Opera

Posted by Bryce Westervelt

Everyone has an opinion, right? I know that I sure do, especially when it comes to my particular taste in music. I would like to invite you (and your friends, and your friends' friends, and the guy at the supermarket ... you catch my drift here) to get involved in our discussion section of the opera page. On the discussion page you will find a place to make your opinion heard, loudly and proudly!

One thing that I find really cool about the discussions forum here at suite101 is that you can start your own string, and in most cases, the feature writer will comment back to you. It is like our own little opera opinion world. You don't have to be the most knowledgeable opera goer to have an opinion about what you like and don't like. You just have to be willing to share your opinion, and make it count! (and don't forget to subscribe to the discussion board RSS feed so that you can see what others are saying about opera!)

These are the current discussions in opera:

Greatest Baritone (1)

Greatest Mezzo (1)

Greatest Soprano (4)

Greatest Tenor (3)

The Metropolitan Ope (7)

Donizetti Opera (3)

Gay Marriages (3)

US Opera Company Directory (3)

Stimme or Kunst (2)

Free (or Cheap) Opera Tickets (1)

Favorite Opera (12)

Opera Etiquette (8)

Voice Types (13)

Favorite Singer (5)

Carmen Recordings? (2)

Opera Misconceptions (5)

Menotti Remembered (1)

La Traviata- 101 (1)

Verdi Classic to Open Lyric Season (5)

Acting And Singing. (4)

Posted by Bryce Westervelt

The premise is pretty simple, really:

Boy meets girl.

Boy marries girl.

Girl gets bitten by snake.

Girl gets dragged off to Hell as she dies from snake bite.

Boy, so sad, and still in-love with girl mourns the loss.

Boy decides to go rescue girl from Hell.

Boy sings some songs, the gods feel sorry for him.

The let him take the girl back to earth...

...under one condition...

Boy can't talk to, or even look at, the Girl on the trip back home.

The Girl sees the boy's silence as "ignoring her" and she starts to nag.

Boy turns to Girl to tell her to stop nagging.

Ooops! She dies instantly.

Boy begins to mourn the loss of the girl, again.

One of Boy's family, or a god, or someone else feels sorry for the Boy again...

...and gives him back the girl.

Love triumphs over Death.

The End.

Sure sounds like an opera plot to me! Several composers have set the basic Orpheus Myth to music, starting with Claudio Monteverdi and running through present day modern composers such as Phillip Glass. Today, we look at 3 of these different Orpheus settings and let you decide which you like better.

I invite you to look at the settings by: Monteverdi, Gluck, and Offenbach. Monteverdi's very serious straight forward telling of the story, Gluck's more dramatic approach to the emotional context of the story, and Offenbach's tongue-in-cheek parody of the story all approach the myth in a different way, but all have their place in the great history of Opera.

When you're done reading up on the articles, make sure you take this poll about which story you would prefer to see!

Posted by Bryce Westervelt

As I have been reading several different opera music message boards over the last few weeks, one common thread that I have been seeing ring through is a total disconnect between older opera fans and an attempt by many opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, to find a younger audience. I believe that it is imperative, for the health and continuation of the art form to try and gain a larger, and frankly younger, audience. How do you do this though? How do you make opera music more relevant to the general public and this younger generation? How do you do this without "ruining the art" that the older generation has come to love?

One thing that I have noticed is that many companies are doing a great job of trying new things to make opera a more social event for the audience. The formation of opera clubs, such as Cincinnati Opera's Center Stage (which is a group for young professionals under the age of 40) is one such way. If you can make a night out at the opera a fun, romantic date evening where "everyone is doing it," then you will tend to gain a more of audience.

Peter Gelb and the Metropolitan Opera are trying to bring opera to the general public, with great success, through the use of live broadcasts in HD at local movie theaters. This is a much less expensive, but equally effective way of letting the Met travel, as they used to on tours generations ago. I believe that one of the reasons that opera music was as popular to an older crowd is that people were brought up going to live theater when it came to town. Now we have movies or live Broadway shows. It is expensive to tour an opera, (the reasons are far too many to go into here) so how do we bring the music and world-class singers to a town near you? Why not broadcast into a movie theater, using technology that we didn't have only a couple of years ago. Opera is now cutting edge, and as the popularity of the Met's HD broadcasts increases, so to will the audience get younger. A $20 ticket plus some popcorn and a soda is much less expensive than a great orchestra seat at the Metropolitan and many other opera companies, making it a viable experience for younger adults, especially if they want to bring their families.

