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Tuesday, January 26, 2010 | 8:56 AM
City Opera returns this year to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture to present Opera at the Schomburg Monday February 1st at 7:00 p.m. As part of our Opera Matters program, this is the beginning of a three part series celebrating the great American opera repetoire that celebrates African-American culture.
Opera at the Schomburg will delve into the substantial role of opera in African-American culture, as documented by the Schomburg’s prized collections of rare scores, librettos, images, recordings, films, and documents. City Opera will once again partner with artists from Opera Noire of New York in presenting live excerpts from operas by composers including John Adams, Edward Boatner, Mark Fax, Scott Joplin, Thea Musgrave, Virgil Thomson, and Clarence Cameron White, interspersed with rare visual images, audio, and video clips of such legendary singers as Jules Bledsoe, Ellabelle Davis, Gloria Davy, and Dorothy Maynor, and lively commentary by distinguished guests.
We stopped by the office of Cori Ellison, NYCO's in-house dramaturg and the curator for the events at the Schomburg Center to ask her a few questions...
How did the partnership with the Schomburg Center start?
Cori Ellison: Shortly after becoming City Opera's dramaturg, in 1997, and delving into the company's history, I was struck by our amazing history of nurturing and presenting the work of African-American composers and performers, as far back as 1945, when the great American baritone Todd Duncan made his NYCO debut, and 1949, when NYCO presented Troubled Island by William Grant Still and Langston Hughes as its very first world premiere. Not only was that early in NYCO's history, but at a time when the Civil Rights movement was barely a twinkle in anyone's eye. And that's just the beginning of a long and proud association between NYCO and the African-American community.
Well, this story seemed to be City Opera's best-kept secret, but I felt strongly that we should get that story told. So the idea of presenting an outreach program on the subject was hatched long ago, but they opportunity didn't present itself until last year, when I was charged with creating a free-standing, travelling outreach series to bolster NYCO's presence while our theatre was being renovated. And the Schomburg Center, New York's foremost institution for the study of black culture, just immediately seemed to be the perfect partner. And they are! Last year we co-presented three sold-out events. And we're aiming for the same this year.
This Monday's program focuses on operas found in the Schomburg's own collection. One of the operas featured will be Clarence Cameron White's little-known but powerful opera Ouanga, a story about the Haitian Revolution. Was the decision to include this piece influenced by the recent earthquake in Haiti?
Actually, Ouanga was selected way before the recent tragic events in Haiti. For one thing, it's a great favorite of George Steel, our General Manager and Artistic Director, and a really original and wonderful piece. That said, we're certainly glad to focus more attention on that struggling nation right now, and our excerpt from Ouanga will definitely be performed very much in that spirit.
Following up on this idea, there will also be an excerpt from the opera I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky, a lesser-known piece by John Adams, and also a particularly relevant opera. Can you give us a little background on the piece?
Ironically, it's about an earthquake, the big Northridge earthquake in 1994, and its impact on impoverished minority communities in Los Angeles. Though John Adams is a white composer, the libretto is by June Jordan, the late African-American author and activist, and several of its protagonists are black. We also planned that piece well before the earthquake in Haiti, but we've ended up with a surprisingly topical program.
Also on Monday night's program are excerpts from Scott Joplin's great Treemonisha, Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts, and operas by Edward Boatner, known mostly for his arrangements of spirituals, and Mark Fax. And we have a great cast: soprano Donita Volkwijn, mezzo Kendall Gladen, tenor Robert Mack, and baritone Sidney Outlaw, with our Director of Music Administration Kevin Murphy at the piano. I can hardly wait!
Click here to purchase tickets and learn more about these events.
Friday, January 15, 2010 | 11:35 AM
With American Idol returning to the airwaves this month, it’s hard not to notice all of the talent-competition television shows crowding one’s DVR. With every click of the remote, you’re bound to stumble up on some amateur designers competing to create the best outfit/hairstyle/model pose or celebrities dancing to win who knows what. Low and behold, another profession is being tackled by the reality-television world: the opera singer. ITV Studios in London has been commissioned to produce a new reality series entitled Popstar to Operastar. According to WorldScreen.com, “The show will follow eight singers as they transition into the world of opera, with the help of professional mentors Katherine Jenkins and Rolando Villazon. The contestants will perform world-famous opera songs, training in a completely different style than they are used to and also a completely different language. The viewers decide the winner of the show, voting each week for who stays.” Interesting fact: host Rolando Villazon (pictured below) played Rodolfo in the 2000-2001 season production of Puccini’s La Bohème, which was filmed for Live from Lincoln Center. The show is slated to be filmed and released early this year. What do you think? Will they find the next opera star?
