He also attends every rehearsal, and makes notes about what cues to give in his score, and meets with each cast member individually to develop a prompting strategy tailored specifically for that person. Piatt has been studying Adams's rhythmically and tonally complex score for months in preparation ("Basically, you have to have the score memorized," he says), so that he can help the performers hit all the right notes in all the right places. The prompter helps with cues in difficult moments by speaking, shouting or waving his arms in their direction.
But performers don't wear earpieces, and it can be tough to hear the orchestra properly from the stage it's likewise challenging to see the conductor under the glaring lights. Piatt will spend the entirety of every performance during the run concealed under a hood in this stuffy little enclosure, located right on the edge of the stage, front and center. "We always joke about putting in a wet bar, but we haven't done that yet," he says, with a chuckle. There's a wooden stand to hold a musical score, monitors to view the conductor, a fan to deal with the heat, a phone to call stage management in case the audio or video feed goes out, and a small electronic keyboard, conveniently Velcroed to the side of the box, to help the prompter give pitches - though Piatt said this is rarely needed, as most people who do this job have perfect pitch. The prompter is invisible to the audience, and he may be only one person among the roughly 250-strong cast and crew, but he plays a major role in keeping everything from flying off the rails. Like the play, it's about the star-crossed romance of the Roman general and the Egyptian queen. Piatt is the prompter for the company's production of Antony and Cleopatra, a new opera adapted from the Shakespeare play by John Adams, who is considered to be one of the world's greatest living composers.
From this vantage point, Piatt can view the entire stage through an opening that's about the size of the average suitcase. "I always have to be careful not to rip my pants," Piatt says, as he hoists himself into a seat and pushes a button to propel himself upward several feet, using a hydraulic lift.
To reach the prompter's box at the home of the San Francisco Opera, Matthew Piatt heads under the stage and walks down a long, narrow passageway.
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