News, Reviews and lots of to dos...

Our dear friend, Charles Parsons from Opera News wrote a review of Madame Butterfly which closed Kentucky Opera's Brown-Forman 2010 Fall Season. The review made Opera News' online version and you can read it here.

Perhaps some of you who joined us at Kentucky Opera's black-tie fundraiser on January 11, Carnevale noticed a "news crew" in the early part of the evening. That was Becca White and Chris Caswell from the CW Louisville with Laura Snyder from NFocus Magazine who chatted with David Roth and Kara Shay Thomson. Carnevale was the first on-location event for NFocus and they have posted the video online.

You can pick up a copy today (Wednesday, February 2) at the NFocus February launch party at the Peterson-Dumesnil House at 301 S. Peterson Ave from 5:30 - 7:30pm.

If you can't make it tonight, the issue will be available on newstands throughout the city. Pick one up!

Tomorrow (Thursday, February 3) is a big day for Kentucky Opera, with one of the last public performances of OH FREEDOM! at 5:30 at the Frazier International History Museum AND the opening night for our co-production with the The Burning Fiery Furnace at St. Francis in the Fields Episcopal Church, 6710 Wolf Pen Branch Road. Tickets are $20 general admission, $15 for seniors and $10 for students. For more information, call (502) 228-1176.

Congratulations to the Fund for the Arts for another successful campaign kick off lunch. It was a great presentaiton of the great arts our city shares! When the Fund comes knocking on the door of your business, remember they are our largest individual donors and we appreciate all they do for us.

Support our Butterfly Reviews!

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.

Get well wishes to Mo. Levine!

James Levine has announced he will not be able to complete the remainder of the season for both the Metropolitan Opera and the Boston Symphony as he will be undergoing his second back surgery.  Fabio Luisi will replace him in New York, while Boston is using several conductors to stand in for Levine including Jayce Ogren and Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos.  


Find out more here
and here 
and here. 


We wish the Maestro well, and hope for a speedy recovery!

Mayor Cuts Arts Funding in Half

Mayor cuts City budget, arts funding cut in half!

David Roth's statement:

While we are shocked at the severity of the cutback in this fiscal year from Metro Louisville, we at Kentucky Opera have anticipated this inevitable drop in external funding from Metro Louisville and possibly the Kentucky Arts Council since each started to announce a month ago their estimated revenue shortfalls from the current economic slowdown. We, like other businesses, must prepare to weather this economic storm with noticeable changes in staffing and programming for this year and the next. Because we have in recent seasons developed a very lean business model, any further changes will require structural changes to programming on our subscription series and our educational outreach.

We are thankful that Brown-Forman has already confirmed their season sponsorship for our Fall 2009 season.

We encourage all Kentucky Opera patrons, subscribers and even single ticket buyers to participate in the Subscriber Appreciation Receptions so we can get your feed back on this and other issues facing your opera company.

Please call us 502.584.4500 and let us know when you would like to attend (dates and times below). There are two morning breakfast opportunities, two afternoon lunch opportunities and two after work opportunities. The receptions will take place at ArtSpace located at 323 West Broadway.

Wednesday, December 10 at 9:30 am

Thursday, December 11 at 9:30 am

Tuesday, January 6 at 12:30 or 6pm

Monday January 12 at 12:30 or 6pm

Big Announcement!!!

Friday evening at Kentucky Opera's opening night of Otello, the announcement came.
The Opera announced their three season plan which includes an "Audience Choice " in the 2010 Season! Here is the line up:

2009 :
Verdi's La Traviata
Carlisle Floyd's Of Mice and Men
Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel
Beethoven's "Fidelio" in concert with the Louisville Orchestra

2010:
Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci
Audience Choice -- Donizetti's The Elixir of Love;Britten's The Turn of the Screw; Offenbach's La Perichole. At $1 a vote one of these very different operas will bring in the Louisville-born soprano Emily Albrink.
Puccini's Madama Butterfly
Verdi's, Nabucco in concert with the Louisville Orchestra

2011:
Bizet's Carmen
Jake Heggie's The End of the Affair
Verdi's Rigoletto
Concert TBD

Read Andrew Adlers story here
Do tell us what you think through the comments but remember if you want to vote on the Audience Choice, you must submit $$$! Vote eary & often! You can call the opera if you would like to vote via credit card. 502-584-4500.

Cast/Staff Lunchon

Kelly Kuo, will be the repetiter (also known as accompanist) with Kelly Kaduce who will debut with Kentucky Opera with a debut role, Desdemona

The Otello Cast Arrives!!

Kentucky Opera’s impressive cast for the first production of the season arrived in our fair city over the last couple of days. Today will be the first (and quite possibly the last) time the principal cast, production crew and KYO staff are in the same room at one time. The Cast/Staff lunch is an opportunity for every one to put names (and roles) with faces. While it would be a challenge to find someone in this group that wouldn’t be able to immediately identify Kelly Kaduce after her cover of the Opera News, I am sure there are those that have yet to meet Linda, the sweet woman in finance who cuts the checks, and everyone who is expecting to get paid needs to know her!

Linda has been working with Kentucky Opera's finances for 3 years and we love her.

Hotel Casablanca

Congratulations to UofK Opera Theatre for the success of their recording of Hotel Casablanca.

Vocalists and musicians from University of Kentucky Opera Theatre and UK Symphony Orchestra performing on the first cast recording of the Thomas Pasatieri comedic opera "The Hotel Casablanca" have received great reviews for the CD in the July issue of Opera News and the July-August issue of American Record Guide.

One of Kentucky Opera's next Studio Artists, Natalie Krupansky, was mentioned in the Opera News article, "Natalie Krupansky is amusingly domineering but vocally attractive as Miss Pooder, the officious new owner of the eponymous Hotel Casablanca, a house of ill repute until recently."

Natalie will be playing Ruth in KYO's Pirates of Penzance! Be sure to get your tickets August 4.