The creative team for Lucia di Lammermoor, including Stage Director Brian Robertson and Director of Production Chris Van Alstyne, work with their crew to assemble the set for the opera.
Here is a photo of the diagrams they have to follow.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Lucia on Parade!
Carmen and La bohème are not the only places in opera where parades occur. When a production crew is assembling the set of an opera for the first time, they do what is called a "Set Parade" where they assemble all the pieces of the set for the entire show. Below are some photos from today's Set Parade for our upcoming production of Lucia di Lammermoor opening February 18th.
The creative team for Lucia di Lammermoor, including Stage Director Brian Robertson and Director of Production Chris Van Alstyne, work with their crew to assemble the set for the opera.
Here is a photo of the diagrams they have to follow.
The creative team for Lucia di Lammermoor, including Stage Director Brian Robertson and Director of Production Chris Van Alstyne, work with their crew to assemble the set for the opera.
Here is a photo of the diagrams they have to follow.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The set for Otello arriving at Sarasota Opera
Have you ever wondered how those giant operatic sets are delivered to the Sarasota Opera House? Here are a few pictures of the set for our 2012 production of Verdi's Otello being arriving. Believe it or not, this is only one delivery of two!!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Sarasota Youth Opera Packs the House at Annual Holiday Concert!
On Sunday, December 11, 2011, the Sarasota Youth Opera Preparatory Chorus and Full Chorus packed the house for their annual Holiday Concert at the Whitfield Presbyterian Church in Sarasota, Florida.
Dave Braun, Music Director of Whitfield Presbyterian Church, welcomed the audience made up of Sarasota Youth Opera Supporters, family, friends and fans. Under the direction of Maestro Jesse Martins, Youth Opera Music Director, Ben Plocher, Youth Opera and Outreach Coordinator, the Full Chorus and Preparatory Chorus presented an hour long program of opera choruses, folk songs and holiday favorites. As a special treat, Youth Opera parents were invited to join the choruses for a singing of Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer" as well as the Christmas classic "Why can't we have Christmas the whole year around?". Maestro Kristen Kemp expertly accompanied both groups on the piano.
Dave Braun, Music Director of Whitfield Presbyterian Church, welcomed the audience as well as offered a special thanks to Executive Director, Susan Danis.
The Full Chorus opened the concert with choruses from Leoncavallo's opera Pagliacci and Weber's opera Oberon.
The Preparatory Chorus followed with charming folk songs performed from memory
Sarasota Opera Individual Giving Officer, Andrea Gartner, joined the Preparatory Chorus on the oboe
Here are a few more pictures from yesterday's wonderful concert:
The applause was abundant for these young performers and the audience left with smiles on their faces and a holiday song in their heart. Bravi to Maestro Martins, Ben Plocher, Maestro Kemp and especially to each and every member of the Sarasota Youth Opera for all of their hard work!
Dave Braun, Music Director of Whitfield Presbyterian Church, welcomed the audience made up of Sarasota Youth Opera Supporters, family, friends and fans. Under the direction of Maestro Jesse Martins, Youth Opera Music Director, Ben Plocher, Youth Opera and Outreach Coordinator, the Full Chorus and Preparatory Chorus presented an hour long program of opera choruses, folk songs and holiday favorites. As a special treat, Youth Opera parents were invited to join the choruses for a singing of Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer" as well as the Christmas classic "Why can't we have Christmas the whole year around?". Maestro Kristen Kemp expertly accompanied both groups on the piano.
Dave Braun, Music Director of Whitfield Presbyterian Church, welcomed the audience as well as offered a special thanks to Executive Director, Susan Danis.
The Full Chorus opened the concert with choruses from Leoncavallo's opera Pagliacci and Weber's opera Oberon.
The Preparatory Chorus followed with charming folk songs performed from memory
Sarasota Opera Individual Giving Officer, Andrea Gartner, joined the Preparatory Chorus on the oboe
Here are a few more pictures from yesterday's wonderful concert:
The applause was abundant for these young performers and the audience left with smiles on their faces and a holiday song in their heart. Bravi to Maestro Martins, Ben Plocher, Maestro Kemp and especially to each and every member of the Sarasota Youth Opera for all of their hard work!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Below is an article from the Chicago Tribune regarding the significant drop in theater subscriptions across the country!
