Spotlight on Matthew Piatt
Part of a new series, Life of the Opera Pianist
Education:
Bachelor of Music in piano performance at the University of Houston
Master of Music in collaborative piano at the University of Michigan
Adler Fellowship at San Francisco Opera
Current opera house(s) and position(s):
For over a decade, I have split my time between Lyric Opera of Chicago and San Francisco Opera. I will be working at the Met for the first time in February 2022.
Other or former affiliations:
I have also worked at Opera Colorado and Opera San José.
Contact or Connect:
@mattphatt on Instagram
11 Questions
Many people do not know the many roles and responsibilities a répétiteur has in the opera house. How do you explain your job to non-musicians, or even other musicians?
This always feels like a tricky question to me. One thing that tends to surprise people is that they can’t buy an opera ticket and come see me perform, since the vast majority of what I do is behind the scenes. I like to think about my actual work in terms of two phases: the preparatory period, and the “performance” period (which is very different from other types of performance). During the preparation period, I spend months of unpaid time learning scores so that once rehearsals start, I can function in place of the orchestra for the first few weeks of rehearsals. That usually involves enormous amounts of time studying, translating, and practicing both the piano reduction itself and also singing all the vocal lines while playing (which often consumes the majority of my preparation time). This can include things like rewriting large amounts of piano reductions that poorly reflect what the orchestra sounds like, listening to many recordings, and taking private language study for languages that I’m less familiar with. Once rehearsals begin, I am in a sort of performance mode, insofar as my daily activities at the opera house involve putting that preparation into use, however it is needed. Besides having to play many hours of rehearsals per day, we are often expected to coach singers who may need extra help, and that usually requires a knowledge of vocal technique, facility with languages, and (hopefully) a pleasant bedside manner, which allows us to collaborate the wide variety of singers we encounter. Besides all of these things, we are also expected to do things like conduct backstage, play auditions, and (in my case) act as a prompter, which is an entirely different skill set.
What do you find to be one of the most challenging aspects of your job?
I’m not sure that it is the most challenging thing, per se, but since I am currently working on Florencia en el Amazonas in Chicago, the first thing that comes to mind is the amount of time it has taken me to rewrite the piano part. Whoever made this orchestral reduction simplified the piano part so much that it is a poor reflection of what the orchestra actually sounds like. Over the last 3 months, I have been rewriting the existing piano part, since it feels like an unfinished ’sketch’ of what the conductor and singers will hear from the orchestra. This involves measure-by-measure comparison to the full score, deciding what to add, how to fit it into my hands, and how to notate it on top of the already-printed music so it’s easily readable under pressure. It’s hard to quantify how much time this takes, but dozens of hours over many months is normal.
What is your favorite opera?
I can’t really give you one answer, but some of my favorites are Kát’a Kabanová, Jenůfa, Rake’s Progress, and Elektra.
What is your favorite opera score to play and why?
Honestly, it is often whatever I am working on at the time. Florencia isn’t necessarily my all-time favorite, but I am immersed in it right now and never get tired of it. Every score has unique challenges (even scores that are less technically demanding), so I enjoy figuring out ways to sound as close to the orchestration as possible.
What are some adjectives that describe the skills one needs to be a good répétiteur?
Dedicated, selfless, collaborative, quick-thinking, compassionate, fearless, curious
As a répétiteur, we are expected to prepare music quickly (sometimes having to sightread or transpose or play music from the orchestra full score), manage multiple opera productions at the same time, play rehearsals for last minute cast changes, conduct last minute rehearsals or performances and sometimes even sing roles in these rehearsals or performances. Do you have any advice on how to deal with the excitement of the job?
It sounds like obvious or unoriginal advice, but good preparation is invaluable to performing well under pressure. When I am learning a piece, this means very tedious, slow practice in which I account for every beat of music and every syllable of text. I’m fortunate that between Lyric and San Francisco, I almost always have plenty of advance warning about what is expected of me, whether it’s getting assigned to operas months in advance or learning what repertoire I will have to play for auditions a few days ahead of time. These days, it’s actually pretty rare for me to have to sightread under pressure—it’s more that I get ample time to internalize music so that I can function well under intense circumstances.
We also wear many hats as a répétiteur. We are often asked to assist conductors by taking notes, provide backstage conducting for performances, prompt the singers, conduct staging rehearsals, accompany chorus rehearsals, manage sound effects or major musical cues for performances, perform a keyboard instrument (or two) in the orchestra pit and give notes to singers about language and diction. Do you have a favorite aspect of the career? Have you branched out in other directions related to our field?
