music by Bernard Hughes
libretto by William Radice
based on a Bengali story by Upendrakishore Raychaudhuri
Auditions October 4, 5, 11, 12, and 13, 2008
Performances March 28th and 29th, April 4th and 5th, 2009
If you would like to be involved with us but cannot commit enough time or don't want to perform on stage, we welcome people that would like to experience other aspects of our production. Opportunities are available in areas such as set construction, ushering, makeup and backstage! If interested contact auditions09@FamilyOpera.org or call Dina Mardell at 617-492-4095.
Auditions will be scheduled at 15-20 minute intervals from 1:30 PM until 7:30 PM.
We encourage participation in our productions by multiple family members, both onstage and offstage. This year we will be REQUIRING that
We may also ask that an adult perform or attend rehearsals with some children above these age limits.
Descriptions of all jobs are available at auditions.
NCFO is a self-supporting non-profit organization. We do not charge a fee for participating in our production. In order to cover our production costs, we request a voluntary, tax-deductible donation from each family. Donations in any amount are welcome and gratefully acknowledged.
Please bring information about your schedule (and/or your family's schedule) for December through early April, so that we can discuss potential conflicts.
Come prepared to be photographed.
We will begin rehearsals on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23 (tentatively at 3:00pm). This rehearsal is MANDATORY for everyone in the cast as well as for at least one responsible adult from every family.
We will also have regular rehearsals on Sunday, December 14 and Sunday, December 21. We will resume after the holidays on Sunday, January 4, and will rehearse every subsequent Sunday EXCEPT President's Day weekend (Sunday, February 15). Please note that we WILL be rehearsing on Sunday, January 18 (the Martin Luther King holiday weekend).
The ENTIRE CAST rehearses on Sunday afternoons. The time you arrive for rehearsal will depend on your casting. Major soloists and minor soloists can expect to rehearse anytime from 12:30 - 6:30 PM on Sundays, while choruses rehearse starting between 2:30 and 4:30. We try very hard to end all rehearsals on time at 6:30, when we have a pizza party for those who would like to stay. We try to publish a rehearsal schedule for each month and send email reminders midweek before a Sunday rehearsal.
Chorus rehearsals will last between 2 and 4 hours during each of the regular Sunday rehearsals, including scheduled breaks. Major and minor soloists should expect to rehearse on selected Sunday afternoons. All major and some minor soloists may be required to rehearse on some weekday evenings as well (most often Thursday evening).
| RUNTHROUGHS | 3/14 and 3/15 |
| DRESS REHEARSALS | 3/21 and 3/22 |
| PERFORMANCES | 3/28, 3/29, 4/4, and 4/5 |
ALL CAST MEMBERS must attend scheduled runthrough rehearsals (tentatively schedule for Saturday, March 14 and Sunday, March 15, 2009) and dress rehearsals (tentatively Saturday, March 21 and Sunday, March 22, 2009); therefore it is important to check your family's schedule before accepting a role in this show. You will be scheduled for two 4-hour runthroughs (one on Saturday and one on Sunday) and two 4-hour dress rehearsals (one on Saturday and one on Sunday) on these very important weekends. These are the rehearsals where everything comes together and many things get changed, so it is critical to be there!
Two performances a day are scheduled for March 28 and 29, and April 4 and 5, 2009. Cast members will be scheduled for four of these eight performances (usually one per day). We will not cast you if you cannot adhere to the rehearsal and performance schedule for these last four weekends.
If you wish to audition for a lead role, please come prepared to sing for one role of your choice. If you wish to be considered for a role that requires you to sing harmony, please learn to sing for the role of Rajah, Princess, or Prime Minister. Otherwise, don't worry too much about which role to sing for ... we may well cast you in a different role anyway, so just choose one with a song you feel comfortable singing. The printed and recorded music to audition for lead roles is available for downloade in the ROLES section below, or can be obtained from:
We will evaluate you on all aspects of the song you sing in audition, including intonation, rhythmic precision, dramatic presentation of the character, and ability to sing harmony (if applicable), so please work on each of these aspects.
Those interested in supporting solo roles or not interested in solo roles don't need to prepare anything to sing.
Because our shows are double cast, we must divide participants into two casts before final role assignments can be made. It will be a month or two before you find out your solo assignment, so please be patient.
We endeavor to assign solos that will challenge you but not set you up to
fail. We consider not only ability to sing, act and dance the role, but
also age, number of years participating in the opera, and roles sung in
previous NCFO operas. We will NOT assign you a role that requires you to
sing harmony unless you have demonstrated the ability to do so in audition
(to do otherwise would not be fair to the other ensemble members). And
don't expect to receive a big role just because your friend does. It
doesn't work that way.
ROLES
Principal roles are listed below. All ranges span at least one but
fewer than two octaves, except as noted. If you want to audition for
a principal role, you MUST prepare using the sheet music and
MP3s provided below.
There are also as many as 35 supporting roles of various sizes and skill levels, as well as a number of dance and movement solos, for which no special preparation is required at this time.
STORY TELLER is the narrator.
Adult or teen, C to FPlease come prepared to sing the following song:
- The Marriage Proposal
- See the score
Hear the song with your part sung
Hear what will be played when you audition
JACKAL is a mischievous and manipulative creature, who is neither good nor evil but enjoys making trouble, then watching from a distance.
Child or Adult, C to F#Please come prepared to sing the following song:
- The Marriage Proposal
- See the score
Hear the song with your part sung
Hear what will be played when you audition
RAJAH is a poor, uneducated but innocent and goodhearted weaver who is constantly in over his head. Sings harmony.
Teenager, B to F#Please come prepared to sing the following song:
- Wedding Night
- See the score
Hear the song with all voice parts
Hear the song with just your part sung
Hear what will be played when you audition
PRINCESS is stubborn and demanding, with lavish tastes, but also quite resourceful. Sings harmony.
Teenage girl, D# to FPlease come prepared to sing the following song:
- Wedding Night
- See the score
Hear the song with all voice parts
Hear the song with just your part sung
Hear what will be played when you audition
The PRIME MINISTERS (six of them) are a chorus of bureaucratic sycophants. They sing harmony.
Anyone, B to EPlease come prepared to sing:
- The King & Queen's Pleasure, middle voice
- See the score
Hear the song with all voice parts
Hear the song with just your part sung
Hear what will be played when you audition
The KING is a rather pompous, overbearing monarch and father.
Man, C to G (A optional)Please come prepared to sing the following songs:
- The King & Queen's Pleasure
- See the score
Hear the song with your part sung
Hear what will be played when you audition- The Marriage Proposal
- See the score
Hear the song with your part sung
Hear what will be played when you audition
The QUEEN is a passive sort, acquiescing to whatever her husband recommends.
Woman, D# to D (one octave)Please come prepared to sing for any of the above roles.
The Five Children (STEVE, NINA, CARLA, SAM, LAURA) are at first the skeptical audience for, then enthusiastic participants in the Story Teller's tale. They sing harmony.
Two boys and three girls, various rangesPlease come prepared to sing for Rajah, Princess or the Prime Ministers.