Not only can she SING, but she also WRITES!

Tynan Davis, who will sing the role of Mercedes in this weekend's production of Carmen, can not only carry a tune, but she can also put pen to paper! In her free time (not that we've given her much time to spare!), Tynan has been writing for The Best American Poetry blog. I thought our Opera Birmingham audience might be interested to see what Tynan's been blogging about while in our fair city of Birmingham.

Tynan gave me permission to share this link with you, so enjoy!

http://blog.bestamericanpoetry.com/the_best_american_poetry/guest_bloggers/

See you all at Carmen!

Cheers,

Eleanor Parker

Opera Birmingham: The Marriage of Figaro

From www.birminghamverse.com a blog by Daniel Hurst:

My invitation from the folks at Opera Birmingham was to write a piece about the experiences of a first-time operagoer. To be completely fair, it was my second, but the first was long ago. I’m revirginized.

My theme is the close relationship between those moments of beauty in the arts and those other moments that support them. I recently read John Steinbeck’s East of Eden: “It would be reasonable to suppose that a routine time or an eventless time would seem interminable. It should be so, but it is not. It is the dull eventless times that have no duration whatever. A time splashed with interest, wounded with tragedy, crevassed with joy – that’s the time that seems long in the memory.”

For lovers of opera, any performance absolutely “seems long in the memory” because they feature interest, tragedy, and joy. Which is why, when these lovers talk with you about “opera” – as a generality – they get excited in remembering these moments. They can go on and on with superlatives about how beautiful it all is.

That’s maybe the first intimidating problem for someone new to opera. When you’ve heard people talk about the opera like it’s one step removed from a heroin high, there might be some disappointment when you go and it’s not a Hurt Locker, roller-coaster thrill ride from start-to-finish. And it’s not. Almost all arts performances are more nuanced than that.

So when a new person goes to an opera and it’s not all 3-D explosions and fireworks, the first impression might be that something is wrong with them. That they somehow don’t “get it”. That all the people around them are somehow specially educated or have good genes or that you need some kind of pedigree to enjoy an opera. And sometimes – let’s admit it – there are blue bloods who try to reinforce this impression. The danger of this way of thinking is that new fans might tune out and classify it as boring before they even hear the good stuff.

As a soccer fan, I’ve spent a lot of time defending the sport to Americans who insist it’s that same kind of boring. It’s true that there’s not (usually) a lot of scoring in a 90 minute soccer match. And a lot of it seems like just kicking a ball around. But that’s true of American football too – heck, they take more time between every play than any play lasts. And baseball, of course, has long stretches of nothing.

As any good dramatist knows, however, these spaces can build and fill with dramatic tension. Not every kick can be a goal. Not every pass can go for a touchdown. Not every swing of the bat can be a game-winner. But you’re there, waiting for it, shivering with antici-

In the same way, I can’t name more than four tracks off The Joshua Tree – easily one of the greatest rock albums of all time. I’ve written down my favorite lines from the play Equus – but not every word is magic. When I watch a good dance performance, it’s mainly a few singular moments that I’ll remember later. But it doesn’t mean the rest of it isn’t essential. No performance would work with just its Sportscenter highlights. (And neither does Sportscenter…)

Opera in general – and The Marriage of Figaro – is the same way. For me, it starts to really cook when we first meet the Countess (Susanna Phillips) at the beginning of Act II. I’m not suggesting that any other part is routine or interminable, but I’m sure Mozart knew brilliantly how to build tension and lead you along and into the parts that are great. The Countess’s initial song is great, along with pretty much anytime she sings with Susanna (Michelle Areyzaga). At the end of Act II, there’s a wonderful musical argument between three good guys and three bad guys all on stage at once. At the beginning of Act III, Susanna and the Count (Corey McKern) have a duet that I’ve been humming a part of ever since. Then the Countess has an aria near the end of Act III which is the perfect example of why all those experienced operagoers talk in superlatives. She’s absolutely memorable.

There’s never enough opportunity to talk about costuming and set design, but Opera Birmingham did a great job on the look of this show. All four acts featured a change in palette. This and the costumes worked to make some great visuals. For example, I’d love a composed picture of the stage with the chorus when they first enter in Act I.

Thanks once more to Daniel Seigel and all the people with Opera Birmingham for letting me go along for the ride. Congratulations and best of luck to performers Jason Hardy (Figaro) and Carrie Kahl (Barbarina) who got engaged onstage immediately after the performance. The “Marriage of Figaro” – indeed!

Opera Birmingham: Practice for The Marriage of Figaro

From www.birminghamverse.com a blog by Daniel Hurst:

I enthusiastically accepted when Opera Birmingham invited me to come watch a practice. If it’s not already on your calendar, take note that they’re preparing to perform The Marriage of Figaro in a couple of weeks. On both lists of “Best Operas” that I could find quickly (here and here), Figaro ranks in the top five. For that reason alone, you probably should make a point to go in person and see it performed. Go ahead and ask yourself: When’s your next opportunity to see a “Top Five” anything in Birmingham, Alabama?

I visited opera rehearsal in the context of just finishing my RPM Challenge album for 2010. If you’re an opera fan and reading this piece, then you’ll have absolutely no business whatsoever thinking about or listening to my completely amateur musical and singing efforts. All you really need to know is that RPM challenges musicians to write and record a whole album of music all in the short month of February. So the time between the creative idea and the realization of that idea is extremely (and perhaps excessively) short – just 28 days. Which allows precious little time for contemplation or technical mastery. You just rush to get in, get it done, and get out.