Photo by Carol Rosegg
Thursday, January 7, 2010 | 2:12 PM
Interior Design Magazine featured our fabulous E.V. Day exhibit, located in the promenade of the David H. Koch Theater, as part of their "In the Air, 2009" celebrating the "winds of change that blew through the year's design and art". You can view the exhibit when we begin our Spring season March 18th!
Photo by Carol Rosegg
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 | 8:30 AM
Rice Krispies have been a staple of the American breakfast table for years, but have yours ever been accompanied by a famous aria? Check out this commercial from the late 60s where a father laments the loss of his favorite breakfast cereal. You may recognize the tune as the big tenor aria "Vesti la giubba", the first act finale of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, made famous by Enrico Caruso.
The song has been featured in numerous films, television shows, commercials, and video games, anywhere ranging from Seinfeld to Grand Theft Auto.
Monday, December 7, 2009 | 12:02 PM
Who knew New York City Opera could be your stepping stone to an Oscar? Wowing critics and audiences, Anna Kendrick is getting rave reviews and Oscar buzz in her role as the uptight Natalie Keener in the new film Up in the Air costarring George Clooney. Kendrick is no stranger to the theater and opera community, having starred in the cult indie hit Camp and earning a Tony nomination for her performance in Broadway’s High Society. City Opera had the chance to work with Anna in our starry 2003 revival of A Little Night Music (seen here with Claire Bloom). Check out her interview with Moviefone where she discusses her young start on the stage and her budding film career.
Photo by Carol Rosegg
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 | 7:36 AM
Think you've heard every version of the world's most famous aria? Check out this rousing rendition of one of Bizet's most beloved classics!
Monday, November 23, 2009 | 2:14 PM
One couple who attended Jewish Singles Night at Esther are Jewish Singles no more. Darren, an opera lover, took his girlfriend, Tracy, to Jewish Singles Night last Thursday. During the first intermission Darren proposed to Tracy who said "yes." This was their last singles event. Mazel Tov.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 | 9:35 AM
This week, opera companies across America are celebrating National Opera Week. For our part in this celebration, City Opera will be dedicating all performances to this celebratory occasion.
We will pay special tribute to Frank Corsaro, who made his directorial debut with us in 1958, and Julius Rudel, who became the General Director of City Opera in 1957, with a short speech from George Steel on stage prior to the performance of Esther this Thursday. Mr. Corsaro and Mr. Rudel are both recipients of the 2009 National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors.
We will pay special tribute to Frank Corsaro, who made his directorial debut with us in 1958, and Julius Rudel, who became the General Director of City Opera in 1957, with a short speech from George Steel on stage prior to the performance of Esther this Thursday. Mr. Corsaro and Mr. Rudel are both recipients of the 2009 National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors.
Check out these videos about each recipient, including City Opera Dramaturg Cori Ellison's interview about the Julius Rudel era at City Opera.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 | 8:28 AM
The reviews for our Fall productions of Esther and Don Giovanni are pouring in. You can access them all in one place in our pressroom. If you have any reviews or comments about these productions please post them on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/nycopera
Friday, October 30, 2009 | 12:23 PM
With all the changes in the weather lately, it seems like everyone in New York is reaching for tissues and hand sanitizer. But although we all may get a bit fidgety when the person sitting next to us on the subway starts coughing or sneezing, there are few professions that require more health-consciousness than being an opera singer. Since we've been interviewing the cast of Don Giovanni lately for an upcoming behind-the-scenes video, we got their opinions on how to survive cold & flu season singer-style.
- "It is all about sleep. That is number one, really and truly," says Daniel Okulitch, who plays Don Giovanni. If you're well rested, he says, you can handle situations that could leave you prone to sickness, like riding the subway or touching props that may have been coughed on...kissing your costars in rehearsal doesn't help, either. His castmates all put being well-rested near the tops of their lists.
- When Gregory Turay, who's singing Don Ottavio, says to "eat right," he has very specific ideas of what it means. Only fruit in the mornings, sushi, veggies, no dairy, starches, sugars, or carbs. "You want to make your body as alkaline as possible," Turay says, "so the viruses don't have an opportunity to thrive." He also recommends tea with lemon, honey and cayenne pepper when you're feeling under the weather.
- "I've used three things to keep me healthy: sleep, Zicam, and chocolate" says Joélle Harvey, who's playing Zerlina. "Definitely chocolate. I don't know about health benefits, but it makes everything feel better."
- Amanda Pabyan, who's covering the role of Donna Anna, has to be the one left standing when everyone gets sick. What's her secret? "Swish with pineapple extract and water when you feel that scratch on your throat. You can also buy it in pill form. The extract is a homeopathic anti-inflammatory and the juice takes the sting away from a sore throat."