I know that some people would think that a younger generation has the attention span of a gnat. I have even heard the 20 or 30-somethings referred to as the "ADD generation." I also know that change is sometimes difficult to swallow, but to keep the music coming for generations into the future, you have to cultivate a younger audience. If this comes from exclusive "young adult opera guilds" and "HD movie broadcasts," then the opera is trying to get ahead of the curve, and get out from behind the 8-ball. What will they think of next?

Posted by Bryce Westervelt

The following is a list of the top 10 Opera music articles for the month of March, 2007 at Suite101. These are ranked by most page views, including those found though nearly 3500 Google searches for the month. Listed are the opera music article title, link, and total number of page views. Please visit the article archives for other recent, exciting opera music articles.

1. Barber of Seville – 101 407 page views
2. Metropolitan Opera in HD; 397 page views
3. Carmen – 101 ; 341 page views
4. The Pearl Fishers – 101 ; 326 page views
5. Free Opera Scores; 274 page views
6. Opera Etiquette – 101 ; 189 page views
7. Warming-Up and My Voice Type; 173 page views
8. Top Tenor Jokes; 124 page views
9. Top Soprano Jokes; 114 page views
10. La Fleur Que Tu M’avais Jetée -101 ; 109 page views

Below are the February's Opera Music top articles:

1. Opera Etiquette – 101 (January 25, 2007) 189 page views
2. Carmen – 101 (January 31, 2007) 171 page views
3. Barber of Seville – 101 (January 22, 2007) 161 page views
4. La Traviata – 101 (January 20, 2007) 107 page views
5. Verdi Classic to Open Lyric Season (January 19, 2007) 96 page views
6. Demystifying Opera – 101 (January 22, 2007) 91 page views
7. The Pearl Fishers – 101 (February 2, 2007) 90 page views
8. World Premiere at Calgary Opera (January 25, 2007) 75 page views
9. Christa Ludwig Profiled (February 3, 2007) 47 page views
10. Votre toast, je peux le rendre – 101 (February 27, 2007) 41 page views

Posted by Bryce Westervelt

Ticket prices can be a real deterrent to actually going to see an opera. As production costs go up, so do ticket prices. With this, coupled with an aging audience, opera companies are challenged to grow their audience while also trying to attract a younger audience that will sustain them into the next generation. I have given this much thought while beginning to put together a new and useful opera company directory.



In doing my research for the directory, a couple of patterns have emerged, which make me very excited about the future of opera. Many of the opera companies are offering very inexpensive, if not free, tickets to dress rehearsals. I believe this is an attempt to introduce classical music to our youth. In an age, where many school districts are cutting arts education budgets, I find that it is vitally important that the arts organizations in the community reach out to enrich our communities. There are also groups being formed that encourage young professionals to attend more opera. Perhaps, by making opera “cool social event” to the 20 and 30-something crowd, they will gain an appreciation for the art, and in doing so will be more apt to take their children to see a show down the road.

I would invite you to take a look at how you can go to the opera for cheap, and perhaps grab a kid and go. You never know, he or she might actually like it!

Posted by Bryce Westervelt

The first 7 of what I hope will be many more opera company profiles are up and posted. These profiles are a quick reference guide for each company, their current and upcoming seasons, ticket information, and some basic facts about the company. I hope that you find these, and those to come, helpful.

Arizona Opera

Atlanta Opera

Austin Lyric Opera

Baltimore Opera

Boston Lyric Opera

Central City Opera

Opera Carolina

Posted by Bryce Westervelt

Is Opera in the movie theaters a good thing? The Metropolitan Opera is increasing the number of televised live performances to movie theaters from 6 to 8 in their 2007/08 season. Is this good for the opera world, or are we just over comercializing the artform?

Personally, the perspective of a singer, this is actually great for the artform. Many people might say that opera is a dying art, only for old people and rich people. I think that what the Met is doing, by bringing opera to the masses is actually similar to what Broadway has been doing for years, and replaces what it lost when the Met stopped touring. It is building a larger audience thus making it more accessible to everyone.

