Things we Learned at Inside the Opera Studio - Abduction from the Seraglio Edition

1. Man, this is one good looking cast!
2. Chris Devlin (Assistant conductor and moderator for the evening) believes that Mozart had it out for the singers as shown by the difficulty of this piece.
3. Matthew Garrett (Belmonte) has a pet peeve about operatic stereotypes – especially the one about strange facial hair.
4. Heather Buck (Constanza) would sing upside down if a director asked her to and it didn’t compromise the aria.
5. Ellen Douglas Schlaffer (Director) has directed so many Connecticut Opera performances over the years she is going to apply for honorary Hartford citizenship.
6. Ashley Howard Wilkinson (Osmin) believes in physical fitness (which may be the understatement of the year – come to see the show and you’ll see why).
7. Sarah Callinan (Blonda) will have no trouble doing a 2:00pm matinee. In fact, if it were at 10:00am it would still be two hours later than many of the performances she had to do as a Resident Artist with Connecticut Opera.
8. Maestro Waters is using his Abduction conducting, both here and when he was in Boston last month, as aerobic training for the marathon Porgy & Bess run that he will be conducting in Berlin this summer.
9. Michael-Paul Krubitzer (Pedrillo) will have to remember to sing the correct words for Abduction since the children’s opera, The Billy Goats Gruff, which he sang as part of Connecticut Opera’s education and outreach program, is based on Mozart’s music.
10. Christopher Dickerson (Pasha Selim) loves coming to Hartford. Since this is a speaking part he gets to play golf and go to the pub without feeling guilty.
11. Did I mention that this is one good looking cast!

Audra McDonald Calls Out CT Opera Chorister

I had the pleasure of attending the Audra McDonald concert at the Jorgensen Center on the campus of UConn on Saturday evening. I was pleased to see that sharing the experience with me were several members of the Connecticut Opera chorus. Ms. McDonald was wonderful, covering a wide range of Broadway favorites and obscurities from the 1920’s to the present day. One of the songs she performed was I Could Have Danced All Night; a song which she said she was reluctant to put in her repertoire since everyone sings it – “From Julie Andrews to Nathan Lane in drag!” After the first refrain, Ms. McDonald remarked, “See, everyone sings it. You’re humming along with it now!” She then turned it into a sing-along with a special exhortation to all the sopranos.

After the song was over, she walked to the lip of the stage, shaded her eyes so she could see into the crowd and remarked, “You were all great especially this one over there,” and she proceeded to point out Connecticut Opera Chorus’ own Kalia Kellogg out of the crowd of several hundred people. After some questions from the stage (‘Are you an opera singer” – “Yes”; “Are you a Fiordiligi? What’s your favorite role?” – “Violetta.”) Ms. McDonald remarked, “You have a beautiful voice,” then jokingly added, “Stay down there in the audience.”

You can take the advice of Audra McDonald and come hear Kalia’s beautiful voice when she sings in the chorus of our upcoming Abduction from the Seraglio.

A Masterclass with Martina Arroyo

Last night was our Masterclass, led by Metropolitan Opera soprano Martina Arroyo, held at the Wilde Auditorium at the University of Hartford. The purpose of a Masterclass is to give singers a chance to give a working performance of an aria and receive feedback from the leader of the class, who will give them suggestions for ways to enhance their performance. Last night’s Masterclass was also an opportunity for the audience to learn more about what goes into preparing a role or aria for performance.

There are various approaches taken by those who lead Masterclasses. Some work with the singers on their technique, other focus more on the acting/portrayal of the character, and some do a combination of the two. Ms. Arroyo’s approach last night focused solely on character development and acing. Although she is a voice teacher, she feels that a Masterclass is not an appropriate setting for her to work on vocal technique with singers. She explained that vocal technique is something that has to be worked on and coached over a long period of time, preferably with the same teacher.

Our four Resident Artists, Jeffrey McAvoy, La’Tarsha Long, Toby Newman, and Allen Pinkney each sang for Ms. Arroyo last night. They were each at different points in the preparation process for the arias they sang – some were just beginning to explore the characters, while others had performed the aria and/or character many times before. This worked out well because the audience could see the kinds of things that are worked on at each stage of the process. Even if you have performed an aria a hundred times, there is always something that you can change or add, or another interpretation or way of looking at the character. The singers all did a great job – it’s not easy to be coached in front of an audience, and you never know what the person coaching you is going to ask you to do! For example, while Allen was singing Rodolfo (from La Bohéme), Ms. Arroyo asked Toby to come onstage and “be his Mimi”. I’m sure that as a mezzo, Toby never thought she would be asked to be Mimi!

