Opera Theater Insider

The Marriage of Figaro…and Pop Culture

ERIC — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:07:35 +0000

In honor of our first mainstage production of the season, CCOT would like to highlight Mozart’s classic comedy The Marriage of Figaro and its prevalence in the world of pop culture. Although sometimes we’re too embarrassed to admit it, I’d say us opera nerds get pretty excited when we hear those first few notes of a famous opera overture in a movie or in a random TV commercial. So here to feed your inner opera geek – here are the top five Figaro references in pop culture.

1. Sull Aria – The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

This aria is played in a scene in the 1994 American drama, The Shawshank Redemption. Shawshank State Prison inmate Andy Dufresne is appointed prison librarian during his nearly two decade sentence. Along with a government donation for library funding, he receives a recording of The Marriage of Figaro and decides to play an excerpt over the public address system, well aware that he will receive solitary confinement for doing so. Morgan Freeman’s character, Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding describes the songs as “too beautiful to describe in words.” This is quite ironic, seeing as the Countess and Susanna are actually singing about scheming against the count to make him look like a fool.

Unfortunately, embedding is disabled for this clip – so click the link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azWVPWGUE1M

2. Overture – Trading Places (1983)

The famous Figaro Overture is included during the beginning credits of the 1983 American comedy film, Trading Places, which ironically is set right here in our home city of Philadelphia! Dan Akroyd and Eddie Murphy star in his hilarious film about an upper class commodities broker and a homeless man whose paths cross when they unknowingly become part of an elaborate bet. The movie is of the satire genre and is frequently referred to as a modern take on Mark Twain’s 19^th century classic, The Prince and the Pauper.

3. Overture – Zombieland (2009)

In 2009, the American zombie comedy Zombieland featured the Figaro Overture when Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) and the gang haphazardly destroy a Native Indian Store. “Sometimes Tallahassee’s right, you gotta enjoy the little things…even if that means destroying a whole lot of little things.”

4. Overture – Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory (1971)

Who knew that the first few notes from the Figaro Overture could unlock the doors to a room full of CHOCOLATE?! Well, in 1971, it did just that for Willy Wonka and his visitors in the film Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. And sorry Mrs. Teevee, but Rachmaninoff was definitely NOT the composer of this piece.

5. Amadeus – (1984)

Who can’t forget the 1984 period drama Amadeus. You know, that famous film based on the life of Mozart? Obviously, this film deals with the composition of many famous pieces by Mozart, including The Marriage of Figaro! We find out in the film that the “Non più andrai” march from the opera is actually an improvised variation of Antonio Salieri’s “trifle,” a “March of Welcome” in which he created when Mozart met the Emperor in 1781.

Well, it seems as though Mozart’s music is just about everywhere! From the big screen to the small screen, Mozart’s music is still relevant, even 400 plus years later. One other place you can hear Mozart’s music is at The Prince Music Theater during our very own production of The Marriage of Figaro! Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at http://www.operatheater.org.

Also – our Facebook raffle ends this Friday, January 27! Become a fan of our Facebook page and YOU could be the lucky winner of a pair of tickets to The Marriage of Figaro, or an upcoming production at Plays and Players!

http://www.facebook.com/CenterCityOperaTheater

-Posted by Emily E. Knitter

Creating the Dragon – The final pieces

ERIC — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:08:12 +0000

Dragon composer Michael Ching reveals his process and explains how a hate rock anthem fits into his new opera.

“I imagine that writing an opera is like painting a large mural,” says Michael Ching, composer for Slaying the Dragon which will premiere in Philadelphia in June. “First you paint the main characters and have their locations precisely calculated. As you progress you have to fill in sky, clouds, trees and maybe a few more difficult things – a battle scene in the background, or some cherubim or satyrs. That’s where I am now – clouds and satyrs.”

In his process of composing, Ching deliberately spends a long time working on the synopsis, in perpetual collaboration with librettist Ellen Frankel. When he takes the time to immerse himself in the characters, the musical side of the story becomes a more fluid process.

“I start writing a scene by playing with a few favorite lines and usually write a few bars by hand in a music notebook,” says Ching. “I go to the piano and test it out and flesh it out. At that point I go back to the computer, enter it, print it out, sing it and play it. And so it goes – print, write, play, print, write, play – until it’s done.”

The community that Ching and Frankel have developed in Dragon is all about diverse musical backgrounds. This includes a Japanese folk tune, a gospel choir set to Hebrew text, and even an Aryan rock anthem. In the second scene of the opera, Klansmen disrupt a peace rally by blasting hate rock through a boom box.

