Life at Connecticut Opera

Connecticut Opera cancels 2008 - 2009 season

2009-02-06T09:21:00.002-05:00

Dear Friend of Connecticut Opera:Next month will mark the 67th Anniversary of the first performance by Connecticut Opera. Unfortunately, its passing will not be met with great celebration as we must regrettably inform you that Connecticut Opera is the latest victim of the current economic crisis facing our nation.Last night our Board of Trustees approved a plan to cancel the production of our

The Metropolitan Opera HD Broadcasts, brought to you by Showcase Cinemas in Manchester, CT

2009-01-27T11:59:00.003-05:00

As the resident Marketing Intern, part of my responsibility includes handing out programs at the Metropolitan Opera HD Broadcasts in Manchester, CT. I love doing this because I get to watch the broadcasts when it's all said and done and it almost feels like a family over there at the Buckland Hill Showcase Cinemas. It has become routine that I arrive at 11:30 am to set up shop for the performance

Remembering Mayor Mike Peters

2009-01-05T16:33:00.005-05:00

Throughout our history many local celebrities and politicians have graced our stage with cameo appearances. Today we note with sadness the passing of one such person who appeared briefly in our production of Rossini’s The Italian Girl in Algiers; Hartford’s Mayor Mike Peters.I first met Mayor Mike when I was handling government and community relations for TCI Cablevision. The Mayor would go out

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus!

2008-12-19T12:08:00.003-05:00

Earlier this month I received an invitation from a friend to see him portray Francis. P. Clark, the newspaperman who in 1897 penned a now famous and beloved response to eight-year old Virginia O’Hanlon’s query about the existence of Santa Claus.“Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your

Christmas shopping made comfortable

2008-12-15T16:34:00.000-05:00

The Christmas tree had been already set-up and decorated. Holiday movies were playing on the television. And a fresh pot of coffee had been brewed.Now with a cup of coffee, and my laptop, I sat down on the living room couch to spend my Sunday morning Christmas shopping via the Internet. But this would not be a typical on-line shopping excursion because I was going to start at the Connecticut

This Little Piggy

2008-09-06T17:13:00.002-04:00

We are in the midst of our first week of the new season with four new Resident Artists (come get your first glimpse and hear them for the first time at our wine tasting at Bosc in Simsbury on September 21st or at Opera Uncorked on September 29th.) It’s always exciting to get a new crop of singers in and hear and see what they can do. (see their bios and head shots

Maestro Waters in Berlin

2008-07-24T09:28:00.005-04:00

Obama speaks here in Berlin at 5pm today. About five minutes from my hotel. No I'm not going - they say it will be mobbed. I'll watch it on CNN. One of the cast members asked, "are you going to see Obama?" I said, "is he coming to see me conduct Porgy?"This is a "review" of last Sunday's Porgy perf, by a Berliner friend of one of my "internet" opera friends who lives in NY. One correction - there

The International Festival of Arts and Ideas: The Highs and Lows

2008-06-30T14:45:00.002-04:00

I am lucky enough to live in New Haven so for the two weeks each summer that The International Festival of Arts and Ideas takes over downtown, I have a (figurative) front row seat to the action. I try to go to as many events as possible but miss out on the weekday action due to the whole workaday world. In no particular order, here are my picks for the musical highs

And the Winner is...

2008-05-20T11:08:00.002-04:00

It’s better than American Idol: the singing is superior; you don’t have to put up with a snarky Simon, a ditzy Paula, and noone gets called “dawg”; there are no commercials; the audience still gets to vote; and there are snacks! It was the Connecticut Opera guild’s 54th Annual Young Artist Scholarship Competition where twenty-nine young singers competed for fifteen different awards totaling

Things we Learned at Inside the Opera Studio - Abduction from the Seraglio Edition

2008-05-19T13:49:00.003-04:00

Man, this is one good looking cast!Chris Devlin (Assistant conductor and moderator for the evening) believes that Mozart had it out for the singers as shown by the difficulty of this piece.Matthew Garrett (Belmonte) has a pet peeve about operatic stereotypes – especially the one about strange facial hair.Heather Buck (Constanza) would sing upside down if a director asked her to and it didn’t

Audra McDonald Calls Out CT Opera Chorister

2008-05-05T09:07:00.002-04:00

I had the pleasure of attending the Audra McDonald concert at the Jorgensen Center on the campus of UConn on Saturday evening. I was pleased to see that sharing the experience with me were several members of the Connecticut Opera chorus. Ms. McDonald was wonderful, covering a wide range of Broadway favorites and obscurities from the 1920’s to the present day. One of

