Keeping It Together On Stage - continued

The safest and surest way to stay in tempo with the conductor is of course to ignore the conductor and prompter altogether, and instead observe the bow of the first violinist. The violins play more than any other instrument in the orchestra. The first violinist’s beat is easily discernable, and his proximity to the conductor’s podium allows choristers to appear to be faithfully observing the conductor while in reality watching the first violinist’s bow. This is an important consideration if dealing with the rare conductor that actually looks at the chorus. In truth, choristers may acquire the beat by staring at almost any member of the string section, but predicting when a conductor is going to look at the chorus is an acquired skill that should be left only to the bold. Better to watch the first violinist and thus avoid accusations of daydreaming on stage. Besides, conductors frequently add extra beats when attempting to push the orchestra into a faster tempo, leading to all kinds of confusion on stage.

Watching the first violinist has the added advantage of giving the chorus an instant heads-up on which of the conductor’s beats the orchestra will choose to ignore.
The greatest threat to choral unity comes from the fact that the chorus is usually scattered all over the stage. Again, because sound takes time to travel, the voices at the back reach the audience later than those nearer the front. The situation is further complicated by the little known fact that when operatic choristers sing, they hear only themselves. Over the sound of their own bombastic voices they can’t hear the person next to them, much less the orchestra. Therefore those near the back of the stage, unable to see or hear, should rely on a trusted chorister near the front of the stage. Choose a reliable chorister who tends to bounce up and down in tempo as he or she sings. Such individuals are invaluable as choristers because they physically broadcast the beat, usually thrash their heads left and right on cut-offs, and their enthusiasm tends to lead them to the front of the stage where they have an unobstructed view of the first violin. Choristers in the back should try to sing slightly ahead of the bouncing chorister, but there’s no need to get too compulsive about it. If the front/back time lag turns the chorus text into mush, it will just be attributed to bad diction and ultimately blamed on the language coach.

One last thing. When wrongly blamed for a tempo mishap over which you had absolutely no control, a heartfelt apology, especially one that includes the word "maestro", never fails to impress.

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