“This scene needs to sound authentic,” says Ching, who has been spending some time at home screaming into a microphone when no one is around. “I’m pretty pleased with it and will be disappointed if the audience doesn’t think it sounds genuine and jarring. Hopefully people will come up to me afterwards and say ‘where did you find that awful song?!’”

Center City Opera Theater is holding its second of three workshops for Slaying the Dragon on Saturday, January 14 at the Prince Music Theater, followed immediately by “After Hour Arias” at C19 in Rittenhouse. With the completion of Ching’s piano-vocal score this month, our young artists should have a fairly diverse and eclectic new repertoire at their disposal by the time they arrive at the bar Saturday night.

Slaying the Dragon is based on true events depicted in the book “Not by the Sword” by Kathryn Watterson. It tells how a Grand Dragon of the KKK abandoned a life of hatred through a relationship with a rabbi and his wife. It is a story about tolerance, redemption, forgiveness, and the possibility of authentic self-transformation. World premiere by Center City Opera Theater on June 7, 2012 at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia.

Meet our new Managing Director, Ellen Frankel

ERIC — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:45:10 +0000

1. When did you begin your initial involvement with CCOT and in what capacity?

In March of 2010, shortly after retiring as CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Jewish Publication Society, I met Andrew Kurtz, Artistic and General Director of CCOT, who arranged a staged reading of my libretto for a new opera, The Golem, which I was developing with Philadelphia composer, Andrea Clearfield. In the course of this first conversation, Andrew mentioned that he was interested in developing a new opera based on the book, Not By the Sword, the true story of a KKK Grand Dragon who abandoned his life of hatred in favor of tolerance because of his friendship with a cantor and his wife. Without hesitation (and with a fair amount of hutzpah), I offered to take a crack at writing the libretto. Having left JPS in order to pursue my own writing and with lots of free time on my hands, I was in a perfect place to begin a new writing project. I also had discovered that I enjoyed writing a libretto, especially because of the collaborative nature of the process. So we negotiated a creative development agreement, and I signed on with CCOT.

2. How did you come to be Managing Director of CCOT?

As with Slaying the Dragon, this opportunity happened by serendipity. As I worked on the libretto with Michael Ching and became more involved in the marketing and fundraising aspects of mounting a world premiere, I found myself becoming increasingly more involved in reaching out to people I knew–to attend the first staged reading of the libretto in June 2010, to attend a Composer’s Workshop at the Manhattan JCC, to consider supporting the production as donors, to learn more about opera. I volunteered to help Andrew and the CCOT staff in these efforts, and then one afternoon, Andrew suggested that we make my efforts formal–by hiring me as the Managing Director.

3. What are you most looking forward to as Managing Director?

I truly believe in CCOT’s mission as a national laboratory for new opera works. Being a beneficiary myself, I’ve come to appreciate how unique this mission is in the world of opera. As a writer of books, I know how solitary writing can be and how risky it is to develop new works on spec, without a publisher committed to bringing your work to market. That’s why CCOT’s Creative Development Projects are so special. Composers and librettists of new works have an opportunity to work with opera professionals–and each other–to shape their work, and then have an opportunity to try out the work in progress before a live audience as the work evolves. What I’m most looking forward to in my new role is working with the young staff at CCOT in leveraging CCOT’s modest resources to reach a wider audience and also helping the company obtain more funding to expand its mission. Having spent 18 years running a niche publishing house, I know how hard it is to make a go of it in a competitive marketplace and value the intimacy and special handling that small operations can bring to creative development.

4. What are your aspirations for the organization?

For Center City Opera Theater to grow and become more sustainable, it needs greater capacity–full-time staff, secure and dependable funding, more visibility in the broader community, a stable subscriber base. Hopefully, I can help the organization obtain some capacity-building support from foundations to help reach this goal. With increased resources, CCOT can contribute even more to the Delaware Valley arts community and its consumers, and enlarge the profile of opera within the cultural landscape.

5. What are you personally hoping to achieve this opera season?

Don’t forget that I have a vested interest in this season’s production. My first opera, Slaying the Dragon, for which I wrote the libretto, has its world premiere at the Prince on June 7. So one of my primary goals is to sell out all five shows and receive stellar reviews from the critics. But I’m also hoping that the East Coast premiere of Daniel Catan’s Il Postino is an equal success, and that the first annual Art Song Competition being launched by CCOT reveals new talent. More generally, I would like to help put CCOT “on the map” so that more people are aware of this hidden gem in the Philadelphia cultural scene.