Other popular answers from the whole cast were to exercise regularly and wash your hands frequently. "Basically, take care of yourself and be considerate of your colleagues," says Amanda Pabyan, "if one person is sick, it's really easy to pass it from person to person."
Monday, October 26, 2009 | 12:14 PM
Joyce DiDonato
Playbill Arts recently interviewed Joyce DiDonato, who will be appearing here next week in our American Voices concert. Click here to read the interview.
Friday, October 23, 2009 | 12:54 PM
Greetings Shoppers!
It's Dame Lori, writing in to report that October is the Spookiest Month for us at City Opera Thrift Shop...there is so much scary great fun going on.
Last week we celebrated with The Costume Event--what an astonishing evening! Over 200 Vintage Costumes donated from the warehouse were on sale...ball gowns, beggars gowns, faustian frocks, flamenco frills, gas masks and cod pieces, too. When the doors opened, the crowds flew in from alll over the world and fled
through to scoop up these amazing pieces. Hauling out 4 huge bags of costumes were the owners and special effects wizard of Blood Manor, NYC's Most Haunted House, ecstatic over the scary ripped beggars rags they scored to style their monsters and freaks. On a higher, more sophisticated plane, our friends and devotees, Sophie Eustache and Pamela Meurice, were all aglow in their fine costuming stylings preparing for next year's Carnivale in Venice- their 12th season in a row!
Oh readers, how I LOVE VINTAGE....and it's coming to City Opera Thrift Shop next Wednesday evening from
5-9:00 pm. Vintage is how I have been able to dress and style myself and it's definitely how I developed my Soul Style. Finding one piece of vintage can spiritually, emotionally and physically change your personality in a heartbeat. We have hundreds of pieces that can instantly transform a depressed unemployed customer into a courtesan strolling down The Avenue des Champs-Elysees for less than $50!
I enter the orchestra pit of the basement to explore the VINTAGE scene and bump into Jay Thompson, the leader and genius behind everything genius at the store. Jay knows the power of each piece and sums up this event brilliantly, "VINTAGE is a very fun hodge podge event and big treasure hunt! "
Aha, I see the hodging and podging happening in front of my eyes...silk mandarin dresses and robes, batiks from Bali, ponchos from Mexico, sexy mumus and hostess gowns. And as I touch each piece, I imagine all the designers inspired by them....Vivienne Tam, Anna Sui,Todd Oldham, Moschino, Isaac Mizrahi and so on and so on. And now the little treasures....the gorgeous designers who are resting their souls....Bill Blass, YSL, Chanel and Pauline Trigere all waiting for you, mixed in with other precious designs for you to touch and be visually and sensually inspired. And the furs, always the furs..how 'bout a stole for a steal at $75? Don't forget the endless accessories, big and chunky is the look or dainty and demure....however you want it--VINTAGE will personalize your look with the add on of ONE PIECE and it's CHEAP!
For the bigger treasures, I go upstairs to a little sideroom where I find the handsome Jeremy Forbis, assistant manager sporting a new facial style....a beard! Which makes him very profound when he says..."Imagine ABC Carpet & Home with Thrift Shop Prices." I pull a few images out of him... vintage teak, 70's chrome and glass, lucite, 50's daybed. Thank you, Jeremy...what's next- a handlebar mustache?
And as I exit, I fix my eyes on a brand new feature at the Shop- Lana Weiss, a 22 year old fashion designer, vintage lover and recent college graduate who just moved to NYC from Illinois to land a job at Vogue's favorite highest quality thrift shop. Wearing a classic vintage red top and blue skirt, this talented young woman gushed that she is "really really really excited about next Wednesday!"
Fashion History Continues.
Classic designs never go out of style.
Everything old is new again.
Join the Vintage Revolution on October 28.
5:00-9:00 pm
City Opera Thrift Shop
222 E. 23 St., , between 2nd & 3rd Avenue
So come join our team of experts on hand...I will be hosting, along with a special slew of vintage soul stylsts on hand to assist you. Always Yours, Dame Lori
Friday, October 23, 2009 | 11:29 AM
We're less than two weeks away from opening night, and everyone's abuzz! Check out what the press is saying about New York City Opera this week:
(Ok, not from this week, but worth watching anyway)
Also, tune in to channel Thirteen at 12:00pm on Sunday, to watch an interview with George Steel on this weekend's SundayArts.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 | 3:39 PM
Sara Krulwich/The New York Times
The New York Times published an article yesterday about artist E.V. Day's installation, which will be on view in the David H. Koch theater throughout our fall and spring seasons. Our favorite quote:
“This is couture,” [Ms. Day] said, pointing out the intricate, tiny beadwork on a dress, details that would probably be lost even to operagoers in the first row. “There are no glue guns with these clothes, no Bedazzlers. These are all hand-stitched. It's an art form.”
