What's Been Going On

June 30, 2009 - So, first of all, let me apologize for the very long hiatus in posts. A variety of factors have contributed to this, but rather than bore you with that, I'll just give a brief update to what's been going on during the month of June and a quick glimpse of what will be going on in July.

During most of June, I was in Tulsa, where I was unfortunately reminded that unprofessional, unethical, and downright rude behavior still exists in this industry. I'm going to take the highroad here and consign the whole experience to "things that make John a sadder but wiser director". Moving on. . .

While I was in Tulsa, the OV family was hard at work sending out the end-of-season appeal letter (many thanks to those of you who contributed so generously), the 2009-2010 season brochure (thanks to Dave Cooper for the absolutely brilliant design), keeping the office running (thanks especially to Karen Pekala), writing grants (thanks Ellen and Jan Richter, and Kathy Kahler), and redesigning the website (if you haven't already done so, check out Inspired Revolutions chic and very navigable new look at www.operavivente.org). The website still has a few things to be added, but it's ready and waiting to take your ticket order for next season and/or receive your online donation.

July will mostly be occupied by two things for me: The Little Patuxent Opera Institute at Howard Community College and Artscape. The LPOI is the brainchild of James Bailey and Deborah Kent, two colleagues of mine who are very active in the training and polishing of young singers. As training and polishing, as well as offering professional opportunities, has always been central to what OV does, I'm very excited to be a part of this program which will culminate in a performance of various operatic scenes as well as a complete Suor Angelica at the end of the month. As far as Artscape goes, OV will be offering something a little different this year, a concert entitled "I Hear America Singing: A Musical Celebration of the American Spirit". This concert was developed several years ago for Londontowne, and I'm excited to be bringing it to Baltimore audiences on July 18th at 2pm and 5:30pm at Corpus Christi church. The singers will be Leah Inger, Jennifer Blades, Adam Caughey, and Jason Buckwalter. If you need a break from the heat and fried-dough eating that will lift your spirits, come check us out.

Okay, so look for more frequent posts from now on. I promise. Really, I promise, pinky-swear, etc.

See you at the opera!

Greetings from Tulsa

June 11, 2009 - Hey friends. I'm here in Tulsa directing A Little Night Music for Light Opera of Oklahoma. I haven't been posting much, not because I'm swamped with rehearsals here (wish I could say that I was) but rather because OV is in the process of redesigning its website and evidently blogs are the hardest thing to transfer to I'm trying to not make Inspired Revolutions job and more difficult. Look for more regular postings when I get back in a couple weeks to Charm City. In the meantime, look for your OV 2009-2010 season brochures in the mail.

Whole Lot of Planning Goin' On

May 20, 2009 - So here's what's going on at Opera Vivente. Lest you think that the hiatus in my blog posts meant that we were all on vacation here at the opera, I thought I'd just fill you in on a few fronts.

The 2009-2010 Season
Our season deals with fairy tales and the deeper currents that run under seemingly naive stories of good and evil. We open with Rossini's Cinderella (September 25, 27, October 1, and 3), a take on the traditional fairy tale which places far greater magic in a true and good human heart than in talking mice with surprising seamstress skills. Also, no fairy godmother but rather a wise philospher named Alidoro, so we'll be very safe from any Disney lawsuits.

The season continues in late winter with a brilliant distillation of Debussy's only opera by the French composer Marius Constant. Impressions of Pelléas (February 26, 28, March 4, and 6) takes place in the mythical kingdom of Allemonde and explores the archetypal psychic undercurrents of two half-brothers in love with the same mysterious woman. The music that accompanies this tale is filled with an achingly beautiful melancholy.

The season concludes with Mozart's perennial favorite The Magic Flute (May 14, 16, 20, and 22). Be prepared for a novel and distinctly Baltimorean perspective on this classic tale of a boy, his flute, his girl, and her mother (along with one of the most loveable sidekicks ever to grace the operatic stage).

