Life in the Pit
In many regards the health concerns faced by pit players are the same as for all orchestral musicians. The most common complaints are overuse injuries. While nearly every musician faces this problem at some point in their career, for opera musicians in particular, as I intimated in my previous post, it is an ongoing struggle. With frequent, lengthy performances, it is vital that the musicians of an opera orchestra consider ways to keep injuries at bay such as stretching, massage, or different playing positions.
Another related problem is discomfort caused by cramped playing conditions. In a pit that is oddly shaped or just too small, it is often awkward to find space to play at all and sometimes impossible to play comfortably. Sustaining an uncomfortable position for hours at a stretch is a good way to invite the same sorts of injuries.
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