Throughout the evening, Ms. Arroyo invited audience members to make comments or ask questions. Ms. Arroyo addressed a question about how a singer keeps so much in mind while performing – technique, the characters personality and feelings, how the character moves, etc. She explained that it takes lots of practice and preparation, and having a clear sense of EVERYTHING about the character, including how many time a day they burp!

There were several college voice students who attended the Masterclass, which is great. You can learn just as much (if not more) from watching other singers being coached as when you yourself are being coached. One of the students asked Ms. Arroyo about the amount of time a voice student should be spending working on their music, citing concerns about having only one hour-long lesson a week, and at the most one coaching a week. Ms. Arroyo responded that indeed, that is not enough time to be spending, and that singers need to spend just about as much time as they can afford to working on their voice and performance techniques. She firmly stated that singers who do this are not being selfish – they are just doing what needs to be done.

It was a wonderful evening for all involved. The Resident Artists were given some great ideas to think about as they continue preparing the roles they sang in the Masterclass, and the audience was able to learn right along with them. It was a delight to have Martina Arroyo here!

A very Special Family Day

The Boys and Girls Club dresses up in Opera Costumes before the performance.

On Sunday May 20^th we had the privilege to host a special Family Day at the Opera for children from the Parkville branch of the Boys and Girls Club and the South Park Inn Shelter. The performance of Little Red Riding Hood at the opera’s studio and the transportation for the attendees was sponsored by The Circle of Hands Foundation and Connecticut Opera Board Member, Dr. Marcia Satlow. In addition to the performance the children participated in costume dress-up, a coloring contest and received goody bags.

Also in attendance was Councilwoman Veronica Airey-Wilson who presented proclamations of appreciation from Mayor Eddie Perez to both Connecticut Opera, which was accepted by Managing Director Linda Jackson, and to the Circle of Hands Foundation, accepted by Dr. Satlow.

Family Day at the Opera

Did you see a mother, a grandmother, a little girl, a woodsman & a big bad wolf in Hartford this past Sunday afternoon? They were celebrating Family Day at Connecticut Opera, and everyone had an enjoyable, exciting time.

How far did you travel to attend the event? My journey was the longest - all the way from England - and it certainly was worthwhile. There were two performances of 'Little Red Riding Hood', a charming opera with familiar tunes; did you hum along, under your breath, perhaps remembering your own introduction to opera as a child when you were too young to realise what opera was all about? Based on Sunday's response to the performances, I'd say that everyone loved the drama, the beautiful singing, the bright costumes and the treats.

Aric asked me to help out by giving programmes to the young guests on arrival; the children then moved quickly to the far end of the room where costumes were available for trying on, helped by Lavell Thompson. Conveniently placed mirrors were popular, as bears, a sea captain, princesses and imaginary beings gazed at the transformation.

The program began with a warm welcome from Willie Anthony Waters, the popular Maestro of Connecticut Opera, and then the magical story unfolded. With brilliant sets and costumes, the mesmerizing music played by Christopher Devlin, and the outstanding singing of the young Resident Artists, we were transported to a world of make-believe that seemed real to us.

One of the highlights of the afternoon was a Question Time following each performance; children were eager to know about the story, the costumes, the Woodsman's axe, and other probing issues. The Resident Artists were approachable and happy to share their ideas with the audience, posing for photographs and signing the programmes.

Refreshments were served to everyone, with homemade cookies, fresh popcorn, juice and water. There were goodie bags for the young guests, and we laughed at the marvelous wolf masks that soon appeared; eating a cookie while wearing a mask is a bit of a challenge.

The success of Family Day depended also on the enthusiasm of the student volunteers from the University of Hartford; along with the Connecticut Opera Staff and Board members, they ensured a memorable experience for all of us, whether tiny tots, school-age boys and girls, parents or grandparents.

It was a brilliant afternoon. Be sure to watch out for the next Family Day.

Margaret Mary Cochrane

Cinderella, Peter Grimes, Simulcasts, Intimacy and the Mind's Ear

People often ask me if I was a singer and when I say no they then ask me how I got started working in opera.