“Young Artist Spotlight” #1 – Jen Braun

ERIC — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:36:35 +0000

Here for your viewing pleasure is the first of an online video series we’re calling “Young Artist Spotlight”. Each video will profile a member of our Young Artist Program, which consists of 15 singers this 2011-2012 opera season.

The honor of inaugurating this series goes to one of CCOT’s returning artists from last year, studio soprano Jennifer Braun. Jen hails from Toledo, Ohio and currently splits her time between Philadelphia and Oklahoma. Jen was a soloist for the Toledo and Westerville Symphonies and has performed with Opera Columbus and the Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra of Columbus. Jen’s operatic credits include Norina (Don Pasquale), Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte), Violetta (La Traviata), Cunegonde (Candide), and Rosalinda and Adele (Die Fledermaus), and her upcoming roles for CCOT include Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Musetta (La Bohème).

After Hour Arias, Round 1

ERIC — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:34:04 +0000

There are a lot of things that go well with drinking. Singing, dancing, poor decisions, pizza, making friends, losing friends, reconciling with friends – You can fit a lot into one night. I like a good drink with my song, and CCOT is happy to oblige. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Young Artist program? Well, we made a passing reference to “work” and “sanctioned drinking” one day and things snowballed from there. We’ve managed to convince them to do it in a large group so we could invite the rest of the world to watch, and if you’ve ever gone drinking with a theater people, well. No word yet on splash zone seating, so you’ll have to bring your own tarp.

Okay, technically, it’s a great opportunity to meet real, live opera singers who are at the start of their careers and to learn a little about a community most of us don’t have a chance to enter. Technically, you could say that it’s a chance to learn some opera outside of the theater. Technically, it’s a great place to meet all those hip, young adults.

In reality, it’s a damn good time and ask Michael Hogue to watch where he’s swinging that beer around next time.

Here’s Eric Brower to give us the straight talk on last November 3:

The night began with a cold open of “Libiano” from La Traviata and ended with Maestro Kurtz leading the entire crowd in the “Drink to Champagne” chorus from Die Fledermaus. Not knowing exactly how the crowd at GianCarlo’s Lounge would react, the young artists performed with great enthusiasm and hilarity. Exaggerated held notes, (possibly exaggerated) drunken stumbles and slurs, and flirtatious intermingling, the singers were clearly enjoying themselves and the crowd. The night concluded with a joyful chorus between perfect strangers and our very own CCOT artists.

Do try to come out. It’s a pretty safe bet our inebriated songs are better than yours.

Robert Evans

Writer, Lover, Hearer

Shiny, New, and Busted

ERIC — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:12:13 +0000

You know how iTunes busted open the music industry? How Netflix is putting Blockbuster out of business? How you can download movies before they even come out in theatres? How the new, shiny hotness is supplanting the old and busted? Yeah, there’s one they missed.

Polka!

No, I jest. I speak, of course, about our lovely pastime – opera. It’s just not there. Google the words “opera” “streaming” and “watch” in any order you wish. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Done? Find anything? Yes? No? I could find one – count it – one opera to watch in it’s entirety online. Frankly, as a member of a company that stages free opera events fairly regularly, I am very confused. Why are we using this old technology of walking around and performing in front people? There’s cameras out there, dammit!

I blame young people. Er, no. Old people. Wait. Can I blame both? Oh, good. You see, the operas you get on Netflix are not Operas (note the capital letter). They’re movie operas. Fun in their own way, of course, but it’s what Friday Night Lights is to a real football game. It’s good, but it’s not the real thing. It’s stuck the way it is – it’ll never change, no matter how many times you watch it. Completely predictable, very entertaining, and supremely boring. Opera recordings are like eating the whipped cream off the top of the pie – there’s so much more there, but you’re convinced it will go straight to your thighs!

Now, you might have noticed that you can watch opera online live. Technically. The majority of your Google hits were most likely “Watch this opera at 4 A.M. Next Monday!” We must ask ourselves at what point we left the modern world behind and entered the Medieval internet, as one of the virtues of the internet is that it is always on. Strangely enough, I occasionally like to do things with my life other than sit and wait for an opera being streamed from across the world by a guy who is comfortably watching it while eating dinner while I should be eating breakfast. But I’m not. And if I wanted to watch a movie, I would watch a movie. But I’m not doing either. I’m sitting here planning to give Opera to people who aren’t expecting. So why can’t the guy who wants it find it when he looks?

There are better ways to do this, is what I’m saying.

Posted by Rob Evans – CCOT Intern

Writer, Lover, Hearer

Opera Criticism: How Much is Too Much?

