The San Diego Opera allows artists to come in a live sketch during a dress rehearsal. The artists sit in the back of the auditorium and can use a small desk lamp for sketching. Here is my sketchbook from Puccini’s Tosca from March 23, 2023.
Working in that setting for me, it was hard to see performer details, and not suitable for trying to create anything in color. What I tried to do was observe a regular pose that performers regularly would have. I would try to make a mental image of the pose and wait for the performer to go back to that pose to get more details. I tried to focus on the gesture and emotion of the pose given that I could not see the details.
In the past, artists were allowed to take non-flash reference photos. It would surprise me the difference between what I thought I saw and what details I could observe in the photo. I know my sketches have incorrect details or no details. I look forward to seeing the professional photos once they are posted to the San Diego Opera’s website.