Intern Ramblings: Opera & Gum

I only chew gum when I’m at work. I used to chew gum all the time, but gave it up when I was seven because my mom said I chew like a cow.

Don’t tell my mother, but every time I work at my internship at Boston Lyric Opera, I pop a piece of gum in my mouth and start filling subscription orders and filing ticket forms. Initially, I thought this gum habit began because the first couple of days I worked at BLO I didn’t want to offend my new colleagues with any lingering lunchtime breath. I chewed a piece of gum. The habit stuck. However, I think that this habit is more than just a way to freshen my breath.

Freshman year of college is like throwing your life into a blender and praying the end result isn’t too messy. I find there are very few constants as my life changed over the past few months: my hair still doesn’t cooperate, I still like to talk, (much to my roommates’ dismay) and I still love the rush of putting on a show, from anywhere, playing any role in the process.

So here I am -- at Boston Lyric Opera -- learning what happens behind the curtain. It may seem odd, but filing paperwork and will-call tickets is therapeutic. I chew my gum, file forms, sing “Merrily We Roll Along” to myself and work alongside some really cool people. I learn not only about the mechanics getting a ticket into the patron’s hand, but also about this little thing called opera.

I admit the extent of my opera knowledge is limited to the episode of "Hey Arnold" where the students of PS 118 dream themselves in Carmen (Lyrics include: “My name’s Don Arnold, please have a caramel; your hair is lovely, do you like my pants,” it is a must-see). I don’t speak Italian, German or French. However, I speak theatre.

I know the excitement of sitting in a seat, program in hand, gazing around at the architecture of the performance space. And the only way you get there is with a ticket. Maybe I handled yours.

Although the rush of college is great, sometimes, in between T-rides and Anthropology homework, what I need is to organize will-call tickets, listen to The Barber of Seville and chew some gum. Working for Boston Lyric Opera is an entirely new experience for me and I appreciate every second of it.

--Elyssa Sternberg, Boston University '15

#internupdate

As the New Media Intern for BLO, it is so exciting to be focusing on the promotion of our season through social media and being a Student Ambassador to the community! I am eager to show why I find opera so incredible and to get everyone as excited as I am for the season, one tweet at a time (that’s one small tweet for man, one giant tweet for mankind…)

As I work, I can’t help but be distracted by the tabs I have up on Mozilla: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube…basically the standard for any college student who doesn’t want to do their work quite yet. But, Facebook is part of my job! Extended work and updates to social media sites like Facebook will be a big part of what I do here at BLO. For example, this week I added tabs to allow users to access the Boston Lyric Opera YouTube and @BostLyricOpera Twitter accounts from BLO Facebook page. It’s a small task, but it connects three of the leading social media outlets together into one. That’s what this generation is about: connection. These are “gotta-have-it-now” times, and with one click you can have news briefs, links to deals on Groupon, relationship status updates or even numerous videos of cats. The way we get our information is different than say, 30 years ago; it’s quicker, personalized and always readily available. We are constantly connected to information, and most importantly, each other, and I love it!

The need and desire for constant connection is what I think sets us apart from previous generations, and what I’m most looking forward to focusing on as a BLO intern! With access to these amazing social media outlets, what’s our excuse not to be connected? We should be connected to each other just as we feel connected to a dying heroine as she sings her last soaring high note or to solo cello during a heart wrenching interlude.

My posts won’t always be dorky rants and raves about social media, though. As a singer and enthusiastic opera listener, I am so excited to share updates/my thoughts on the BLO season, and read about yours, too! See you all at Macbeth!

-- Melanie Burbules, Boston University, 14

Why opera? Why me?

Opera can be tough.  It’s long, it’s expensive and the audience is full of older people.  Not to  mention, expensive tickets!  So, why would I want to be part of an organization that creates opera?

Opera is a vibrant art form!  It encompasses instrumental musicians, dancers, singers, fantastic sets and beautiful costumes.  This is one of the only art forms that can reach a vast audience due to the complexity of the production.  Coming from a classical music background in trumpet, opera wasn’t on my immediate radar.  During my undergraduate career, I was part of the pit orchestra for two operas and had gotten my first taste.  It was super fun to be part of the artistic experience!  I loved to work with the singers and production team, but I was focused solely on orchestral music at the time.   However, my internship with the BLO has given me the ability to appreciate the multi-faceted opera scene.  Not only is opera incredibly interesting, it expresses the human condition in a way that can touch anyone’s heart.  So, why not take advantage of the reasonable ticket prices and experience live opera today? 

- Katherine Ludington, Boston University

What exactly is The BLO Bunch?

We get it. A lot of young people probably think opera is stuffy. Staid. For the older set. But what if opera – with its gorgeous divas, dashing maestros, grand costumes and over-the-top storylines – could be interactive? What if it could connect students with a broader community of other young lovers of music, high drama and theatre?  

That’s exactly what BLO aims to do this season, by offering students a chance to join The BLO Bunch. Not only can students save a ton of money on great seats by subscribing to Boston Lyric Opera’s full seasonal program, but students can connect online, in the theatre and after performances.

BLO Bunch members will attend the opera in a theatre filled with other students during the Wednesday Series this season at Boston’s elegant Shubert Theatre. During intermissions, they’ll have access to a special Twitter lounge, where they can broadcast to friends and followers how much fun they’re having. After the show, they’ll move on to a student-only after-party. Subscriptions start at just $51!

The first performance of the student series is November 10th.

To join the conversation, use the hashtag #BLOBunch. Look for the Twitter Lounge in the upper-mezzanine lobby, or tweet from your seat during intermission and keep an eye out for other BLO Bunch members in the theatre! We'll have our flip cameras and we'll be looking for the newest stars of our videos, like these.

When you leave the theatre on November 10th, don't leave the experience behind! Share your impressions and pictures on this blog! By submitting your photo, you could be the next face featured in The BLO Bunch online!

Passive theatre is so passe. See you at the opera!

- The BLO Bunch

Let's go to the opera!

To see or not to see, that is the question. For a Theatre Studies major and someone who loves the performing arts, I try to see as many shows as I can. Going to school in Boston has now made that more accessible for me. And student rush tickets? Best invention in the whole world. Whoever thought of that deserves an honorary award.

But here’s something I’ve been thinking about though: Tosca. Opera? What’s that? Of course, in general, I know what an opera is. But really, what is it? What does it really feel like to see it onstage? How will it feel when I can witness it in person? How moved will I be when I can see it all happening in front of me? And wait… Student subscription at the Boston Lyric Opera? Is that REAL?!? This is exactly what I need. How else am I going to experience opera? This is the perfect antidote for my opera curiosity without leaving my wallet completely empty.

So get ready! I’m breaking out my pretty dresses and heels. I’m going to the opera

- Ying Songsana, Emerson College

What BLO offers, a student perspective

I love the quality of Boston Lyric Opera productions! The BLO strikes a great balance (in my opinion) between interesting and unique productions and staying true to the nature of the opera and composer. (In other words, they are not too esoteric or modern for the sake of being modern.) While it is a relatively small opera company compared to, say, the Met, I find that the quality of the singers has always been very high, and they don't rely on "big names". Another aspect of the BLO that I love is the amount of outreach and opera education they do around Boston. The annual family opera is always so well done and is a perfect way to introduce children to opera and to show them that opera doesn't have to be stuffy and boring, but a lot of fun!

The BLO is always eager to reach out to the community and provide a great opera experience for people of all ages. The student subscription is such a wonderful way to make it possible for students on a budget to be able to spend a great night at the opera. Also, because tickets aren't as expensive, we can afford to go to all 4 shows, instead of spending all of our money on one or two. 

As a volunteer with the BLO in high school and as an intern now, I have witnessed first hand what an amazing job this company does of making sure their members and the whole community is satisfied with the whole experience, from buying the tickets to special accommodations to the show and more. With the addition of David Angus as music director, and being present at his meeting last week with the staff, there was a palpable excitement in the air as he explained his vision for BLO in the future and I really believe that he is going to take the high quality of Boston Lyric Opera and elevate it even further. This is definitely the time to be seeing the BLO shows and to get involved, because it's on the cusp of truly coming into it's own as an opera company!

- Hannah Shule, Boston University

Oh the DRAMA!

The world of opera is one filled with color and magic. The scores and librettos written by the great composers and new composers bring exciting stories to life. When my friends ask me why I love to go and see an opera it is a simple answer; I love the melodramatic and exciting tales that are brought to life through the rich music. Boston Lyric Opera brings these old and new masterpieces to life with a new spin. BLO’s artistic staff is not afraid to add a contemporary edge to Bizet’s Carmen or find a creepy location for Brittan’s The Turn of the Screw.  In addition, the staff and patrons of BLO are welcoming and they’re there to teach new opera lovers what ever they can. Boston Lyric Opera builds a warm, fun, and exciting community for opera that everyone, young, old and even us the in between, should have the chance to experience! I am extremely excited to see what new twists Boston Lyric Opera has in store for its community this year in its new season of operas! 

