AVA Opera Blog

More movie debuts...

Who would have thought that AVA singers would be movie stars too!

You heard all about Bryan Hymel’s big screen debut with Carmen 3-D, from the Royal Opera House, right here in the blog.

The Metropolitan Opera announced its season last week, which alone is a big deal. Knowing that three of the principal roles will be sung by AVA alums is even bigger news, and knowing that they will be performed in the HD movie screening from the Met is the biggest news.

Anna Bolena will open the Met's 2011-2012 on September 26th, starring Anna Netrebko as the ill-fated Queen and tenor Stephen Costello as her lover, Percy. This production will be broadcast in HD on October 15, 2011.

The production will run through October and soprano Angela Meade will step into the role on October 21, 24 & 28, 2011. On those dates you can see both Meade and Costello on the stage.

Miss Meade will be back at the Met in February to sing the role of Elvira in Verdi’s Ernani, her Met debut role. The show runs February 2, 6, 10, 18 & 25, 2012. Ernani will be screened in HD on February 25, 2012.

Let's not forget AVA's one and only Joyce DiDonato who will appear in this season's HD movie screening of Rossini's Le Comte Ory on April 9, 2011 at 1 pm. Next season look for her in The Enchanted Island, with music by Handel, Vivaldi, and Rameau.

Triple play in the Old World...

This is a banner year for AVA alums in London.

Mezzo Nina Yoshida Nelsen is in London to perform the role of Suzuki in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at Royal Albert Hall. It opens on February 24 and runs for nine performances.

This is part of Nina’s re-emergence into the world of opera after the birth of her son, Rhys. She mentioned in a recent blog that, “I'm taking Rhys around with me wherever we go. He's just under 5 months old now and it's quite an amazing experience!  My mom is an incredible nanny and is with us here in London. The best part is that when he starts to cry, all I do is sing quietly into his ear and it calms him down...pretty amazing.”

If you can’t get to London to see Nina, she’ll be back in New York City to make her debut at Alice Tully Hall in to sing a concert version of Honneger’s Joan of Arc at the Stake with the Little Orchestra Society.

AVA is no stranger to Royal Albert Hall. Alumna Cristina Nassif sang the title role in Carmen there in 2009. Just a plug for Cristina – she’s off to South Africa to perform the role of Carmen with Opera Africa in Pretoria and Johannesburg. I’m sure AVA resident artist, bass-baritone Musa Ngqungwana, a South African native, can tell her where to find the best pizza!

Am I proud, or what? It’s quite a coup to have three AVA alums singing in London at the same time. Nina at the Royal Albert Hall, Bryan Hymel at the Royal Opera House, and Michael Fabiano at the English National Opera.

That’s a triple play!

Mama, I'm in the movies...

By now you all know about the HD movies from the Metropolitan Opera and other houses, but we’re now going to the next level – 3D!

The Royal Opera House in London will begin showing their production of Carmen this March in the USA. Tenor Bryan Hymel will sing the role of Don José in this movie with mezzo-soprano Christine Rice.

There’s a theater search on Carmen 3-D website, so it’s going to be quite easy to find a movie theater in your area. If no theaters are close to you, I suggest a weekend trip to see this movie. In the Philadelphia tri-state area there are at least eight movie theaters showing it.

Bryan will be back in the states this summer to sing the title role in Faust with alumna Ailyn Pérez at Santa Fe Opera from July 1 to August 27. AVA is planning a trip to Santa Fe to see this production, it’s not too late to sign up. He will also sing the role of Faust for the new Baltimore Opera in April of 2012.

I know the character of Don José is a creep, but scream and applaud for Bryan!

Not to be outdone the English National Opera is doing the world’s first live 3-D opera, Lucrezia Borgia, with tenor Michael Fabiano as Gennaro. I understand that it will be shown live in Europe and on the movie theater circuit in the USA…but that’s for another blog!

 

How many carats is that...

I love telling you about our AVA family members who create more than music.

Rebecca Carr, Coordinator for Opera Outreach and and AVA alumna makes beauty with her voice, and now makes beauty with her hands as well. She is the founder of Belle Pietre Jewelry and doing a bang up job creating amazing pieces of wearable art.

When asked how this came about, she wrote “Belle Pietre Jewelry was born of a single necklace created in a beading shop in Chestnut Hill, PA. AVA classmate, Caroline Whisnant, was visiting from Europe, and, neither one of us being shy retiring types, both made gorgeous, BIG, statement necklaces.   Weeks later, on a whim, I spent a day with another AVA classmate, Julie Kierstine in NYC, and decided to purchase enough materials for two more pieces, and declare myself finished.   Shortly, thereafter while shopping a local boutique the owner asked if I were a designer.  I gave the owner an adamant "Yes!", and thought to myself, "Well, now I am.", and went home to create the pieces I was invited to display there.” 

