23/06/2024
https://www.rachelmurdy.com/the-cherry-orchard
"The Cherry Orchard" by Anton Chekov performed episodically on Zoom. Brought to life by an all-women cast influenced by early 1970's daytime dramas and early Polish live television.
Indie Opera Podcast
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The Indie Opera Podcast offers an independent perspective on opera in America and abroad with humor, honesty, and irreverence. Indie Opera Productions, Inc.
was formed for the civic purpose of educating audiences about the latest activities happening in the opera industry and the challenges faced by those producing opera today. The specific objectives and purpose of Indie Opera Productions, Inc. are as follows:
1. To produce and release monthly hour-long podcast episodes devoted to the latest news and activities in the opera industry.
2. To provide
a platform in the form of recorded interviews for opera producers, performers, and creators to promote their upcoming projects.
3. To produce live events devoted to important issues facing the opera community.
4. To provide additional content in the form of one-on-one interviews, musicological articles, critical reviews, and other related items to promoting our audience's awareness and appreciation for opera.
5. To engage in other activities as deemed appropriate by the directors to promote our audience's knowledge and understanding of opera and those who make it.
13/05/2024
Episode 92 - Episode 92 - Christopher Tin has written a new ending for Puccini’s unfinished Turandot with Susan Soon He Stanton, one of the writers on “Succession” on HBO. Washington National Opera May 11 – 25, 2024, directed by Francesca Zambello. https://mailchi.mp/1dca4c303a73/christopher-tin-turandot
15/11/2022
OperaFix! THE HOURS: Kevin Puts & Greg Pierce - https://mailchi.mp/c4cc9610f3bd/operafix-the-hours-kevin-puts-greg-pierce The two creators have a free-wheeling conversation with Chuck Sachs about the creation of their new opera.
12/09/2022
Friends and followers, which of these upcoming performances excites you the most?
Among the highlights: the reopening of David Geffen Hall, the premiere of ‘The Hours’ at the Met and visits from the Berlin and Los Angeles Philharmonics.
07/09/2022
Did you miss our latest episode? Fear not. You can still hear the audio version!
Show The Indie Opera Podcast, Ep Podcast 091: Roundtable, Opera and Community - Sep 7, 2022
06/09/2022
Don’t forget to tune in tonight at 8pm!!!
05/09/2022
Plácido Domingo has issued a statement apologizing to the Arena di Verona for his recent performances, which resulted in an onstage protest from the orchestra and a subsequent letter from the local union lambasting the showcases as “humiliating.”
During performances at the end of August, Domingo left the stage early during scenes of “Macbeth” that he himself had selected. Moreover, per reports, his conducting of ensuing moments from “Turandot” was so poor that members of the orchestra refused to stand with him to receive applause as a sign of protest. - Operawire
(Photo by Catherine Ashmore) Plácido Domingo has issued a statement apologizing to the Arena di Verona for his recent performances, which resulted in an onstage protest from the orchestra and a subsequent letter from the local union lambasting the showcases as “humiliating.” During performances...
04/09/2022
Summer Recap with our Co-Hosts - Episode 91 - https://mailchi.mp/6af25f9bb7a5/summer-recap-episode-91
31/08/2022
Thoughts, friends?
Following performances at the Arena di Verona headlined by Plácido Domingo, the members of orchestra refused to stand during the final ovations in protest of the quality of the showcases. Per several reports, the performances, which celebrated the music of Verdi across several scenes from his opera...
25/08/2022
How are all of the other companies handling Covid this season?
(Photo By: Jonathan Tichler/Metropolitan Opera) The Metropolitan Opera has announced a new COVID-19 policy. The company said that audience members will no longer be required to show proof of vaccination to attend a performance or event. However, while inside the opera house, everyone is required to....
24/08/2022
Our very own Brooke Larimer, mezzo-soprano and Charles Sachs attended this recent performance by our friends at Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble.
24/08/2022
Spanish political party Más Madrid is calling for all Madrid institutions to take withdraw Plácido Domingo’s name from prestigious awards he has received.