- Kara Fleishaker, Boston University

I'm EXCITED!

Holy Monteverdi, Batman! I haven’t been this excited since I got to see Lady Gaga back home in Pittsburgh! Boston Lyric Opera is offering STUDENT SUBSCRIPTIONS?! Surely, this must be pure jest. Opera is exclusively reserved for the blue hairs, hoity toity socialites, and pretentious art lovers. The stuff in opera is way to highbrow to be appreciated by the likes of us rowdy college students.

But, that isn’t the case at all. Operas were the original musical and, dare I say, the original movie. Wagner created epic mythological tales through his Der Ring des Nibelungen, while Puccini poured emotion, romance, and tragedy into La bohème. By the way, these two operas are inspirations to modern day works! Have you ever seen The Lord of the Rings or Rent? You should probably read this article for a great comparison of Wagner and Tolkien, and Rent is a direct adaptation of Puccini’s La bohème.

So, if operas are about love, manipulation, tragedy, myth, violence, betrayal, and anything else from the mystery bag of emotions, themes, and plots, then there is no reason for you to miss out on an opera. Especially since they have indeed inspired modern works (You can’t even prove me wrong on this one. Look at the above…)! It would be similar to missing out on the blockbuster of the year, or the movie that everyone is talking about, but you. Especially since the blockbuster you would be missing would be a fabulous BLO production. The mission of Boston Lyric Opera is to produce artistically excellent productions of a diverse repertoire that entertain and inspire audiences. BLO does, has done, and will do exactly that in this 2010-2011 Season. We will go from tormented and torturous love in Tosca, to the provocative morality play of The Emperor of Atlantis or Death Quits, a comedy of Roman proportions in Agrippina, and enter the land of confusion in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

I couldn’t be more excited for this Season, especially as a student. A great offer waits ahead, as well as even greater productions. I can’t wait to see where the productions take the audiences physically and mentally this Season, by way of unearthly talent and genius collaboration on stage to make these stories come to life.

See you soon!

- Jessica Trainor, Boston College

Is opera boring?

Opera is boring, or so most people believe.  I mean, sure there are some operas that drag on a little, but I dare you to watch Puccini’s Tosca and not get emotional when Tosca dramatically reacts after her lover’s death (be sure to go see it this year!)  You cannot watch the end of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung and not be completely blown away.  Not just because of the destruction of Valhalla (which is awesome), but because of the music that accompanies the scene.  (Indeed, Wagner’s Ring Cycle is based on the same Norse legend as J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.)  Wagner’s music tells you something is happening; something powerful.  That is what great opera is about; great music, acting, sets, and, of course, great stories.  What would opera be without their stories?  Beethoven’s Fidelio, Verdi’s I vespri siciliani, and Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte are but a few operas that were written about oppression.  That’s why opera is important: it says visually and musically what can’t be said orally.

Fortunately, Boston Lyric Opera is an immensely talented company that can re-create these operas for audiences to see and hear.  Last season's Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten was an amazing foray into not only a new venue (the castle by the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston) but an opera that visually made you uncomfortable, but in a good way.  BLO is changing the way opera in presented in Boston, and I for one can’t wait to see all their productions.  With their dedication and commitment, we are in for quite a ride this season.  Make sure your safety harnesses are fastened; here we go. 

- Rob Tedesco, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Why opera?

As a young person who loves opera, I'll be the first to admit that we are slightly rare birds. I've never quite understood why--opera is exciting, sexy, and full of decidedly not-G-rated subject matter--accompanied by powerful, sublime music. Current directors and designers are creating innovative, visually stunning productions, and opera is a great theatrical medium for experimenting (Wagner's gesamtkunstwerk definitely has room for acrobats and video projection, that's all I'm saying). I'm from the San Francisco area, and I used to meet other students while waiting in ridiculously long lines to buy student rush tickets. Now that I'm on the East Coast for school, BLO is where I get my opera fix, and I'm excited that there's a program for young people like the BLO Bunch. The great thing about BLO shows is being treated to way more than just the "standard" production--the design and directorial choices are always fresh and interesting, and I love having the Opera Annex production in a non-traditional theater space. The school year can get so busy, and being involved in the BLO bunch is a perfect way to stay in touch with other young opera lovers. I am looking forward to meeting fellow students who procrastinate by watching John Adams' Nixon in China on YouTube instead of writing papers. See you at the opera!

-- Audrey Chait, Brown University