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Yunah Lee as Madame Butterfly, photo by J. David Levy

Kentucky Opera closes out the 2010 Brown-Forman Fall Season with Madame Butterfly this weekend (November 19 & 21). We heard a lot of rave reviews from a lot of great people who attended the opera on Friday. Here are a couple that are actually in writing and available online.

The Arts Louisville, a website dedicated to the promotion of all the arts in our community, has given actor and historical interpereter, J. Barrett Cooper the task of reviewing Kentucky Opera. He has willingly been transported this season with us and we are grateful for his final 2010 review. Find it here.

Another online resoruce for stories and reviews is Louisville.Com. This valuable website is the digital sister of Louisville Magazine, and is their way of being more timely when it comes to events and news. Louisville Magazine/Louisville.com have been developing the digital brand by investing time and resources and is really becoming the GO TO site to find out where to go, what to do, where to eat and what to see. For Kentucky Opera, Louisville.com gives us the very talented writer, Selena Frye. Her previews and reviews are a valuable resource for the community to learn more about the Opera. Her Butterfly Review can be found here.

Charles Parsons is the regional reviewer for Opera News, and was working last night. While we don't often get reviewed by Opera News, when we do, it's usually their on-line version. If you get the magazine, you can get the on-line reviews. Keep an eye out and if you see it, let us know.

From my tone, you maybe able to tell, I am asking for something. I am asking that you support and visit the media that supports & vistis Kentucky Opera. These sites find value in clicks, so when you see a link, click it. If they can tell that people are visiting their sites through Kentucky Opera's blog, website, FaceBook page or tweets, they will see the value in supporting KYO with reviews and previews.

Madame Butterfly Previews are in!

Yunah Lee as Cio-Cio San in Kentucky Opera's Madame Butterfly. Photo by J. David Levy.

Tonight is the Final Dress Rehearsal for Madame Butterfly and we are expecting a full house. We invite schools and donors to join us for this rehearsal which makes the experience mutually beneficial. Middle & high school students get to see live opera in its grandest setting and our singing actors and musicians have the opportunity to get a live response from an audience. I have heard many stage directors say these students are the best audience. They aren't afraid to react when something is funny or surprising. They are honest and outright with their experiences.

I would like to encourage anyone who wants to see the final opera of the 2010 Brown-Forman Fall Season, don't wait. We honestly only have 100 vacant seats (as of Tuesday 11/16) available for the entire weekend. GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!! 502.584.7777!

Our dear friends at the LEO have given us a great write up after Bill Doolittle spoke with Maestro Joe Mechavich and Soprano Yunah Lee.
Read the article here.

If you missed it, Selena Fry of Louisville.Com spoke with our fabulous wig & makeup designer, Sue Sittko Schaefer. Read her article here.

We were expecting a story yesterday from the Courier Journal. Andrew Adler was going to write a guest spot for us. He spoke to David Roth who is stage directing this piece, and our Cio-Cio San, Yunah Lee. Here it is Wednesday, and no story. Do let us know if you see it~

We have video!!

This video is from Kentucky Opera's 2005 production with Ailan Zhu as Cio-Cio San and Stephen Mark Brown as B.F. Pinkerton.

Life as a Kentucky Opera Studio Artist

Our Studio Artists have been getting quite the work out. Not only were they all involved with The Elixir of Love, they were also preparing for Barber of Seville for Owensboro, preparing for the Composers workshop and taking classes all over the city. They had an acting class at Actors Theatre, and a stage combat class with the Fraizier International History Museum.

Gabe Preisser is our baritone who submitted this blog post about the combat class.

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Dan & Tomasz



Kentucky Opera Studio Artists along with their fearless leader of education Deanna Hoying went to the Frazier International History Museum to undergo a quick and dirty workshop in stage combat with the Curator of Historic Interpretations, J. Barret Cooper (He is also the combat choreographer for Kentucky Opera. You may have seen his work in recent operas such as Otello, Pirates of Penzance and Lucia di Lammermoore to name a few). The course focused primarily on the use of swords on stage beginning with a brief history of the sword ranging from the broad sword to rapiers and more.







After the lecture the fun began. First an overview of the basic sword positions or guards including the fool's guard, the plow, and a personal favorite the woman's guard. For safety reasons the brave novices began first practicing with just their arms (fighting to the death), then with fake wooden swords, then the real deal-AHHH! Don't worry mom the swords were rather blunt although the instructor assured us we could get badly hurt if not safe. So, safety first.



We learned the basics of communicating with your partner or opponent and maintaining distance so as never to get close enough to put yourself or your faux foe in real danger. J. Barrett was super animated and passionate about his craft making the workshop a truly enjoyable and educational experience as you can see from the pictures.



For those who were able to stay, there was an impressive demonstration given by our instructor and his partner, Jeremy White, showing several combinations of attacks and guards. Of course they had much more practice then mere operatic amateurs, so it was quite impressive. Overall, the workshop was extremely helpful in introducing a common practice on the operatic stage.

Several operas such as Verdi's Macbeth , Gounod's Romeo and Juliette, and Mozart's Don Giovanni call for sword play in the script not just with the men but even the deranged Lady Macbeth with her dagger or the common Mozartian pants role (i.e. a woman playing a man's part). Just goes to show everyone likes a good sword fight!

J. Barrett Cooper (looking back) was an excellent instructor!

You can see Gabe perform Figaro in the Barber of Seville with the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra on November 6. Get your tickets here while you can!

He will also particpate in the FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Compsoser Workshop Recital at Comstock Hall on Sunday, October 31 at 3PM.

Daron Hagen: father - composer - blogger.

The season is upon us.

The Studio Artists have arrived and are often heard warming up in the various rooms in the building - which makes for lovely adventures in music while wandering the second floor of ArtSpace. You can meet them here.  You will see them on stage for each of the Opera peformances, they may take the mic at the Lunch & Listen on September 9 at the WUOL performance studio, and they will perform ecerpts at the Sights & Sounds at the Speed Museum on September 12. 

One of the more significant projects these young singers will enjoy while in Louisville is an intimate, week-long intensive workshop with Daron Hagen. They will learn and perform his work and develop very important connections with a living composer.

In his most recent blog post, Hagen exposes his truest and deepest self when he premiered Ameila with Seattle Opera. If his music is as sober and honest as his blogs, we are in for a magnificent opportunity.

"I had come to Seattle to attend rehearsals, revise as necessary, to learn as I always did, by observing the process of discovery, and staging. Wife and son in New York, I had returned to a quasi-feral state during the past six weeks: the debilitating insomnia, the depression, the dizzying mood swings—all had roared back. I had felt lost, alone, and agonizingly overexposed."

The Studio Artists will share the results of the Daron Hagen Composer Workshop at the Final Concert on October 31 at 3pm at Comstock Hall. The concert is free but reservations are required by calling 502-584-4500.

A note on Owensboro

Lisa Hasson, Thomson Smillie and Clark Sturdevant rehearse for Madama Butterfly at Artspace in Louisville.

Many may or may not know that Kentucky Opera went to Owensboro recently to perform a semi staged version of Madama Butterfly with the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra. It seems as though other Orchestras are coordinating with opera companies to produce smaller less expensive semi staged concerts like this. Check out Nicks Notes here.

Inside the Composers Workshop

Click image to see more Jan Abbot photos of Enemies, a Love Story

It's appropriate following Andrew Adler's article in the Courier Journal on Sunday, that we hear from one of the participants of this very important program. It just so happens, that one of the Louisville Orchestra interns, Jenifer Thomas is a student at UofL's School of Music and has participated in the Composer Workshop for the two years the program has been going on. She was able to give a bit of insight on her experiences.

Now, after two years of Composer Workshops, I am hit with two huge realizations: 1. I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to work with these living composers, and 2. I am amazed at how much talent composers today have.

Jake Heggie, last year’s composer, was an enthusiastic, personable, and anxious to work with as many students as he could. His love for his music, obvious ability to write for the voice (a task not easily done), and desire for the singer to break out of his or her shell and truly embrace the music were the major tenets of his master classes. He had the singers jumping around the room, shouting, singing directly to other students, or other tactics to allow freedom and expression in singing.

Ben Moore, however, had very different tactics. His background as an actor (as well as a painter, composer and lyricist) allowed him to embrace the more subtle nuances of his songs. His music is more lyrical than Heggie’s, perhaps edging towards musical theatre- which makes sense, of course, since he has written several musicals. The lyricism, however, does not detract from the underlying sadness of many of his songs. His approach to interpreting the pieces was also inspired by his acting background. Singers were asked to identify a feeling that was in harmony with the song, and recreate it. Perhaps this is the influence of method acting? Regardless, it allowed for more understated, gripping performances in the singers- a vast difference from Heggie’s more external style.

Nonetheless, both composers provided tools to be used in performance from this point on. I feel honored to have been able to work with such talented men, on their music, from their point of view. And what a positive outlook modern opera has! With such talented composers out there (with Heggie and Moore being only a small sampling), new operas are compelling, musically interesting, and based on stories to which audiences can relate. What a lucky group of singers (and audience members) we are, to have such talent at our fingertips!

Jenifer Thomas

Along with students from UofL's School of Music and the Academy of Music at St. Francis in the Fields, Kentucky Opera Studio Artists also participate in the Composer Workshop program. To audition for a Studio Artist position with Kentucky Opera, visit the website for forms, schedules and so much more!

Thanks for the Comments

We have had many great responses to the La Traviata weekend. People have been posting on the Kentucky Opera Facebook Fan Page, on my page, on twitter... No one has really commented on the blog, so I thought I would share some comments from the other social media sites here:

The Kentucky Opera's, La Triviata, was spectacular! It looked as if every seat was filled at the Brown Theatre. Perfect event!
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I have always enjoyed broadway but this was my first opera and it was truly an amazing experience. The ambience at the Brown theater is breathtaking and the setting intimate, just the way I had envisioned opera to be! Bravo

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It was fabulous! I really like the new venue. there's so much more emotion when you're close enough to read the expressions on the performer's faces. So many people focus on the music alone, forgetting that opera is truly a visual art as well. Elizabeth Frutal was flawless and Sébastien Guèze is asexpressive with his face as he is with his voice. Donnie Ray Albert owned the stage when he was on it, too. It was lovely seeing some familiar faces from the UK Opera Theatre as well. I look forward to seeing more of Sarah Klopfenstein and Eric Brown this season.

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everyone should see it !!!!

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Wasn't she great? The whole production was to die for!

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What a thoroughly delightful evening!!! Everyone involved with this production should be very proud.

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Bleeping spectacular production. Four stars on all fronts--singing, sets, costumes...and what's not to love about Traviata?

Commented on YOUTUBE (Sebastian's performance at the Patron’s Circle party)

Raythespian I was there for Sebastien's American debut!! Never before have I seen all of Alfredo's requirements fulfilled by one tenor...youthful good looks, lustrous voice, dramatic intelligence, and the acting ability to convey every nuance with clarity and impact. Next, Rodolfo in Austin!!

Twitter responses

· Had a wonderful night at the opera! Verdi certainly knew what he was doing when he wrote "La Traviata"11:35 PM Sep 25th from TweetDeck

· It was fantastic! Everything about it was wonderful! Violetta was AMAZING! Her name is Elizabeth Futral11:34 PM Sep 25th from TweetDeck

· I'm heading to the KOA (Kentucky Opera Association) production of La Traviata tonight!3:42 PM Sep 25th from TweetDeck

_SanDiegoOpera Soprano Elizabeth Futral is hooked on La traviata. She better be! Sings it with us in 2010. http://bit.ly/a7vG2

Brannon rocked today in La Traviata! Oh, I do love the opera! about 17 hours ago from Twit

continuing our unintentional sampling of the arts, just saw the opera La Traviata performed at the brown theatre.

Watching La Traviata! #fb

It's "La Traviata" time at Kentucky Opera, with no less than Elizabeth Futral singing Violetta.

Another "Traviata" is history. And Violetta is still dead.

Will you be at La Traviata?

Tonight is @kentuckyopera's first performance of the season. We hope to see you at La Traviata! http://bit.ly/qbOhB

Arts and Social Media.

Andrew Adler featured yours truly in his latest Courier Journal article. Now you all know who is the main blogger for Kentucky Opera. I do have a few others that contribute, and I am always open to more. Lets give a shout out to the Wagnarian and Holly the Pirates of Penzance costume designer.

One element to the whole social media/ PR world that wasn't addressed in Andrew's story - with my social media activities, I don't have the third party endorsement that increases value. So it's not just about what I write and post, its also trying to get others to write and post about the opera too.

Finding the right blogger is a challenge. There isn't a yellow pages directory of bloggers in your area broken down by beats. Google blog search is pretty good, and really the only resource to find the right writer. While it would be great if Brian Dickie, blogger for Chicago Opera Theatre, it is doubtful that a Kentucky Opera mention on his blog would actually result in a ticket sale. So area is important.


Pitching to a blogger is very similar to pitching to traditional media reporters. You have to know their beat; I wouldn't ask Robin Garr to write a story about Howard Kaplan, the costume designer extraordinaire who the opera brings in at least once a year. Garr is a food guy and that is his beat. So, I wouldn't ask Jason Falls to write about the music of La Traviata because he writes solely about social media. Jason may however reference Andrew's article and the opera may get a reference from that.





It helps to know the bloggers off line. When I found Consuming Louisville, I was able to connect with the talented Michelle Jones (who writes about everything Louisville) at one of the Social Media Club of Louisville meetings and after taking her to lunch, I learned how she prefers to be approached for stories.



Just like how the Opera is striving for personal connections with its audience through the various receptions, connecting through social media has given us another layer to interact. I have really enjoyed developing the social media component to our marketing strategies and I am sure that the future will bring more interesting and creative ways to mingle with opera audiences.

Leave your comments, we love comments!

Subscribing can save your life!

Our friends at the Kentucky Center made us aware of a recent BBC report on the cardiovascular effects of opera. The study by Circulation journal states:

"The researchers tested out various combinations of music and silence on the volunteers and found tracks rich in emphasis that alternated between fast and slow, like operatic music, appeared to be the best for the circulation and the heart.

Verdi's arias, which follow music phrases that are 10 seconds long, appeared to synchronise perfectly with the natural cardiovascular rhythm."

With Verdi's Traviata opening the Kentucky Opera season, for your life, for your heart; subscribe to Kentucky Opera today!!

Opera Bloggers

Opera bloggers are stepping up!!
Big kudos go to Brian Dickie of the Chicago Opera Theater for posting his 1000th blog. He has been at it for 3 years and consistently writing something EVERY DAY even when he is on vacation.

I would also like to note Carl the Opera Chicken is impressively shaking it up by bringing opera information to the world for all to see. He mentions a very interesting editorial from Opera Now that is very much worth reading.

Just in case you have yet to do so, I highly recommend subscribing to these opera blogs.