Click here to read the article or check out the fantastic slide show.
Friday, October 16, 2009 | 4:41 AM
Where the Wild Things Are, 1987
It's hard not to get a little nostalgic for your childhood with all of the trailers running for the new movie of Where the Wild Things Are, opening this weekend. Certain childhood books, like The Little Prince, Where the Wild Things Are, Little Women, and anything by Dr. Seuss, have a way of staying with us long after we have put other childish things away. It's no wonder, then, that modern composers have turned to many of these childhood classics when looking for inspiration for a new opera.
New York City Opera performed Oliver Knussen's opera of Where the Wild Things Are in the fall of 1987, and some of our staff are now debating whether this beloved children's story makes for a better movie or a better opera. We'll have to see! If you want to compare along with us, there's a DVD sale going on now so you can get 25% off the purchase of any DVD in our gift shop. Why not get a DVD of the City Opera production of Where the Wild Things Are, and The Little Prince and spend a weekend with your inner child?
For the DVD Sale, click here and enter code: DVD25.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009 | 9:30 AM
The next tenor to approach Canio in Pagliacci could learn a thing or two from Bello Nock. The star clown of the Big Apple Circus performed a "skywalk" high-wire stunt yesterday from the portico of the David H. Koch theater to the roof of Avery Fisher Hall. The City Opera staff gathered on the portico to watch with bated breath and to ponder how exactly you wish a tightrope-walker luck when he walks by (surely "break a leg" is inappropriate?). Here are some pictures from the stunt:
The task at hand (a little hard to see in the picture but still daunting)
We had prime seats, Bello came right past us on his way to the wire.
One step at a time
Success!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009 | 7:12 AM
Due to a high demand for Esther, we are very excited to be adding a performance on Tuesday, November 17th at 8pm.
For tickets and information, click here.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 | 8:46 AM
Doyle New York will be holding an auction of Beverly Sills' Estate next Wednesday, October 7th. Beverly loved to shop for art and antiques, and a number of the items up for sale were purchased while on tour with New York City Opera or here in New York with her friends and coworkers. Our staff has been flipping through the catalogue and spotting items that have their own sentimental value for us, so it's not uncommon to hear "there's the fur coat she leant me on that freezing cold night on tour," or "I was there when she bought that painting" while walking through the halls.
From Doyle's website:
Doyle New York is honored to auction the Estate of Beverly Sills. One of the world's greatest coloratura sopranos, Beverly Sills was also a tireless champion for the arts, an advocate for people with disabilities, a much beloved New Yorker, and a devoted wife and mother. With her tremendous talent and generosity, vitality and charm, she won the hearts of the American public and opera lovers worldwide. Beverly Sills' remarkably diverse collection comprises over 460 lots of fine art, furniture, decorations, jewelry, Judith Leiber handbags, photographs, costume designs and opera memorabilia from her home overlooking New York's Central Park.
We're sure many fans will be "bubbling" over this opportunity to acquire pieces of opera history, and donations to New York City Opera's archives will not be turned away!
For more information, click here.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009 | 6:58 AM
We've posted a new episode of this Moment in Opera with special guest Charles Kondek, notable playwright and librettist of Esther. Listen here or subscribe to This Moment in Opera on Itunes to find out:--Which line Charles Kondek wrote on the fly that made it into the opera
--Exactly how exacting Hugo Weisgall could be as a collaborator
--Why Weisgall almost didn't write Esther
--How it feels for a librettist to watch their words leave their hands in the rehearsal process.
All this and more in episode 13 of This Moment in Opera.
For more information on Esther, click here.
Friday, September 25, 2009 | 12:58 PM
Broadwayworld.com recently wrote about our Exploding Couture exhibit by artist E.V. Day. In this piece, "a series of dynamic sculptures made from a selection of vintage City Opera costumes and costume accessories will be dramatically suspended overhead in exuberant simulated motion." The work will be premiered at our opening night gala and American Voices concert and will be on view through our fall and spring season. You can be sure to read more about it right here as the piece develops.
The Independent just posted a great article on Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-with-the-mostest who sang the role of Sister Helen Prejean in our production of Dead Man Walking a few years ago, and who has had a lot of (well-deserved) attention lately for carrying on her performances of Rosina despite a broken leg. Joyce will be returning to City Opera for our American Voices concert on November fifth.
And finally, not exactly NYCO-related but very dear to our hearts...
A view of the iconic Lincoln Center fountain today from our balcony.
...the fountain is returning to Lincoln Center next week!