Spanish political party Más Madrid is calling for all Madrid institutions to take withdraw Plácido Domingo’s name from prestigious awards he has received. The progressive political party made the proposal via an open letter signed by Mónica García. Más Madrid’s initiative comes days after a...
19/08/2022
From August 21-27, dell’Arte Opera Ensemble is presenting the professional premiere of Carla Lucero’s opera Juana at The Rose Nagelberg Theater In New York. We’ve followed this project over the years, and in honor of this premiere, we’re collecting clips from our shows beginning with when the project won OPERA America Opera Discovery Grants for Female Composers in 2019. That year we played music jukebox with the team and commented on what we heard. This was recorded as an audio only podcast in some rough conditions, so please pardon our audio quality. Following that Gregory Moomgjy talks with us on Zoom about how the piece was being worked on at dell’Arte during the hight of the pandemic. And Chuck did an audio interview with Chris Fecteau and Marianna Mott-Newirth.
We interviewed Carla and her collaborator Dr. Rita E. Urquijo-Ruiz about their LA Opera production of The Three Women of Jerusalem on episode 87, they were amazing generous guests, so we encourage you to watch that fascinating interview.
cc Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble OPERA America
18/08/2022
Thoughts, friends?
Plácido Domingo is being linked to a criminal sect in Villa Crespo called “Escuela de Yoga,” an organization that was involved in human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and other crimes in Argentina. The Argentinian and Uruguayan newspapers La Nacion and El Observador report that a police oper...
12/08/2022
"Jarrar and Trovato’s concert was a well-programmed evening of music that was created thoughtfully and stuck with the theme throughout. It was creative in its use of many styles and inclusion of original compositions by Jarrar and Goodwin, mixed in with those of earlier composers that not only gave the audience a sense of Mary and Elizabeth’s relationship, but of the scope of musical treatments, both overt and more subtle." Operawire's take on "We've Come to Claim the Throne"
Pianist/composer Felix Jarrar and soprano Michelle Trovato partnered to stage a themed recital centered on Mary Queen of Scots, titled “We’ve Come to Claim the Throne,” on July 29, 2022, at St. John’s in the Village, New York City. The theme came to Jarrar via soprano Michelle Trovato, who h...
10/08/2022
Check out what Michael Mayes, Baritone is up to this season at The Atlanta Opera. In case you missed it, here is our recent episode with Mayes as our guest! https://indieopera.com/episode-79-baritone-michael-mayes/
05/08/2022
How about this offstage drama?
Following comments made on Facebook, in which soprano Angela Gheorghiu called out conductor Cristian Macelaru a “coward” for his performance on July 14, the soprano is denouncing the conductor for disappearing as she was negotiating a performance on the concert. Gheorghiu took to social media an...
29/07/2022
Thanks to HERE Arts Center for sharing our recent !
operaFix: Cannabis! A Viper Vaudeville July 25, 2022July 25, 2022 Peter SzepOpera Fix, Video Grace Galu, Composer/MD & Baba Israel, Librettist/Co-Director. July 14 -31, Tuesday-Saturday 8:30pm, Saturday & Sunday 4:00pm. Commissioned, Developed and Produced by HERE, Co-Presented by La MaMa. 120 minut...
25/07/2022
Bravo to our very own Greg Moomjy! Wonderful news. Congrats!
New Camerata Opera is honored to welcome Greg Moomjy onto our Advisory Board! Welcome to the team, Greg!
In 2012, Greg earned his Bachelor of Arts in Musicology from Fordham University, followed by a Masters of Science in Journalism from The Columbia School of Journalism in 2014. A passionate life-long opera lover, he has spent ten years covering trends in the field for outlets such as Classical Singer and The Indie Opera Podcast. He has also penned articles for New Mobility, New Jersey Monthly and PC Gamer. In 2018 Greg delivered a lecture on Wagner and Antisemitism at University of Pittsburgh’s “Revolution of Tenderness” conference.
