Stranded...At Home

Well, Mother Nature is having her way....
My 10am flight to Atlanta was pushed to 2pm making it impossible for me to make the connection to Birmingham, and there were no available flights from ATL to BHM until Weds, so Delta rebooked the whole thing for Weds morning and sent me home!  So WHEN all goes well on Wednesday morning I'll still make our first staging rehearsal at 2pm Wednesday afternoon.  That's ok!  I've gone from the airport directly to a rehearsal for the Geisha entrance in MADAMA BUTTERFLY, Violetta's Act I party in LA TRAVIATA...that's showbiz!  At least I'm stuck at home and not in the Atlanta airport!
See you soon,
Marc Astafan - Stage Director

Hey there Birmingham!  Marc Astafan here and I'm looking forward to returning to Opera Birmingham for RIGOLETTO.  I directed THE MAGIC FLUTE last spring and have been looking forward to coming back.  Seeing old friends and colleagues and making new ones - I hope the weather doesn't delay my flight from NYC on Monday morning - fingers crossed!
-Marc

Back in Birmingham

HEY BIRMINGHAM!  I'm back!  It's been almost a year since I was here last for The Magic Flute, and I'm so excited to start 2014 'RIGHT' with Rigoletto and Opera Birmingham.  It's going to be a FANTASTIC show.  Most exciting of all is the fact that I get the opportunity to share the stage with my new husband, and love of my life, Ben LeClair.  He'll be playing Sparfucile, and sorry for the spoiler, but he has the very important job of 'doing away' with me at the end of the opera!  Talk about a warped form of marriage counseling!  We were just married a couple of months ago at a beautiful ceremony in Houston with about 150 of our closet friends and family. One of those guests was your beloved GD, and fellow newlywed himself, John Jones.  It was absolutely magical!!

We actually met during our time at Des Moines Metro Opera playing Mimi and Colline in La Boheme.  It will be the first time sharing the stage since.  We've been living in Oldenburg, Germany for the past year and a half where Ben has been a festival artist at the State theater, and I've been auditioning and traveling back and forth to the US for gigs like this one.  We couldn't be happier to be spending time together singing some of the most beautiful music ever written in one of the friendliest, culturally rich, best foodie cities out there.

I've only had the opportunity to sing a concert with Todd Thomas, so it's going to be very exciting to be able to share the stage in a role he's very well known for.  I am also looking forward to singing again with Michael Wade Lee.  He played Don Jose opposite my first Micaela back in my young artist days with Chautauqua Opera.  I'm thrilled to be working with conductor Steven White for the first time.  I've heard nothing but wonderful things about him from friends!  AND who wouldn't be excited to work with Marc Astafan again!  He's the absolute best.  You all saw what he did with Flute!  So.. stay tuned for great things this month in one of my most favorite cities in the South!

Hi everyone! Michael Wade Lee here! Am just getting ready to drive to Birmingham from my family home in San Antonio, TX, and I can't wait to see what the new year has in store for us. I'm so excited to sing the Duke again, especially with an old friend, Jan Cornelius and our new friend, Todd Thomas. Im also looking forward to working with Mr. Astafan and maestro White for the first time.
It's always such a pain for us to pack to go anywhere because we usually have to pack for multiple seasons and multiple continents. And flying everywhere is no picnic. The rules/price for luggage, eating at airports and on planes, recycled dry plane air, the cabin pressure for up to 8 hours at a time, plus lugging around one or two 50 lb suitcases... it's not easy! But to drive a car for the twelve hour trip?!? No problem!
We'll blog again soon once rehearsals start up. I've never blogged before but it sounds like this could be fun and/or interesting! Talk again soon!
Michael

Opera Birmingham in the News!

Production week is here and the media is abuzz with news of the upcoming "Magic Flute!" Check out the Birmingham News article (linked) below, and mark your calendar to tune in to Fox 6 "Good Day Alabama" this upcoming Wednesday, March 13th, beginning at 6 am for an exclusive Opera Birmingham interview! This is going to be a "Flute" you'll never forget!

http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/03/opera_birmingham_channeling_th.html?utm_source=Magic+Flute+Fri+3%2F8&utm_campaign=Magic+Flute+3-8-13&utm_medium=email

Jan Cornelius on ABC 33/40's Talk of Alabama!

We are thrilled to have had Jan Cornelius, our Pamina in the upcoming "Magic Flute," represent Opera Birmingham on ABC 33/40's Talk of Alabama this week!
Check out her interview below. Thanks, Jan!

http://www.abc3340.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8554088

Making Magic in Birmingham

Had a few minutes this morning and decided there was no better way to spend it than blogging!  To say it's been an eventful first week back in Birmingham would be an understatement.  After arriving from Philadelphia the first day of rehearsals, I unfortunately totalled my rental car that very same rainy night.  Those confusing one-way streets in downtown B-ham are NO joke!  It was a pretty severe wreck, but thankfully, no one was seriously injured.  Other than a sore neck and some shaken nerves, the process here has gone off with out a hitch.  Everyone here has been VERY accommodating and understanding, and I couldn't be more thankful for all the love and support I've received these past few days.

The show must go on though, as they say, and it certainly has.  We are onto to Act 2 today and I'm pretty sure with our director Marc Astafan's efficiency, we'll be done staging the opera in a total of 5 days.  I like this approach very much.  Get the animal on it's feet, and then teach it to walk!  It really allows the actors to develop the material we've been given.  And in all honestly, it's nice to know that you've tackled the entirety of the piece so early on.

I'm very excited to be back in Birmingham after last year's Carmen.  I always have a blast here.  The people, the food, the Southern hospitality.. makes a Texan gal feel right at home!  Tomorrow is Birmingham Opera's Annual Gala and I couldn't be more excited to sing, eat, and frolic with friends and patrons!  Hope to see you there for what I'm sure with be a MAGICAL night!