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We had a meeting about costumes for Showboat, which Im staging later this year at the Albert Hall. The set is in the process of being made - Im not going to give anything away, but we do have a real showboat and were getting water into the Albert Hall. In the evening, I met friends at the Neal Street Restaurant for dinner - I have apartments in London and New York, and I have friends in both places, thankfully. You cant live without your friends.
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I got up at the crack of dawn and flew to Vienna, going straight into auditions for Rebecca. These are the final call-backs, so I had to see 250 people in three days. I was having a lot of trouble finding a great Mrs Danvers. Shes such an enigmatic character and has some of the best songs. Its the most difficult role to pull off. Afterwards, I went walking in the park - there was a lot of snow - and stopped off for a coffee. Thats the problem with Vienna: trying to francessca zambello showboatstay away from all those delicious coffees and cakes.
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Opera director Francesca Zambello talks to Siân Stott about juggling productions in three countries
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I got up at 6.30am and went to the gym. I usually exercise between 7am and 8am and I think of that as my quiet personal time. I try to start work by half nine and carry on until I go to bed, at 12.30am at the latest. Its not a lot of sleep, but it works. Today, I went to check on rehearsals for La bohème, which is about to open at the Albert Hall. This production was performMy week: Francesca Zambello, opera director francessca zambello showboated there two years ago - were using a lot of the same people, but you always try to make it a little better the next time, to make sure its fresh and new.
I flew overnight to London and went straight to the studio of Peter Davison, the set designer for Rebecca. Were doing the musical, based on the novel, in Vienna this autumn and we have to take the set models over for a presentation at the weekend. In the evening we went to see Mary Poppins, which I enjoyed immensely. Ive seen it before, but I wanted to catch the new cast.
My week: Francesca Zambello, opera director francessca zambello showboat,To see our content at its best we recommendupgrading if you wish to continue using IE or using another browser such as Firefox, Sari or Google Chrome.
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This is a really busy time for me, as Im juggling productions in New York, London and Vienna. My week started in New York, where I had a rehearsal at the Met for Cyrano de Bergerac. Plácido Domingo has been sick, so I had to rehearse one of his understudies. Then I met with the costume designer of Disneys Little Mermaid - its opening on Broadway next year and this was the first time Id looked at the costumes. Theres a great design for the wild and exotic fish who dance to Under the Sea.
