Tuesday, January 20, 2015

An Interview with Our New General Director


Amici, the young friends of Opera Birmingham, continues the countdown to the opening night of Hamlet and the celebration of Opera Birmingham's 60th Anniversary season with our 60 Days of Opera countdown! (You can catch up on all our posts by visiting the Amici facebook page, following us on twitter @AmiciBirmingham, or searching the hashtag #60DaysofOpera.)

Today we are thrilled to introduce you to Opera Birmingham's new General Director, Keith Wolfe! Keith joins Opera Birmingham following a 15-year rise through the world of arts administration. We are so excited to have him! Amici President Abbott Jones caught up with Keith to learn a little bit more about him:


Keith, tell us a little about yourself, for those who have not met you yet.

I was born in Virginia and was planning to be a chorus teacher, until I auditioned to be in the chorus for the local opera company. After that, I decided to pursue a career in opera and went to Maryland Opera Studio (at the University of Maryland) for my master's degree. About halfway through my degree, I realized that my personality and long term goals really didn't fit being a singer, and I was hired by my mentor to work with him in administration after I finished my degree. After a year in Shreveport, I took a position as Managing Director of Fort Worth Opera, where I worked for 14 years.

What is it about Opera Birmingham that intrigued you and made you want to come here (to indulge your inner foodie is a perfectly acceptable answer)?

I was really encouraged by the enthusiasm of the Board and excited about all of the opportunities for us to engage with the community in new ways. And I've heard about the foodie culture in Birmingham, which is definitely a plus!

What was your first opera?

Seeing Don Giovanni when I was a junior in high school.

Tell us about your "Aha!" moment when you fell in love with opera.

When I was a sophomore in college, I was in the chorus of my first opera - Turandot. That was the moment.

What is your favorite opera/role?

I have a lot of favorites. Turandot has a special place since it was the first show I was in. I loved singing Nemorino (the last role I sang in grad school before I decided to move into administration). Dead Man Walking had the biggest impact when I saw it for the first time.

Do you have any "guilty pleasure" music that you love? (Full disclosure: the interviewer confessed to loving Taylor Swift to break the ice on this one.)

Country music! Although I've fallen out of listening to it. When I was in college, some friends took me out dancing and taught me how to two-step and line dance. This was back in the days of "Achy Breaky Heart."

If you hadn't been in the opera industry, what profession would you be doing?

I'd probably be teaching chorus or doing something with computers. I'm a big IT geek!

Last, and arguably most important, question. Declare your football allegiance.

I'm going to plead the Fifth! Since I'm from Virginia and taught at TCU for a couple of years, I'm not going to choose sides between Auburn and Alabama. ;-)

A wise man. We look forward to getting to know and work with Keith more over the coming months and years. Exciting things are on the horizon for Opera Birmingham! Like the opening night of Hamlet, which is just THREE DAYS away now! You can still get tickets here (use the code HAMLET50 for 50% off).


Thursday, January 15, 2015

Hamlet: To Be or Not To Be?


Amici, the young friends of Opera Birmingham, continue the countdown to the opening night of Hamlet and the celebration of Opera Birmingham's 60th Anniversary season with our 60 Days of Opera countdown! (If you've missed the fun, check out the Amici facebook page or find us on twitter by following @AmiciBirmingham or searching the hashtag: #60DaysofOpera.)


Today we bring you a primer on Hamlet, the opera, and its composer, Ambroise Thomas. This primer was written by Hannah Guinn, Director of Education at Fort Worth Opera Studio, and is used with permission:

“Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.” - William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Ambroise Thomas

French composer Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896) is best known now for two operas: Mignon (1866) and Hamlet (1868). He is also remembered for being the director of the Paris Conservatory from 1871 until his death, during a time of increasing focus on national styles in composition and the beginnings of Wagner’s influence across Europe. Being born to musical parents, Thomas and his older brother were both destined to become musicians themselves. Their father played in theater orchestras and became a well-respected music teacher later in life. Their mother was also a music teacher and an accomplished singer. Of the brothers, the elder Charles played cello for the orchestra of the Opéra Comique in Paris, where the younger Ambroise joined him to study at the Paris Conservatory in 1828. Entering the school as a pianist, Thomas began studying composition, and in 1832, he won the Grand Prix de Rome, a prestigious competition held by the Conservatory that financed the winning composer’s travel and study in Rome for three years. Thomas discovered a love for Italian melody during his time there, which can be heard in some of the songs, piano pieces, and chamber works he composed during his sojourn. The composer traveled briefly to Germany from Rome, but then returned to Paris and set his sights on the Opéra Comique.