Casting has been completed for the season and design teams are being assembled. Subscriptions are currently on sale (individual tickets go on sale August 3rd) and may be purchased over the phone (410.547.7997) with a credit card. Online sales should be available by the end of next week.

We are also working on our Artscape offering for this summer. On Saturday, July 18th at 2 and 5:30pm, Opera Vivente will perform I Hear America Singing: A Musical Celebration of the American Spirit. This program interweaves readings from American history with music ranging from folk tunes to spirituals to Tin Pan Alley. This event is free and open to the public, so come check us out at Corpus Christi Church on Mt. Royal Avenue.

I personally am also preparing to go to Tulsa on June 1st to direct Stephen Sondheim's brilliant A Little Night Music for Light Opera of Oklahoma. More on that once I'm there.

Gotta dash. As you can see, I'm very busy. See you at an upcoming OV event!

Glory to Our New May King - Tim Smith's Review

May 5, 2009 - Just a brief post to bring your attention to Tim Smith's review. Click here to see what he had to say on his blog. There are still some tickets left for the remaining two performances on May 7th and 9th at 8pm. Click here to get your tickets.

Also, you can still purchase tickets to our gala on May 16th at the Winans Mansion (1217 St. Paul Street) by calling the box office at 410.547.7997.

A note from the director

What an honor it has been to travel to Baltimore and stage a production for Opera Vivente! Albert Herring is a wonderful musical gem and (especially if you enjoy Britten's music) this is a must-see event for any opera lover. If you are new to Britten, this is the perfect introduction.

I was lucky to be given a dream cast full of vibrant, witty people - all selected by John Bowen - who have done a beautiful job combining the "over-the-top" and subtle acting requirements with the demanding musical score.

If you have never seen an opera in the OV space, try it out. The intimate surrounds of the hall are perfect for a piece like Herring. One actually feels part of the play. At last night's final dress rehearsal one gentleman was sitting next to the orchestra enclosure, but not far from the stage. He was obviously in a state of musical paradise, and went on and on about how he enjoyed himself. I asked him if he had ever seen this particular opera. NO! he stated, and continued with nothing but praise for the production's singers and orchestra. Quite a review!

It has been a wonderful experience being in Balitmore for 3 weeks. John is working in Tulsa in June to stage a "certain Sondheim musical in 3/4 time" which I am sure you will want to check out in future blogs written by Mr. Bowen.

See you at the opera!

Eric Gibson
Guest Director, Albert Herring
Artistic Director, Light Opera Oklahoma, Tulsa

Backstage at the Final Dress

April 29, 2009 - So I'm taking a quick break from enjoying the final dress rehearsal of Albert Herring to post some tantalizing tidbits to whet your appetite to see the show. Here are some photos from last night's piano dress.

The village elders make an "interesting proposal" to Lady Billows.

Sid makes an "interesting proposal" to Albert and another to Nancy.

And Lady Billows takes Albert unto her bosom

with surprising results.

And here's a link to a little video taken just a half hour ago of Austin Nikirk, Veronica Page, and Collin Power, our amazingly talented young cast members. Click here to enjoy.

Performances are May 1, 7, and 9 at 8pm and May 3 at 3pm. Click here to get your ticket to the May King crowning.

See you at the opera!

Preparations for May King Crowning are Heating Up!

April 23, 2009 - So things are really starting to come together for OV's last production of the season: Britten's hysterical comedy of manners, Albert Herring. (click here for tickets). Our first ever guest director, Eric Gibson, finished staging the end of the opera last night, so now we start the act run-thrus, the tech rehearsals, the sitzprobe (singers sit and sing with the orchestra for the first time), and so forth which lead up to what promises to be a glorious opening night on May 1st. To give you a little taste of the look of the production, click here to see our set designer's sketches and models. And to give you a taste of the opera itself, click here to see a video potpourri of excerpts from it.

Also, tickets are going fast for our annual gala fundraiser on May 16th from 8-11pm at the Winans Mansion (1217 St. Paul Street). Great food and drink, wonderful music, and a silent auction featuring items such as hotel stays, golf foursomes, books, tickets, posters, and more. Call 410.547.7997 to get your ticket ($100/person) today.