ERIC — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:31:51 +0000

The role of the opera critic is essential. In the age of blogs and social media, the role of the “conventional critic” is lost when essentially every opera-goer with a computer is a published critic. All professional artists know the nerves that come with the first few reviews they receive; in journalism, no one is safe, no matter how famous or admired. Surely no one feels this more in recent days than Placido Domingo, famed Spanish tenor who sang Neruda in LA Opera’s premiere of ‘Il Postino’ last year.

This time, however, Placido was not judged on account of his voice. Domingo recently conducted Washington National Opera’s production of ‘Tosca’ for which he received one particularly scathing review from Washington Post critic Anne Midgette. There was question as to whether Ms. Midgette has crossed the line, accusing Domingo’s conducting of “sabotaging” the production. A few days ago Domingo fired back with a strongly worded letter that was printed by the Washington Post on September 30^th. Domingo says that while he has always accepted proper criticism, Midgette’s remarks were “offensive and defamatory”. Over the weekend Midgette responded to Domingo on her blog, saying that while she is a big fan of Domingo’s vocal endeavors she doesn’t feel the same way about his conducting and that “neither past nor present fandom can blunt my ear to things I don’t like”.

That being said, many in the opera world still feel that Anne Midgette’s comments did more than merely criticize Domingo’s conducting. Did they, as Domingo claims, insinuate that he had deliberately been careless with the production? We here at CCOT want to know what you think! Do you believe that Midgette was harsh or that she was just doing her job as a critic? Please comment below or feel free to respond on our Facebook page.

Posted by Valerie

Valerie@Operatheater.org

Opera News Rundown

ERIC — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:10:51 +0000

Quick updates from the past week, to get this week rolling:

Dilemma with James Levine and the Met: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/24/arts/music/the-dilemma-of-james-levine-and-the-metropolitan-opera.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Placido conducts Don Giovanni at the Met: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/23/140738248/placido-domingo-conducts-don-giovanni?ft=1&f=36
2011 portfolio of Philadelphia’s public participation in the arts: http://www.knightarts.org/community/philadelphia/2011-portfolio-exploring-philadelphias-public-participation-in-the-arts
Philly Orchestra goes to China: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/24/arts/music/philadelphia-orchestra-is-heading-to-china.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Exploring musical omnivores: http://www.miller-mccune.com/culture/cultural-divide-persists-as-musical-tastes-shift-36288/

“Creating the Dragon”: Music Workshop Review

ERIC — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:42:16 +0000

“Oh my god, the bomb!”

“What bomb, Jerry?”

(cue epiphanic piano roll)

It took one listen at the rehearsal for last weekend’s Slaying the Dragon workshop for composer Michael Ching (blog here) to pull out his red pen at this dramatic moment. Amongst a score of organically-crafted hymns, lush duets, and ethnically-influenced motives of all kinds, there was no room, in his opinion, for ‘corny’ emotional cues.

After a composer spends hours upon hours at his piano, day after day, one can imagine how the ear adjusts once he finally removes himself from his own music. The workshop series, which included a Saturday evening session in Philly and a Sunday afternoon session in Wilmington, gave Michael and librettist Ellen Frankel their long-awaited first materialization of their collaboration in progress.

The creative duo of “dragon slayers” were prone to absorption of the workshop crowd’s comments, which were solicited immediately via a question-and-answer portion that followed the music. A smart move, considering the emotional content of the opera and the wide range of personal reactions they anticipate from the audience at its June 2012 premiere. Can a Grand Dragon of the KKK truly turn from his wickedness, and can that person be forgiven for his evil past? Realizing that a music workshop places limits on the portrayal of plot and character development, the audience offered intuitive insight on how the transformation from evil to good can be more digestible.

Three returning sophomores of CCOT’s Young Artist Program filled the three lead roles of Slaying the Dragon for the workshop. Chris Lorge used his vibrant tenor voice to transform the hissing Jew-hater Jerry into a sobbing, remorseful cripple. Baritone Paul Corujo and Soprano Jen Braun, as rabbi Nathan and wife Vera, displayed the confidence necessary to embrace the duality of humankind.

Newcomers to this year’s Young Artist Program bring a colorful array of sound and a new kind of ambitious energy to the forefront of CCOT. Soprano Jennifer Hoffmann brought frustrating warmth and fragility to her reading of a weathered Holocaust survivor, making the redemption of our main protagonist a much harder pill to swallow. Baritone Bob Davidson had the crowd jubilantly torn in deciding which translation of “Hinay ma tov” (Hebrew or English) to sing in funk-gospel style.

CCOT’s new pianist-coach David Hsu could not have received enough praise for his spot-on one-man accompaniment, though he almost did.

Check out some footage from last week’s workshop rehearsal in the video below: