Buster Keaton and Ernest Torrence in 'Steamboat Bill, Jr.' (1928).Before doing live music for silent films, my musical performing outlet was opera.
Yes, opera—the real thing, fully staged, with people singing at the top of their lungs.
Those people included me. For a time in the 2000s, I was fortunate to perform a wide range of chorus roles in productions staged by Granite State Opera. It was fun!
Let's see. I was a soldier in 'Carmen,' a priest/slave in 'The Magic Flute,' the notary in 'The Barber of Seville' (in which I got to sing in a quartet), a servant in 'The Marriage of Figaro,' an angry villager in 'Rigoletto,' and more.
The company, led by Phil Lauriat, would perform original productions of
two operas each year. Phil would bring in acclaimed professionals
for the lead roles. For the chorus, he'd rely on auditioned local people, a group that I became part of after writing a feature story on the troupe.
(Although not professionally trained, I've done a lot of singing since junior high. I peaked early, with my performance as Billy Bigelow in my senior class musical, 'Carousel.' At least I can still carry a tune.)
The opera experience was always intense, as Phil would have the leads for only two weeks prior to a performance. The chorus would rehearse for a few weeks prior, but you were expected to know the music and be "off book" when staging and blocking began, usually just 10 days before curtain.
Perhaps the highlight of my on-stage operatic career was, ironically, a totally silent role: that of the waiter in the Cafe Momus in Act II of 'La Boheme.'
I played the part like Charlie Chaplin, scurrying around the set, skidding on the turns, and waving my arm towel around. I had to carry and serve on stage a real roast chicken (delivered fresh to the theater prior to each performance), which allowed for a lot of fun pantomime.
Perhaps the highlight came when Musetta smashes a plate as part of the scene. The plates (from a set purchased at Goodwill) were scored to break into just a few pieces, and each time I would have to skitter about with a broom and dustpan to clean up the shards.
Each time, invariably a piece would wind up beneath Musetta's wide skirt, requiring me to approach her and lift it up to get the remaining chunk. I would time it for maximum comic effect, without interrupting the drama of the scene.
For that, I earned a bow at the final curtain!
Granite State Opera, alas, folded in 2008, a victim of the financial crisis at the time. (Opera is expensive!) It was about that time that I began accompanying silent films, which would soon leave little time for opera.
But it was a wonderful experience, and allowed me to get very close to major musical works in a way that was impossible to obtain from passive listening. There's no better way to experience the drama of the final act of 'Carmen' than to be standing right next to the principal singers in full voice!
Now, all these years later, the two worlds occasionally intersect. That's the case this weekend, when I accompany 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' (1928) on Sunday, March 23 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Concord, N.H. (Showtime is 2 p.m.; a lot more info is in the press release below.)
It just so happens that the church's music director is one of my opera chorus colleagues, John Spring.
John and I, and all the chorus singers, will always share a foxhole-like bond that comes from the intense way Granite State staged productions. I hadn't seen him in awhile when he stopped by the Aviation Museum of N.H. (site of my day job) earlier this year to catch up.
A longtime mail carrier as well as excellent singer and trumpet player, John's post-retirement gigs include serving as music director at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Concord, N.H.
And John had a crazy idea: how about staging a silent film with live music right in the sanctuary?
And so, my former life as an opera singer has now come full circle with a screening of Buster Keaton's 'Steamboat Bill, Jr.' (1928) on Sunday, March 23.
I want to thank John and everyone at St. Paul's for the opportunity to do live music and present this classic film to everyone this weekend.
And not to worry: although Buster does sing 'The Prisoner's Song' on screen, I'll keep my big yap shut.
Below is more info about the film and screening. See you in church!
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Original promotional art for 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' (1928)MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com
Buster Keaton's 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' to screen on Sunday, March 23 at 2 p.m. in Concord, N.H.
Public welcome! Classic silent film comedy to be shown with live music at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 21 Center St.
CONCORD, N.H.—He never smiled on camera, earning him the nickname of "the Great Stone Face." But Buster Keaton's comedies rocked Hollywood's silent era with laughter throughout the 1920s.
See for yourself with a screening of 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' (1928), one of Keaton's landmark movies, on Sunday, March 23 at 2 p.m. at St Paul's Episcopal Church, 21 Centre St., in downtown Concord.
The screening will feature live music for the movie by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis. Admission is free; donations are accepted, with $10 per person suggested.
Light refreshments will be served after the screening.
The show is intended to give area movie-goers the opportunity to experience early cinema as it was intended: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.
In 'Steamboat Bill Jr.,' Buster plays the bumbling son of a riverboat’s rough captain. When a rival brings a newer boat to the river, the family is forced to face competition, just as Buster is forced to ride out a cyclone threatening to destroy the community.
Can Buster save the day and win the hand of his girlfriend, who happens to be the daughter of his father's business rival?
The film includes the famous shot of an entire building front collapsing on Keaton, who is miraculously spared by a conveniently placed second-story window.
Keaton, who grew up performing with the family vaudeville act, was known for never smiling on camera, an important element of his comic identity. A trained acrobat who learned at an early age how to take falls, Keaton did all his own stunts on camera in the era before post-production special effects.
Critics continue to hail Keaton’s timeless comedy as well as his intuitive filmmaking genius. In 2002, Roger Ebert wrote of Keaton that “in an extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929, he worked without interruption on a series of films that make him, arguably, the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies.”
Keaton, who never attended school, did not think of himself as an artist but as an entertainer using the new medium of motion pictures to tell stories and create laughter.
The screening of 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent film presentations.
Rapsis will create the accompaniment on the spot, improvising music as the movie unfolds to enhance the action on the screen as well respond to audience reactions. He will perform the music on a digital synthesizer capable of producing a wide range of theatre organ and orchestral textures.
"Live music was an integral part of the silent film experience," Rapsis said. "Because most films at the time weren't released with sheet music or scores, studios depended on local musicians to come up with an effective score that was different in every theater. At its best, this approach created an energy and a connection that added a great deal to a film's impact. That's what I try to recreate," Rapsis said.
Buster Keaton's classic comedy 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' (1928) will be screened with live music on Sunday, March 23 at 2 p.m. at St Paul's Episcopal Church, 21 Centre St., in downtown Concord.
Admission is free; donations are accepted, with $10 per person suggested. For more information, call (603) 224-2523 or visit www.stpaulsconcord.org.
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