Photo-of-the-Day Caption Contest

Happy Halloween, Traviata fans! Today is the final day of our caption writing contest for this production, and the final chance for you to win a Traviata poster with our compliments. Yesterday's comments were great - we never knew that Nuccia Focile lying on her deathbed could be so funny!

The winning caption goes to Matt Meyers for his comment left on Facebook, "Why oh why did I have that triple shot macchiato after dinner? I'm never going to get to sleep."

Without further delay, it's time to unveil the last Traviata snapshot. Now is the time to pull out all the stops and submit all the funny captions you can think of. Only one poster remains...who will win it?!

A Tale of Two Tenors

Today, I ran into tenors Bray Wilkins and Alex Mansoori during their lunchbreak, and we chatted about the past week in the Young Artists Program.

Alex and Bray are alternating in the role of Ferrando in Così. They both say that playing a role that's double-cast actually improves their performances, rather than creating any competition between them. "It gives us each a chance to sit back and watch someone else up on his feet trying things out and working on the character," Alex said.


Bray in Così rehearsals with Marcy Stonikas and Maya Lahyani. © Bill Mohn photo


Bray agreed, and noted that working with Alex—who recently sang Ferrando in Così as a member of San Francisco Opera's Merola Program—has led him to rethink a lot about his character choices. "Alex brought a lot of ideas about the character," said Bray, who adds that the two have talked a lot about Ferrando's motivations and actions.


Alex as Francis Flute in last season's YAP production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. © Rozarii Lynch photo


By now, the singers know their music well so they can really start getting into character onstage. They try things out, see what works with the other singers' character choices, and make changes if necessary. "It’s really collaborative," Alex said. It’s also a very physical show—Alex can often be seen around our offices wearing a pair of kneepads—and this week while rehearsing a fight scene with baritone Michael Krzankowski (Guglielmo), Alex was knocked down and suffered a concussion. Luckily, everyone is OK. "Michael was just teaching me a lesson: tenors are wusses," Alex joked.



Bray, Michael, and Alex at a recent Seattle Opera board meeting. © Bill Mohn photo


Check back next week for more from YAP!

Photo-of-the-Day Caption Contest

Only two days remain of caption writing along with only two more performances of La Traviata! Yesterday saw several comments submitted both here on the blog and on Facebook, and the winning caption appeared in both places (not necessary, but we loved the enthusiasm of the author!).

Hats off (and a free poster!) to Christina Bystrom for her Beyonce shout out, "All the single ladies....all the single ladies...."

There are still captions to be written and posters to be won, so keep the creative and funny one-liners coming! Our next-to-last Traviata photo-of-the-day is below:

Photo-of-the-Day Caption Contest

Who saw La Traviata last night?! Even with only three days of caption writing remaining, the submissions continue to come in, and we love it! Today's caption contest winner is Angyl Bender for her caption submitted on our Facebook page. We've had a few requests to include the previous day's photo along with the winning caption, and we're happy to oblige:






"My dear, are you SURE eating all that garlic was a good idea?"






And now on to a new daily photograph. What's going on in the picture below? YOU tell us! Submit your witty, clever, and creative captions in the comments for a chance to win a La Traviata poster. Enjoy!

Photo-of-the-Day Caption Contest

Wow, yesterday was a great day for caption writing, both on the blog and on our Facebook page! Our latest poster winner is Laurie Waud Sanders for her caption, "Your face is going to freeze that way."

The countdown to the last few performances of La Traviata continues, and thus brings us another daily photograph. Tell us what's going on this picture - and make us laugh - and you could be our next Traviata poster winner!

Photo-of-the-Day Caption Contest

Hello, caption writers! We have only three days of La Traviata performances remaining and only five more days of caption writing, which means only five more Traviata posters to be won! Come one, come all and submit your funny captions in response to the daily photograph!

Our latest winner is Chuck Chou for his caption left on Facebook, "I told you I was going to wear that dress tonight!"

We remain thoroughly entertained by the submissions we receive every day, so let your clever caption writing voice be heard! Here is the latest daily snapshot; keep the contributions coming!

Photo-of-the-Day Caption Contest

You all keep submitting entertaining analyses of these Traviata photos, and yesterday's captions were no exception. Today's poster winner is oliviagiovetti for her comment, "Dude, I TOLD you counting cards doesn't work in this game..."

As we start the final week of La Traviata performances (and thus the final week of the caption writing contest!), a new photo awaits our interpretation:

Photo-of-the-Day Caption Contest

There are more Traviata posters to be won! Last night's performance saw a very full house and a host of funny captions to boot. Today's winner is Sean Moore for his caption, "Lavish costumes still predominate in Sir Mix-A-Lot's otherwise thoroughly modern interpretation of "La Traviata." In this still, Violetta (Eglise Gutiérrez) plays coy as Alfredo (Francesco Demuro) sings, "LA face with the Oakland booty," from the "Un dì, felice, eterea" remix."


With only three performances of La Traviata remaining after today, here is the latest daily photograph for more entertaining caption writing.

YAP Begins Staging Così

Seattle Opera’s Young Artists have begun staging rehearsals for their fall touring production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte. The tour, which stops in several Washington communities, kicks off November 11 in Walla Walla.


The music of Così wasn’t new to the singers on day one of rehearsal—they all arrived in Seattle already knowing their arias and recitatives. This allowed them to spend the first few weeks of the program working with diction and vocal coaches to make sure they “understand the musicality and really know the music,” said tenor Alex Mansoori, a returning Young Artist who’s singing Ferrando (alternating in the role with Bray Wilkins). Mansoori is one of two singers who have previously performed their roles; Vira Slywotzky, who alternates in the role of Fiordiligi with Marcy Stonikas, is the other.

Now that they’ve transitioned into staging rehearsals with director Benjamin Wayne Smith, it’s essential that everyone’s already “off-book,” so the singers aren’t encumbered with their scores and can really focus on character development and interactions. Including just jumping right into the kissing scenes, said Mansoori. “There’s always that first awkwardness of kissing someone onstage for the first time,” he laughed. “But you both just walk up to each other and say, ‘OK, we’re just going to do this.’”

(Vira Slywotzky and Michael Krzankowski in last year's Midsummer Night's Dream. © Rozarii Lynch photo)

In addition to Così rehearsals, the Young Artists have also been attending and performing at events like BRAVO! Club’s welcome party and this week’s board meeting.

Check back next week for more on the happenings at the Young Artists Program!

2009/10 Young Artists (left to right): Vira Slywotzky, Michael Krzankowski, Eric Neuville, Alex Mansoori, Marcy Stonikas, Erik Anstine, and Maya Lahyani. Not pictured: Bray Wilkins. © Rozarii Lynch photo.

Photo-of-the-Day Caption Contest

Hilarious captions are rolling in! From swine flu to I Love Lucy inuendos, yesterday's captions kept us laughing. The winning line was the very first submission of the day, from John Hines Jr.: "Where are my car keys? I left them right here!"

As we head into the weekend (and three days in a row of La Traviata performances!), let's have some fun with a new photo. Happy Friday!

Sayão vs. Callas as Violetta

Now that audiences, fans, and critics have begun comparing the merits of Seattle Opera’s two La traviata casts, it’s time to compare two great—-although radically different—-approaches to the scene at the opera’s core. I’m talking about Violetta’s double-aria that closes Act One; but about neither the slow, hesitant first movement, “Ah, fors’è lui”, nor the wild second movement, “Sempre libera”. For me, the core of the opera is the recitative connecting those two passages, because in this recit you can hear Verdi, in 1853, inventing a new kind of opera. By which I mean, the concerted pieces themselves are beautiful music, but dramatically they are static snapshots of emotion. The character is more alive, changing and, what’s most important, THINKING, during the recitative. Before Verdi, the composer’s goal was to get through the recitative as quickly as possible, since all anybody cared about was the singing, the expression of emotion. But Verdi was a dramatist, who found human character, thoughts and choices, just as interesting as expression of emotion. And so it’s in passages like this—-great Verdi recitatives—-that you really find out who a performer is.

Compare how the Brazilian soprano Bidú Sayão (1902-1999), right, and Greek soprano Maria Callas (1923-1977), below, end the contemplative first movement and then sing this recitative, in which Violetta rejects the dangerous possibility of true love in order to rededicate herself to the wild party-girl lifestyle which, she knows perfectly well, is going to be the death of her.

Sayão:


Croce e delizia al cor.
Both torment and delight.
Follie! follie delirio vano e' questo!
Madness! A vain dream!
Povera donna, sola
A poor woman,
Abbandonata in questo
lost and abandoned
Popoloso deserto
in this crowded desert
Che appellano Parigi,
they call Paris…
Che spero or piu'?
What more do I have to hope for now?
Che far degg'io!
What should I do?
Gioire,
Rejoice,
Di volutta' nei vortici perire.
And in whirlwinds of sensual pleasure, die.

Callas:


We’ve compared these two recordings at lots of recent Seattle Opera education events, and I’ve been gratified by how many people immediately hear the difference, which I would go so far as to call the difference between bel canto and music drama: a performance in which the singer’s technical skill is front and center, and a performance in which the grotesque mental state of the character is front and center.

Photo-of-the-Day Caption Contest

Yesterday's photo brought a great batch of caption submissions, both here on the blog and on our Facebook page. The latest La Traviata poster winner is Amy Davalos for her submission: "SHE SAYS: Raise the roof.. HE SAYS:OH yea!!"

Another day for more captions starts now! Leave your captions below for your chance to win!

Photo-of-the-Day Caption Contest

Keep the captions coming! We love reading all the clever interpretations of these Traviata photos! Yesterday's submissions were great, and the winning caption goes to jackmitz (contact us to claim your prize) for his line, "Violetta...I just saved alot of money by switching to Geico."

The latest daily snapshot is below for your caption-writing pleasure:

Photo-of-the-Day Caption Contest

Congratulations on another great round of caption writing! Today's winner is Jan Moser for her hilarious caption, "If Scarlet O'Hara can get drapes to fit, so can I!"


Here is a new daily photo for YOU to submit YOUR clever, witty, and downright funny captions. (Be sure to include your email address so we can contact you when you win your Traviata poster!) Let the caption writing continue:

La Traviata Post Show Q & A with Speight Jenkins

Listen to this live recording of La Traviata's opening night post-show Q&A session with Seattle Opera General Director Speight Jenkins. Speight hosts a free Q&A session shortly after each and every opera performance inside the Nesholm Family Lecture Hall.

A Chat with Nuccia Focile

Last week, Community and Artist Relations Manager Ernesto Alordo wrote about his recent talk with Eglise Gutiérrez. Ernesto also sat down with Nuccia Focile, who sings Violetta in our Saturday and Wednesday performances of La Traviata. Enjoy!
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This conversation took place last week in Nuccia Focile’s dressing room the afternoon of the piano dress rehearsal. I asked her to compare previous productions of Traviata in which she had participated to ours, and happily she likes the fact that this is the first one which is traditional. She feels that in this production she can portray Violetta the way Verdi intended for her to be portrayed. She had done two previous productions in which the action took place in a more contemporary style. “I feel in a traditional production like this you can bring the character of Violetta more in the way Verdi intended her to be, telling the story in a manner that makes sense. Portraying a courtesan like Violetta in a contemporary period makes no sense to me. I am very happy to have the opportunity to be in a production in which I play Violetta the way she was meant to be.”

In comparing Violetta to her other roles at Seattle Opera, which include Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, her company debut, Mimi in La bohème, Nedda in Paglicacci and the title role in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride, I asked if she finds similarities between these heroines and Violetta: “Well, all these roles do have some similarities; however, Violetta from the technical point you find more demanding singing in Act I with, Ah!, fors’ e lui and Sempre libera , where the tessitura is quite high and with a great deal of coloratura. Act I has a lot of the belcanto style and it is very demanding for the soprano, actually terrifying! The rest of the opera is much lyrical and closer to Mimi, Nedda in a way, even to Iphigénie, more of the verismo style.” Asked about her colleagues in this cast, she has not worked with any of these colleagues before but she is happy to say that a very nice relationship developed very quickly with members of both casts. "We are very supportive of each other and it is a wonderful feeling to have such colleagues around."

Focile in her Seattle Opera debut as Tatyana in Eugene Onegin. October 2002.

Focile as Mimi in Puccini's classic, La bohème. May 2007. © Rozarii Lynch

Focile in the title role of Gluck's Iphigenia in Tauris, October 2007. © Bill Mohn

Focile was last at Seattle Opera in the role of Nedda in Pagliacci, January 2008. © Rozarii Lynch

View photos of Nuccia Focile (and the rest of the cast!) from the current production of La Traviata here.

Photo-of-the Day Caption Contest

Congratulations on a great first day of caption writing! Yesterday's captions were spot-on and very comical - a joy for us to read! The winning caption comes from Jeri Lloyd for his caption left on Facebook, "They're really going all out in the donors' lounge this season!"

Without further ado, let's continue the clever caption writing spree with a new photo (comments accepted through the rest of Sunday and all of Monday; winner to be announced on Tuesday morning):

Photo-of-the-Day Caption Contest is BACK!

With the opening of our production of La Traviata TODAY, we are relaunching our popular caption contest. If you read about or participated in the contest during last May's production of The Marriage of Figaro or this August's production of the Ring, you already know the drill: we want to hear from YOU! What's going on in the daily photograph? We already know the opera's plot, so get creative and share your clever captions in the comments. Each day during the production we'll post a new photo and announce the previous day's winner. The prize for the best caption? A La Traviata poster with our compliments.

So let's kick off opening weekend with today's photo (make sure to include your name and email address in your submission so we can contact you when you win!). We can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

La Traviata Preview

Watch this exciting new preview video of La Traviata, taken during dress rehearsal week.

To view more videos or to learn more about Seattle Opera's upcoming production of La Traviata, visit the Seattle Opera website.

Amelia Libretto On Sale Now

The Amelia libretto is available exclusively at McCaw Hall’s gift shop, Amusements, during the run of La Traviata. The $14-book provides an early glimpse at the lyrics and stage directions of this new American opera, and includes a Foreword by Speight Jenkins and an Afterword by librettist Gardner McFall. Amelia, the story of a young woman’s struggle dealing with her past and embracing her future, features music by Daron Aric Hagen and a story by director Stephen Wadsworth. Learn more about this world premiere production.

A Chat with Eglise Gutiérrez

Please welcome to the blog Seattle Opera's Community and Artist Relations Manager, Ernesto Alorda. Ernesto has worked for Seattle Opera for 25 years (he started the same day as Speight!), and throughout that time he has worked with every single artist we've had on stage. Ernesto was able to sit down with Eglise Gutiérrez, who will perform the role of Violetta in our Sunday and Friday performances of La Traviata. Interestingly, both Ernesto and Eglise are originally from Cuba; the interview was first conducted in Spanish, and Ernesto has translated it for us all below. Meet Eglise Gutiérrez:
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A few days ago, I managed to talk to Cuban-born soprano Eglise Gutiérrez during a lunch break about her thoughts in preparing for the role of Violetta and her experience of returning to Seattle Opera after her successful debut in her first Elvira in our production of Bellini’s I Puritani in May 2008.

Concerning the role of Violetta, this is her third production of the opera in a year and a half, the others being at Cincinnati Opera and Florida Grand Opera. Every time she does the role she learns something new about the character. She has read Dumas’ novel, seen the Garbo movie Camille, and has read a great deal about that era. She also listens to other singers in the role and seems to learn from some of the Violettas of the past. There is always something new about this tragic figure.

I asked her about what she does on her free time during her visits to cities in which she is performing: “Honestly, casi nada, almost nothing. After rehearsing six days in a row, I like to relax on my day off and do very little,” says Eglise. She has had the opportunity to visit wonderful places and especially enjoys Buenos Aires, Mexico City, and several cities in Italy. Last September she made her British opera debut at the Royal Opera in Covent Garden in the title role of Donizetti’s Linda de Chamounix and had a wonderful time exploring London.

From Seattle Opera she goes to Dresden for five performances of Rigoletto (in the role of Gilda) at the Semper Opera, then to China for concerts, and in December the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor at Florida Grand Opera coinciding with the Christmas holidays, where she is looking forward to spending some time with relatives and friends in Miami.

She loves being at Seattle Opera and will always remember the wonderful support and love from everyone involved in the production of I Puritani, “...from the staff, artist’s aides, chorus, supernumeraries, and the public, I am amazed at the organization in this company! Everything works and the attention we artists receive is unique. I feel like a human being and not like another singer engaged to do a job, and the fact that the two casts are treated equally is wonderful. We manage to connect with each other, and working in such circumstances brings the very best from us.”

Above: Ernesto Alorda and Eglise Gutiérrez. Photo (c) Alan Alabastro.

Check back next week when Ernesto writes about his recent conversations with Nuccia Focile, who sings Violetta in the Saturday and Wednesday performances.

Seattle University & Excellence as an artform

Last night Seattle Opera started up the annual Seattle University series that allows opera goers to explore the season in a much deeper fashion than just the regular opera previews that we give throughout the Puget Sound area.

This season, with all of the Verdi operas at SO, we will focus on Verdi's life, works, and his role in the unification of Italy. Last night Aren der Hacopian and I talked about singing, focusing on the three Verdi shows this season, La traviata, It trovatore, and Falstaff. Aren, as a singer himself, talked about the technique to produce great sound and looked primarily at the soprano role of Violetta in La traviata. I spent some time comparing the same exact sections from Il trovatore and Falstaff with a number of different singers using the things we learned from Aren to talk about the difference of the voices.