 Since that first step, Rebecca’s work has found its way into other artisan shops, designers' markets and now an Art Exhibition. She said that it "serves beautifully as a creative outlet for me along with my singing!” 

  If you are in Philly, or plan a visit to purchase jewelry, stop and see Ms. Carr’s show, Belle Pietre – Stone Jewelry of Operatic Proportions by CaraCarr Designs at The Cosmopolitan Club, 1616 Latimer Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103. The show runs from February 25 to March 25 with exhibition Hours: Monday ~ Friday, 9:30-11:30AM, 2:00-5:00PM

Belle Pietre is “Stone Jewelry of Operatic Proportions.“ Each piece has been inspired by an operatic leading lady, and reflects the heroine's character and spirit with uncomplicated designs that encourage Mother Nature‘s beauty to speak for itself.  www.BellePietre.com
 

 

The Big Apple thaws with beautiful singing...

Winter is  almost over, and it’s time to go out and see AVA alums perform. Here are  two events in the Big Apple you won’t want to miss!

Opera Orchestra of New York is back for their second concert of the season. On March 2 they will perform L’Africaine by Meyerbeer at Avery Fisher Hall. That’s good news enough, but having AVA singers soprano Ellie Dehn, tenor Taylor Stayton, and baritone Daniel Mobbs in the concert sweetens the pot even more. Ms. Dehn will sing the role of Inèz, daughter of Don Diego, Mr. Stayton sings Don Alvar, and Mr. Mobbs sings Don Pedro. Following this concert you can hear Ms. Dehn as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro at the Houston Grand Opera. Mr. Stayton will be right back at AVA as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, and Mr. Mobbs sings Angelotti in Tosca for Opera Company of Philadelphia.

All the way from Los Angeles Opera baritone, and AVA alum José Adán Pérez will make his debut with New York City Opera as Belcore in The Elixir of Love. This isn’t his first sing in NYC, he was there with his mentor (and boss) Placido Domingo a few months ago for a concert. I hope he brings some of the southern California sunshine with him, as well as his lovely wife Kimberly Henshaw, also an AVA alum.
The production runs from March 22 to April 9.

Three rolling stones, on the way to the Met...

AVA is proud to have three resident artists advance to the semi-final round of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Soprano Michelle Johnson advanced to the semi-finals on Sunday, when she was the winner of the New England Regional Competition in Boston, MA. That same afternoon, Ms. Johnson was heard on the radio in AVA’s production of Suor Angelica.

That same day, bass-baritone Ryan Kuster and bass Nicholas Masters advanced to the semi-finals as winners of the Mid Atlantic Regional Competition in Washington DC. Mr. Kuster has been named an Adler Fellow with the San Francisco Opera.  He will sing the role of Masetto in their production of Don Giovanni. Mr. Masters will perform in AVA’s production of Don Giovanni which opens on April 30.

I must also recognize resident artist bass-baritone Zachary Nelson, and alum baritone Norman Garrett who won achievements awards at the regional competitions. Mr. Nelson in Boston, and Mr. Garrett in Washington, DC.

Winners of the semi-finals will perform in the national Council Grand Finals Concert on Sunday, March 13 at 3 pm in the Metropolitan Opera House. Met star, and AVA alumna Joyce DiDonato will host the event.

And the ‘stone’ reference? All three winners are voice students of baritone William Stone at AVA.  A baritone of International fame, this is Mr. Stone’s second year as a vocal instructor at AVA.

Tenors take over Texas...

The things you find out on Facebook, my new gossip friend.

My friend, and colleague Laurie Rogers attached the Dallas Opera press release on Facebook. I’m not quite sure why I opened and read it, but what I read was amazing news for AVA!

It seems that three out of the five productions will star tenor alums from AVA! OK, I wish it was a clean sweep of all the productions, but I’m not sure anyone from AVA has Tristan und Isolde in their repertoire.

The season opens with Bryan Hymel as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor. Look for Bryan as Don Jose in a new movie of Carmen in 3D to be released from The Royal Opera House Covent Garden. This should be in your local theaters sometime soon.

James Valenti follows as Alfredo in La traviata, his Metropolitan Opera debut role. James will perform the role of the Duke in Rigoletto with Dallas Opera this season from March 26 to April 10.

