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

Putting It Together

October 5, 2007 - One of my favorite Sondheim musicals is Sunday in the Park with George (okay, I love the first act, the second act still seems a bit preachy and heavy-handed to me). And the line "Art isn't easy. The art of making art is putting it together", has been much on my mind this week. As we approach the absolute print deadline for the program, the beginning of the most intensive period of rehearsal for Alcina, the period of crystallization and realization for Tobias and the Angel, as well as make decisions for marketing campaigns and gala hosting (BTW - It's going to be on May 17, 2008 NOT May 10, 2008 but more of that in a later post), I am once again reminded how much of this crazy, wonderful genre is created by the amazing, sometimes chaotic, sometimes miraculous, but always interesting collision of the hearts, minds, and skills of a whole slew of creative individuals. Being the General Director is not so much like herding cats (which while adorable are not particularly brilliant or creative, regardless of what they might say to the contrary) but more like herding gifted and talented teenagers (passionate, creative, interesting, but also unpredictable, erratic, and occasionally unreliable). As any parent of teenagers can tell you, this can drive you to a drinking habit rivaling that of Lindsay Lohan, but I must say, this week as I view our beautiful, vibrant program, or talk with my fantastic designers for Alcina (who all talked me down off the ledge today), or look forward to delving into Handel's masterpiece with a top-notch cast of singing-actors, and yes, even when I'm reviewing press deadlines et al, I'm once again filled with tremendous pride for the people who make OV possible and with awe for this astonishing artform which brings us all together to lift life out of the ordinary, even if it's just for a few hours. Thank you all. It is a privilege to be your colleague.

See you at the opera - John Bowen

Time

October 2, 2007 - Well, well, well, time certainly does fly when you're doing a dozen different things simultaneously. So as you've probably figured out, in spite of my stated good intentions of posting more frequent, but shorter blogs, more than a week has elapsed since my last one. Oh well, the best laid plans of mice and men. So, here's a quick update on where everything is right now.

The piano/vocal scores of Orpheus in the Underworld have been completed and most of the singers have either picked them up or sent instructions where to send them. Can't for the life of me figure out what's going on with the ones that haven't responded in any way, shape, or form, STILL, but haven't had time to really worry about them. As Scarlett O'Hara once said, "I'll that about that tomorrow, after all, tomorrow is another day".

Everything is pretty much on schedule for the frame of the Alcina set to be loaded in this coming Saturday. Many thanks in advance to the volunteers who are generously giving of their time to help "tote that barge and lift that bale" (oh sorry, that's another show).

Audition packets continue to come in, although the spate of perfectly completed packets that followed on the heals of my audition post seems to have come to an end. Note to prospective auditioners: Please take the time to read the listing completely and to make sure that your packet is complete.

I took a brief jaunt to New Hampshire last week to meet the production team at Granite State Opera where I will be directing Cosi fan tutte next May. They are a great group of people, and I had a very enjoyable and productive time.

Time has been running out for ads and other items to make it into our season program, and so much of my week has been spent chasing down facts, personnel, ad copy, etc. As you can probably guess, not my favorite activity to be engaged in the week before the deluge which is the Alcina rehearsal schedule begins. But it has to be done, and I must say that our program looks absolutely fantastic. Kudos to graphic designer par excellence Dave Cooper.

The board has had a great deal of difficulty picking a date and time for our big celebratory fundraiser gala bashapalooza, but it looks like May 10, 2008 will be the date. Center Stage is having theirs the same night but hey, I think there's enough party spirit to support two parties in Baltimore on the same night. Call me crazy.

Let's see, there must be more otherwise I'm in a quandry as to why the past ten days seems to be just one big blur. Oh yes, I've begun preliminary design/concept discussions for The Pirates of Penzance that I'm directing at Opera AACC, trained a wonderful office temp named Emily Tobias, run an OV board meeting while simultaneously supervising an Alcina chorus rehearsal, and have been getting up around 6:30am every other morning to give my garden a good watering during this dry time of year. You're welcome, chrysanthemums.

Time for bed. If you have time, I hope to see you at the opera, and I hope you have the time of your life. - John Bowen

PS. I'm still looking for a stage manager who has the time to run Alcina. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact me.