AVA Opera Blog

Here, there, everywhere...

One of my crack self-reporters has checked in from central Europe!

Baritone Daniel Mobbs was last seen in Baltimore singing in Romeo et Juliette with tenor Stephen Costello. I had a wonderful dinner with them but didn’t know half of Dan’s summer schedule. Wish him luck - he’s opening tonight in Poland. But he can tell you better in his own words…

“After quite a crazy few weeks in April with Romeo and Juliette closing and a rush learning of Bianca e Falliero for Washington Concert Opera and I must say what a joy it was to sing with WCO. The maestro Antony Walker is a true joy to sing with. He's a former singer and really understands what we need and what we do. He is quite the talent and I highly recommend him and his group to everyone. He loves opera and it shows in the concerts.

Now, I am in Warsaw Poland, singing my first William Tell. A role I have dreamed of singing…forever. Singing it with my favorite conductor and most loyal impressario, Will Crutchfield. I'm thrilled to have this great opportunity. Warsaw is an interesting place, half old school leftovers, and half trendy hip European youngsters. Richard Troxell was here this spring for Les contes d’Hoffman, and of course was loved by all. Go AVA Alumni!!

Next I am home for a concert with L'Opera Francaise de NY called "The Mephisto Project" and then back to my summer home, Caramoor, for Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Saviglia. My first with this role, after over 100 performances of Figaro. Nice to try out a new role, and have fun, taking the pressure off by not singing Figaro, again with dear Will Crutchfield.

I hope people who are NY can come see these things. Check my web site for dates and links to get tickets.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself!

More blood please...

Soprano Manon Evrard is having a great year of singing. She has just finished her second opera this season for Virginia Opera, and it’s a bloody one as the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor.

Reviews were amazing including "Her singing was spectacular and she also drew the audience with her almost constant movement", and  "In the very first act, the stunning Manon Strauss Evrard makes it quite clear that she IS Lucia in every note and nuance."

The director for the opera was Dorothy Danner, who we have the great fortune at AVA to have direct La traviata, which opens tomorrow night with three sold out performances already on the books.

Manon opened the season at Virginia Opera with Les contes d’Hofmann with AVA alum bass Burak Bilgili. I’m sure going back to sing in Virginia is like going home. But this time she had her ‘Mere et Pere’ from France, and one of her sisters from Japan in to see the show. Even AVA board member Joe McGuire flew in while doing some legal work in California to see the production.

Manon always ends her emails to me with 'big bisous' (big kisses) and I’m sending that back to her.
xoxoxoxoxxoxoxo

   

                                                       

As you can see from the photos, Dad got get into the make-up Enrico, the mean brother of Lucia. Also in the photo is Manon's sister.

Voila Carmen...

I sometimes see alumni at AVA performances, and I recently had the great pleasure to sit next to soprano Cristina Nassif at the Jubilate! concert in New Jersey. The first thing I tell all the alums is to send me what they are up to (for the blog)…and Cristina has a tasty plateful .

The first big news might not be musical, but a great life experience - Ms. Nassif is getting married next November. Her fiancé, Jamie is also a singer, there's nothing like making beautiful music together. I know Cristina’s Mom and Dad from her days as a resident artist at AVA. She says of Jamie, “along with a beautiful baritone voice, he's got the heart, eyes and intelligence to match. I've never known a better man and my family and friends couldn't agree more or be happier for the two of us!”

They had the pleasure of singing together in Shreveport, LA, as Violetta and the Marquis in Verdi's La traviata.  From the reviews, it must have been a great production. Cristina is no stranger to Violetta, having recently sung it with Virginia Opera, Piedmont Opera, and Wichita Grand Opera.

Her exciting news for February 2009, is that she will make her London debut in the title role in Bizet's Carmen at Royal Albert Hall.  She told me that the billboards are already up in London for the production, so if you’re traveling in London, you might see her beautiful face staring back at you!

I failed to mention in a recent blog that Ms. Nassif was a 2008 first place winner of the Gerda Lissner Competition in NYC. This is the second year that Cristina has won a first place prize in this competition!

