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!

What I Did on my Summer Vacation

September 8, 2007 - Okay, so first off, I didn't really have a summer vacation. Unlike when I was the child of not one, but two educators, summer was indeed a blissful, unscheduled sequence of days. Even when I did my brief stint in the special kind of hell known as a "9 to 5" job, there was still the sense of vacation being a set aside (and predictable) period of time that one was guaranteed by contract. If you had cleared it with your boss or supervisor it didn't matter what happened during the agreed upon time of your vacation, you were not expected to fix it. Ah, who would have thought that one day I would be nostalgic for a "9 to 5" job? I'm not really all that nostalgic for it, but the one element that increasingly gets lost in the life of people involved in the arts (particularly those involved in any kind of executive capacity) is the idea that you can actually a) take the attitude that no matter what happens during your vacation, you're off the hook or b) find a time in which your organization is actually not in any way in need of you. So, during this time of "back to school" which was almost genetically ingrained in me by those two aformentioned educators, I'm often left wondering where the summer went and if it actually has any impact on me any more. I think that most artist reach a point in their lives where they realize that our basic modus operandi is "We work when there's work". And we all hope that there will always be work, and consistent work at that, or otherwise we wouldn't be able to actually support ourselves as artists. And don't even get me started on the idea of retirement. That will be fodder for a later blog, a much, much later blog.

But enough of these philosophical musings. I'm sure you're all just on the edge of your seats wondering what's been happening here at Opera Vivente since the last post. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but if you're reading this, you're probably at least mildly curious. So. . .here's the scoop:

Design work for Alcina is virtually complete at this point. The carpenter has been given his first installment so that he can begin work on the set, the costume designer is in the process of getting measurements for everyone, the lighting designer is pondering options for creating light boxes (BTW as a sidebar you might be interested to know that a big part of being a lighting designer is sitting observing the wonderful world of light. I know a fantastic husband and husband team of lighting and set designer, and the set designer has often remarked that it appears his partner is not working at all until production week. But I digress), and I'm working my thoughts about blocking out in evermore detail. The conductor has already had individual coachings with several of the singers, and the chorus will have its first rehearsal on Monday. Speaking of the chorus, we're still in need of one more soprano, so if you're a soprano reading this and you're interested, send me an email.

The first production meeting for Tobias and the Angel has also taken place. This piece continues to challenge us all to think outside the box so be prepared for many things which you may not have seen at OV before: puppetry, abstract choreography, surreal lighting, self-illuminating fabric, well the list goes on. But more on that in ensuing months.

AND - here's my own personal point of pride at the moment - this morning I finished translating the last musical number of Orpheus in the Underworld. WOOHOO! Now to whip through the dialogue, a task so much easier since dialogue doesn't have a rhyme scheme, a meter, or any of those other annoying things mentioned in my previous post about translation. So things look good for the October 1st deadline that was put in all the singers' contracts.

Finally, singers continue to send in their materials to be considered for an audition. Since my blog about that whole ball of wax, the packets have been complete and professionally appropriate. Behold, the power of the blog! Just kidding, it might just be complete coincidence, but whatever the cause, it's very nice.

So that's about it on the OV front. I hope that all of you are transitioning into the "back to school" mode with a minimum of melancholy and regret. Perhaps a trip to the local 5 and dime (now there's a phrase that certainly dates me) to buy a new notebook, some colored pencils, a fresh tub of paste and a protractor will take the edge off. It always worked for me, but then again, I was kind of a "learning geek". Anyway, I hope this post finds everyone reading it engaged in something energizing, empowering, and enjoyable, and, as always, See you at the opera!

John Bowen