Roundtable: an operatic triple threat

Interview

Lots of laughter punctuated our shop talk and often the most memorable moments occurred during the singers' natural repartee. Below is a lightly-edited collection of answers to some of my questions, which I asked over the course of an hour-long conversation. Read on for a bit of insight into these three singers' lives and work.

Talking with singers: Franco Vassallo

Interview

When I was young I refused some roles because I thought I was not ready to face them. I thought I would have been appreciated for this sense of responsibility and respect for the audience and opera houses - instead, I discovered I had been considered a snob!

Talking with agents: Kathy Domoney

Interview

"Singers think I can wave a magic wand and fill their calendar with engagements - if only that were the case! I make it very clear to potential clients that my job is to open doors through auditions, and the singer's job is to present themselves at auditions with confidence, wonderful singing and a strong emotional connection to their arias."

Transfixing: Soundstreams presents Tan Dun's Water Passion

Review

Michelle Colton, Aiyun Huang, and Ryan Scott showed what true musical versatility means, playing timpani, water (yes, they actually played the water - sometimes with cups to create a neat effect that reminded me of horses galloping through water), cymbals (which they would then dip in the water to create new effects), singing prayer bowls and that's just in the first two movements.

Jerry Springer - The Opera hits New York

Review

But why be churlish when songs like "Diaper Man," "Him Am The Devil" and the production number, "This is My KKK Moment," tune up this gleefully lewd production? In fact, you would be advised to just sit back and be a complicit member of the audience that comes pre-stocked with an immensely talented group of misfits longing for their 15 seconds of fame.

Levine's ugly exit, & the disposable Met

Editorial

Now, as I read the conclusion of the Met's gross display of Righteous Response™ - their investigation, launched with seriousness only after this group of victims came forward with corroborating, damning accounts of abuse by Levine - I say, let it fall.

Orpheus & Eurydice in the hands of a theatrical genius

Review

Though he has a decades-long, international reputation for his ballets, Mr. Neumeier's ingenious and beautiful choreography is only part of the story, or rather "his" story. Writers are supposed to write what they know; in this case, Mr. Neumeier directs what he knows. This is the famous opera written by Gluck in 1774, but it's no longer the travel and travail of a musician.

A futuristic love story: The Invention of Morel

Interview

"He is a super-genius who has created an invention that will change life as we know it. He is in obsessive love with Faustine. He has invited Faustine and the remaining characters (in the opera) to the island to woo Faustine. His gambit is to spend the rest of his days with her. ...which is kinda creepy on any level."

Kyra Millan: making Opera for All Ages

Interview

"The singing can sound silly to some at first, because it is a very intense, open sound, but with some of the best music ever written in the hands of a skilled artist, live music can bypass the intellect and resonate directly with the soul and heart."

Celebrating Bernstein in Chicago: "How can one not be enchanted?"

Review

How can one not be enchanted? This is the same Bernstein-ian smile I recognize in my teachers' recollections of their mentor, the same smile that, to my ears, permeates his whole artistic output, and the same smile that suffused the Lyric Opera of Chicago's commemorative Bernstein concert this past Saturday at the Lyric Opera House.