behind the scenes.

UNDER THE LIGHTS
Opera singers clearly have great talent. They also need the following: ability to master the music, rhythms, and words of multiple languages, memorize challenging passages of music, acting ability, and amazing physical stamina to perform for hours in hot, heavy, bulky costumes. They are as highly trained as any star athlete: they are fit, disciplined, and dedicated to their art. Let's not forget the other performers. Many operas have a large chorus of singers who sing together as one unit and often appear in crowd scenes. They can also appear in costume, representing soldiers, townspeople and the like. Other non-speaking, non-singing people paid to appear in crowd scenes on stage are called supernumeraries. In some instances, operas will also have dancers. They can be part of a crowd scene or featured in solo roles. In some operas there are ballet performances as part of the production. The orchestra: talented musicians all. The blending of the composer's music with the action and singing is key to keeping the opera on track. Again, these people are hard-working, highly trained, and constantly practicing to hone their skills. The conductor keeps everyone in the orchestra on task, guiding the musicians, timing the music, but never overpowering the action on stage. That's in addition to coordinating the singers, choruses and other musical actions on the stage.
 
 
BEHIND THE SCENES
So you can't sing, don't dance, have no acting or musical ability and could care less about learning
a foreign language. What on earth could you do in an opera, and why would you?

There are many, many other careers in theater besides those on stage. Putting together a major production like an opera requires a vast number of people in a variety of interesting jobs, requiring many skill sets. Besides all the business people that run the company, raise money, hire staff and artists, etc., there's also:
• The construction crew: Today's performances require carpenters, painters, electricians, lighting and sound designers, set and costume designers, and make-up artists. A great costume designer, for example, has to clearly understand the story and time period of the opera, so the costumes appear authentic and are made sturdy enough to withstand the rigors of the performance.
• The scenery or set designers are like architects: They create detailed blueprints of the sets, making models to ensure that all the scenery will fit properly on the stage. The lighting designer underscores the actions and emotions of the opera with the use of lights that affect the appearance of the characters, the sets, the props, and the mood of the performance.
• The technical director orchestrates all of these people: He/she manages the construction crew, the stagehands, the building of the sets and scenery - anything to do with the physical make-up and logistics of the staging.
• Let's not forget the choreographer: This artist designs and creates the steps of the dances and trains the dancers in the performance. He/she can recreate the original choreography of an opera or interpret the music and story with his own unique style.
• The stage manager: This is the person who coordinates everybody involved in the opera. This person tells the crew when to raise and lower the curtain, when to change the lighting, scenery, sets, and sound effects. She/he keeps everyone in the loop on their places and parts to keep the performance flowing smoothly.