Thomas’ very first opera was a comic opera produced at the Opéra Comique in 1837. The opera La double échelle eventually received 247 performances, but his second comic opera, a Rossini-inspired piece called Le caïd (1849), was an unprecedented success, having over 362 performances and proving the bel canto (“beautiful singing”) style was moving beyond Italy. Eventually, Thomas composed about 20 operas, but most of them have fallen out of the repertory. Critics blame the low quality of his librettos for that fact, since it was noted that the music he composed was lyrical and fit very well into the tastes of the time.


Like his other operas, Mignon (1866) also premiered at the Opéra Comique, but it was the first opera that garnered him critical attention outside of France. Within the next 28 years, in Paris alone, the opera received over 1,000 performances, but it was produced and well received all over Europe. Mignon is rarely produced today, and the reason for that, according to Julius Rudel, conductor and well-known general director of New York City Opera from 1957 to 1979, was that Thomas bowed too much to the compositional rules of the day and made the music and libretto too sentimental, which did not fit with the original tragic story by Goethe.

"To be or not to be: that is the question." - William Shakespeare, Hamlet


Hamlet

Thomas’ next opera was Hamlet (1868), a strategic choice for the composer for several reasons. Thomas had a strong affinity for Shakespeare. The bard’s work first appeared in 1850 in Thomas’ Le songe d’une nuit d’été (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), a rather odd grab bag of a work that had little to do with the original play. The opera included Falstaff (the character in three of Shakespeare’s plays), Elizabeth I, and the bard himself. Mignon, which came along a number of years after Thomas became a composition professor at the Paris Conservatory in the late 1850s, also included a Shakespearean reference to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the first act of the opera, a group of actors is preparing for a performance of the play, not unlike the play-within-a-play found in Hamlet.


The composer’s initial strategy lied in the selection of Hamlet for his base material. Setting great works of literature was exceedingly popular in 19th century France, and Hamlet, a tragedy about revenge – a topic well-suited to opera – is credited as being unsurpassed in all of Western literature.


The chosen librettists were also part of the composer’s plan. Jules Barbier and Michel Carré worked together first in 1852, and rather quickly, they became the go-to duo for adapting literary works. Their lasting works are Faust (1859) and Roméo et Juliette (1867) both for Charles-François Gounod and The Tales of Hoffman (1881) for Jacques Offenbach. No strangers to Thomas, the duo had previously written the librettos for the composer’s Psyché (1857) and Mignon, and after Hamlet, they wrote Françoise de Rimini (1882) for Thomas too.


Naturally, adapting a Shakespearian play into an operatic format offered the librettists certain challenges, but they succeeded in condensing it into a workable and still dramatic libretto. Certain familiar elements, characters, and subtleties of the story had to be omitted (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, for example, never appear, and Hamlet does not kill Polonius). Other elements of the opera were either changed or added to the original play in order to give Thomas some intensely dramatic moments to score. The moment that Claudius is accused publically of murdering the king happens at the end of the play, but it occurs in the second act of the opera, giving Thomas the opportunity to unleash a powerful and passionate ensemble scene. However, it was the librettists additions in two other areas that gained them praise and criticism in equal measure.


Ophelia’s death, for Shakespeare, is relayed by Queen Gertrude to Laertes. The audience does not witness the girl’s final moments, and the question is left to interpretation if her death was, in fact, an accident generated by madness or suicide. For Thomas, Barbier, and Carré though, Ophelia’s death was too delicious a morsel to leave off the stage. The “Mad Scene” certainly had roots in the bel canto style that Thomas appreciated so much. Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Bellini’s I Puritani have similar mad scenes that include the heroine succumbing to the idea of her lover’s betrayal. For the opera’s Ophelia and her descent into complete madness and death, Thomas generated a true tour-de-force scene, requiring not only a soprano capable of incredible lyrical brilliance and stamina, but also its own act.

One change the librettists made in their adaption of the play, a change that reflected the tastes of the opera-going public in Paris at the time, is what ultimately caused the biggest criticism of the piece – Hamlet lives and is crowned king. Those days, all operas done at the Opéra Comique had happy endings, so Barbier and Carré decided to use Alexandre Dumas’ 1847 translation of the play to provide the ending they needed. However, by the time the opera was to be performed in 1870 at London’s Convent Garden, a much more English version of the ending had been adapted in which Hamlet is killed by Laertes, as Shakespeare intended.