As a disabled person with Cerebral Palsy, the intersection of opera and disability is a cornerstone of Greg’s work. He serves as Assistant to the Librettists for touch, an opera by Carla Lucero and Marianna Mott Newirth on the radical life of Helen Keller, commissioned by Opera Birmingham for a 2024 world premiere. Greg was recently appointed Resident Musicologist for Divaria Productions, a New York City-based company dedicated to educating audiences about the historical circumstances surrounding classic works and watershed moments in operatic history. Gregory is thrilled to be involved in Orlando: Hero of Love, the inaugural production of Opera Praktikos, a company that strives to make opera truly accessible to all.
24/07/2022
“It shows, namely, another path to a bright future for opera.” - Slippedisc.com/ and OperaPraktikos! Bravo, Greg Moomjy & your team!
Film-maker Paul Moon tells slippedisc.com: Two months ago,...
22/07/2022
Gravy Bumbry weighs in on the blackface issue.
Posted in r/opera by u/VoceDiLupo • 58 points and 142 comments
19/07/2022
Following Angel Blue’s high-profile cancelation at the Arena di Verona via social media, the soprano’s Instagram and pages have disappeared. Blue had posted a Faithful Friday post on July 15 following her July 14 post where she announced she would cancel her “La Traviata” due to the...
19/07/2022
"The released emails and subsequent responses underline just how much work we must do still to create a thoroughly inclusive environment for everyone working in opera. We at OPERA America are committed to leading the field every step of the way.” - part of the statement released from OPERA America regarding the recent leaked listserv messages. Source: Operawire
Follow the link for the full story.
OPERA America has released a statement about the leaked emails from its “professional development” listserv. The organization said, “this past weekend a series of emails that included disrespectful and harmful language was taken out of context and out of order from a private OPERA America list...
18/07/2022
Friends, what do you think about the messages captured in these controversial screenshots?
15/07/2022
Here’s the latest update regarding the opera controversy in .
The Arena di Verona has released a statement regarding Angel Blue’s decision to cancel her performances of “La Traviata” due to the blackface controversy. The company said, “Fondazione Arena di Verona’s principal aim has always been to create peace through the spread and development of mus...
15/07/2022
"Let me be perfectly clear: the use of blackface under any circumstances, artistic or otherwise, is a deeply misguided practice based on archaic theatrical traditions which have no place in modern society.” Angel Blue in her statement announcing the cancellation of her debut at the Arena di Verona.
Thoughts?
Angel Blue has canceled her debut at the Arena di Verona. The soprano took to social media and said, “Dear Friends, Family, and Opera Lovers, I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that I will not be singing La Traviata at Arena di Verona this summer as planned. As many of you know, Arena di Ve...
12/07/2022
Friends and followers, what are your thoughts?
(Credit: Jiyang Chen) UPDATE: Pape has since issued an apology for these statements on his personal social media channels. René Pape is facing backlash after making homophobic comments following New York City’s Pride Parade and has vied to not return to the Metropolitan Opera. The bass commented ...
08/07/2022
More from OperaPraktikos and our very own Greg Moomjy!
Opera Praktikos has released a film of its first-ever opera production. Earlier this year, the company presented outdoor performances of Händel’s “Orlando” at Campos Garden in Manhattan and the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. The production was originally set to take place on May 27 and 28, but inc...
06/07/2022
Our very own Peter Szep conducts The Yonkers Philharmonic Orchestra this Friday!
Yonkers Philharmonic is a community orchestra that provides free classical music concerts four times a year.
04/07/2022
In honor of the 4th, we present this memory from the legendary Leontyne Price.
