Opening Night Receives Standing Ovation

May 10, 2008 - Just a quick post to say that last night's opening of Granite State Opera's Cosi fan tutte at the Music Hall in Portsmouth couldn't have gone better and received a thunderous standing ovation from the audience. Kudos to all the wonderful hardworking people at Granite State Opera who made this production so rewarding to work on. There's still one more performance to catch at the Capitol Center in Concord tomorrow at 2pm so if you're in the area and want to give Mom a great afternoon of opera check it out.

See you at the opera! - John Bowen

Final Dress as a Birthday Present

May 7, 2008 - So tonight is final dress rehearsal for Granite State Opera's Cosi fan tutte. Since it's also my birthday (a day I'm proud to share with Tchaikovsky and Brahms) I'm hoping for a smooth, relatively stress-free run of the show. And after the marathon day we put in yesterday, I have every confidence that it will be. Everyone seems to be rising to the challenges of this masterpiece and I was really excited to see all the elements come together at last night's piano tech rehearsal. Special kudos to Quentin Stockwell for his absolutely stunning lighting.

Many thanks to all my friends who have contacted me via mail, email, or phone with birthday blessings and especial thanks and love to my partner Bill who not only called and sent a funny e-card but sent me a dozen beautiful yellow roses. I don't care if the experts say this isn't the sort of thing that should be in a blog. It's my birthday and I'll blog what I want to, blog what I want to. . .Okay just to in some way tie this into opera, how about a trivia question: Post comments regarding any operas in which birthdays figure prominently. There's no prize or anything, so you'll have to just be one of those people for whom a lot of trivial knowledge is its own reward.

See you at the opera! - John Bowen

Finales and Beginnings

May 1, 2008 - Today is the beginning of my favorite month (it contains my birthday for one thing) and so it's great to be able to report that at this point I have a) finished staging Cosi fan tutte up here in NH and b) finished and sent out the translation for Apollo and Dafne (have fun Lisa and Ryan). During the staging of the Act II finale last night I was once again momentarily stunned by Mozart and da Ponte's ability to reveal some of the most heart-wrenching and vulnerable aspects of the human condition in the midst of what has up to that point been light-hearted and comic. No wonder these operas are still such fixtures in the repertoire.

Back in Baltimore, the gala committee is shifting into high gear for OV11. This is shaping up to be a fantastic event which promises to keep the "fun" in "fundraiser". Show your support for OV and get a ticket today (410.547.7997). Although our office is temporarily closed, messages are being checked every day and so both tickets for the gala and 2008-2009 subscriptions may be purchased during this time.

Now it's time to start translating Lord Giovanni.

See you at the opera. - John Bowen