Which version will Opera Birmingham use? You'll have to come see to find out! Gives new poignancy to Hamlet's famous soliloquy, does it not? (You can get tickets here.)

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Behind the Scenes with Brad Seigal


Amici, the young friends of Opera Birmingham, continue the countdown to the opening night of Hamlet and the celebration of Opera Birmingham's 60th Anniversary season with our 60 Days of Opera countdown! (If you've missed any of the fun, check out the Amici facebook page or find us on twitter by following @AmiciBirmingham or searching the hashtag: #60DaysofOpera.)
Today we bring you a story from Brad Siegal, a seven-season veteran who is known as the Social Chair of the Opera Birmingham Chorus. Putting together a grand stage opera production is a lot of work, but that doesn't mean there's no fun involved:
 Brad Siegal

As a seasoned vet of the Opera Birmingham Chorus, I have had many memorable moments during rehearsals and backstage. One particularly funny moment happened during rehearsals for Aida in 2010. Most of the men have never put on makeup before, so trying to put on eye-liner, blush, etc., for a regular production can be quite daunting. Aida was a whole different level, because we all needed to look Egyptian.
Aida 2010
In Aida, the gentlemen had to do most of their own makeup since it was such a large chorus and the principals needed plenty of makeup to “look the part.” For some of us gentlemen, the transformation-by-makeup was relatively easy. But for those of a "fairer" persuasion, the makeup turned into quite the adventure. 
The men of Aida

One such fellow, Robert Robinson, cracked us all up with his makeup. As we were supposed to look Egyptian under the stage lights, the color of the makeup tended toward a roasted pumpkin shade. And then men's costumes left a lot of skin showing, meaning that we had to cover not just our faces and necks, but also our arms, hands, torsos, and legs with the dark makeup. On the first night of rehearsal in costume, Robert showed up on stage looking like he was auditioning to be an orange in a MinuteMaid commercial.
Brad and Rob, rocking the guy-liner
The director actually had to stop the rehearsal because he was laughing so hard at Orange Boy. Lessons we learned were:  (1) Men who have never put on makeup in the past were NOT allowed to do so alone the first time, (2) the makeup staff for each production are ROCKSTARS and that job is NOT as easy as it may look, and (3) Robert looks much better pale than orange.

Rob, letting the pros handle it now

(By the way: Congratulations to Robert and Katherine Robinson on their new baby girl. We love and miss you in this year’s chorus, Orange Boy.)

The whole Robinson family

Stay tuned for more stories from the Opera Birmingham family! For those of you keeping track, our countdown now stands at just 9 DAYS UNTIL OPENING NIGHT!! Click here for ticket information.

Monday, December 22, 2014

Behind the Scenes with Jennifer Bryant


Amici, the young friends of Opera Birmingham, continue the countdown to the opening night of Hamlet and the celebration of Opera Birmingham's 60th Anniversary season with our 60 Days of Opera countdown! (If you've missed the fun, check out the Amici facebook page or find us on twitter by following @AmiciBirmingham or searching the hashtag: #60DaysofOpera.)

Today we bring you a story from Jennifer Bryant, regular Opera Birmingham principal and local music professor, who offers her perspective on what it takes to prepare a role:

Jennifer Bryant, Soprano

In fall of 2012, while living in Tuscaloosa and completing my music degree at the University of Alabama, I auditioned for secondary roles in the upcoming Opera Birmingham season. The company was presenting Madama Butterfly and The Magic Flute in the spring. It was the first time that I had auditioned for an opera company (excluding young artist programs) and I was excited to test the waters and use the skills that I had learned in my degree program. 

Jennifer, Singing at the Birmingham Museum of Art

John Jones, Daniel Siegel, and Kevin Chance were the only people at the audition, which took place in the studio space at the main office. I had performed for Mr. Jones once before when he came to UA to present a master class in Paul Houghtaling opera workshop class. He was very knowledgeable about the casting process and the qualities that casting directors look for in a young artist so I felt prepared knowing his expectations. 

Jennifer as Kate Pinkerton

A short two months later, I was contacted about singing the role of Kate Pinkerton, as well as doubling as a geisha in the chorus, in Madama Butterfly. Many aspiring young sopranos have gotten their start singing this role, even though it is listed as a mezzo soprano role, so I was particularly excited to be offered this opportunity! 

