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OPERAzzi
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February 6, 2008
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Welcome to February's OPERAzzi Brrr! It's cold in Iowa! But we've got lots to do to stay warm. OPERA Iowa is on the road, working with kids and giving lots of performances of The Billy Goats Gruff and Don Pasquale. We've been carrying stacks of books to the post office to send out to DMMO fans. We're hard at work planning for the Mascheranda Gala Ball. Our production team has been meeting to hire crew members, finalize set designs and organize plans for the summer season. It's going to be great...so if you haven't renewed your subscription (or if you want to become a subscriber for the first time), click here to buy your tickets now!
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Save the Date:
March 1--The Mascheranda Ball, DMMO's gala fundraiser for 2008, will be held at the elegant Scottish Rite Consistory in downtown Des Moines. Learn more in the article below. Buy your tickets online now!
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You're Invited to the Mascheranda Gala Ball!
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On March 1, 2008, the elegant Scottish Rite Consistory in downtown Des Moines will be transformed into a sumptuous world of revelry with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a Venetian-themed dinner, not to mention a performance by world-renowned soprano, Lauren Flanigan. Click here to purchase your tickets online. Visit the Mascheranda Ball page on DMMO's website to find out where to buy a mask and to get costume ideas...just click here. The evening will include dancing to the eclectic sounds of the Iowa Diamondtaires, an exclusive ensemble made up of some of the area's best-known musicians, including vocalist Kim Fitch, and a silent auction of mask-inspired artwork donated by local artists and created especially for the Mascheranda Gala Ball. After dinner, a live auction of four fabulous items will be presided over by guest auctioneers Kevin and Mollie Cooney, both news anchors for KCCI-NewsChannel 8, the Mascheranda Gala Ball’s Media Partner. Tickets to this unique event are $200 per person or $125 for patrons under 35 and are available from Des Moines Metro Opera’s box office at (515) 961-6221 or online. If you would like to volunteer at the event, send an email to McB Smith. Be sure to include your name, phone number and email address!
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Opera Thoughts From Dr. Larsen
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On a cold winter night like this, it's comforting to think of the summer joys that lie ahead of us. The opera season planned for this summer follows our old formula to a "T," but formula scarcely does it justice-great music and great passion in Verdi's A Masked Ball, rollicking melodies and good humor in Donizetti's delightful comedy The Elixir of Love, and one of America's greatest scores of the 20th century in Marc Blitzstein's sophisticated but earthy telling of Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes in Regina. I remember as a grade school boy thinking that Donizetti's The Elixir of Love must have some of the happiest music ever written, and I've never changed my mind. A lovesick boy, a slightly older and occasionally wiser girl, an egomaniac of an army officer, and a snake oil salesman populate this opera buffa set in a Tuscan village where the wine is good and the music is even better. Yes, as is my philosophy this comedy will be sung in English, but even youngsters today know some of the lyrics of Nemorino's great aria "Una furtiva lagrima" in the original text so we might have to make an exception for that great showstopper. Our Adina is the delightful Jane Redding who sang last summer's Tytania in A Midsummer Night's Dream; Jeremy Little, who sang Fenton in Falstaff for us and is a former apprentice, returns for Nemorino; David Small, the absolute master of bel canto comedy, interrupts a horrendously busy schedule to sing the Sergeant Belcore; and it is the greatest of pleasures to bring Jan Opalach, who is New York City Opera's Falstaff this season, back to sing old Dulcamara, a role that he debuted with us in the 1982 season. I can make a solid case for Regina as being the quintessential American opera combining jazz, parlor music and musical theatre traditions with more traditional operatic power. Blitzstein was an American composer unanimously admired by his musical contemporaries who only put it together for this one operatic masterpiece-but what a tour de force it is. The stage version of the play starred Tallulah Bankhead on Broadway and the film featured Bette Davis. The title role that Blitzstein penned is a major challenge for a mezzo-dramatic soprano...tailor made for our own Gwen Jones whose definitively aristocratic Elizabeth in Gloriana will give way to an imperious, vitriolic, and basely human protagonist in Regina. Among the large cast and colorful chorus Regina's daughter, Alexandra, will be a debut role for Sara Gartland, who is a delightful