After graduating as a theater major form college I started working for small companies in New York as a Stage Manager (including a very small opera company that did a production of La Cenerentola). I had been doing this for a couple of years when a friend from school called me to see if I could come to Houston to join him as an Assistant Stage Manager at Houston Grand Opera. When I told him that I didn’t know that much about opera he said it was okay because I knew how to stage manage and that’s what he needed help with.

I really didn’t know that much about opera when I got to Houston. To me opera was something that was sung in a foreign language and performed by large singers who weren’t particularly good actors. Imagine my surprise, then, when I arrived to begin work on Peter Grimes starring the most famous Peter Grimes, Jon Vickers. The production was directed by Ande Anderson, a resident stage director at Covent Garden, and conducted by the amazing John Pritchard. This was not opera as I thought it would be. It was sung in English. The words and the music were wonderfully woven together. The cast were not only great singers but wonderful actors. Add to this 60 members of the chorus and 60 plus in the orchestra pit and my friend was right when he called to ask me to come to Houston--opera was the next biggest thing after the circus and I was blown away.

As often as I have listened to Peter Grimes (enough to be able to sing almost the entire piece from beginning end) I never had a chance to see another production of the opera so when the Met announced that it was to be one of the simulcasts this season I couldn’t wait to see it. The Met production was all that I could have wished for. The set is dark and imposing and though I didn’t love it I found that it worked well for this production. The costumes were incredible (with careful detail that was explained during one of the intermissions by the costume designer). And until last week I couldn’t imagine ever seeing anyone who could bring Peter Grimes to life as well as Jon Vickers but Anthony Dean Griffey came pretty close. Grimes is not an opera just about one person, it is about a community and what a community can do to a person’s life. The rest of the cast were all equally terrific in bringing this community to life, including the chorus. And so after many years I got to see another production of an opera that has meant so much to me because it’s what started my professional career in opera. Anyone who did not have the chance to see this production should keep an eye out for it since it should eventually come to TV.

I love the Met simulcasts. You arrive at the theater, buy your popcorn, take your seat and when the lights go down you get to watch opera bigger than life. And this production of Grimes was bigger than life. Don’t get me wrong, nothing beats seeing a live performance of an opera but the simulcasts run a close second. It’s not just that they are bigger than life but as an audience member you feel a kind of intimacy both visually and aurally that you don’t feel in the 3,500 seats that are the Metropolitan Opera House.

Last year I saw The First Emperor just before we debuted in the Belding Theater at the Bushnell. That simulcast reinforced for me our decision to move into the Belding because you get the same kind of intimacy in there that you get with the simulcasts. This year I saw Peter Grimes the afternoon of our last performance of La Cenerentola in the Belding. Grimes was bigger than life and gruff and grey and Cenerentola was small and charming and peach and in both instances I was sitting the same distance from the stage and had the same incredible, intimate experience that left me loving opera and wanting to see more.

And the Mind’s Ear. You know how you get a song in your mind and it just plays over and over and over again. Well, after Saturday I spent the next week with different sections of Peter Grimes and La Cenerntola stuck in my ear. Until Thursday night when I watched Madame Butterfly Live from Lincoln Center. Un bel di.

Our first Talkback!

After a truly magical (and sold out!) matinee of La Cenerentola (Cinderella), the cast and Directors came back out on stage to see what the audience thought. About 150 ticket holders stayed to give their opinions and ask their questions... Maria even came out to the edge of the stage to sign an autograph for a young fan. Dandini, performed by Michael Mayes, when asked how he prepares for this type of performane, cleverly quipped that he "doesn't go for the laugh," making fun of his over-the-top comedic expressions and actions throughout the opera that made him a crowd favorite.

It was interesting and experimental to offer a talkback, something that is very common in theaters, but is just starting to show up in opera companies and classical arts as a way to connect with patrons, to receive feedback, and to allow audiences to feel more involved in the performance. In an opera, the feedback is always immediate... did they laugh or not, did they clap or not... and the performers can feel that, it energizes them to bring more to their performance. Other feedback can be harder to gauge unless you ask the audience directly what they thought. Some questions that the audience asked were about the details of the scenery and where it came from, how are the costume changes made so quickly, and how difficult was it to sing and act so fast.

It was the first "talkback" I've ever witnessed, and it was very enjoyable. I guess if the performance hadn't been so wonderful, maybe I wouldn't have liked the "talkback" as much. :) And Christopher Devlin made an excellent moderator, thank you so much!!