Playing Catch-Up

April 13, 2009 - Whew! What a whirlwind of activity the past few months have been. Crazy times. Anyway, here's where OV and I are right now.

Rehearsals begin tomorrow for the final show of our 2008-2009 season. And we're closing the season with a madcap romp of a show: Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring. It's a hoot suitable for the whole family. This show also marks the first time in our history that OV welcomes a guest director: Eric Gibson from Light Opera of Oklahoma. Eric's a lively and talented director who will bring out every ounce of hilarity this show offers. Click here to get your ticket today! Tickets are going fast.

The other big thing occupying me right now is planning for the 2009-2010 season. After much deliberating, number-crunching, crystal ball gazing, praying, etc. the board and I arrived at a workable and fiscally responsible budget figure for the season (about a month later than we normally would have arrived at it but better late than never in the current environment) and so now it's "pedal to the metal" to try to get back on track from a scheduling standpoint. So here's our season:

Cinderella (La cenerentola for all the original language folks) by Rossini - September 25, 27, October 1, and October 3, 2009
Impressions of Pelléas by Debussy (in a brilliant evocative distillation by Marius Constant) - February 26, 28, March 5, and March 7, 2010
The Magic Flute (aka Die Zauberflöte for the above-mentioned group) by Mozart - May 14, 16, 20, and 22, 2010

Current subscribers will be contacted over the next few weeks to renew their subscriptions. Subscriptions will then go on sale to the general public on May 1st. Individual tickets will go on sale July 27th.

So things are "a-cooking" as they say. I'll be doing more posts about rehearsals for Albert Herring in the coming weeks.

See you at the opera!

OV Stimulus Redux

March 31, 2009 - So here's the part of the $25 Helps OV Thrive Drive that I was downplaying when I was encouraging the "can-do" "many small gifts make a difference" attitude among supporters and patrons of OV. This company can indeed "do it" and "many small gifts do indeed make a difference" but only if there's 100% (or darn close to it) buy-in/participation in such a fundraising campaign. 30% of supporters making a small gift will not raise sufficient funds. Nor can we go forward in a fiscally responsible way purely on the "intention" of supporters to pledge funds. The flip side of the coin to the "if we get this amount then we can go forward" is "if we don't get this amount, we can't go forward". Now is the time that I need to be making decisions based on real $$$ amounts. So if you were intending to make a donation, now is the time to do it particularly since (cue trumpet fanfare here) we are currently in a "challenge grant situation". That means that, due to the incredible generosity of a few major donors, every dollar we receive in donations between now and the closing show of Albert Herring (May 9th) will be matched dollar for dollar.

So. . . .click here to take decisive action on this information or if you'd prefer, call 410.547.7997 to make a phone pledge. And thank you in advance for your generosity and belief in the future of Opera Vivente.

John Bowen

Updates on Various Fronts

March 17, 2009 - The Coronation of Poppea closed this past Saturday with a completely sold out house. It was one of our most popular shows, and I already miss the wonderful group of performers who made it such a joy to work on. Next up is Britten's Albert Herring (May 1st thru 9th), a delightful comedy set in a small English village engaged in crowning a May King. Effervescent fun for the whole family. Click here to get a ticket.

On the audition front, my apologies to singers awaiting to hear our decisions about casting for next season. Budgeting has proven to be even more of an arcane science this year and so contracts have been unavoidably delayed. We're very close to sorting it all out though and singers will be notified very shortly. Thank you for your patience.

Finally, tickets are now on sale for our annual gala fundraiser, this year entitled When the Clock Strikes Twelve. It will take place on May 16th from 8-11pm at the beautiful Winans Mansion (1217 St. Paul Street) and will have a fairytale theme. Tickets are $100 and may be purchased by calling the box office at 410.547.7997. Everyone had a blast at last year's gala, so come celebrate and support OV.