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Wednesday, July 1, 2009 | 12:46 PM
Thanks to all of the amazing fans who braved the rain and came out to our River To River performances last weekend! The three concerts were a great success--even the weather participated, adding a sense of foreboding to La Navarraise with storms on Friday night, and clearing up just before our Opera on the Pier concert began on Saturday.
Friday night's La Navarraise was performed in the Winter Garden of the World Financial Center © Abbey Braden
Maestro Steven Osgood leads the orchestra for La Navarraise © Abbey Braden
Theodora Hanslowe sings the title role of La Navarraise, Anita © Abbey Braden
Fans wait out the passing storm before our Opera on the Pier performance Saturday We took the rainbow as a good omen
Marco Nistico sings the famous "Largo al factotum" (of Bugs Bunny fame) from The Barber of Seville © Abbey Braden
Krysty Swann, Andrew Drost, and Lielle Berman sing the "Ice Cream Sextet" from Street Scene © Abbey Braden
Once the rain cleared away, a crowd of all ages gathered to watch (and sometimes even dance along with) Opera on the Pier
For more pictures, visit our Facebook page.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 | 2:15 PM
Although we miss the excited frenzy of performances here in the Koch Theater, nothing quite compares to the orderly chaos when we have to pack up our singers, instrumentalists, and staff to travel to other venues. As we mentioned earlier, we're performing three free concerts around lower Manhattan this week as part of the River To River Festival. Each night, our staff and volunteers will be on-hand to provide the audience with programs and answer questions. Want to chat with us about our upcoming season? Look for people wearing black t-shirts with a large white dot on the back (you really can't miss them).
Before things get underway with the River to River performances, we'll be spending Wednesday night at our annual Divas Shop for Opera event. Divas is a night that celebrates fashion, thrift shop shopping, and also raises money for the design and creation of new costumes here at NYCO. It's a who's-who of fashion and fun that our staff and supporters look forward to every year.
Want to join us? Click on the links below for more information or you can RSVP on our Facebook page.
Wednesday, 6/24, 6-10pm Divas Shop For Opera
Thursday, 6/25, 7-9pm The Magic Flute
Friday, 6/26, 7-9pm La Navarraise
Saturday, 6/27, 7-9pm Opera on the Pier
Friday, June 19, 2009 | 9:50 AM
The Queen of the Night's aria is in the halls (and our heads) once again, which can only mean that we're in rehearsals for next week's performance of The Magic Flute with the River To River festival. Here are some pictures from yesterday's staging rehearsal.
Jeffrey Halili, Beth Greenberg, and Eric Jordan relax in the breakroom before rehearsal
Susan Caldwell ponders the score, but what IS Eric Jordan doing in the reflection behind her?
Either Eric Jordan is rehearsing Sarastro's lines or he's explaining the construction going on behind him.
Lielle Berman (Pamina) and Eric Jordan (Sarastro) rehearse a scene while Brian Anderson (Tamino) looks on
Beth Greenberg shows Eric Jordan how to walk like a mysterious and mighty leader
Pamina (Lielle Berman) kneels to the great Sarastro (Eric Jordan)
Brian Anderson (Tamino) and Jeffrey Halili (Monastatos)
Monastatos (Jeffrey Halili) is trying to keep Tamino (Brian Anderson) and Pamina (Lielle Berman) apart
Jeffrey Halili, Eric Jordan, and Lielle Berman
For more pictures, check out our Facebook Page
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 | 11:27 AM
We'll be performing three free concerts around downtown Manhattan this June as part of River To River, New York's largest free summer arts festival.
June 25, 2009 7:00pm
THE MAGIC FLUTE
Rockefeller Park, River Terrace and Warren Street
Come join us in Rockefeller Park for a one-hour concert version of Mozart’s The Magic Flute in English. It's an ideal introduction to opera, offering familiar tunes, colorful characters, rollicking comedy, and an fun time for audiences of all ages.
THE MAGIC FLUTE
Rockefeller Park, River Terrace and Warren Street
Come join us in Rockefeller Park for a one-hour concert version of Mozart’s The Magic Flute in English. It's an ideal introduction to opera, offering familiar tunes, colorful characters, rollicking comedy, and an fun time for audiences of all ages.
June 26, 2009 7:00pm
LA NAVARRAISE
220 Vesey Street – World Financial Center, Winter Garden
LA NAVARRAISE
220 Vesey Street – World Financial Center, Winter Garden
A rarely-performed one act opera by Massenet. This turbulent love story unfolds against the backdrop of civil war in Spain.