The season ends with Shawn Mathey as Tamino in The Magic Flute. Shawn and his lovely wide Su-Jin Lee, also an AVA alum, have been living in Europe for the last few years, so coming to the Big D will be a great welcome home.

 

It's almost summer opera time...

Ok, I know I’m pushing the summer, but I’m cold! Some blog items come to me with lots of fanfare, and other times it’s like a little wind that keeps growing . That’s exactly what has happened with Des Moines Metro Opera’s 2011 season.

Part One - Somehow I heard that Taylor Stayton was going to sing Ernesto in their mainstage production of Don Pasquale. You might remember him in AVA’s “wild-west” production in 2009. When I congratulated him on the contract, he told me that alumna Zulimar López-Hernández was going to be singing Norina in the show as well.  He was thrilled because, although Zulimar played Norina in the 2009 AVA production, they never got to sing it together.

Part Two – I’m surfing Facebook one night (don’t you?) and saw that Jan Cornelius’s status mentioned how 2011 is shaping up to be a great year for her. She begins by singing Giorgetta in AVA’s concert production of Il tabarro, following quickly with the title role in Arabella. Well, I knew all that, but what I didn’t know was that she will also be singing with Des Moines Metro Opera as Mimi in La bohème. When I congratulated her (in the AVA copy room), she mentioned that alumna Colleen Daly was also in the production, in the role of Musetta, a role Jan just sang with Atlanta Opera in October 2010.

Conclusion: Des Moines is going to be one AVA-tastic place to hear opera this summer!

Viva la Carmen...

Last season I received a telephone call from Maestra Diane Wittry from the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, just fifty miles north of Philadelphia. She mentioned that she has worked with soprano Angela Meade and enjoyed their time together and was looking into a musical relationship with AVA alums and resident artists .

She came to AVA last spring and heard some wonderfully talented singers for her upcoming concert which will feature selections from Bizet’s Carmen. She was thrilled with the AVA singers she heard and engaged a trio of singers to star in this concert.

Soprano Cristina Nassif is no stranger to the role of Carmen, having performed the role many performances at Royal Albert Hall in London a few seasons ago. This is the first time she will try out the gypsy in the Tri-state area.

Tenor Viktor Antipenko will sing the role of Don Jose, the scorned lover. This will be his first time singing this role, and will follow his debut as Luigi in AVA’s concert version of Il tabarro.

Baritone Eric T. Dubin, is well known to Philadelphia audiences after many roles at AVA while a resident artist, and three engagements with Opera Company of Philadelphia, along with many other regional houses.

Don’t miss this concert of the Valentine’s weekend on Saturday, February 12 at 8 pm, and Sunday, February 13 at 3 pm. For tickets to the Allentown Symphony’s concert of Carmen, visit their website.

Listening to AVA singers will make you warmer...

During the cold winter in the Philly area, here are hot concerts where you can see AVA resident artists and alums. Don't forget AVA's concert version of Suor Angelica & Il tabarro on January 21, 22 & 26.

Lyricfest
I’ve Got Rhythm – Family Concert
Tipping our top hat to the art of dance in song!
Saturday, January 29 at 3 pm
The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill
Hear alums Cristina Nassif, Suzanne DuPlantis and resident artist Wes Mason
with Timothy Bentch, and Laura Ward at the piano.
General Admission $10, Students $5

Concert Operetta Theater
Remembering Romberg!
Sunday, January 30 at 4 pm
The Helen Corning Warden Theater at AVA
Alumna Zulimar López-Hernández will sing some of the Romberg greats, including selections from Student Prince, New Moon and Desert Song. AVA’s José Meléndez is the music director, pianist.
Also singing are Catherine Layton, Patrick Layton and John-Andrew Fernandez.
General Admission $20, Students $10

South Jersey Opera Association of The Academy of Vocal Arts
Puccini and Pasta
Wednesday, February 2  at 6 pm
Starring Jan Cornelius, Sean Arnold and Zachary Nelsen
This includes a three course dinner with wine
Joe Palombo’s Mirabella Café
210 Barclay Shopping Center, Route 70 East, Cherry Hill
$50 per person plus tax and gratuity
Reservations required – 856-354-1888

Tomasello’s Winery, Hammonton NJ 
Valentine's Opera Gala
February 13 and 20 at 2 pm
Dinner and concert starring Maria Aleida, Margaret Mezzacappa, Luigi Boccia and Wes Mason
with AVA's Michele Scanlon, music director and pianist.
$65 plus tax and gratuity - Reservations required – 1-800-666-9463