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.  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

AN INTERVIEW WITH VALE RIDEOUT

Palm Beach Opera: Tell us a bit about your hometown.
Vale Rideout: I grew up in Fort Collins, CO. It’s a town halfway between Denver and Cheyenne, WY. I was very fortunate to have a very musical family and a musical/theatrical community there. The school system was very supportive of the arts and I created many lasting friendships in the performing opportunities that were provided me. Fort Collins was a wonderful place to grow up for many reasons – my favorite reason being the accessibility of the mountains and all activities associated with them: Skiing, hiking, camping, canoeing, biking, etc.

PBO:What is your first musical memory?
VR: I remember singing with my parents and sister when I was very young. We would sing songs together as my parents would play instruments. I’m not sure of an exact moment, but singing around the campfire was always one of the strongest memories of mine growing up.

PBO: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
VR: I knew when I was 12 that I wanted to be on the stage. My parents got my sister and me involved with theater in school and in the community and I knew from an early age what I wanted to do.

PBO: What is your favorite music to sing?
VR: This is a difficult question to answer because I have grown to appreciate so many types of music. I also have performed quite a few different styles in my college education and the time since. In opera, my favorite composers are Mozart, Britten, Donizetti, Gounod and some of my favorite roles are Edgardo, Romeo, Peter Quint, Tom Rakewell, Belmonte, Rodolfo and Faust. I’m sure I’ve forgotten many, but the difficulty in coming up with a few favorites is that with the fantastic quality and variety of operas, the one you’re seeing or performing at the time has the tendency of becoming my favorite.

PBO: If you weren’t a singer, what career would you try?
VR: I have thought about this a number of times and there are a few careers I think would give me satisfaction (though not like being on the stage). I would enjoy being an architect, a sound designer, computer programmer, photographer, teacher of music or a lawyer. It is quite a varied list, but it reflects the range of things I think would challenge me like being a singer challenges me.

See Vale in our production of DON GIOVANNI in February 2010.

PALM BEACH OPERA DEDICATES THE 2008|2009 SEASON IN MEMORY OF ROBERT M. MONTGOMERY, JR.

Palm Beach Opera is pleased to announce an exciting 2008/2009 season of Passion, Betrayal and Atonement! Our season begins in December with Verdi’s ever popular Rigoletto, the tragic story of the hunchback court jester and his beautiful daughter. January brings Bellini’s Norma, a favorite of Maestro Aprea, and a continuation of Palm Beach Opera’s tradition of presenting bel canto operas in splendid productions. In late February, we continue with Mozart’s comic opera Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) a lighthearted, poignant, and ultimately touching satire of aristocracy prior to the French Revolution. Finally we end the season in April with the timeless love story of La Bohème, one of Puccini’s most popular and emotionally powerful works.