I speak from experience when I can tell you, even in a rush and with simple ideas and limited time, that the original inspiration always gets altered in translation. There are chord changes, lyrics, or ideas that just don’t fit. So they get taken out or changed. The finished product is at least a few left turns and veers removed from how it was envisioned that first week in February.

The flip side of the always-rushing-around coin would be something like The Marriage of Figaro. Mr. Mozart did his part for Figaro in the 1780s. That allows over two-hundred years between that particular genius idea and Opera Birmingham’s particular realization of that idea. It’s a pretty short list of works of art that regularly get performed two hundred years later.

The bad news is that Figaro’s expression is complexicated because – not only is Mozart’s idea as old as our country (and my-oh-my how times have changed) – it’s written in Italian. It also requires independent interpretation from a full cast of more than twenty singers, an orchestra, a conductor, and a director. Inevitably, stuff gets edited, pushed, pulled, and altered. The good news is that artsy, creative, and scholarly people have had over two hundred years to ponder those changes. And the performers have spent a lifetime on the details of technical mastery.

When something like Shakespeare’s plays, Bach’s fugues, or The Marriage of Figaro are performed, they stagger through your door with these generations of interpretational baggage. This contrasts with more modern entertainment. With movies, for example, you can often walk in unprepared and they’ll make a good faith and self-contained effort to explain it all to you. With that in mind, it’s my belief that every scrap you can learn about works like Figaro – before you go – will pay you back in spades. But don’t feel bad if you don’t know much about opera. Just like it was said at the rehearsal, “Remember, probably thirty to forty percent of this audience will have never seen opera before.” (I’ve only seen one.)

It’s not like you have to do anything highfalootin’ like study. Take this tidbit for example: Alabama native Susanna Phillips – who is cast as Countess Almaviva – wore her grandfather’s cowboy boots to practice. Isn’t that cool? Overheard there: “It’s not often you see a soprano in cowboy boots.” Do you like her more? I do. Will you visualize her in orangey-brown, broken-in boots even when you see her all “divaed up” on stage? I might.

Howabout this info: Apparently, The Marriage of Figaro is significantly fast for an opera. Though some others can stretch like five sentences of content into twelve minutes of singing, Figaro apparently requires a nimble tongue, a sense of timing, and some judicious editing of the audience’s titles. Like a a highly revved engine. Or an Italian and musical version of the Gilmore Girls. When you go, doesn’t that make you want to pay attention to the sheer speed? It does me. Will you be sensitive and listen for cast members that might miss lines or sing them over one another? I will.

Finally, back in the 18th century there weren’t any trailers, like for movies. So I’d imagine that an audience would find some other way of learning the general story before they went to see the show. Why not take a look at a synopsis (like here) and get an overview even before you get there? Let yourself concentrate on other things, like just how lovely the music can be. Even at practice, it was.

Thanks very much to Daniel Seigel and Opera Birmingham for this cool opportunity. My favorite random line of the day: “I’d pay real money to see Juilliard play Birmingham Southern in football.”

Opera Blogger - Daniel Hurst

Birmingham-area lawyer and arts fan Daniel Hurst is blogging his way through a first-timer's experience of the operatic process. He's attending multiple rehearsals and will be posting to his site, www.birminghamverse.com, as well as this blog. Read more....

On Sale, all shows!

Finally, Opera Birmingham's 2009-2010 Season is on sale! You can subscribe to the whole season, or just purchase single tickets online at www.operabirmingham.org.

This year promises to be a great year, with a lot going on. The Wright Center plays host to Aida and The Marriage of Figaro, and Brock Hall provides an intimate space for Veronica Chapman-Smith (last seen in Turandot) and tenor Zach Borichevsky in a duo recital titled From Broadway to La Boheme...plus a concert of Christmas favorites with soprano Kallen Esperian, featuring guest artists Adam Diegel and Joseph Hopkins.

You can view the cast lists, hear clips from the operas, and find out more about the Opera's season on the website.

Haven't explored the Opera Website yet?
There's a lot of information, including info about the Met Live in HD series, Opera Birmingham Vocal Competition, and even a Frequently Asked Question section if coming to the opera is raising a few questions in your head.

Production week, and Turandot's so close...

So the set is up, and the lighting is ready...and the singers and orchestra are all gearing up for the meat of production week.

Thought we'd give you a tiny glimpse of the set, which was built by Opera Birmingham in cooperation with Festival Opera in California.

One Magical Christmas!

Thanks so much to everyone who was involved, both in the production and in the wonderful audience, for helping to make An Alabama Christmas with Angela Brown a success!

Read The Birmingham News review right here!

-Opera Birmingham

Welcome!

Welcome to the Opera Birmingham Blog! Hopefully you’ve found this blog through our new website, www.operabirmingham.org; if you haven’t, please check out our new site, where you can purchase tickets, donate to the Opera, and find information about the company, productions, and artists for this season.

Over the coming months, visit this page to hear from me, our Principal Conductor Joe Mechavich, our stage directors William Gustafson and Kathleen Clawson, and artists that are performing with us this year: Lori Phillips, Roy Cornelius Smith, Susanna Phillips, Christian Reinert (and so many more!)…

We’ll also post interesting articles, reviews, and photos from special events, rehearsals, and performances as the season builds toward its height…so “follow” us on Blogger.com, or bookmark us and you’ll hear more soon—and don’t forget to check out the new site!

Sincerely,

John D. Jones

General Director