Next time we will look at Verdi and the role of parents and children in his operas, an important theme that shows up time and time again in his works. Also this season we will connect with Wagner and More (WAM) to create special nights to compare Verdi and Wagner and themes that appear in both of their work.

At the end of the session last night, I asked those who attended to take a look at this article that appeared in Opera News recently about opera education by Philip Kennicott entitled "The Education of an Audience". There were many things that I disagreed with in this article, particularly that as an Education Department we should be teaching how to listen for 'excellence.' The main issue I have with 'teaching excellence' is that my definition is probably a little bit different from that of other people. We can teach about the technical proficiency of singers, but part of the joy of listening to singers is that each voice is slightly different and distinct so that we, as members of an audience, can defend our choices. Over the years there have been great debates between Callas or Tebaldi; Domingo or Pavarotti and many others. Of course these are all 'great' singers, but the argument never ends and if I prefer one voice over another I'm no longer teaching excellence but teaching about my taste. The problem with a term like 'greatness' or 'excellence' is that it is completely subjective. We can prepare audiences beyond the general introduction of the story from 'overture to final curtain call' as Kennicott says, which I think everyone who gives previews for Seattle Opera strives to do, but opera has always been a place of self-discovery and self-education; as you hear more voices you can start to form deeper opinions and more educated statements. We don't expect first graders to learn geometry, but rather we teach them the skills in order to add and subtract, building their skills over years in order to solve more complex problems. Opera, while different, is really the same in many respects; when we first attend the opera something grabs us and excites us about the artform (for me it was the anvil chorus in Il trovatore), but now after attending a number of performances and studying a number of operas I can argue why I like one singer over another, or defend a directors choice to stage a particular scene one way when the stage directions ask for something completely different. I hope that over time each of our audience members learn these things as well, but telling an audience what is 'excellent' seems like I am saying 'this is the correct interpretation.' I thought the whole point of art was that we continually learn from our past experiences to redefine that term of excellence.

Attached below is the article, which can be found on the Opera News website. I hope that this might inspire you to let us know your thoughts on Education and what excellence means to you.

To read Kennicott's article click here.

La Traviata Pre-Performance Podcast Now Available

This 5-minute podcast gives you a quick overview of the opera and includes musical examples by Education staff members Jonathan Dean and Seneca Garber. Also available on iTunes starting Saturday, October 10.


La Traviata Pre-Performance Preview

Analyzing “Confessions”

Our “Confessions of a First-Time Operagoer” project has made its way across the pond. Hannah Rudman at UK website AmbITion showed the video to the college students in her digital media class, and is skeptical it would make those who were previously uninterested in opera want to try it out. You all were around throughout the project, what did you think about it? Join the discussion over at AmbITion.

Beverly Sills’ Estate Auctioned

Beverly Sills' estate was auctioned yesterday, and opera fans paid more than $500,000 for items ranging from opera-costume sketches she displayed in her apartment (going for as much as $3,400 EACH!) to a collection of opera scores with her own notes as well as notations from her friends and composers that was sold for $8,750.

I think I’d study those scores for some insight into her musical genius…though if I paid that kind of money for them, maybe I’d just keep them safely on display. What about you? Did any of you ever have the opportunity to see the great Beverly Sills perform?

Final and Full Documentary: "Confessions of a First-Time Operagoer"

Hopefully you've been following the "Confessions" project all summer long, but in case you haven't, the quick summary is that we sought out to determine if an opera newbie could not just appreciate – but actually enjoy – opera. And not just ANY opera, but Wagner's massive Ring cycle.

Starting with auditions in May, then a week of online voting in June with over 6,500 votes cast, we found our opera neophyte and documentary host in Cassidy Quinn Brettler. In the weeks that followed we immersed Cassidy in the creation of the Ring, from "flying" like the Rheinmaidens, to meeting General Director Speight Jenkins, to tumbling around with Richard Paul Fink, to playing with fire. How does a young opera novice respond to Wagner’s monumental, epic cycle? And can a young person - or any opera newcomer - like the art form enough to want to come back?

All these questions are finally answered in the full reality-style video of "Confessions of a First-time Operagoer." The video made its world premiere last weekend, but today it makes its online debut (now it really is for the whole world!). ENJOY!!