LEONTYNE PRICE - 2001 - GOD BLESS AMERICA
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Videos
OPERA America Discovery Grant 2020 Recipients: Part 2
Justine F. Chen, composer & Stephanie Fleischmann, librettist – Seven Sisters Melissa Dunphy, composer & Jacqueline Goldfinger, librettist – Alice Tierney Kirsten Volness, composer & Susan Werbe/Kate Holland, co-librettists – Letters That You Will Not Get: Women’s Voices from the Great War The Indie Opera Podcast is releasing part two of an episode that was recorded in the Spring of 2020 that got derailed during the start of the pandemic and features all the composer/librettist teams to receive the 2020 OPERA America Discovery Grants which support composers who identify as women in the development of new operatic works and the advancement of their careers in the opera industry. Peter, Brooke, and Walker welcome the three remaining composers with their librettists and play video samples of their operas with musicologist Greg Moomjy’s music notes. Justine Chen, composer, and Stephanie Fleischman, librettist, talk about delving into Justine’s multifaceted Taiwanese family history for Seven Sisters, which follows the form of a formal Taiwanese funeral. Melissa Dunphy and Jacqueline Goldfinger, composer and librettist, share the macabre origin of Alice Tierney: an unsolved 1880 murder in Philadelphia on Melissa’s property, and discuss the novel way they are choosing to tell the story. Kirsten Volness, Susan Werbe, and Kate Holland, composer and librettists of Letters That You Will Not Get: Women’s Voices from the Great War, discuss the work’s fascinating journey from song cycle to opera, and how they set to music the real-life accounts of multiple women on all sides of the conflict who lived through World War I.
Show 88: Quamino's Map with Deborah Brevoort, Kimille Howard, Jeri Lynne Johnson and Cori Ellison
We are joined by several creators of Quamino’s Map, a fascinating new opera by composer Errollyn Wallen, having its world premiere at Chicago Opera Theater. Librettist and playwright Deborah Brevoort, conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson, dramaturg Cori Ellison, and director Kimille Howard discuss the origins and creative process of this unique production, which focuses on the Black Americans who fought for their liberty on the side of the British in the Revolutionary War and struggled to survive in London afterward. We also learn about the Black gentry in London at the time and how it may have intersected with the newly-arrived soldiers. Don’t miss this surprising look into the research, staging, and craft that went into bringing an important but little-known historical moment to light.
Show 87: Carla Lucero and Dr. Rita E. Urquijo-Ruiz
Las Tres Mujeres de Jerusalén (The Three Women of Jerusalem) We welcome two creators of the upcoming LA Opera production of The Three Women of Jerusalem: Carla Lucero, composer/librettist, and Dr. Rita E. Urquijo-Ruiz, translator. Lucero is the first Latinx and female composer to be commissioned by LA Opera. We discover how they translated the opera into Spanish while retaining the same poetic meter, as Lucero will produce the opera in English as well. We also discuss the significance of the Stations of the Cross, on which the opera is based, as well as why Lucero chose three anonymous women in the 8th station to be the heroines of the story. She also makes a fascinating choice on how to personify Jesus in the opera. The massive production will be at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels and will feature 3 orchestras and 3 choirs. We can’t wait to see this “love letter to LA,” which fuses ideas from queer, Latinx, and borderlands cultures into an uplifting whole.
Podcast 85: The Hang with Taylor Mac, Matt Ray, Chanon Judson, Machine Dazzle
We welcome the creative team of The Hang, an exciting show playing at HERE and the Prototype Festival in NYC. Described as “a ritual celebration of queerness, questions, and the eternity of a moment,” the show is rooted in the jazz tradition and the operatic form, and imagines the final hours of Socrates. Prolific playwright and performer Taylor Mac joins us along with Machine Dazzle, costume and set designer; Chanon Judson, choreographer; and Matt Ray, composer. We discover the origin of Mac’s ideas about the piece and the many permutations it went through before it found its current form. We get a taste of what each collaborator brings to the show : how Dazzle challenges actors with costumes he calls ‘wearable stories,’ how Judson reflects performers’ movement ideas to create choreography for musicians as well as actors, and how Ray created his unique instrumentation for the work. It’s fascinating to hear how they worked on the piece during the pandemic and what it was like to come together in a rehearsal room after so much isolation. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear the backstory behind some of our most incisive and daring theatre creators making an exuberant foray into the operatic form.