A Masterclass with Martina Arroyo

2008-04-25T16:11:00.002-04:00

Last night was our Masterclass, led by Metropolitan Opera soprano Martina Arroyo, held at the Wilde Auditorium at the University of Hartford. The purpose of a Masterclass is to give singers a chance to give a working performance of an aria and receive feedback from the leader of the class, who will give them suggestions for ways to enhance their performance. Last night’s Masterclass was also an

A very Special Family Day

2008-04-21T11:41:00.001-04:00

The Boys and Girls Club dresses up in Opera Costumes before the performance.On Sunday May 20th we had the privilege to host a special Family Day at the Opera for children from the Parkville branch of the Boys and Girls Club and the South Park Inn Shelter. The performance of Little Red Riding Hood at the opera’s studio and the transportation for the attendees was

Family Day at the Opera

2008-04-03T11:52:00.001-04:00

Did you see a mother, a grandmother, a little girl, a woodsman & a big bad wolf in Hartford this past Sunday afternoon? They were celebrating Family Day at Connecticut Opera, and everyone had an enjoyable, exciting time.How far did you travel to attend the event? My journey was the longest - all the way from England - and it certainly was worthwhile. There were two performances of 'Little Red

Cinderella, Peter Grimes, Simulcasts, Intimacy and the Mind's Ear

2008-03-24T01:09:00.002-04:00

People often ask me if I was a singer and when I say no they then ask me how I got started working in opera.After graduating as a theater major form college I started working for small companies in New York as a Stage Manager (including a very small opera company that did a production of La Cenerentola). I had been doing this for a

Our first Talkback!

2008-03-10T15:49:00.003-04:00

After a truly magical (and sold out!) matinee of La Cenerentola (Cinderella), the cast and Directors came back out on stage to see what the audience thought. About 150 ticket holders stayed to give their opinions and ask their questions... Maria even came out to the edge of the stage to sign an autograph for a young fan. Dandini, performed by Michael Mayes, when asked how he prepares for this

La Cenerentola Meet & Greet

2008-03-04T09:41:00.000-05:00

This past Wednesday was our Board Meet & Greet with the artists of La Cenerentola. This is something that we do for each opera of the season. It takes place right after a board meeting, usually early on in the rehearsal process. It’s a time for board members and their guests to meet the artists and vice versa.The board meeting ended a little after 6:00pm, and the artists finished their three-hour

Things we learned at Inside the Opera Studio last night

2008-02-21T13:10:00.002-05:00

Tim Jones, Jason Hardy at the post-event reception with attendees. 1. Our cast for Cenerentola has a decidedly southern tilt to it, with seven of our ten panelists born and/or currently living south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Even our Russian Diva is learning English with a Texas twang in her current residency in Houston.2. Michele Angelini (Don Ramiro) secretly dreams of being a Wagnerian tenor.3

The Duet

2008-02-20T13:58:00.001-05:00

This morning, Jason Hardy, our Don Magnifico for the upcoming show, was asked to do an interview with Scot Haney on Channel 3. The link to the interview is here. Whenever a singer does a TV interview for me, I adamantly tell the anchor/host that they will NOT be singing on the show. This is for lots of reasons including needing several hours to warm up their body, not having an accompanist, not

Auditions - Not Quite American Idol (But Sometimes It Feels Like It Is)

2008-02-18T16:54:00.004-05:00

One of the hats I wear under at the opera under my official title of Patron & Community Services Manager is Audition Coordinator. In a nut shell, here are how auditions happen…We have three separate types of auditions: mainstage – for the shows that you see on stage at The Bushnell or the Palace; resident artist – for the four singers that make up our Education and

Renewals

2008-01-25T15:56:00.000-05:00

We mailed subscription renewals this week. This is a big task for the staff. After the season is approved by the board, Aric has to build the season into ProVenue which includes setting up each performance, seating chart, price structure and moving last year’s buyers into their respective nights and seats. After he’s done that, he produces a report which I then convert into invoices and mail

Welcome

2008-01-25T12:36:00.000-05:00

After a fascinating luncheon where Linda gave a great talk on what it takes to produce an opera season, we all decided that there is an audience for, and thirst for, knowing what goes on behind the scenes here. We joked that, if anything, we can post some funny disaster stories, like when Sean got a truckload of scenery for a show and no screws to put it together. True story... and I think he