Along with the artistic team, répétiteur, assistant director, etc, there is also a stage manager. During the performances throughout the tour he or she is on hand to give all-important cues and directions to performers and stage technicians.

After several weeks of rehearsal in the company building at the Nationale Reisopera, there are, on average, two weeks of stage rehearsals. These often take place in the theatre where the production will have its première, but sometimes it is a theatre near a particular orchestra’s base, or close to the Reisopera.

The sets and lighting can be tested and adjusted in this theatre, and rehearsals take place with the performers on stage and the orchestra in the pit. A proper run-through of the opera can only really be done in a theatre, because only there can all the elements of the production be brought together.

Above the stage, there are ‘tracks’ on which to hang pieces of scenery, curtains, or lighting. The stage has wings on either side where stage technicians, stage manager and assistants work.

Before the first night, there is a dress rehearsal. This is to check that everything is as it should be. Is the lighting working properly? Are the surtitles synchronised with the singing? For singers, stage rehearsals are vital. In rehearsal rooms it is possible to approximate the situation on stage, but each theatre is different and performers must adapt to each one. The stage manager keeps an eye on everything. He or she sits out of sight of the audience, in the wings, and can see at once if something is wrong – with the lighting, for example. S/he is in contact with the lighting technician via a head-phone, so the problem can quickly be dealt with. After all the preparations, the performance is ready to begin: the audience take their seats, the lights dim, the curtain rises….