Big national drop in theater subscriptions
November 28, 2011|Chris Jones|Chicago Tribune
Theater criticFor those in the theater industry who long have followed the late Danny Newman's "Subscribe Now!" mantra to build loyal subscribers rather than fickle single ticket buyers, the latest research from the Theatre Communications Group should make sobering reading.
At least where non-profit American theaters are concerned, it is not working so well anymore.
According to Theatre Facts 2010, the annual research snapshot released by the TCG lobbying and support organization, subscription income is dropping at American theaters at an alarming rate.
Between 2006 and 2010, the report (released Monday) says, national subscription income dropped by an eye-catching 15.1%. Some 14% fewer subscripion tickets were sold and the closely watched subscriber base dropped by 15%.
Overall attendance also fell, slightly. The decline was 3.6%, although the study notes that attendance went up for workshops, skeletal productions and the like. Theaters, the study notes, have cut costs by an average of 2.6%, no doubt in response to these numbers and also to the decline in philanthropic giving (contributed income fell during the period of the study by 5.2 percent).
Interestingly, single-ticket income rose modestly during each of the years in the study. And between 2006 and 2010, the number of single-ticket buyers rose by 3%. Most theaters report a positive change in unrestricted net assets, growth that the study attributes to the rising price of a single ticket.
Big national drop in theater subscriptions
November 28, 2011|Chris Jones|Chicago Tribune
Theater criticFor those in the theater industry who long have followed the late Danny Newman's "Subscribe Now!" mantra to build loyal subscribers rather than fickle single ticket buyers, the latest research from the Theatre Communications Group should make sobering reading.
At least where non-profit American theaters are concerned, it is not working so well anymore.
According to Theatre Facts 2010, the annual research snapshot released by the TCG lobbying and support organization, subscription income is dropping at American theaters at an alarming rate.
Between 2006 and 2010, the report (released Monday) says, national subscription income dropped by an eye-catching 15.1%. Some 14% fewer subscripion tickets were sold and the closely watched subscriber base dropped by 15%.
Overall attendance also fell, slightly. The decline was 3.6%, although the study notes that attendance went up for workshops, skeletal productions and the like. Theaters, the study notes, have cut costs by an average of 2.6%, no doubt in response to these numbers and also to the decline in philanthropic giving (contributed income fell during the period of the study by 5.2 percent).
Interestingly, single-ticket income rose modestly during each of the years in the study. And between 2006 and 2010, the number of single-ticket buyers rose by 3%. Most theaters report a positive change in unrestricted net assets, growth that the study attributes to the rising price of a single ticket.
Sarasota Opera Hosts Friend-Raising Event in Pinellas County
Sarasota Opera hosted two friend-raising events for the Florida Suncoast Opera League, the Pinellas Opera League and patrons of Sarasota Opera on Saturday, November 19th in St. Petersburg, FL and Sunday, November 20th in Dunedin, FL. Tampa Bay Magazine publisher Aaron Fodiman, and his wife Margaret Wood Burnside, generously donated their homes for the events. The events were chaired by Sarasota Opera Trustee Don Worthington and his wife Rachael Worthington, and were generously underwritten by PNC Bank.
Executive Director Susan Danis, Aaron Fodiman and his wife, Margaret Wood Burnside at Ovation.
Sarasota Opera Trustee member Don Worthington welcomes the guests at Ovation.
The events were two hours each and attendees enjoyed cocktails, light hors d’oeuvres and a 30 minute concert presented by Sarasota Opera Artists Youna Jang, soprano and tenor Heath Huberg. “The purpose of these two events was to bring Sarasota Opera to our friends and supporters in Pinellas County”, says Greg Parry, Director of Marketing at Sarasota Opera. “This was a wonderful opportunity to say hello to new and existing patrons, let them know what we have coming up for our 2012 Winter Festival Season and, most importantly, enjoy some wonderful singing by our artists. We are grateful to Mr. Fodiman and Ms. Burnside for opening their homes, Don and Rachael Worthington for chairing the events and PNC Bank for their generous underwriting.”
Guests included Sarasota Opera Executive Director Susan T. Danis, Dr. Zena Lansky and Warren Rodgers, Aaron Fodiman and his wife Margaret Wood Burnside, Ambassador Mel Sembler and his wife Betty Sembler, the Honorable Pamela Campbell and her husband George Campbell, Sarasota Opera Board Chairman Joe Stephan and his wife Nora Stephan, and Kathleen Monahan, Director of Cultural & Civic Services for the City of Tarpon Springs.
Below are some photos from the event at Ovation:
Tenor Heath Huberg sings for the crowd
Soprano Youna Jang entertains the crowd with a selection of arias
Richard and Marita Rotella (left) and Lilo and Jeffrey Barnes (right)
Jay Kaminsky and Aaron Fodiman at Ovation
George Campbell, Sarasota Opera Board Chairman Joe Stephan, Nora Stephan and Ambassador Mel Sembler
The Honorable Pamela Campbell, Rachael Worthington, and George Campbell
Fazal Fazlin and Fay Lazaris
The Honorable and Mrs. William Castagna, John Prevas, Mavis Gibson, and Margaret Carrington
Pat Benjamin, Elena Cifuentes, Patti Italiano, Judy Dato
Joe and Michelle Menasce, Bonny Heet, Martin Martel, and John Rinde
Executive Director Susan Danis, Aaron Fodiman and his wife, Margaret Wood Burnside at Ovation.
Sarasota Opera Trustee member Don Worthington welcomes the guests at Ovation.
The events were two hours each and attendees enjoyed cocktails, light hors d’oeuvres and a 30 minute concert presented by Sarasota Opera Artists Youna Jang, soprano and tenor Heath Huberg. “The purpose of these two events was to bring Sarasota Opera to our friends and supporters in Pinellas County”, says Greg Parry, Director of Marketing at Sarasota Opera. “This was a wonderful opportunity to say hello to new and existing patrons, let them know what we have coming up for our 2012 Winter Festival Season and, most importantly, enjoy some wonderful singing by our artists. We are grateful to Mr. Fodiman and Ms. Burnside for opening their homes, Don and Rachael Worthington for chairing the events and PNC Bank for their generous underwriting.”
Guests included Sarasota Opera Executive Director Susan T. Danis, Dr. Zena Lansky and Warren Rodgers, Aaron Fodiman and his wife Margaret Wood Burnside, Ambassador Mel Sembler and his wife Betty Sembler, the Honorable Pamela Campbell and her husband George Campbell, Sarasota Opera Board Chairman Joe Stephan and his wife Nora Stephan, and Kathleen Monahan, Director of Cultural & Civic Services for the City of Tarpon Springs.
Below are some photos from the event at Ovation:
Tenor Heath Huberg sings for the crowd
Soprano Youna Jang entertains the crowd with a selection of arias
Richard and Marita Rotella (left) and Lilo and Jeffrey Barnes (right)
Jay Kaminsky and Aaron Fodiman at Ovation
George Campbell, Sarasota Opera Board Chairman Joe Stephan, Nora Stephan and Ambassador Mel Sembler
The Honorable Pamela Campbell, Rachael Worthington, and George Campbell
And here are some photos from the next day's event at the home of Aaron Fodiman and Margaret Wood Burnside in Dunedin, FL:
Fazal Fazlin and Fay Lazaris
The Honorable and Mrs. William Castagna, John Prevas, Mavis Gibson, and Margaret Carrington
Pat Benjamin, Elena Cifuentes, Patti Italiano, Judy Dato
Joe and Michelle Menasce, Bonny Heet, Martin Martel, and John Rinde
Friday, November 18, 2011
Sarasota Opera Announces Latest Youth Opera Commission and Co-Production
Sarasota Opera proudly announced at a press conference on Tuesday, November 15th, its latest commission for the Sarasota Youth Opera program, Little Nemo in Slumberland, which will have its world premiere in November 2012 as part of Sarasota Opera’s fall season. The new opera draws source material from serial art pioneer Winsor McCay’s comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland. The strip is set in the dreams of its title character and features fantasy art that attempts to capture the look and feel of a creative unconscious.
Little Nemo in Slumberland will be a Co-Production with the University of Kentucky Opera Theater and will utilize a new leading edge, innovative theater technology, SCRIBE (Self-Contained Rapidly Integratable Background Environment) that was piloted at the University of Kentucky. This technology, which has been successfully used in productions at the University of Kentucky Opera Theater and Atlanta Opera, will help meet the creative challenge presented by bringing such a fantasy based story to life.
The Creative Team for Little Nemo in Slumberland
Composer: Daron Aric Hagen
Librettist: J.D. McClatchy
Conductor: Steven Osgood
Stage Director: Martha Collins
Scenic Designer: Michael Schweikardt
Costume Designer: Howard Tsvi Kaplan
Lighting Designer: Ken Yunker
Associate Conductor: Jesse Martins
About the Commission and Co-Production:
One of Sarasota Opera’s goals for its Youth Opera Program is to periodically commission a fully realized opera for young people. Sarasota Opera commissioned the two-act, sixty-minute youth opera specifically for the young voices (ages 8 – 18) of its youth Opera Chorus. Recognizing the need to support “youth operas”, the company and the artists agreed to create a work with wider application that would be appropriate, for example, for university undergraduate programs and youth choral groups at other U.S. and Canadian opera companies. The project thus expands the performance opportunities for thousands of young singers.
Composer Daron Hagen Photo by Neil Erickson
Composer Daron Hagen flew in especially for the press conference and spoke about what motivated him to become a part of this project. He explained that at the time he was approached by Mr. McClatchy to compose the music for Little Nemo in Slumberland, he and his wife were expecting and he found himself with the desire to want to enter into the mind of his children to be. “I wanted to enter into Sandy’s (Mr. McClatchy) main image which is a world of dreams and I wanted to create music that expressed the core values of who I am as a person.” The opera took 9 months to compose and another 6 months to complete the orchestration.
“This is a fantastic company with a reputation of being world class”, Mr. Hagen explained when he discussed why he chose to work with Sarasota Opera. “I didn’t want to go on this journey with anyone but the best.”
Based on the recommendation of the composer, Dr. Everett McCorvey, Director of Opera at the University of Kentucky, agreed to partner with Sarasota Opera in the creation of this project.
“This is an ideal partnership as it brings together the best of what our two organizations have to offer in order to see this project through to completion”, says Dr. McCorvey. “It is truly a rare and valuable gift to be able to offer an opera to young people that is specifically designed for developing voices. In addition, to have the capability to be able to partner that with a high quality production to compliment the singers performances is something not readily seen at the University or Youth Opera level.” Dr. McCorvey has plans to make Little Nemo in Slumberland part of University of Kentucky Opera Theater’s 2012 mainstage spring production.
Dr. Everett McCorvey speaking at the Press Conference Tuesday
Image courtesy of Bill Wagy
“To be frank, this is a big deal”, says Executive Director Susan Danis. “We are just beyond thrilled to see this project begin to take form and to be able to offer this incredibly unique opportunity to the dedicated young singers of the Sarasota Youth Opera and the students at the University of Kentucky.”
SCRIBE Technology:
SCRIBE technology is a rear projection system that breaks the overall projection into multiple tiles. An individual projector is responsible for each tile. Each projector emits a tiled portion of the image. The collective display, ultimately, is the entire image rendered in one seamless image on screen. This new technology allows designers to create very large images without sacrificing precious stage space, which can then be given back to performers. Thus far, this technology has only been used by the University of Kentucky Opera Theater and Atlanta Opera.
Technical and design meetings have already begun at both at the University of Kentucky and Sarasota Opera. The music itself will be “work shopped” by University of Kentucky students in the spring/summer of 2012 then finally brought to Sarasota to begin rehearsals with the Youth Opera program. November 2012 will mark the World Premiere performance on the Sarasota Opera stage.
Here are some more images from Tuesday's press conference. All images are courtesy of Bill Wagy.
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Kretzmer were amongst the audience members on Tuesday.
Composer Daron Hagen speaks to members of the press and special guests.
Librettist J.D. McClatchy and Maestro Victor DeRenzi address the audience.
Sarasota Artists present excerpts from "Little Nemo in Slumberland".