Cast, The Magic Flute

When rehearsals started in January, I was quite nervous even though I had spent a considerable amount of time preparing my whopping seven lines, haha! That first rehearsal with the conductor (Israel Gursky) and répétiteur (Ben Malensek) taught me everything I needed to know about a singing career. Everything that I learned in school was correct, but it was magnified 100 percent in the professional world. For instance:
  1. Effective communication skills are necessary: be someone who adapts and can make changes when necessary, but be sure that your goals are still being met and that you maintain your identity as a singer and performer. 
  2. Size of voice does matter on the operatic stage: the sounds coming from professional singers are not limited by inhibition or boundaries. They are otherworldly. 
  3. Every slight gesture of the face and body needs to be a little bit bigger or it won read to the audience. 
  4. In every part of the rehearsal process, make sure to communicate the character and express the text: subtle details in word inflection, color of voice, and facial and body expressions must be present before the first rehearsal. This can change throughout the process but something must be offered from day one. I found that working with conductors and coaches who speak the language in which you are singing is extremely helpful. 
  5. Take the opportunity to rest during breaks, but also build relationships with your fellow singers: this makes your onstage relationships stronger.

Jennifer as Second Lady

Jennifer and Soprano Jan Cornelius

After singing the role of Kate, I sang in two choruses and learned three more roles with this wonderful company: Second Lady in The Magic Flute, Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica, and I covered the role of Gilda in Rigoletto under the stunningly beautiful, Jan Cornelius.


Jennifer and Baritone Todd Thomas

Jennifer doing a TV spot with Jeh Jeh Pruitt, aspiring opera divo

I am so thankful to be a part of the Opera Birmingham family!

Stay tuned for more stories from the Opera Birmingham family! For those of you playing along at home, our countdown stands at 32 days until the curtain goes up on Hamlet! (Click here for ticket information.)

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Behind the Scenes with Shelly Ann Edge McDonald


Amici, the young friends of Opera Birmingham, continue our countdown to the opening night of Hamlet and our celebration of Opera Birmingham's 60th Anniversary season with our 60 Days of Opera countdown. (If you've missed the fun, check out the Amici facebook page or find us on twitter by following @AmiciBirmingham or searching the hashstag: #60DaysofOpera.)

Today we bring you a story from Shelly Ann Edge McDonald, a regular Opera Birmingham Chorus member, who offers a glimpse into the life of a chorister during a production's run:

Shelly Ann Edge McDonald

In 2005 I was studying vocal performance at UAB. The incomparable Mimi Jackson, who was then the Chorus Master for Opera Birmingham, came to the opera workshop at UAB and told us all about the OB Chorus. I could not get the information fast enough! I couldn’t believe that as a little ole’ college student I was eligible to sing in a professional opera.

I was thrilled to be a part of Aida, it was a big production for Opera Birmingham with an amazing cast. It even included an elephant! I learned first hand the hard work that goes into staging an opera.  

Time to get down to work at the piano!


So what does that mean for chorus members? Long before the first chorus-only rehearsal, we receive our music, usually a reduced libretto (text and musical score) with just the chorus parts, and begin working on it on our own. We also receive a synopsis and translation of the opera in order to familiarize ourselves with the storyline. (Since we invariably perform in a foreign language, most of us wouldn’t know what we were singing without it.) Then we learn the text with help from a phonetic translation, adding in the notes, rhythm, tempo, and dynamics to give us a good foundation.

Staging Rehearsals - The Height of Glamour!


Rehearsals begin and we work on putting all those different aspects together with the rest of the chorus. We spend several months perfecting and polishing the music before staging rehearsals begin. In staging rehearsals we get to meet all the other cast members and learn how we will move about the stage. At this point we forget all our music, words, and dynamics -- that is, until we get comfortable with the staging. Then, to the immense relief of the director, maestro, and chorus master, it all comes back together. It is exciting and awe-inspiring to watch and be part of the process! There’s nothing like the feeling of the curtain rising on opening night, and hearing the audience’s applause for the first time.

Putting it Together with the Orchestra

Since performing in my first Opera, I have been in the chorus of five other Opera Birmingham productions. I consider myself very fortunate! Through the long rehearsals and late nights I have had the opportunity to meet some incredibly talented people. I have made lifelong friends and I have learned so much from watching, listening, and talking to the incredible singers who are brought in to play the principals.

A costume with pockets! The best! Turandot 2009

 Cigarette Girls, Getting into Character for Carmen 2012

Enjoying the Cast Party - Bravi tutti!

I am thankful for the time I’ve had in the chorus and hope to sing in many more productions!

