Monday, June 29, 2009

UAO "Il Trovatore" In Rehearsal

The cast of Union Avenue Opera's Il Trovatore has been hard at work preparing individual scenes for the past week. Full runs of the production begin this week before the sitzprobe this coming Sunday. Take a look at the artists in rehearsal:

Soprano Alexandra LoBianco (Leonora)

Tenor Eric Ashcraft (Manrico) & Mezzo-soprano Veronica McHale (Azucena)

Baritone Thomas Beard (Conte di Luna)

Mezzo-soprano Veronica McHale (Azucena)

Soprano Alexandra LoBianco (Leonora) & Baritone Thomas Beard (Conte di Luna)

Il Trovatore runs July 10, 11, 17 & 18. All performances begin at 8pm and take place at Union Avenue Christian Church located at 733 N. Union Blvd in St. Louis. For ticket and production information, please visit the Union Avenue Opera Website or call 314.361.2881

Saturday, June 20, 2009

OTSL's "A Little Lunch Music" Series Concludes on Monday, June 22


Photo: Heidi Stober, from her web site.

"A Little Lunch Music, OTSL's series of free noontime concerts presenting performances by some of the young artists featured in OTSL main season productions, concludes on Monday, June 22.

This Monday, June 22, at 12:30 p.m. Heidi Stober, soprano; Paul Appleby, tenor; Carlton Ford, baritone; will perform at the Purser Center, on the campus of Logan College, 1851 Schoettler Road, Chesterfield, Missouri.

According to her web site,
Soprano Heidi Stober is rapidly gaining recognition for her beautiful voice, exquisite musicianship and exciting presence on the operatic stage. She has received high praise for performances with New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, the Santa Fe Opera, and Boston Lyric Opera. For her performance in Plateé, Opera News said: "Only soprano Heidi Stober, as Folly, stood out vocally; her extended aria … was a musical and theatrical tour de force."

Stober makes her company debut at OTSL as Aminta in Il re pastore. Patricia Rice, of the St. Louis Beacon writes:
Stober makes her St. Louis debut singing the role of the king. Mozart wrote the role for Tommaso Consoli, a famous adult male soprano, a castrato. Now that the gruesome operation on pre-teen boy singers is criminal child abuse, female sopranos are cast in castrato roles, called "pants roles."

Tenor Paul Appleby, a first year master's student at the Juilliard School, is making his debut as Agenore in Mozart's Il re Pastore in OTSL's production.

Baritone Carlton Ford, a student of Marlena Malas at the Julliard School, is appearing as a Cappadocian in OTSL's Salome.

Classic 99 KFUO-FM serves as a sponsor for the "A Little Lunch Music" series.

For more information, contact the OTSL's Education Department at (314) 963-4250.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

UAO In Rehearsal

Rehearsals for Union Avenue Opera's 15th season are underway. Since last week, members of the ensemble have met frequently with musical director and principal conductor Scott Schoonover for musical rehearsals of the choral scenes in UAO's summer productions.

(female ensemble, The Merry Widow)

(male ensemble, Lakmé)

Principal staging rehearsals begin Monday for the first production of the season: Verdi's Il Trovatore. Chicago-based stage director Mark Meier returns to UAO this season to stage Trovatore after his work on last season's L'Elisir d'Amore and Otello.

Visit this blog for further updates and content on the productions at Union Avenue Opera this summer. For more information on UAO and its 15th season, please visit the company's website.

Friday, June 12, 2009

OTSL's "A Little Lunch Music" Series Continues on Monday, June 15


Photo: Soprano Jeanette Vecchione

Opera Theatre of St. Louis's "A Little Lunch Music" continues this Monday with a free noontime concert presenting performances by some of the young artists featured in OTSL main season productions.

This Monday, June 15, at 12:30 p.m. Jeanette Vecchione, soprano; Eric Margiore, tenor; Gregory Dahl, baritone; and Curt Pajer, pianist; will perform at Kirkwood Presbyterian Church, 100 E. Adams, in Kirkwood, Missouri.

Vecchione will make her operatic debut at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis this summer as Florestine in John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles. Vecchione is a May 2006 graduate of the Juilliard School was accepted into the Master’s Program on full scholarship. She studies under the tutelage of Marlena Malas. (Information courtesy of the Iron Sharpens Iron blog.)

Click here to visit Vecchione's MySpace profile.

According to the Encompass Arts web site, "Lyric tenor, Eric Margiore, is quickly becoming recognized for his unique Italianate timbre and the excitement that it brings to the stage, especially in the high lying Bel Canto and lyric French repertory. Most significantly, Eric was hailed by Opera News for his stunning regional debut in the role of Arturo in the Malibran version of I Puritani with the Opera Theatre of St. Louis when he stepped in twice to replace an ailing tenor. This season, Margiore sings Narraboth in OTSL's Salome."

Blogger Philip Kennicott writes:
John the Baptist was sung by baritone Gregory Dahl, whose voice was the most traditionally matched to the role. He was an uncomfortably believable prophet, vocally authoritative, and at times almost pastoral in his warnings to Salome. He dominated the orchestral texture more than the other singers, which meant he had an unusually large impact on the drama.

Curt Pajer, not only a pianist but also a vocal coach, has been on the music staff of OTSL since 1999.

Classic 99 KFUO-FM serves as a sponsor for the "A Little Lunch Music" series.

The final concert in the series will be:

June 22, 2009
The Purser Center
(on the campus of Logan Chiropractic College)
1851 Schoettler Road
Chesterfield, Missouri

For more information, contact the OTSL's Education Department at (314) 963-4250.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

OTSL's "The Ghosts of Versailles" Opens June 17


From Alex Ross's great The Rest Is Noise blog:
John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles pleased most critics when it opened at the Metropolitan Opera at the end of 1991. I wasn't among them; in a review for the New Republic I described the opera as "nowhere music," a miscellaneous pastiche of Romantic and modernist styles.

I recently listened again to a recording of The Ghosts of Versailles and found myself liking it a great deal more. Even if the composer's voice remains at times elusive, the craftsmanship and vitality of the writing make a powerful impression. St. Louis audiences may judge for themselves when a new, streamlined version of The Ghosts of Versailles opens at the Opera Theater of St. Louis on June 17.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Union Avenue Opera hosts "Opera in Bloom" Event

Union Avenue Opera will be hosting "Opera in Bloom," an afternoon of hors d'oeuvres and cocktails featuring instrumentalists and UAO artists in the garden of a historic Central West End home.

This event precedes the company's upcoming season, including Verdi's Il trovatore, Lehár's Die lustige Witwe ("The Merry Widow"), Delibes' Lakmé and Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors.

"Opera in Bloom" takes place Saturday June 20th, 3:00 p.m. at the home of John & Anna Roach: 4931 Pershing Place in the Central West End. Tickets are $50 per person. To RSVP, contact Union Avenue Opera at (314) 361-2881. Tickets may also be purchased at the UAO Website.

Friday, June 5, 2009

OTSL Presents First 2009 "A Little Lunch Music" Program


Opera Theatre of St. Louis has announced three free Monday noontime concerts presenting performances by some of the young artists featured in main season productions.

This Monday, June 8, at 12:30 p.m. soprano Amanda Majeski, tenor Derek Taylor, baritone Jay Ivey, and pianist Greg Ritchey will perform well known opera, operetta and musical theater selections at the Grandel Theater in Grand Center.

Soprano Amanda Majeski has been a Young Artist with OTSL for their past two seasons, covering the title role in Michael Berkeley’s Jane Eyre, Greta Fiorentino in Street Scene and Elvira in I Puritani. The young soprano recently made her debut with Opera Company of Philadelphia as Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto.

Tenor Derek Taylor was born in Los Angeles, California, and trained at the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA), where he garnered rave reviews as Rodolfo in their 2005 production of La Boheme. "AVA seems to have found the key to producing excellent young tenors.... It was Derek Taylor’s turn Sunday night as Rodolfo.... Blessed with remarkable good looks, Taylor also possesses a naturally beautiful timbre that's clear and unforced, a sure feel for the dramatic arch of the vocal line, excellent Italian diction and a focused dramatic flair that projects the essence of the role without fuss or affectation." This season, Taylor appears as Rodolfo in OTSL's La Boheme.

Each concert begins at 12:30 p.m. Classic 99 KFUO-FM serves as a sponsor for the series.

June 8, 2009
Grandel Theatre
634 N. Grand Boulevard
St. Louis, Missouri

June 15, 2009
Kirkwood Presbyterian Church
100 E. Adams
Kirkwood, Missouri

June 22, 2009
The Purser Center
(on the campus of Logan Chiropractic College)
1851 Schoettler Road
Chesterfield, Missouri

For more information, contact the OTSL's Education Department at (314) 963-4250.