Gounod's "Faust" Saturday Met Matinee Broadcast and High Definition Transmission

Jonas Kaufmann as Faust
St. Louis Public Radio will carry the Met Opera broadcast of Charles Gounod’s Faust on their HD channel, KWMU-3 beginning at 12 noon. Approximate running time 3 hours, 40 minutes with intermissions at approximately 12:50 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.

You may also listen to Faust via a live stream of the broadcast.

The Met says:

With Jonas Kaufmann in the title role, René Pape as the devil, and Marina Poplavskaya as Marguerite, Gounod’s classic retelling of the Faust legend couldn’t be better served. Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff updates the story to the first half of the 20th century with a production that won praise in London last season. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts on the heels of his Don Carlo success.

In the New York Times, November 30, 2011, Anthony Tommasini wrote:

It is best to put aside any knowledge you may have of Goethe when attending a performance of Gounod’s Faust. There is beautiful music -— stirring ensembles and a few gotcha arias —- in Gounod’s score. But this melodramatic opera is anything but philosophical.

The standard rap against Faust is that Gounod turns the characters into stereotypes, with music to match. As Gounod presents him, Faust, an embittered old philosopher who has signed a contract with the Devil, becomes just another in a line of dashing young tenor heroes pining for a young woman and showing off his top notes. Gounod’s Méphistophélès seems far too charming to be malevolent; and the pretty young Marguerite is a little shallow, smitten as much by a casket of jewels as by the young Faust’s ardor.

The High Definition transmission of Faust will be presented at AMC Esquire 7, 6706 Clayton Road; St. Louis Mills 18; 5555 Saint Louis Mills Boulevard; AMC Chesterfield 14, 3000 Chesterfield Mall; O'Fallon 14, 900 Caledonia Drive; and The Hett, McKendree College, 701 College Road, Lebanon, IL. Click here to buy tickets.

Watch a brief video by clicking here

Union Avenue Opera Presents Menotti's "Amahl and the Night Visitors" This Weekend

Union Avenue Opera adds to St. Louis' flourishing holiday music scene this weekend with Gian-Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, opening Friday evening. Journey back in time to the Middle East during the first century, and meet the young, crippled shepherd Amahl, and his widowed mother. Their lives are changed forever by a mysterious star in the night sky and the arrival of three kings seeking a wondrous child. What follows is an enduring tale of the power of faith and how ordinary kindness leads to miracles. Amahl and the Night Visitors is sure to captivate audiences of every generation. It’s also a perfect way to bring the family together!

St. Charles native Ricky Johnson, veteran of UAO’s production, returns to sing the title role of Amahl. Last seen in her critically acclaimed performance as Mrs. Patrick DeRocher in this summer's Dead Man Walking, Mezzo-soprano Debra Hillabrand makes her role debut as Amahl’s Mother. Also fresh from their appearances in Dead Man Walking are Tenor Clark Sturdevant as King Kaspar and Baritone Robert Reed as King Melchior. Returning after his company debut in the 2010 production, Bass-Baritone Todd Payne sings King Balthazar. Tenor Philip Touchette will sing The Page. A chorus of local singers and dancers rounds out the cast. No stranger to UAO, Allyson Ditchey serves as stage director. UAO Artistic Director and Conductor Scott Schoonover will conduct a chamber orchestra.

Last season, UAO opened its doors to school children for a complimentary Thursday matinee performance and will do so again this year on December 8th at 10am. Inquire with the company for ticket availability.

Join fellow opera patrons for a FREE opening night lecture on Amahl and the Night Visitors in the UACC Fellowship Hall on Friday, December 9th at 7pm. Non-ticket buyers welcome.

Amahl and the Night Visitors runs December 9th (8pm), 10th (5pm) and 11th (3pm). Tickets range $15-$47 and are available by contacting the Union Avenue Opera Box Office at 314.361.2881 or visiting http://www.unionavenueopera.org/ The opera was commissioned especially for television and was first performed by NBC Television Opera Theatre in 1951. The production will be performed in English with projected supertitles at Union Avenue Opera, 733 North Union Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63108 and has a run time of approximately 50 minutes.

Renee Fleming Reprises Title Role in "Rodelinda" on Met Saturday Matinee on December 3

St. Louis Public Radio will carry the Met Opera broadcast of George Frideric Handels’s Rodelinda on their HD channel, KWMU-3 beginning at 11:30 a.m. Please note the half-hour earlier starting time.

You may also listen to Rodelinda via a live stream of the broadcast. Approximate running time 4 hours, 5 minutes. Intermissions at 12:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Renée Fleming, sensational in the 2004 Met premiere of Stephen Wadsworth’s much-heralded production, reprises the title role. She’s joined by Stephanie Blythe and countertenor Andreas Scholl, and Baroque specialist Harry Bicket conducts.

