We’re in rehearsals for Cosi fan tutte! Check out these behind the scenes pics:
Check it out!
Join us at NABUCCO this weekend!
We will be holding auditions for our 2011-2012 Young Artist Program in November 2010. Â Interested singers can find additional information here: Â http://pbopera.org/about_us_c.asp?mn=3&au=4
We are thrilled to welcome our new Director of Artistic Operations: Â David Blackburn!
Palm Beach Opera: Where are you from originally?
David Blackburn: Waco, Texas…the truth comes out!!!
PBO: Like many arts administrators, you were a musician first. Tell us a bit about that.
DB: I was a singer and a percussionist all thru my young life. When I went to college, UT Austin, I had to choose and I chose to head toward voice. Then came opera etc etc etc. I have two degrees in Voice Performance – BM from UT and MM from Manhattan School of Music. I worked as a character tenor for about 8 years before I finally decided that I was never going to have the career I WANTED – I was never going to sing Rodolfo – and I decided to quit singing. It had become a “job†– then I went into finance for a few year and came back into the opera biz because I missed it.
PBO: You are the Director of Artistic Operations. So….what exactly do you do?
DB: I am new here so I am still finding this out! I handle and oversee all things artistic at the company. This means that yes, I cast the operas, I choose the young artists etc. I also handle contracting of the artists but in addition there is a lot of administrative duties that have direct relation to the artistic side. I do travel and housing for all the artists as well as visas for any non-American artists. I am also involved with all union negotiations. But I am most excited that I get to use my performer chops a bit and do some presentations at Lunch&Learn and hopefully also for some other PBO events!
PBO: What is your favorite part about your job?
DB: Like anyone – the casting! I love working on finding the very best options for each role in our season – but not only finding who is singing certain roles at a high level these days, but the most fun is sitting with all the names and finding the best complete casts. How each singer relates to other singers makes such a difference in an entire evening and that is the most fun – I can’t wait to see some of the results!
PBO: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
DB: Well – Elvis. Not exactly a “what†but rather a who! I sang my little Texas pants off to every Elvis record my parents and grandparents had and I was convinced that my future was full of sequined suits and screaming fans! So if you ever pass me driving home from work, if you roll your window down you might still catch a tiny bit of my See See Rider rendition!
Hello everyone! Â It’s been a while since I’ve blogged but I’m determined to give this blog more of my attention this year. Â It is the start of a new season at Palm Beach Opera. Â That means a flurry of activity that has really been going on since last season ended. Â One of the most frequently asked questions that I get is “Do you still work in the summer?” Â Of course we do! Â And we’re just as busy as we are during the season only we’re tending to matters relating to planning as opposed to running actual operas.
Dolora Zajick
One of the biggest things that we’ve got going on here is the addition of Verdi’s Requiem to our season. Â Not only is the fact that we’re doing this monumental choral work big but our mezzo soloist is international opera superstar Dolora Zajick! Â The solo quartet is also going to include soprano Angela Meade and Bass Morris Robinson (who’s booming voice you might remember from our Beethoven 9 last season). Â We are excited to be presenting such a powerful, awe-inspiring, and dramatic work as part of our season. Â Of course, we will have the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra and Chorus there but they will be augmented with other area choral groups to make a huge 150-voice chorus.
Another change this year is the addition of David Blackburn as our new Director of Artistic Operations. Â He is known in the opera world as the head of NYIOP which arranges with European opera houses for American singers. Â We are excited that he will be joining our staff and look forward to working with him.
Anthony Roth Costanzo
Lastly, we will be doing our first ever semi-staged concert performance of an opera. Â This season, we will present two performances of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice on the mainstage of the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. Â What do I mean by “semi-staged” you may ask? Â Well, it will be a performance of the full-length opera with stellar soloists, the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra, and the Palm Beach Opera Chorus. Â However, there will be minimal sets, props, and staging. Â We are delighted to welcome countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo as Orfeo, mezzo Irene Roberts as Amore, and soprano Nadine Sierra as Euridice. Â You may recognize these names from previous seasons. Â Anthony was the 2nd place winner of our 2009 Vocal Competition, Irene was a Young Artist here at PBO for the last 2 seasons and was last year’s 2nd place competition winner, and Nadine is from South Florida and sang with Palm Beach Opera in our chorus and has recently won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions as well as a host of other competitions.
Whew! Â And that is just the tip of the iceberg! Â Stay tuned for more information about Palm Beach Opera.
“There’s a competition for opera singing?” Â This is a question that I get asked quite a lot. Â Yes! Â There is a competition for opera singing. Â In fact, there are hundreds of them around the world. Â This week, it was our turn at Palm Beach Opera as it is our 41st Annual Vocal Competition and Grand Finals Concert.
The competition weekend starts with two days of semi-finals during which the competitors sing in front of our panel of judges.
Stay tuned for more updates throughout the competition!
Here are some exclusive pics taken backstage at Don Giovanni:
A view of the stage which is basically a big white box (a blank canvas, if you will) that showcases the drama of the opera.
A view from backstage showing one of the entrances to the stage and lighting. Â Light plays an important role in this production.
Masks and guns on the prop table.
Candelabras lined up on a prop table.
Buy tickets to DON GIOVANNI today www.pbopera.org
One of our Don Ottavios, our very own Vale Rideout took some beautiful photos in rehearsal the other day and I’d like to share them with you. Â More are available on our Flickr as well. Â Enjoy!
Rehearsals have started for our production of Otello (January 22-25) and I want to give you a first hand look at the rehearsal process.
Musical rehearsals have ended – this is where the singers rehearse just with Maestro Aprea and work out the musical aspects of the show. Â Staging rehearsals have started – this is where the singers work with the director and Maestro Aprea to physically stage the show.
First the director (here is our director Bernard Uzan) talks to the cast about the scene that they are about to stage:
Then, he works with the cast and shows them where to go on the stage:
Then, the singers practice the directions they have just been giving while singing the music:
All of these rehearsals are accompanied by piano – in this case our Assistant Conductor & Chorus Master Greg Ritchey is playing:
Stay tuned for more exclusive rehearsal photos from Otello!