part of our OPERA Iowa troupe this spring, and Gwendolyn Bowers, an international opera mezzo-soprano originally from Pella will inhabit the beautiful role of Addie, one of the good people in the score. Producing a Verdi opera is always an event and the "middle" scores are always particular challenges. A Masked Ball was intended to be based on at least a version of historical truth until censorship confused the entire plot line. We will return it to Sweden, and the last days of King Gustavus III that lead to his assassination at a masked ball. This is a tragic tale but fraught with some of the most beautiful music that the Maestro ever penned. Gustavus will be sung by Arnold Rawls, who many of you remember as our fabulous Calaf in Turandot. The other two parts of the tragic love triangle are Amelia, sung by Lise Lindstrom, our Ariadne a few seasons ago, and her husband, Anckarström, performed by Todd Thomas, the magnificent Rigoletto and Iago in the last two seasons. Former apprentice and rapidly rising star Melanie Long, our Papagena in 2006, will cavort and charm in the role of Oscar, the court page, and Gwendolyn Bowers will work a remarkable spell in the role of Ulrica, the gypsy fortune teller. This is a season carefully calibrated to present the widest spectrum possible of what opera is and can be. Yes, summer will come after this long Iowa winter, and you'll want to celebrate with the Des Moines Metro Opera and its 36th season of making opera in Iowa. Sincerely,
Robert L. Larsen
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Getting To Know You: Arnold Rawls
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by McB Smith For our "Getting To Know You" feature this month, I spoke to Arnold Rawls, a tenor who is a former Apprentice Artist and last performed with us in the 2002 production of Turandot as Calaf. This season he'll be singing with New York City Opera, Seattle Opera, Florida Grand Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Arnold and his wife, Julie, live in Chicago with their two sons. What brings you back to DMMO?
I am looking forward to coming back to DMMO. In a lot of ways it will be like coming home. My career started in Des Moines when I was an apprentice during the Grimes/Butterfly/Abduction season. And I have always enjoyed returning when I can. The love for the Art of Music is everywhere in Indianola. . . A wonderful theater full of people that care about presenting quality TRADITIONAL opera. What have you been up to since we last saw you in 2002? Any highlights?
I feel so fortunate. I have had the opportunity to sing some of the roles that I thought I would never sing. Beginning my career as a Donizetti and Rossini singer -- the roles of Calaf, Radames, Manrico, Des Grieux and Gustavo seemed only to be roles that I would watch someone else do. As I continued to solidify my vocal technique, I began to let the voice go where it wanted to go. My voice migrated to the lyrico spinto repertoire and it has been a wonderful ride. I just hope it is a long one! Perhaps the highlight of my career thus far has been the Aïda in Miami and the Il Trovatore in Bregenz, Austria. Both productions were quite extravagant and I was excited to be a part of such epic productions. At the dress rehearsal for Aïda, I remember being rolled into the triumphal scene on some kind of throne and looking around and thinking -- Oh My Goodness -- I am singing Radames in Aïda!!! Does it get any better than this? The Bregenz Festival Il Trovatore was perhaps the largest production in which I will ever be a participant. It just does not get any larger than that. Bregenz is an outdoor theater on Lake Constance in Austria. The set was the size of a football field and the orchestra was located off site. There were TV monitors everywhere as well as a state-of-the-art sound monitoring system. It was overwhelming -- but the most musical and theatrical excitement I have ever experienced. I feel honored that they have invited me back to sing Radames in their Aïda in 2009. There is no telling what that set will look like. What can you tell us about your preparation for this season and your role as Gustavus in A Masked Ball?
This is a debut role for me. I have been working intensely with my coach, Eric Weimer, in Chicago. Gustavus is one of the longest Verdi roles in the tenor repertoire. He has a lot of elegant, sustained and high tessitura singing. It is a difficult role for the tenor and one in which the tenor can become a casualty very quickly. I have been listening to some recordings of the great tenors of the past sing the role and trying to incorporate the traditional elements that they bring to the score. Learning a new operatic role is a bit like dating a beautiful woman. You are so impressed with her beauty and charm -- then you realize it is going to take spending a lot of money (coaching) and time in order for you to feel secure in your relationship. I want my relationship with Un Ballo to remain for the rest of my singing career. It is exciting for me that Des Moines will be the place where I will have my first date with this masterpiece! What was your worst moment in the theater?