June 27, 2009 7:00pm
OPERA ON THE PIER
The Seaport, Pier 17
We'll be waterside at Pier 17 of the South Street Seaport for a concert program of beloved arias, duets and overtures. Highlights will include excerpts from La Bohème and Madama Butterfly.
OPERA ON THE PIER
The Seaport, Pier 17
We'll be waterside at Pier 17 of the South Street Seaport for a concert program of beloved arias, duets and overtures. Highlights will include excerpts from La Bohème and Madama Butterfly.
The River To River Festival embodies the energy and creativity that has carried New York City through both good and challenging times. At a time when audiences need art and inspiration more than ever, we are determined to bring them outstanding, world-class entertainment at a price that can’t be beat."
--Valerie Lewis, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communication for the Downtown Alliance.
For more information, visit www.rivertorivernyc.com.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 | 9:06 AM
Last weekend NYCO held its Tenth Annual VOX Showcase, with a wide array of contemporary American works. New York City Opera interns Kristina, Dimitri, and Alex give their take on VOX 2009.
All three of us really liked Ted Hearne’s Katrina Ballads, which expressed the harsh realities surrounding the Hurricane Katrina tragedy. This piece was Kristina’s favorite because of its unique use of lyrics pulled verbatim from the media. The words really speak to the audience because they are from that moment in history and show the political and social tension during the event. One of the highlights of this piece was the vignette entitled “You’re doing a great job Brownie,” in which the vocal styling resembled those of a DJ’s mix.
Kristina and Dimitri pose with the "Voxy-y Mama" poster
Dimitri, who’s a huge opera fan, really enjoyed Gordon Beeferman’s The Rat Land. Mezzo-soprano Laurie Rubin stole the show as the isolated daughter of a dysfunctional family. Her acting perfectly portrayed the role of a little girl trapped in the midst of an embarrassing birthday party. Singing the role of her autistic brother, Jonathan Makepeace performed an eccentric duet with a Speak-And-Spell toy. Now we see why the VOX programmers revisited the work, which premiered in 2007, and we are all eagerly awaiting a full-length production somewhere in the near future.
Alex loved Car Crash Opera by Michaela Eremiášová and Jairo Duarte-López. It is an eight-minute piece where the music is set to an animated film by Skip Battaglia depicting a car crash. The film wasn’t shown on Saturday, but we could definitely understand how the music would fit. We could easily identify the different characters--from the truck driver, to the impassioned couple, to the mother and child--just by listening to the piece. The singers’ ability to identify with these characters transported the audience into the passenger’s seat.
Alex, Kristina, and Dimitri
We all thoroughly enjoyed VOX this weekend. The Festival not only gives viewers a sneak-peek view of contemporary works, but also showcases some of NYCO’s young talent. We can only hope that some of the operas we saw become produced in the future (yes, that’s how incredible they were). We can’t wait for next year’s festival to see what new works they come up with, and hope to see you there too!
What did you think?
Friday, April 24, 2009 | 11:34 AM
The weather is getting warmer, the birds and flowers are returning to New York, but to the staff of New York City Opera, nothing harkens spring more than the sound of VOX rehearsals.
Once again our rehearsal rooms are booked solid as singers, composers, coaches, and instrumentalists get ready for our 2009 VOX: Showcasing American Composers on May 1st and 2nd at NYU's Skirball Center. For more information, click here.
Jennifer Zetlan, Ariana Chris, and Lielle Berman rehearse Car Crash Opera
Ryan Kinsella and Theodore Chletsos practice their coughing for Car Crash Opera
The orchestra rehearses A Bird in Your Ear
Stephen Schwartz gives notes after a run-through of Séance on a Wet Afternoon
The trombone section takes a break
David Bruce listens as the orchestra rehearses his opera, A Bird in your Ear
Practice makes perfect
Friday, January 9, 2009 | 3:12 PM
How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
Practice!
Arguably the most exciting rehearsal when putting together an opera is the sitzprobe. From the German sitzen: to sit and proben: to rehearse, the sitzprobe is the first time the soloists, orchestra, and chorus all go through the music together. If this rehearsal was any indication, Antony and Cleopatra is going to sound great.
Lauren Flanigan knows the score
For more pictures of the sitzprobe click here.
To buy tickets to Antony and Cleopatra click here.
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