In the November 15, 2011, New York Times, James Oestreich writes:

In addition to Ms. Fleming’s star power, Stephen Wadsworth’s direction has received much credit for the production’s initial success and durability. And direction is surely needed.

The plot —- here updated more or less to the time the opera was written, 1725 -— defies quick description. It involves Bertarido, a king of Milan thought by most onstage, including his wife, Rodelinda, to be dead; his sister, Eduige, betrothed to Grimoaldo, who is now bent on claiming Rodelinda and, not incidentally, the throne; and two counselors to Grimoaldo: the sweet Unolfo, loyal to Bertarido (and aware that he is alive), and the irredeemably base Garibaldo, who meets an appropriate end at the point of Bertarido’s sword.

Opportunities for drama are obvious, but the work’s structure is unyielding. Ms. Fleming, in a Playbill interview, calls Rodelinda “a Handel opera with 30 arias and no ensembles.” Though she discounts the gorgeous duet that ends Act II and the lively quintet that ends the whole, she might have added that the arias are of the da capo variety: an A section giving way to B, then returning, however decorated or transformed.

Mr. Wadsworth’s pointed direction keeps the action moving forward even when the music circles back, though not without occasional distractions. For one, as Eduige, the formidable mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, sings at center stage, Rodelinda travels to a remote perch in the palace library — which, in Thomas Lynch’s set design, spans the stage —- to fetch a book for her son, Flavio. Who can ignore Ms. Fleming even when she is marking time?

The High Definition transmission of Rodelinda will be presented at AMC Esquire 7, 6706 Clayton Road; St. Louis Mills 18; 5555 Saint Louis Mills Boulevard; AMC Chesterfield 14, 3000 Chesterfield Mall; and O'Fallon 14, 900 Caledonia Drive. Click here to buy tickets.

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis presents Joshua's Boots at the Touhill Performing Arts Center - Nov. 16 - 18

Opera for young people celebrates the achievements of a young African-American cowboy facing prejudice and adversity in the 1870’s American West

St. Louis, MO – Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) will present school and public performances of Joshua’s Boots, an opera for young people featuring a cast of students from across the metro area, at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of University of Missouri – St. Louis on November 16-18.

Set in 1878, Joshua’s Boots is the story of a black teenager who flees from his Tennessee home to seek opportunity in the American West. After racial violence leaves him without a father, Joshua ends up in Dodge City where he is hired by the son of an ex-Confederate ranch owner. After battling hardship and prejudice, he eventually thrives as a cowboy – a fact symbolized by his handsome silver-tipped boots, an emblem of top achievement in the cowboys’ world. Introducing young audiences to opera and a new perspective on the American cowboy, Joshua’s Boots is recommended for families and children fourth grade through twelfth grade.

Written by Adolphus Hailstork with a libretto by Susan Kander, Joshua’s Boots was co-commissioned by OTSL and Lyric Opera of Kansas City in 1999. OTSL’s new production is directed by Michael Shell and conducted by Joseph Marcheso. The production is designed by Robert Morgan with costumes by Jennifer “J.C.” Krajicek and lighting by Joe Clapper.

Joshua’s Boots will be performed by a cast of twenty-one students from the metro area. Eight of the students are current participants or recent alumni of OTSL’s acclaimed Monsanto Artists-in-Training program, which provides college level voice instruction to select high school students throughout St. Louis city and county. The students will be joined by three young professional artists: soprano Katherine Jolly, a Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions winner and Yum-Yum in OTSL’s 2007 production of The Mikado; baritone Jorell Williams, a recent prizewinner of the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition; and tenor Kyle Erdős Knapp, an OTSL Gerdine Young Artist during the 2011 season.

Joshua’s Boots is made possible with a leadership gift from Dana Brown Charitable Trust, U.S. Bank Trustee and with generous support from Monsanto Fund, with special thanks to Pi Beta Phi/Sign of the Arrow. Joshua’s Boots is part of OTSL’s award-winning education and outreach programs, which annually reach nearly 11,500 children throughout Missouri and Illinois.

A public performance will be presented on Friday, November 18 at 7 p.m. at the Touhill Performing Arts Center, University of Missouri – St. Louis. Tickets are $12 per person and are available by calling (314) 516-4949 or (866) 516-4949 or online at www.touhill.org.

Four performances for schools will be held on Wednesday, November 16 at 11 a.m., Thursday, November 17 at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., and Friday, November 18 at 10 a.m. Tickets for the school performances are $6 for students and teachers. Excerpts from the opera will also be performed for home school audiences on Wednesday, October 26 at 10:30 a.m. as part of the Missouri History Museum’s Homeschool Days program. Contact Dan Mayo at (314) 963-4251 or 251@opera-stl.org to reserve tickets for the school performances.