When you tell someone you are going on vacation to New York City, you are usually asked, “What are you going to see on Broadway?” Every major city and many smaller ones are visited by Broadway touring companies. Touring is for opera is often more expensive and more difficult than a Broadway show, however, since you have to move a large orchestra, singers, sets, etc. An added problem is time off for the cast. For singers to remain in prime vocal health, many of the larger roles require time for vocal rest between performances, making opera less cost effective. While a Broadway show that can have 7 or 8 performances in a week, often the opera at most can have 3 or 4.

With today’s video and audio capabilities, however, we can now bring the opera to a larger audience, at a reasonable price. No, it is not the same as sitting in a live performance, but with the video technology, you are actually “closer to the action” than you would be if you were sitting in the front row at the Met. Furthermore, in bringing the opera to the big screen, it peaks the interest of the watcher to check out their own local companies, and perhaps sells more tickets for the local theater. More tickets sold at the local theater, more money in donations and gifts equals more shows at the local theater, with better quality production and singing, which means more jobs for singers. It is a win/win for everyone involved, and it keeps the artform alive!

Posted by Bryce Westervelt

The following is a list of the top 10 Opera articles for the month of February, 2007 at Suite101. These are ranked by most page views, including those found though nearly 1000 Google searches for the month. Listed are the article title and link, date of original publication and total number of page views. Please visit the article archives for other recent, exciting articles.

1. Opera Etiquette – 101 (January 25, 2007) 189 page views
2. Carmen – 101 (January 31, 2007) 171 page views
3. Barber of Seville – 101 (January 22, 2007) 161 page views
4. La Traviata – 101 (January 20, 2007) 107 page views
5. Verdi Classic to Open Lyric Season (January 19, 2007) 96 page views
6. Demystifying Opera – 101 (January 22, 2007) 91 page views
7. The Pearl Fishers – 101 (February 2, 2007) 90 page views
8. World Premiere at Calgary Opera (January 25, 2007) 75 page views
9. Christa Ludwig Profiled (February 3, 2007) 47 page views
10. Votre toast, je peux le rendre – 101 (February 27, 2007) 41 page views

Posted by Bryce Westervelt

I have been on the road the majority of the last three weeks, with concerts in New York, Oklahoma, and South Florida. One thing that I have learned from personal experience is that winter travel and singing work against each other. The first 11 days I spent in New York City singing and studying at the historic Players in Gramercy Park as part of Sherrill Milnes’ V.O.I.C.Experience foundation. The weather in New York the week that I was there was particularly cold and dry, even by February standards.

While a part of this program, I was fortunate enough to attend a lecture by Dr. Scott Kesler, a leading E.N.T. specialist dealing with singers. It was a great check-up about hydration techniques, rest, travel, airplanes, reflux, and other things that singers have to deal with to be able to stay in peak form while on the road. One thing that I was dealing with while in New York, and continued in Oklahoma, was my nasal and sinus passages were so dried out that it was causing nosebleeds. When you are in older buildings, like my hotel or the historic Players, you have to deal with dry, irradiated heat. Steaming, over-hydration, and irrigation (with a spray like Simple-Saline) helped me through the dryness and the subsequent nosebleeds.

Similarly, after I returned to Florida, the weather here changed to warmer than normal. I went from 10-12 degrees up north to near 80 in Florida with a heavy dose of tree pollen. With severe sinus and chest congestion, I was contracted to sing a performance in Fort Myers. I worked for nearly 8 hours over 2 ½ days to clear the congestion using a variety steaming techniques, hydration, and non-drying decongestants such as Mucinex. Eight hours for 5 minutes of singing? It is part of the job, and the audience deserves my hard work!

Posted by Bryce Westervelt

My two-week absence from suite101 was not by design, but I believe that I will be able to share with you all some of my experiences of my own professional travels. I was privileged to spend 10 days at the historic Players in New York, working with opera legend Sherrill Milnes, among others. I was also had the unique opportunity to share a stage with jazz legend Dave Brubeck on concert that included one of his sacred choral works.

While in New York, I was able to sit down over four days and have private listening sessions with Norman White, who is the man behind Nimbus Records. He has inspired me to do more listening to historic recordings, so as I continue my personal studies, I hope to share with you some of what I have gleaned from these recordings and open your ears to some of the great artists of the past. I was able to work and chat with director Fabrizio Melano and look at the drama behind the music of opera. Melano, in his decades of directing at the Met and around the world, has worked with many of the greatest singers of the past and current generations, including Callas.