I love the story behind this photo. Cristina says, “this was taken outside the restaurant (Botin) in Madrid, shortly before he proposed!  A little FYI, he proposed to me in the same restaurant where my dad proposed to my mom back in 1971!

Tea and scones...

Soprano alumna Othalie Graham is one of those hard working AVA alums out there using Philadelphia or New York City as their home base. I'm not sure singers get all that used to flying from one venue to another but that's just part of the job. From her recent, and upcoming schedule it seems she’s ready to conquer at least half of the world at a time with her beautiful voice.

In a recent email last month she mentioned that she was having afternoon tea at the Princess Hotel in Victoria, BC (she knows how much I love afternoon tea!) She was in Victoria to sing on a gala concert for Victoria Opera.

I did see her briefly while she was back in Philadelphia while doing work and competitions in New York City. I got the news last week that Ms. Graham was just awarded the New York Wagner Society Prize.

She mentioned, that she would love to invite everyone to see her performance of Turandot in a semi-staged production with Connecticut Grand Opera on May 10.

From Victoria to Turkey - (see I told she is going half way around the world), where on June 13 she will sing the title role in Aida in Istanbul, followed on June 24 where she will reprise the role at the Aspendos Festival with the Istanbul Opera.

Weekend of death...

You have read about AVA’s pre-gala reception, and the Viva la Voce! gala too. I mentioned that alumna Joyce DiDonato and her husband Leonardo Verdoni were our honored guests at the gala, but the following day was the actually, the reason Ms. DiDonato was in Philadelphia – to work!

She was singing an afternoon recital in Philadelphia for the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and with almost a full house, she arrived on stage to sing and transport us to a place of beauty. I was sitting in the balcony, and all I can say is that is it was almost a two hour love fest, witchculminated in a standing ovation. The program was lovely and diverse. Ending with Gershwin "By Strauss" was memorable.

There was no stopping her, and her gift to us her encores the Composer’s Aria from Ariadne auf Naxos, followed by her "signature" aria Non, piu mesta from La Ceneretola.

In the middle of singing, Joyce had very nice things to say about Philadelphia and her time at AVA. I was excited to meet her (again), because while she was a resident artist at AVA I met her when a group called Voices for Children Foundation recorded a Christmas CD with conductor Richard Raub, and accompanist David Lofton. The proceeds from the recording went to local pediatrics AIDS organizations. She remembered that time, and said she even plays the CD during the holidays.

After the recital it was like "old home week" backstage with alums Sheri Cohen, Michael Eberhard and John Packard, along with AVA music staff Maestro Macatsoris, Richard Raub, Danielle Orlando, David Lofton and Jose Melendez.

What a treat...

For all of you who have some free time in May, here is the list of opera companies where AVA resident artists and alumni will be performing from Opera News. Take a trip and hear them!

With all the resident artists and alums searching

Florida Grand Opera
La boheme
May 2
Here James Valenti as Rodolfo after his huge success as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly  - the PBS broadcast from New York City Opera

Chicago Opera Theater
Don Giovanni
Opening May 3
AVA resident artist bass Ben Wager will sing the role of Masetto.

Seattle Opera
I puritani
Opening May 3
Soprano Eglise Gutierrez will make her debut as Elvira with this company.

Portland Opera
Aida
Opening May 9
Met favorite bass Keith Miller will partake of the pomp of Egypt as Ramifis.

Baltimore Opera
Madama Butterfly
May 10
Baritone and Baltimore favorite John Packard is back to sing Sharpless

Fort Worth Opera
Turandot
Opening May 24
Lucia di Lammermoor
Opening 25
This season Ft. Worth Opera has scheduled an opera festival with four shows running at the same time. Two great tenors will command the leads on two different nights.
Dongwon Shin will sing Calaf in Turandot, and Stephen Costello will reprise his Met role of Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor.

