A lesson from Silvio

Bill Doolittle wrote a nifty piece about the Opera for the LEO's Arts & Entertainment guide.  He elaborated on the amount of time and effort Kentucky Opera puts in to educating our patrons and the public at large.  You can read it here.

Another educational element not discussed in Doolittle's story involve our artists.  Each of them, before they arrive for reharsals, must know their parts.  Some artists go too far to learn their roles, like Michael Mayes who will portray "the other man" in I PAGLIACCI.

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.

Musings from the Music Director (Act. I sc.2)

I am writing this entry from my home in Gulfport, Florida as Tropical Storm Bonnie swirls to the south. She is a welcomed guest as she will provide refreshing breezes and much needed rain. But still what echoes in my head are the tunes and text from a very successful run of Susannah at Des Moines Metro Opera.


At every performance the cast, chorus, orchestra and stage crew were fully committed to sharing this story with the audience providing wonderful music making and spectacular theater. Carlisle Floyd attended a performance, just like he did for Kentucky Opera’s amazing Of Mice and Men at the Brown Theater, and he reported to me that he was most happy with what he heard and saw. What was curious was the fact that many people asked me if I was “anxious” or “nervous” that the composer was in attendance. I must say that I found it reassuring that he was there. To walk up to a composer and ask questions or solicit feedback is a cherish opportunity. One certainly can’t ask Herr Mozart, Maestro Verdi or Monsieur Massenet what they intended.

“’Susannah’ clicks into place as a pitch-perfect production…The music weaves hymns and folk tunes with a layer of dissonant 20th century harmonies, punctuated by menacing snarls from the low brass, and conductor Joseph Mechavich delivers the whole thing with both precision and dramatic heft…” Michael Moran, Des Moines Register 7/7/10

I have a few weeks off to grill and go to the beach then on August 6th I will be on the faculty of “Sherrill Milnes and Friends” for a few weeks. Looking forward to Kentucky Opera’s Fall Season at the Brown and enjoy your summer!

Posted for Joseph Mechavich

Musings from the Music Director

Greetings from the rolling hills and green fields of south central Iowa where I am currently rehearsing Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah for Des Moines Metro Opera. We began rehearsing this amazing American opera on June 4 and have our opening on July 3 (Le nozze di Figaro and Macbeth are also featured this summer). Personally, I am humbled in the fact that in less than one year I was fortunate to be a part of Kentucky Opera’s acclaimed production of Floyd’s Of Mice and Men and now the opportunity to pace Floyd’s earlier composition Susannah. Floyd has the supreme gift of capturing the dramatic pulse and underscoring it with such innovative orchestrations- much like Puccini. The cast here at Des Moines Metro Opera is superb and is headlined by the gifted singer-actor Beverley O’Regan Thiele. If you happen to be around the performances are July 3, 7, 11 (Floyd will be in attendance) and 16.

Having grown up just west of Minneapolis, being in Iowa is like coming home. The people, the pace and more importantly the butcher shop filled with Iowan-feed beef and pork. I broke down and bought a Weber grill!  YUM!!! Once we open I will drop another note. Otherwise happy summer to all!

Joseph Mechavich

Kentucky Opera’s Principal Conductor and Music Director

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!

Remember these??

I knew about this commercial that popularized the I Pagliacci aria:

But I had no idea it was a big campaign... Imagine. Using opera to give strength to your product...

Fun!!

Check this out. I have seen this with dancers, but not opera...