Thanks to supporters like Alix Burack who help us to continue our mission in 2022 and beyond! https://indieopera.com/donate/
Join us as we proudly welcome Malcolm J. Merriweather conductor and baritone. Malcolm is the youngest and first Black Music Director of the NYC-based The Dessoff Choirs, which is currently celebrating its 97th season with a concentration on African-American composer Margaret Bonds, a significant figure in the fight for civil rights. Malcolm leads the choir in its Metropolitan Museum of Art debut this month followed by the New York orchestral premiere of Bonds’ Credo in Spring 2022.
Chuck Gives Thanks
The inimitable Chuck Sachs expresses gratitude on this Thanksgiving weekend.
Giving Thanks - Brooke Larimer
Brooke Larimer expresses appreciation for all of our Indie Opera supporters! #Thanksgiving https://indieopera.com/donate/
Thanks from Peter
The Indie Opera team is giving thanks to all of YOU who help us to bring opera into the twenty-first century. Happy Thanksgiving weekend!
We welcome Sarah Ruhl, librettist and playwright, and Matthew Aucoin, composer, the two creators of a new version of Eurydice at the Metropolitan Opera. We discuss the history and meaning of this oft-adapted myth, and what drew both writers to it. We delve into their creative process and discover why Sarah chose to make some key changes to the story and characters. We also get a peek into how the two adapted Sarah’s original play into the current libretto, and how Matthew approached setting her text to music. It’s fascinating to hear about the piece’s long journey from its creation to its premiere at LA Opera with Mary Zimmerman directing, to the current remount at the Met. Both writers also have new books out, which should be on everyone’s reading list. Don’t miss this captivating conversation with two of opera’s most vital and thrilling creators.
The Rosina Project Creative Team - Episode 81
We welcome three key creators of The Rosina Project, a groundbreaking “hip-hopera” that remixes The Barber of Seville using hip-hop and opera artists to perform a female-driven story of empowerment as an immersive, 21st-century house party. We are joined by George Cederquist, director, K. F. Jacques, composer and hip-hop artist playing Figaro, and Pinqy Ring, the hip-hop artist who plays Rosina. Soon to return to Chicago’s free “Night Out in the Parks” series, the piece features lyrics by the cast of mc/actors, dancers from BraveSoul Movement, and a live DJ and beatboxer. We discuss the origin of the piece and the unique way the text came together, as well as audience reactions and the future of the project. Recently featured in Opera America’s New Works Series, The Rosina Project is a bold reimagining of a classic work and sure to be a harbinger of other cross-cultural and interdisciplinary opera projects to come.
dwb - Driving While Black, Episode 80
Don't miss the premiere of episode 80 - dwb - Driving While Black, with the UrbanArias team including KAREN SLACK, Soprano, Robert Wood, Du'Bois A'Keen and Camry A'Keen!
Michael Mayes - Episode 79
Michael Mayes, Baritone joins us to share his insights into the future of opera and shows us how he gets to “The Quick”, and focuses on what’s important in opera. We also learn how Atlanta Opera is continuing to present operas during Covid, and reaching new audiences with Crossroads concerts. Theres plenty of Bluegrass and salty language in this episode so advise that you use your headphones around children and sensitive individuals.
Michael Mayes - Episode 79
Michael Mayes, Baritone joins us to share his insights into the future of opera and shows us how he gets to “The Quick”, and focuses on what’s important in opera. We also learn how The Atlanta Opera is continuing to present operas during Covid, and reaching new audiences with Crossroads concerts. Theres plenty of Bluegrass and salty language in this episode so advise that you use your headphones around children and sensitive individuals.
Michael Mayes, Baritone joins us to share his insights into the future of opera and shows us how he gets to “The Quick”, and focuses on what’s important in opera. We also learn how The Atlanta Opera is continuing to present operas during Covid, and reaching new audiences with Crossroads concerts. Theres plenty of Bluegrass and salty language in this episode so advise that you use your headphones around children and sensitive individuals.
Thanks to Deborah Brevoort for sharing the kind 10th anniversary greetings! https://indieopera.com/
We appreciate this meaningful message from David Cotei to help us celebrate our 10th Anniversary! https://indieopera.com/
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