Opera Theater of Saint Louis
Tales of Hoffman
Opening May 24
Beautiful Ailyn Perez returns to St. Louis for all the heroines in Hoffman, after her success as Violetta last season.

This is just a partial list from Opera News

I didn't know you were so handy with tools...

Alum baritone John Packard, is more than just an amazing International singer, he is handy with tools too. Last week he stopped into AVA to fix our oven door, for his wife, Pam Packard, whose company Food for Thought provides our in-house catering.

I’m not sure John can make a career out of fixing things, mainly because he's so darn busy as an opera singer. This past fall John spent a good portion of his time in Europe, singing the role of Germont in La traviata, and Joseph de Rocher in Dead Man Walking, which he debuted and recorded for Semper Oper in Dresden and in Vienna at Theater an der Wien (a favorite theater of Franz Lehar and Johann Strauss.)

This winter he was at Opera Columbus performing Dandini in La Cenerentola. This spring he is closest to home at Baltimore Opera performing Sharpless in Madama Butterfly.

If you’re thinking of going to see a performace, Pam Packard has put together a bus caravan for the Friday, May 16th performance. The trip includes round-trip bus from Philadelphia, gourmet boxed dinner (and I know it be will spectatular), great opera seats, and a private reception with John following the performance.

For reservations you can call Pam at 610-667-2122 or highnote4@juno.com

Recent alumni performances...

From New York City to Connecticut to Berlin, Germany, the alums are all over the place!
Here are a few who sent me photos.

Pictured is bass Branch Fields singing the role of Cesar Angelotti in New York City Opera’s production of Tosca. He’s wasn’t alone, because Todd Thomas sang the role of Scarpia, and Ross Benoliel was Sciarrone in that production.

Tenor Michele Angelini had a great success in Los Angeles singing Handel’s Judas Maccabeus with the L.A. Philharmonic under the baton of James Conlon. He recently sang the role of Prince Charming for Connecticut Opera in Rossini’s La Cenerentola.

Mezzo-soprano Nicole Piccolomini is just completing her second season with Deutsche Oper, Berlin. It has been a very busy season for her, adding a new role - Fanena in Verdi’s Nabucco and re-visiting an old favorite, Maddalena in Rigoletto. She is singing in the world premiere of Jeanne D'arc - Szenen aus dem lebe der heilgen Johanna by Brauenfels this month. She is looking forward to a relaxing summer back in the states.

Just for giggles – Mr. Angelini and Ms. Piccolomini went to high school together on Long Island along with AVA resident artist tenor Joseph Demarest. Denise Stuart, AVA's Director of PR and Marketing (and Long Island resident), mentioned to me that Billy Joel also went to the same high school. There must be something musical in the water!

Enter stage right...

This might be a story you have heard before, but it happened again, and with great success.

This past Sunday, during the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s production of Bellini’s Norma there was a change of singers during the intermission. General and Artistic Director Robert Driver came to the stage to announce that the soprano of the evening was indisposed, and that her understudy would go on for the final act.

AVA alumna Jennifer Check (class of 2000) stepped onto the stage to finish the opera and receive major applause at the end of the opera.

Ms. Check is no stranger to Norma, and as a member of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Clotilde in Norma, sharing the stage with Jane Eaglen and Dolora Zajick.

Jennifer was recently heard at the Metropolitan Opera as Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia. Opera News said “Jennifer Check’s Act II aria as Berta the maid was well worth waiting for – feisty and animated, ringing clear and rhythmically grounded.”

Bend and twist...

Some opera singers have a secret life – they split their time to work in fields other than opera. So is the case of AVA alumna Emily Martin. She is a wonderful singer, still practicing her art, but has also found her love of yoga, which she’s putting it to good use.

Just about a month ago Emily sent Val Starr, our Dean of Students, a notice of her new company and web site Fitsinger.com. She practices in the NYC area with classes in Brooklyn as well as private sessions. She also holds certifications in prenatal/postpartum yoga, as well as Reiki Levels 1 and 2.

Emily will be at Chautauqua Opera this summer singing the role of Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte.