ARTISTS CORNER: Soprano Eleni Calenos

Our singers for the fall have arrived and rehearsals for Rigoletto are in full swing.  To help you, the audience member, learn more about the artist you will be seeing on stage this season, we asked each of our principal singers to offer some insight into not only how they prepare for their upcoming performances, but also what life is like for them as a professional singer in general.

We present to you Eleni Calenos, a Greek soprano enjoying an international career.  Ms. Calenos will be singing the role of Gilda, the jester's daughter in this fall's production of Verdi's tragic masterpiece Rigoletto.      



Soprano Eleni Calenos



Q.  Ms. Calenos, What drew you to become a singer?  Was there a specific “Aha!” moment of clarity?

A.  My whole life was filled with music, and not only classical and opera. In fact opera came much later in my life…  My beginning in music, besides listening, was learning to play cello and piano at the age of seven. I also loved to sing in the various choral ensembles of my conservatory.  After, I obtained my diploma in cello performance and performed as a member of my hometown’s Municipal Symphony Orchestra, I took, what I considered at the time, to be a bold turn. I started exploring Greek traditional, ethnic, and even more contemporary/popular music as a singer.  I was successful as a recording session musician and singer, and was performing in different music scenes, often for various Greek TV channels, and already establishing my name.  Little that I knew, I did not expect any radical life changes.  The “Aha”! moment came with my first voice lessons in Athens, Greece. I thought I was just trying to protect my voice by learning healthy vocal technique.  However, this experience “forced” me to explore my full potential, to discover my real natural volume that I had never used before, high notes and extension in general, and finally the use of all my body and soul in an unprecedented way.  The moment I hit my fist high B flat was an epiphany that changed everything, and there was no way back!!

Q.  What are you looking forward to most about performing this particular role?

A.  I am looking forward to the challenges I will meet performing this role.  I’ve had already a taste during my preparation, but performance time and doing it on stage is completely different and teaches you a great deal.  Gilda is a very different role than the ones I have performed up until today.  It is in essence the very first fully staged Verdi opera that I am doing, and in a way among the first in the bel canto style.  Working on it, I had a new and exciting, for me, technical discoveries that I am looking forward to applying as perfectly as I can.  So, I am anticipating discovering new nuances for my character.  I am also looking forward to working and making music and theater on stage with a new conductor, director, orchestra, chorus and of course with great singers!

Q.  Is there something unique about your process for preparing for a role for performance?

A.  I do not know if I could call my preparation unique.  It just includes a lot of work.  First, translating the whole opera and listening to a recording while reading my piano vocal score.  Then, learning my part by repetition, and sometimes rehearsing in front of a mirror repeating the text with different color and intention as an experiment until I have a preferable choice.  After I do my own preparation, I start with coachings, voice lessons, and occasionally one or two theatrical coachings on dramatic interpretation.  I personally consider movement and body posture very important so I try to prepare accordingly with the help of Alexander Technique*.

Q.  What do you want the audience to know about your character?  What do you find most challenging about this role?

A.  I do not want the audience to know anything about my character.  I think everybody’s perception is different and I believe it’s more exciting for them to discover my character along the way without any preconceptions.  They will be able to tell at the end if I, as a singer/actress, have portrayed Gilda well, and if I indeed was being her.  The greatest challenge I find about this role is that Gilda is many women in one. (What woman isn’t?) In the first act, she starts out very innocent and virginal, and we only have a glimpse of what is going to follow. Then she falls in love, she tastes love, and by the last act, she suffers disappointment, betrayal, and pain. She is at times frail and then she is courageous, and has the strength to sacrifice her life in order to save her beloved.  There is a contrast between the act one, act two, and act three Gilda.  Verdi depicts her changes and development throughout the acts very distinctly with his music. 

Ms. Calenos as Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly

Q.  Thus far, what is the most bizarre experience you have had during a rehearsal?  During a performance?

A.  Nothing bizarre besides little jokes during a performance.  However, I remember an experience that I had in Houston during rehearsals.  I was singing my first Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly.  After the first couple of musical rehearsals, Hurricane Ike came into town.  The city was almost in a state of emergency, but we kept preparing in the theater even without electricity, even with a flooded basement for a while.  There was no air conditioning in a city infamous for its humidity, and a power generator was used during the dress rehearsals, so that the orchestra musicians could read their parts!  It was all in all a bizarre experience that will stay in my memory.  As if we were a troupe of actors from another era, where art comes first, and we made our sacrifice to save the show!

Q.  Do you have any pre-performance rituals?  Performance superstitions?  Good luck charms?  If yes, why?

A.  My main concern is to trying to keep calm.  Good sleep, not much talking, eating well, no alcohol, yoga practice for stretching of the body and warming it up, listening to recording of my coachings and voice lessons, going over my staging directions are included in my pre-performance routine.  Maybe not so interesting or fun for a non-singer…. But I think singing demands an athletic kind of concentration and treatment, and so my preparation is also a bit athletic.

I have no superstitions or good luck charms.  I just like to be positive, and to feel in an emotionally healthy and loving working environment .  Thus hugging my colleagues and wishing them well beforehand is important.  This profession is not only egotistic.  It’s also very much about team work, and spreading the love before a performance helps!

Q.  How do you relax in between performances?  What hobbies do you enjoy at home and “on the road”?

A.  Many times between performances I need to tone down my rhythms. I seek opportunities to be alone and in complete silence, so I am able to “empty” my head and stay away from annoying and loud sounds. Otherwise, I enjoy small companies of friends and colleagues, soft music, cooking, yoga, reading, swimming if possible, and the best: having a massage session!

Q.  How do you stay connected to family and friends when you are “on the road”?  Do you keep a blog?  Website? Facebook? 

A.  The most practical way to keep connected with my family overseas is Skype.  I also maintain a website (www.elenicalenos.com) for people who wish to follow my career, as well as facebook for friends and fans. Don’t forget about e-mails and the old fashioned phone calls!

Q.  Are there towns or cities that you have a strong connection with whether from growing up or attending school?

A.  The city that I have a strong connection with is New York.  It has become my new home and almost replaced my hometown Thessaloniki, Greece.  I have spent eight of my ten US years in New York, since I studied there for my masters and then started my career.  Of course, there are other cities where I’ve developed and established friendships because of traveling for performances.  I feel in many cases, there is a room/bed for me in many cities provided that I wish to visit again.

You can see Ms. Calenos on stage and hear her elegant voice as she performs the role of Gilda, Rigoletto's daughter, in this season's fall production running October 26th through November 12th.  Tickets are available online at www.sarasotaopera.org or by calling the Sarasota Opera Box Office at (941) 328-1300.

*The Alexander Technique is a study in body movement that aims to teach people how to stand, hold themselves, and move differently in order to eliminate unnecessary tension in their bodies.

LET THERE BE LIGHT: A Chat with Ken Yunker

Let There Be Light:  A Chat with Ken Yunker, Sarasota Opera’s Resident Lighting Designer

 

Have you ever wondered how the Sarasota Opera stage seems to always be lit so perfectly?  Artistic Administrator Greg Trupiano takes us backstage to meet Resident Lighting Designer, Ken Yunker, as he prepares for Sarasota Opera's busy fall season which will present Verdi's Rigoletto and the Sarasota Youth Opera world premiere of Little Nemo in Slumberland. 

Ken Yunker first worked as Sarasota Opera's resident lighting designer for the 2007 season. His responsibility is to devise the lighting plots for all the mainstage operas.



Ken Yunker



Born in Oregon and raised in the northwest, Ken says that becoming a lighting designer is his reaction to growing up in a military government town. His father was a nuclear chemist at the Handford Nuclear Project. Ken recalls, "It was a dry, not very interesting environment. Probably the one time when the town came to life was Christmas with all the sparkly colors and seasonal tree lights."

As an undergraduate, Ken tried to make his parents happy by taking courses they wanted him to take. "I grew up in a very scientific household!" says Ken. But by the time he was at Ann Arbor in Michigan for graduate studies, Ken was studying the arts. There he got to design the lighting for his first opera, Hansel and Gretel. It was an emergency situation and Ken only had a total of 48 hours to learn and design the opera before it hit the stage. From this humble beginning, Ken has gone on to design a large number of opera and non-opera productions. But for Ken, opera is special because it contains everything: music, staging, singing, scenery, costumes, and lighting.

Ken describes the process of designing the lights for a production, "When I work on an opera, I try to hear what the composer wants me to hear and push it through the lighting technology we have. With success, the art will reemerge on the other side." Last season, Ken had to light operas as varied in locale as exotic Japan (Madama Butterfly) to a frigid, unnamed northern country (Vanessa), with stops in Spain (Carmen), Scotland (Lucia di Lammermoor), and Cyprus (Otello).

The 2012-13 season promises to test further his skills as a lighting designer. First up is the fall production of the Verdi masterpiece, Rigoletto. Ken says, “Rigoletto is a production that we are familiar with from the grand opening of the renovated theater in March 2008. The Act III storm, dramatically so important to the climax of the opera, is a lot of fun to design. It showcases the Opera House’s wonderful lighting system.   For this production, we have a gorgeous white marble set that makes it challenging to light the opera’s many night scenes; if I am not careful, the lighting will look too theatrical and not be believable. In addition, whatever I design for the performances in Sarasota has to be replicated for the performance of Rigoletto that takes place at the Philharmonic Center in Naples in mid-November. And at that venue we have very limited time to get the lighting right.”

In addition, Yunker has to consider that for the first time since the inauguration of Sarasota Opera’s fall season of fully produced operas, two different productions will be presented. In the middle of the Rigoletto run will be the two world-premiere performances of Sarasota Youth Opera’s Little Nemo in Slumberland. This opera with music by Daron Aric Hagen and libretto by J.D. McClatchy is based on the famous early twentieth century comic strip by Winsor McCay.

“Having to coordinate these two productions in a repertoire schedule is a massive but rewarding undertaking,” says the lighting design. “For Little Nemo we are using a state-of-the-art digital projection system called SCRIBE (self-contained rapidly integratable background environment). It was developed by the University of Kentucky’s Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments. This style of production will give our audiences a unique visual treat that is perfect for the day and night topsy-turvy world of Little Nemo in Slumberland.”

  

─ Greg Trupiano, Artistic Administrator

My Summer at Camp: A Voice Teacher's Perspective

Mezzo-soprano Nicole Mitchell was asked to join the artistic faculty of the 2012 Sarasota Youth Opera Summer Camp just this past June.  Her primary responsibility was teaching voice.  Ms. Nicole, as the campers called her, has been both an apprentice artist and studio artist with Sarasota Opera and won critical acclaim for her performance of Tituba in the 2011 production of Robert Ward's The Crucible.

We asked her to write up what her experience was like and the challenges she faced working with such young singers.  Here is what she had to say: 



Mezzo-soprano Nicole Mitchell

When I was asked to be a part of Sarasota Opera's 2012 Youth Opera Summer Camp I have to say I was THRILLED!!!  As thrilled as I was though, I was also a bit nervous and perplexed at how I would be able to relay information on the process of singing to almost four dozen children- whose ages ranged from about seven to eighteen years old. Overall, I was excited at the opportunity to share what I've learned as a classically trained singer, but I was also excited to be on the receiving end of knowledge as well. Nothing hones a teacher's skills better than their students. 

Learning how to sing in the classical style is more than just learning how to sing a song without a microphone. It is about what one does physically, emotionally and mentally to prepare BEFORE using the vocal cords.  Teaching voice to a group is a challenge in that you must find the simplest way to convey knowledge to over forty minds about posture, good breathing technique, pitch accuracy, scales, diction and stamina...to name a few, in a limited amount of time. 

Over the three-week period I saw the young singers, some with more abandon, others a little shyer, take chances in trying to do what was asked of them during different exercises.  It was great to see youthful courage, enthusiasm and imagination being used from the many. At times it was a bit daunting as they were asked to combine the information they'd received, not only from my instructions, but that of their other teachers as well. The art of an artist at any age is the effective merging of their talents with their acquired skills and techniques to make a performance look "easy".  

Members of the Sarasota Youth Opera perform a
selection from Little Nemo in Slumberland
on the last day of camp.

In the end, what I was most proud of for each student is that they stepped out of their comfort zones and tried and succeeded! They gave their ALL which is what great performers do. I was thoroughly impressed at their willingness to put their best creative selves forward. In the camp's final exhibition, the young artists sang, emoted and moved in character to tell the stories they were involved in from excerpts of Puccini's Turandot, Verdi's Macbeth and the upcoming children's opera Little Nemo in Slumberland by composer Daron Hagen. I was SO proud!!!

What I stressed most for the young artists during our three weeks together is that they try their best in all they do. Try, just try. You can't go wrong from there because you'll learn something new no matter what.  Now isn't that good advice for us all? It was good for me!

-- Nicole Mitchell

2012-2013 SINGLE TICKETS ON SALE ONLINE TODAY!

Single Tickets for the 2012-2013 Festival Season

On Sale Online TODAY

Sarasota, FL – Single tickets go on sale online at www.sarasotaopera.org to the general public Wednesday, August 1^st, 2012 for Sarasota Opera’s 2012-2013 Fall and Winter Festival seasons, the company’s 54^th consecutive season.  Sarasota Opera continues its tradition of assembling casts of international talent to perform a mixture of classic favorites paired with rarely performed works of artistic excellence in the beautiful historic Sarasota Opera House.                  

The fall 2012 season opens with the return of the acclaimed Sarasota Opera production of Verdi’s Rigoletto (Oct. 26 – Nov. 12), last seen in 2008 as the opera chosen to commemorate the re-opening of the newly renovated Sarasota Opera House.  Interspersed between the final two performances of Rigoletto will be the Sarasota Youth Opera world premiere of their fifth commissioned opera Little Nemo in Slumberland (Nov. 10 – 11), music by Daron Hagen and story by J.D. McClatchy. 

Title page of the score of Puccini's Turandot(Ricordi, Milan),
c. 1926 (akg-images)

Opening the 2013 Winter Festival on February 9^th will be Giacomo Puccini’s vocally extravagant Turandot, the largest production ever mounted at Sarasota Opera.  Immediately following will be Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, Verdi’s second opera A King for a Day (the 29^th installment of Sarasota Opera’s ongoing Verdi Cycle) and Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men (the third opera presented in the company’s ongoing American Classics Series).  The Winter Festival will close on March 24^th with The Verdi Concert: Celebrating the 200^th anniversary of the birth of Verdi featuring Sarasota Opera soloists, chorus and orchestra conducted by Maestro Victor DeRenzi. 

Additional concerts available for ticket purchase will be the Apprenctice & Studio Artists Concert: Verdi’s Times on March 8, 2013 and the Artists Choice Concert on March 17, 2013.  Also available will be Sarasota Opera’s ongoing lecture series entitled Meet the Artists where patrons are offered an insider’s perspective as Maestro DeRenzi interviews the singers, directors and designers of all 6 of the Sarasota Opera productions. 

Due to the overwhelming popularity of our matinee performances, Sarasota Opera will continue to offer weekday matinees during the fall and winter season for specific performances of Rigoletto, Turandot and The Pearl Fishers.  All matinee performances begin at 1:30pm.  Check www.sarasotaopera.org or call the box office for specific dates. 

And patrons travel from around the world for Sarasota Opera’s “Opera Lovers’ Weekend”!  Perfect for those with a tighter travel schedule, Sarasota Opera offers three consecutive weekends in March where anyone can see all 4 operas in 3 days!  Dates for the 2013 Season are March 8-10, March 15-17, or March 22-24.  Log on to www.sarasotaopera.org for more information. 

Single tickets go on sale in the Box Office on September 4, 2012.  Subscription packages are still available for purchase in four and five show packages through the Box Office as well. 

2012 Fall Season

Rigoletto

Opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave

Based on the play Le Roi s’amuse by Victor Hugo

Sung in Italian with English supertitles

Sarasota Opera House

Performances (6):   Oct. 26, 28(m), Nov. 1, 3, 7, 12(m)

Little Nemo in Slumberland  

Sarasota Youth Opera World Premiere

An opera in two acts by Daron Aric Hagen and Libretto by J.D. McClatchy

Based on the comic strips by Winsor McCay

Sung in English with English supertitles  

Sarasota Opera House

Performances (2): Nov. 10 and 11

2013 Winter Festival

Turandot  

Sarasota Opera Premiere

Opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini

Libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni

Sung in Italian with English supertitles

Sarasota Opera House

Performances (11):  February 9, 12, 17(m), 20, 23, 28, Mar. 3(m), 10, 15, 19(m), 23

The Pearl Fishers (Les Pěcheurs de perles)

Opera in three acts by Georges Bizet

Libretto by Michel Carré and Eugène Cormon

Sung in French with English supertitles

Sarasota Opera House

Performances (9):  Feb. 16, 19, 21, 24(m), 27, Mar. 1, 8(m), 16(m), 22

A King for a Day (Un giorno di regno)

World Premiere of a New Critical Edition

Opera in two acts by Giuseppe Verdi

Poetry by Felice Romani

Sung in Italian with English supertitles

Sarasota Opera House

Performances (7):  Mar. 2, 5, 7, 10(m), 13, 16, 24(m)

Of Mice and Men  

Sarasota Opera Premiere

Opera in three acts

Music and libretto by Carlisle Floyd after the novel and play of the same name by John Steinbeck

Sung in English with English supertitles

Performances (6):  Mar. 9, 12, 14, 17(m), 20, 23(m)

"The Last Exam was Over" by Michael Gula, Opera Camper

Today's installment in our continuing series of reports from the front lines of Sarasota Opera Youth Summer Camp is courtesy of one of our campers.  Michael Gula is a first time participant who will be entering the 10th grade this fall at Cardinal Mooney High School.   

The last exam was over. School was done for this year. After a week of sleeping late I was off to another boring few weeks of camp. Not this year! Camp at the Sarasota Opera was anything but boring.

Not knowing anyone I anticipated being alone the few first days, especially since everyone seemed to know each other from Youth Chorus. That wasn't the case at all. The people in my group were friendly and welcoming.

We spent the first day getting to know our teachers ( Yes, teachers, not counselors ). The second day was all business. Classes in vocals, chorus, props, make-up, costumes, wigs, movement, acting and Opera 101, are just some of the courses we were taking. I was trying not to get lost in the maze of rooms that make up the Opera buildings

The teachers are all professionals from the opera. They share their experiences and their expertise with all of the students. Their dynamic personalities draw you into each class making learning a truly enjoyable experience. Rehearsals both in the classroom and on the stage of the opera house are exciting.

Three weeks have literally flown by. My experience has been like no other that I have ever had. But, the best part , was meeting new friends that I can share my love of opera with. I could never do that with my school friends and I am so grateful for this opportunity. Thank you Sarasota Opera Camp.

Michael G

My Time with Sarasota Opera: An Intern's Retrospective

MY TIME WITH SARASOTA YOUTH OPERA:  An Intern's retrospective on his time with Sarasota Youth Opera. 

Tyler Leppek served as a teaching assistant and administrative intern for SYO during the months of May and June. He is currently entering his Sophomore year at FSU, double majoring in instrumental music education and creative writing.  We asked Tyler to sum up his experience working with the Youth Opera program and we thought you would enjoy reading what he had to say. 

Sarasota Youth Opera Intern Tyler Leppek

Coming away from interning with the Sarasota Youth Opera has left me not only with a numerous number of new skills as a College student, in school trying to garner as much from his experiences as possible, but also with an immeasurable amount of affection directed towards the staff, students, and direction of the Sarasota Opera as a whole. I know of no better example of an institution that caters more to the needs of its diverse students background while still harvesting such amazing product as an outcome.

It was during the rehearsals and over the span of Summer camp that I saw many students grow and blossom in the short time I spent with the company. Nestled in this organization is a passion for excellence and through the directors orchestration it was easy to see the impact that we were making on today’s youth in a place that mattered.




Tyler with two Youth Opera Summer Campers


The SYO fuels not only the arts, but academics as well as their curriculum incorporated elements of Linguistic Skills, Language Arts, History Lessons, paired with Social Techniques, all pieces that will later make for a more convincing and well rounded performer and student. I can say quite candidly as I worked in the rehearsals for the upcoming production of Little Nemo in Slumberland, I will be making the five hour drive from Florida State University to Sarasota to see this production, having witnessed so much of the stunning preparation already as they incorporate even local young performers from outside their organization, creating more ties and connections through the arts as they work with anyone who shares the common denominator of a love for music.

It was this shared similarity that made my experience so gratifying, and such a valuable facet of my education.

"Why I sent my kids to Youth Opera Camp" A Parent's Perspective by Nanette Almeter

With the 2012 Sarasota Youth Opera Camp well underway, we thought it would be fun to let you hear about it from the perspective of those involved.  Over the next couple of weeks, watch out for posts from teachers, administrators, parents and even the campers themselves. 

Today's post comes from Nanette Almeter, a Youth Opera parent whose kids are first time campers, talking about why she decided to send her kids to camp. 

My daughter, Natalie, appeared in the youth chorus of Carmen this past winter season at the Sarasota Opera. It was certainly one of the most special and memorable times in her life thus far. Her little brother, Grayson, came to one of her performances and enjoyed it so much - as I think most children would if given the opportunity. The opera is truly magical, whether you're in the production or in the audience. After such a great experience, we all thought that joining the Youth Opera and becoming part of that magic would be a wonderful idea. Since the Youth Opera season doesn't start up again until August, the Summer Camp sounded like a good way to fill in the gap, have some fun, and really delve into the world of opera, behind the scenes.

After only three days into this summer's Sarasota Youth Opera Camp, I can say that we're so glad to have signed up and joined in the fun! Already, the children are learning about the history of opera and it's composers and librettists, toured the Opera House, and taken part in acting and improvisation classes. Each day, they're continuing to learn the art of singing in a chorus and also rehearsing music from the upcoming children's opera production of Little Nemo in Slumberland, a world-premiere commissioned piece to be presented at the Sarasota Opera House this November. Add to that, a trip to the library to discuss writers, poets and the inspiration for operatic works and a trip to a nearby bookstore to peruse the latest offerings for ideas.

Each day holds new surprises and adventures: today included a trip to the wig and make-up department, where the children observed one of the "campers" being transformed into an elderly man before their eyes. They've also begun watching a recorded Met performance of Rigoletto, an opera which will also be featured at the Sarasota Opera House this Fall. With all of this and more in just the first few days of camp, I can't imagine how much more they will learn and grow in appreciation of great music, acting and singing in the remaining two and a half weeks! Each member of the staff is an exceptional artist, aside from being fun, kind and truly caring. The only thing that would improve this years Opera Camp for me is if my daughter had been able to attend, but she had a previous obligation out of state. She's still keeping up with the daily camp events, however, through her brother and other friends at camp, but she'd love to be there!

Thank you, Sarasota Youth Opera, for this fantastic opportunity. Sincerely, Nanette Almeter