Winter Opera Saint Louis: The Fifth Season

Winter Opera Saint Louis' fifth season features a revue of American musical theater, a landmark in German opera and one of the most beloved Italian blockbusters. If that isn't enough operatic excitement, the company has recently acquired a new warehouse, permanent office space in the Hill neighborhood, a new venue and hired a music director. Company founder and artistic director Gina Galati shares her elation over the many improvements to the company's operations.

The company's permanent warehouse space "makes a big difference," says Galati. For the first three years of its existence, Winter Opera Saint Louis depended on the generosity of supportive individuals and arts organizations to help store accumulated props, sets and costumes. After discussing a need for storage space with production sponsor Dr. Daniel Phillips, Galati was soon approached by Phillips and Mark Tempkin with an offer of a 10,000 square foot warehouse they currently co-owned. The space has been in use since March, and Galati looks forward to the possibilities it will afford the company, primarily investment into more props, costumes and scenery. Once the space is filled, Galati wants to rent out inventory to other opera companies in the area. Above all, the artistic director finds having one dedicated storage location far easier on operations.

Winter Opera St. Louis Office, Marconi Ave

With a new storage space acquired, the hunt was on for permanent office space. Until mid-September, the opera office was set up in Galati's home on the Hill. The office situation was "getting to be too much in my house, and this is a logical progression," Galati says, "and in order for us to grow, we needed a workspace." The company found a partial sponsor for a space located on Marconi Avenue in the heart of the Hill neighborhood amidst popular establishments Amighetti's, Milo's and Gelato di Riso. Galati finds the location advantageous given the number of visitors to the Hill throughout the week. Even when the office is closed, passersby can take brochures from an outdoor stand. It is also quite fitting that Winter Opera Saint Louis' office sits right across the street from St. Ambrose Catholic Church, where the company (then under the name "New Opera Saint Louis") performed its inaugural production of Verdi's Rigoletto in 2007, followed by later productions of Don Pasquale, Gianni Schicchi and, most recently, Cavalleria Rusticana. Not surprisingly, Galati appreciates the lack of an office in her own home. "It's great to go to work and then go home with nothing from the office in my house!"

Skip Viragh Center for the Arts

The fifth season kicks off with Rodgers & Hammerstein's A Grand Night For Singing at a new venue both for Winter Opera Saint Louis and Chaminade Preparatory School: the Skip Viragh Center for the Arts. When Galati heard of Skip Viragh's generous gift to Chaminade, she engaged the opera company's lawyer to arrange a meeting with Chaminade's School Board President to propose a seasonal presence at the venue. Galati says Chaminade received "several recommendations from Washington University" including several calls of support from local Monsignors. "We used the Catholic connection, for sure," she says. Noting that Chaminade currently has no vocal program, she also hopes Winter Opera's presence can create music education opportunities for interested students. Once the company was granted permission to perform, Galati was quite pleased with the venue's reasonable rental price and hopes to make the Skip Viragh Center a permanent venue. "It's a little bit big for us," Galati remarks, "but we hope to attract a larger audience, of course, and keep plugging away. It takes time to gain the support of people to attend your productions and build a subscriber base." Winter Opera will be one of many professional companies featured at the Skip Viragh Center, including Bach Society of St. Louis and STAGES St. Louis.

Steven Jarvi

Last season, Galati announced the hiring of Conductor Steven Jarvi, Associate Conductor at the Kansas City Symphony and New York City Opera, as Winter Opera Saint Louis' Music Director. In 2009, Jarvi conducted Winter Opera's The Barber of Seville and returned earlier this year for La Traviata. Jarvi came into contact with Gina Galati through a mutual friend at the New World Symphony in Miami Beach. "Some good words were put in and Gina decided to give me a try," Jarvi says. "I feel like we got along and respected each other right away." One of the first developments under the partnership of Galati and Jarvi was the addition of New York City as an audition site for the company in order to expand the company's singer base. In April, both were involved in a production of Rigoletto with Opera Company of Brooklyn, and took the opportunity to hear singers during their time spent in the area. "It was a big success for us," says Galati. "We heard about 56 singers--some managed, some non-managed. We found some really terrific people." Jarvi was pleased because the auditions helped "put us on the map ... and be a small part of that incredibly vibrant opera community that populates upper Manhattan." All in all, Jarvi is excited to help advance Winter Opera Saint Louis' mission. "I really like St. Louis as a community and I look forward to being more and more involved in shaping opera in the area."

