Choir - performances

The performances went better than expected, although they were still not perfect. The audiences didn't seem to mind, though: on Saturday, a part of the audience even stood up, and on both evenings, the applause didn't end until the conductor sent us offstage, which was after taking ample time for bowing, making the soloists bow, and singing an encore (Тебе поем, we sing to Thee).
The dress rehearsal was originally planned to be on Friday, but that turned out to be a normal rehearsal. Then, the idea was to just sing through everything right before the first performance. We did, although even then the conductor interrupted at some points. For the basses, this 'dress rehearsal' went spectacularly bad, with people losing track at several points, resulting in very chaotic singing. Luckily, almost none of that was repeated during the performance: there was one spot where some people missed the rhythm, but that was it. Sunday was similar.
What was new to me was the dress code: suit, including tie. Now, those of you who have worn shirts and ties know that they tend to be rather tight around the neck. I never liked that at parties, but for singing it was very impractical. That, combined with the fact that I could not drink any water during the performance, resulted in a sore throat at the end (the whole programme was about an hour and a half, I believe). So, on Sunday, I did not close the upper button of the shirt, and wore the tie a bit more loosely, which went much better :).
Now, the project is finished, resulting in the usual slightly melancholic mood. Not nearly as strongly as other times, though, since the choir is not finished (in theatre projects I have participated in so far, the end of the project was also the end of the group). During the applause today, the conductor said: 'Rehearsal this Thursday, 20:00.' :).