Prompting has become one of my favorite specialties, and I feel like it took me many years of experience before I started to understand what exactly is expected of a good prompter. I could talk about this at length, but that’s probably for another post. You have to learn every vocal line so well that you essentially have the entire score memorized (or close to it). You also need to read a rehearsal room and adapt your style of prompting to each cast member. Some people want you to give them every entrance cue, and some people prefer that you remain hands-off. During rehearsals and performances, you have to sort of split your brain into thinking a few beats ahead but also know exactly where you are in the measure, and that can get complicated very quickly, especially during scenes where the onstage action is already hectic. You have to project a sense of authoritative calm, and singers need to feel that you can correct any problems in the blink of an eye if someone gets off or misses an entrance.
What was your first experience as a répétiteur? And your most recent experience as a répétiteur?
The first time I ever functioned as a répétiteur was my sophomore year in college. I was majoring in piano performance, and I always knew that I wanted to focus on collaborative piano. The opera department at the University of Houston had an unexpected opening, since the person who had been hired to play rehearsals withdrew the day before rehearsals began. I was given the score (Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims) the night before we started musical rehearsals, and it was a 'sink or swim' moment. The wonderful opera director Buck Ross told me during our first meeting that in order to be a good répétiteur, you have to be able to sightread, and you have to be fearless. The rest you learn from experience. The older I get, the more I appreciate that perspective.
As I said, I am currently serving as répétiteur for Florencia en el Amazonas by Daniel Catán.
How do you manage playing an opera (or opera aria) for the nth time?
One interesting thing about our profession is that every time you work on a complete score (or an aria or scene), you are collaborating with someone new. Even though you may been playing something for the hundredth time, everything can change when you are working with a new singer or conductor. Every person you encounter could have a different interpretation, tempo, sense of phrasing, vocal needs, etc., and it’s your job to listen and adjust to them as quickly as possible, often without even talking about it ahead of time. To me, this usually prevents me from getting bored with pieces that I have been playing since I was in college. Also, I feel like the older I get, the more attentive I can be to details that didn’t even occur to me when I was less experienced.
Do you have any advice for pianists interested in a career at an opera house?
I think it's important for aspiring opera pianists to understand that our job is rarely glamorous. It requires endless amounts of work, and even when you land a fantastic job somewhere, your work never ends, because the process of learning new scores never stops. Additionally, even when you are doing excellent work, it can often feel like few people even seem to notice. It can be hard not to take that personally, especially when you are the only one who knows how much work you invested ahead of time. You have to see yourself as one cog in a much bigger wheel, and often you get only a sliver of public acknowledgment for a job well done. Opera is such a complicated thing to put together, and it’s just expected that we come to work performing at a high level. You can form incredible relationships with singers, conductors, and other pianists, but you have to be comfortable with minimal amounts of validation. I think almost everyone I know has to grapple with that part of the job. On the other hand, when you are lucky enough to be involved with a great production and rehearsal process, the pay off is really worthwhile. One of the best feelings is to sit in the audience at a performance and know that the work you put in with one or more of the singers has made the overall show a better piece of theater.
Bonus Question: Have you ever performed on stage in an opera?
Matthew and his parents
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to perform a role in Francesca Zambello’s production of Show Boat at San Francisco Opera. There is a speaking role for a pianist, and it involves playing the piano, saying a handful of lines, as well as a tiny bit of singing. I was probably on stage for a total of 6 minutes, but it was one of the most nerve-wracking things I’ve ever done. I was performing amongst a few Tony winners and veteran opera stars, and the pressure to rise to the occasion felt immense at the time. I remember asking one of the incredible actors if she had any acting advice for me, and she just smiled and said “I think you are doing just fine,” which I assumed meant “I’m not sure where to begin.”
In retrospect, that experience was a turning point for me in terms of appreciating what opera singers face whenever they walk on stage. Until that point, it was only an abstract concept to me. I will never forget the first time we had a real audience, and I looked out into that huge theater and felt that mix of adrenaline and terror. The vulnerability involved is complete unlike anything we experience, even though the job of being an opera pianist can be incredibly stressful in other ways. You start to appreciate just how difficult it is to do that job—sometimes you can’t hear the orchestra well, or someone might accidentally be blocking your view of an off stage monitor, or the lighting or costumes are somehow complicating what felt easy during rehearsals. I like to think that I became more empathetic after having endured that, and when I’m trying to troubleshoot problems in the final stages of a rehearsal, it helps me see things from the singers’ own perspectives. I’m not sure I would seek out another role like that, but I am nonetheless thankful for the experience.
Biography from Lyric Opera of Chicago
Selected videos from the Atrium Sessions at San Francisco Opera with soprano, Rhoslyn Jones
Follow this series, Life of the Opera Pianist on Facebook.
Click on the “Tag” below for more Life of the Opera Pianist features