In planning the upcoming season, Jarvi says that Puccini's La Bohème came up in discussion immediately. This will be Jarvi's first full Bohème, having served as Associate Conductor on the last New York City Opera production at Lincoln Center and conducting only segments or single acts of the piece. Jarvi shares a story about his first opera audition for Placido Domingo's Young Artist Program, in which he was instructed to conduct and sing all of Act I: "I learned it within an inch of my life," he says. Jarvi's hard work paid off when Domingo instructed him to conduct "Donde lietà" while the opera star sang. "I may be the only person to have ever heard Domingo sing Mimì." Galati has several good reasons to produce Bohème, especially at the Skip Viragh Center: "We always want to involve children, so it will be great to have a children's chorus once again. If we are going to have this big theatre, we might as well make it a big splash!"

"With Bohème as an anchor," Jarvi says, "we thought of what we could perform that was different from what has been done in the past but also could be performed with a smaller orchestra at the Saint Louis Woman's Club." Thus, Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos was chosen. Jarvi finds the German chamber opera "perfect for the kind of stage and theater that the Woman's Club offers." Galati felt that it was time to add a German opera to the company repertory and give some young singers the opportunity to perform it. "It will be a nice change to step out of our bounds," she says, and adds that with the dinner before (or after, depending) a production at the Woman's Club, "it's always a big event!"

Bohème and Ariadne chosen, Galati knew that the first-ever production at the Skip Viragh Center would need to be something lighter in order to attract new audience members and ease into the logistics of a much larger space before jumping into a big opera. "We had hoped to do a Pops Concert," she says, but the cost of full orchestrations was prohibitive. After searching high and low, Galati discovered A Grand Night for Singing, a 1993 Tony nominated musical revue of Rodgers & Hammerstein songs. This production was affordable and dovetailed well with Jarvi and Galati's desire to perform a piece in English from the American musical theater. Having conducted several Pops Concerts with the Kansas City Symphony, Jarvi is excited to dive into repertoire that holds a special place for him as a child. "I grew up with all of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals that were turned into films. My mother couldn't get enough of them," he says. Just last year, Jarvi had the honor of performing with the Von Trapp Family Singers (descendants of the Captain and Maria) and was moved over the most simple songs. "These tunes carry a lot of emotional weight for me since they are tied into so many memories of my childhood."

Winter Opera Saint Louis' fifth season begins with Rodgers & Hammerstein's A Grand Night for Singing on Friday, November 4th (8pm) and Sunday, November 6th (4pm) at the Skip Viragh Center for the Arts on the campus of Chaminade Preparatory School, 425 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO. Tickets can be purchased by calling 314-865-0038 or visiting the company's website: http://www.winteroperastl.org/ where you can find more information on Ariadne auf Naxos, La Bohème and other special events throughout the year.

Winter Opera St. Louis, Broadway Style!

Winter Opera Saint Louis kicks off its fifth season with musical theater sung by big operatic voices in a production of A Grand Night For Singing, a Tony-nominated revue of songs from the Rodgers & Hammerstein canon. Beloved favorites from The King and I, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The Sound of Music and many more will be heard from soloists, ensemble, dancers and orchestra under the baton of WOSTL Music Director Steven Jarvi. Expect to hear performances from company founder and Artistic Director Soprano Gina Galati, Tenors Keith Boyer, Marc Schapman, Mezzo-soprano Nora Teipen and Baritone Eric McCluskey to name a few.

Performances take place Friday, November 4th (8pm) and Sunday, November 6th (4pm) at the newly-opened Siefert Theater at the Skip Viragh Center for the Arts on the campus of Chaminade College Preparatory School. Tickets can be purchased by calling 314-865-0038 or visiting the company's new online ticketing site: http://winteroperastl.tix.com/

Keep visiting Operatic Saint Louis in the coming weeks for further coverage on Grand Night as well several exciting developments for Winter Opera Saint Louis in its new season. http://www.winteroperastl.org/

Opera Theatre Hosts Warehouse Sale - This Saturday!

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is hosting its bi-annual warehouse sale this Saturday, September 17 from 9am to 3pm at the Witaker Opera Warehouse, 4607 Mcree Ave, between Aspen Spas and Rivertown Foods.

Hundreds of costume and thousands of shoes, gloves, hats, and other accessories will be available for purchase at great prices. It's the perfect chance to find that one-of-a-kind Halloween costume (like the robot costumes from The Tales of Hoffman, pictured to the right) and take home a piece of Opera Theatre history from your favorite production.

In addition to costumes, furniture and hand props will be available as well. All major credit cards are accepted. Doors open at 9am - shoppers are encouraged to arrive early to get first access to the best deals.