ALL TICKETS ARE ONLY $25!

DENYCE GRAVES-MONTGOMERY IN RECITAL

Friday, March 16, 2012 at 8:00 PM
Broward Center for the Performing Arts

Use code PBO and get 10% off tickets!

One of today’s most exciting vocal stars, Denyce Graves has performed across all four continents in the world’s famed opera houses and concert halls. Her expressive and rich vocalism, elegant stage presence and exciting theatrical performances have led to worldwide popular and critical acclaim. USA Today identifies her as “An operatic superstar of the 21st Century,” and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution proclaims “If the human voice has the power to move you, you will be touched by Denyce Graves.” Denyce is joined by Louis Salemno on piano.

Buy tickets here!

I traveled to Dallas on Sunday morning after our last Brundibar on Saturday night to see the matinee performance of Lucia di Lammermoor, with Elena Mosuc in the title role and Bryan Hymel singing Edgardo. I don’t have any ambition to be a reviewer, and so I will only write about reconnecting with singers who have a history either with Palm Beach Opera or through personal connection with me, rather than addressing their singing in detail. Bryan has come a long way since singing Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at the Palm Beach Opera while he was still at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, and sounded wonderful. It was great to catch up with him and his lovely wife Irini after the performance at the Donor Reception, to which Artistic Director Jonathan Pell graciously invited me. I had hoped Bryan might sing at our Gala concerts in January, but Irini is making her Covent Garden debut during the same weekend, and understandably, Bryan elected to be by Irini’s side for this important moment in her career – even more so, since he will then be singing the Prince in Rusalka at ROH at Covent Garden in February. We’ll just have to find another occasion to get him back to Palm Beach Opera!

It was also nice to hear bass Jordan Bisch again, this time in the role of Raimondo, who I’d first heard while he was still a member of the Lindemann Young Artist Program at the Metropolitan Opera, as well as Scott Quienn, who was a winner of the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition several years ago, and who is currently a member at the Houston Grand Opera Young Artist Program.

The last 10 days were fascinating at Palm Beach Opera, mainly due to our performances of Hans Krasa’s opera Brundibar.  Ela Stein Weissberger, who sang the role of the cat 55 times while at the concentration camp in Terezin, came to Palm Beach to address both the kids in the opera, as well as the audience. What an extraordinary lady! A spirit of unbreakable determination to have her story and her Brundibar experience told, but also filled with compassion and love for her fellow human beings. Watching the Young Singers of the Palm Beaches as well as the Lynn University Conservatory of Music students respond to Ela in rehearsals and after the performances at the Kravis Center has been a highlight in my recent past.

The production came into existence through a wonderful collaboration between Palm Beach Opera and the above-mentioned three organizations, fueled by InSIGHT through Education, who raised the funds.  A truly moving and inspirational 2 weeks of rehearsals and performances, with few dry eyes in the hall!

SIT IN THE GOOD SEATS FOR ONLY $30

Valid performances:
MADAMA BUTTERFLY
Friday, December 16, 2011 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, December 17, 2011 at 7:30 PM

ROMEO AND JULIET
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 7:30 PM

LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
Friday, March 23, 2012 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, March 24, 2012 at 7:30 PM

USE CODE: 50YEARS

This offer is only available October 11-13, 2011 online at pbopera.org and is not valid on prior purchases, premium seating, balcony seating, Sunday matinee performances, or tickets to Golden Jubilee: 50th Anniversary Gala Concert.

Arts Garage is a multi-disciplinary cultural hub for visual artists, musicians, performers, film presenters and arts educators. The mission of the Arts Garage is to collaborate with emerging artists and cultural innovators to facilitate an exchange of art and ideas and to present cutting-edge, interdisciplinary performances and exhibitions.

Palm Beach Opera will be performing there this season as well, so stay tuned for more information about what we will be doing.

This Sunday (September 18) Arts Garage will be hosting “From Berlin to Broadway: Cabaret of Kurt Weill” featuring Broadway star Edwin Cahill (who also happened to sing at Palm Beach Opera’s “Midsummer Serenade” event two years ago) and international opera singer Julia Kogan.

(click to enlarge the poster)

Check out the concert and let us know what you thought of it!

And here they are!  Our season brochure and our group brochure:

If you’d like me to send you one of our brochures, email me and I’ll get one out to you.

Which one is your favorite?

The meeting with Evans was, as always, terrific: his experience and insight into the current state of the performing arts world coupled with his vast artistic knowledge make for great conversations, and I enjoyed kicking around ideas on how to strengthen this crazy but wonderful art form.

After a bit of intellectual stimulation via pre-performance lecture, the performance of Eugene Onegin was even more moving, and the big roar of applause by a grateful public after the last chords was well deserved. Fun also to see so many familiar faces in the cast, some with PBO connection (Mika Shigematsu, our Suzuki in PBO’s last Butterfly sang Filippyevna; Denis Sedov, Leporello in PBO’s Don Giovanni in Feb’ 10, was Prince Gremin), some from my manager days in NYC (I accompanied Edyta Kulczak, who sang Olga, to many auditions when I was working with Guy Barzilay Artists), some even from my own singing days (Stacey Rishoi, Cincinnati’s Madame Larina, and I spent a summer together in Lucca/Italy as part of CCM’s summer opera program.) And it was a pleasure to hear the artistry of Bill Burden, Nathan Gunn, Tatiana Monogarova (whom I heard for the first time – excellent singer!) and Petrenko – powerful stuff all around!

Back in WPB this past Tuesday, we had a blast with our 50th Anniversary Season Preview Concert at the Harriet Himmel Theater. A SOLD OUT /standing room only crowd of over 415 people (normally we max out at 375) enjoyed arias and duets from the upcoming season by 4 young singers (Greta Ball, soprano; Irene Roberts, mezzo; Evenivaldo Correa, tenor; Graham Fandrei, baritone) with our YAP Director Bruce Stasyna at the piano and yours truly as host, tying the selections together with narration, dumb jokes, and teaser information of our coming productions. Like in the past 2 years, we livestreamed the event on the internet, chatted live with our web-audience, and even made our hall audience vote for the encore via text messaging.

The following Summer Splendor Dinner with the Artists at the Palm Beach Yacht Club was also SOLD OUT, and allowed our guests including many board members to enjoy a delicious meal while chatting it up with the artists.

Now I’m on my way to NYC to meet with Mrs. Dolores Guadagno, who will be part of our 50th Anniversary Celebrations in honor of her late husband, Mo. Anton Guadagno, who was Artistic Director at PBO for almost 20 years, bringing opera to Palm Beach when the area was still a ‘cultural wasteland’, as some of our longtime trustees remember. I’m told it’s already 100 degrees hot (and humid) in Manhattan, as well as much of the rest of the country! Remind me why people leave the Florida Coast during the summer citing warm muggy weather as reason, when in fact we have a nice ocean breeze to keep us at 80-85 most of the time?

We are working with the fabulous folks at The Matchbox Studio on this brochure project and they recommended the wonderful photographer Maxine Helfman and her crew for the shoot.  Here are some behind the scenes photos:

At the end of the two-day shoot we decided to have a little fun:

THANK YOU to all who made our photo shoot possible (and super fun, too)!