Stay tuned for more stories from the Opera Birmingham family! The countdown for Hamlet's opening night is on - just 44 days to go! Get your tickets here.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Behind the Scenes with Betsy Pate


As you know, Amici, the young friends of Opera Birmingham, have been counting down the days to opening night of Hamlet and celebrating Opera Birmingham's 60th anniversary season with our 60 Days of Opera countdown. (If you've missed the fun, check out the Amici facebook page or find us on twitter by following @AmiciBirmingham or searching the hashtag: #60DaysofOpera.) 

Today, we have a great "Behind the Scenes" story from seven-season Opera Birmingham Chorus veteran Betsy Pate: 


 Betsy Pate

My first chorus gig was in 2009’s production of Turandot. That year a bad cold virus hit the cast. No, it was worse than a cold, it was a plague. I won’t go into any detail, but suffice it to say it wasn’t pretty. Most of us who contracted said plague didn’t develop symptoms until the last few days of production week, or, as in my case, until Sunday’s performance. I ended up taking two days off from work to recover.

Opera Birmingham Chorus - Turandot (2009) 

One person who was hit the hardest was one of the leads, Roy Cornelius Smith. Throughout the week leading up to opening night, he got worse and worse. This rookie wasn’t sure if he would make it. I was amazed to see the lengths he went to to keep himself going. During particularly long stretches requiring both the chorus and most of the principals to stay on stage, Roy managed to always cough, sneeze, wipe, etc. only when his back was turned to the audience. I would be willing to guess that very few people out there had any idea how sick he was. My favorite trick of his involved pinning cough drops to the costumes of other cast members so he could rip them off at an opportune moment -- all while remaining in character and hiding it from anyone but those on stage with him.

Betsy Pate - Aida (2010)

Chorus Women's Dressing Room - Faust (2011)

Betsy Pate and Abbott Jones - Suor Angelica (2013)

It was then I realized how dedicated these performers are, regardless of having a leading role or being in the chorus. Even knowing that the threat of cast-wide sickness always hangs over a production, I stuck around for the next show, and the next, and the next. It’s a privilege to sing with these crazy, wonderful folks and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

We love hearing stories from the Opera Birmingham family. We look forward to bringing you more Behind the Scenes stories as we continue our countdown to Hamlet's opening night. (You can get your tickets here.) Just 49 days to go!

Monday, March 10, 2014

Hello Friends!

I am pretty excited to have Inna Los as our Nedda and Angelica and feel particularly thankful to know her personally. In the past year, we have shared "stage space" together twice. When I first heard her Butterfly last year I was in awe of her vocal talents, truly one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard. But it is her ability to become the character and communicate that with the audience that is truly inspirational and unforgettable. Rehearsing Angelica over the past couple of weeks, I am again mesmerized by her gifts. She had us laughing as we watched her Columbina in the commedia scene in Pagliacci and she quickly brought us to tears as she sustained her pianissimo high "A" at the end of "Senza mamma." How thankful we are to watch this artist blossom before our eyes. It was so nice to share that experience with the donors this past Saturday. Inna is a beautiful person. She is always full of so much joy and often shares stories about her family and singing career. I am thankful for our friendship.

When Sondra Kelly joined us for the sitzprobe last week, it was truly a memorable experience. To listen to a true dramatic voice was powerful. I have never heard a female voice with such strength in her lower voice. She creates an atmosphere of fear which contrasts with much of the opera. That is what makes this opera so wonderful! It is soooo real!

Kathleen has worked her magic in just a couple of weeks. The staging in both productions supports the music and the overall themes in the stories. Very clever. She worked so well with all of us. And she is the leader of our bowling team!

 I will not forget the first rehearsal when Maestro Giovanni shared his thoughts about this powerful work. I hope I share this accurately. He said that Suor Angelica is about guilt and forgiveness. The novices are late to prayer, Osmina hides roses in her sleeves, Dolcina is greedy in her desire for food, and Genovieffa desires to hold her lambs again. There are many characters who have their sins revealed by the Monitor. Though these are small infractions, the nuns are made to feel guilty and must repent to be forgiven. We then discover that Angelica's situation is far more serious... she had a child out of wedlock. In the end, Angelica is forgiven, even for the unspeakable act that occurs at the end of the drama. The Virgin Mary forgives Angelica and blesses her with a miracle. This is the basis of Christianity: hope.

In the words of Maestro... "We have a show!"

I have had so many moments where I felt chills up and down my body. I have sung both with tears in my eyes and with a smile on my lips. This is the power of music... to make us feel. Boy, are you gonna feel, friends!