Little Nemo in Slumberland will be a Co-Production with the University of Kentucky Opera Theater and will utilize a new leading edge, innovative theater technology, SCRIBE (Self-Contained Rapidly Integratable Background Environment) that was piloted at the University of Kentucky. This technology, which has been successfully used in productions at the University of Kentucky Opera Theater and Atlanta Opera, will help meet the creative challenge presented by bringing such a fantasy based story to life.
The Creative Team for Little Nemo in Slumberland
Composer: Daron Aric Hagen
Librettist: J.D. McClatchy
Conductor: Steven Osgood
Stage Director: Martha Collins
Scenic Designer: Michael Schweikardt
Costume Designer: Howard Tsvi Kaplan
Lighting Designer: Ken Yunker
Associate Conductor: Jesse Martins
About the Commission and Co-Production:
One of Sarasota Opera’s goals for its Youth Opera Program is to periodically commission a fully realized opera for young people. Sarasota Opera commissioned the two-act, sixty-minute youth opera specifically for the young voices (ages 8 – 18) of its youth Opera Chorus. Recognizing the need to support “youth operas”, the company and the artists agreed to create a work with wider application that would be appropriate, for example, for university undergraduate programs and youth choral groups at other U.S. and Canadian opera companies. The project thus expands the performance opportunities for thousands of young singers.
Composer Daron Hagen Photo by Neil Erickson
Composer Daron Hagen flew in especially for the press conference and spoke about what motivated him to become a part of this project. He explained that at the time he was approached by Mr. McClatchy to compose the music for Little Nemo in Slumberland, he and his wife were expecting and he found himself with the desire to want to enter into the mind of his children to be. “I wanted to enter into Sandy’s (Mr. McClatchy) main image which is a world of dreams and I wanted to create music that expressed the core values of who I am as a person.” The opera took 9 months to compose and another 6 months to complete the orchestration.
“This is a fantastic company with a reputation of being world class”, Mr. Hagen explained when he discussed why he chose to work with Sarasota Opera. “I didn’t want to go on this journey with anyone but the best.”
Based on the recommendation of the composer, Dr. Everett McCorvey, Director of Opera at the University of Kentucky, agreed to partner with Sarasota Opera in the creation of this project.
“This is an ideal partnership as it brings together the best of what our two organizations have to offer in order to see this project through to completion”, says Dr. McCorvey. “It is truly a rare and valuable gift to be able to offer an opera to young people that is specifically designed for developing voices. In addition, to have the capability to be able to partner that with a high quality production to compliment the singers performances is something not readily seen at the University or Youth Opera level.” Dr. McCorvey has plans to make Little Nemo in Slumberland part of University of Kentucky Opera Theater’s 2012 mainstage spring production.
Dr. Everett McCorvey speaking at the Press Conference Tuesday
Image courtesy of Bill Wagy
“To be frank, this is a big deal”, says Executive Director Susan Danis. “We are just beyond thrilled to see this project begin to take form and to be able to offer this incredibly unique opportunity to the dedicated young singers of the Sarasota Youth Opera and the students at the University of Kentucky.”
SCRIBE Technology:
SCRIBE technology is a rear projection system that breaks the overall projection into multiple tiles. An individual projector is responsible for each tile. Each projector emits a tiled portion of the image. The collective display, ultimately, is the entire image rendered in one seamless image on screen. This new technology allows designers to create very large images without sacrificing precious stage space, which can then be given back to performers. Thus far, this technology has only been used by the University of Kentucky Opera Theater and Atlanta Opera.
Technical and design meetings have already begun at both at the University of Kentucky and Sarasota Opera. The music itself will be “work shopped” by University of Kentucky students in the spring/summer of 2012 then finally brought to Sarasota to begin rehearsals with the Youth Opera program. November 2012 will mark the World Premiere performance on the Sarasota Opera stage.
Here are some more images from Tuesday's press conference. All images are courtesy of Bill Wagy.
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Kretzmer were amongst the audience members on Tuesday.
Composer Daron Hagen speaks to members of the press and special guests.
Librettist J.D. McClatchy and Maestro Victor DeRenzi address the audience.
Sarasota Artists present excerpts from "Little Nemo in Slumberland".
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Sarasota Opera's MADAMA BUTTERFLY on ABC 7
Sarasota Opera's production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, opening tomorrow night, is Linda Carson's and Sarasota ABC 7's pick of the week! Click through to see the video!
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