My worst moment in the theater will remain private. Nothing good could come out of me sharing that. Fair enough! If you weren't a singer, what would you do?
I would be a Minister of Music in a local church or a full-time University Professor. Right now I tend to do all three of these professions. What is your dream role?
I would love to do a Peter Grimes toward the end of my career. . . I don't know if that will ever happen. My coach and mentor thinks it would not be right for me ... but I am working on changing his opinion. Complete this sentence: I cannot go onstage without...calling and talking to my wife. I have always spoken to her right before I go on stage -- I think that is why God invented cell phones. Just for me.
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Updates From DMMO's Guild
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The Des Moines Chapter will meet on Monday, February 11 for a Valentine's Day Party at the Wesley Acres Mansion. Contact Joan Burke at (515) 274-3473 for reservations. The Ames Chapter will meet on Tuesday, February 12 at 7:30 pm for a program entitled "Enter Sneering: In Praise of Villainy in Opera" presented by Iowa Public Radio's Hollis Monroe. The meeting will start at 7:30 pm at St. John's Episcopal Center and will be followed by conversation and refreshments. The Indianola Chapter will meet for a preview of The Elixir of Love presented by Michael Egel, DMMO's Artistic Administrator. The preview will begin at 7:00 pm on Thursday, February 21 at the Garden & Galley Bed and Breakfast. Des Moines Metro Opera's three Guild chapters are dedicated to supporting the Company, learning more about opera and having fun with other opera lovers. Each chapter has great programs, events and fundraisers lined up for the coming year! Click here to learn more about joining the Guild.
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A Special Offer from Civic Music Association
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Mezzo-soprano Ruby Hinds presents "See there in the distance," a tribute to Marian Anderson on Friday, February 22, 2008, at 7:30 pm with a free Pre-Concert Preview at 6:45 pm. Special offer for DMMO Supporters and Opera Lovers! Call the Civic Music Association office at 515-280-4020 and mention the offer code "opera" to receive 25% off of single tickets. Offer not valid online. This one-woman show chronicles the life and accomplishments of legendary contralto and civil rights pioneer, Marian Anderson. It is a show that brings history to life via story telling mixed with classical music. Mezzo-soprano Ruby Hinds portrays Ms. Anderson who was the first African American to sing at the Metropolitan Opera House. In addition, Ms. Hinds will perform selections from Faure, Mahler, Pergolesi, Montsalvatge and Duparc.
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My First Opera
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by Jim Lubbock Even in early childhood, I was aware of opera on old acoustically recorded 78 rpm records--with the voices of Caruso, Galli Cucci, Schumann-Heink, McCormack, and Scotti. Then, a little later it was "The Met's" Saturday afternoon broadcasts, so lushly presented by the late Milton Cross. But naturally, the high-point of my early contact with opera was attending a live performance; and what a performance! It was a 1938 St. Louis production of Don Giovannni, with the vibrant Ezio Pinza as the Don; Tito Schipa, a family favorite, as Don Ottavio; the lovely Vivien Della Chiesa, a national radio star, as Donna Elvira; and an aged, but still impressive Russian basso as the Commendatore. To 14-year-old boy, the presentation was magnificent. But human nature being what it is, the most-memorable moment occurred when the curtain closed briefly, then Schipa slipped through to sing the beautiful but challenging "Il Mio Tesero" during a scene change. As his voice sailed through the tenor coloratura, from behind the curtain came the sound of a thunderous collapse of heavy lumber. But in front of the curtain, Schipa, a rather small man, sang with complete poise and incomparable musicianship!
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Do you remember your first opera? Was it a live performance? Was it on the radio? What do you remember about it? Who were the singers who stand out in your mind? How did you know that this art form was special? Share your story with us by sending it to msmith@dmmo.org and maybe you'll see your story in a future issue of OPERAzzi! Don't forget...DMMO's development office is always open online! Visit http://www.desmoinesmetroopera.org/support.htm to make a donation to the Company any time of the day or night.
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