Lizzie: first rehearsal and Facebook

Today is the first rehearsal for BLO's production of LIZZIE BORDEN - a newly commissioned  one act version of Jack Beeson's dramatic opera that in its original  three act version enjoyed  great success at New York City  Opera and at Glimmerglass. With the newly realized  chamber orchestration  that reveals anew  the inherent power of the score, performed in the appropriately Gothic ambiance of the Castle and directed by one of America's boldest and incisive directors, Christopher Alden, this promises to be  crucial  and unmissable part of BLO's season. To celebrate this important launching  , we today start features on Facebook and Twitter. We have been extremely fortunate to engage an intriguing  guest to help us here. The volatile , misunderstood  heroine (or murderess ?) Lizzie herself  a Facebook page - a   forum to present her  uncensored, possibly  revelatory , perhaps controversial  thoughts and musings - and a place where you can interact  (if you dare) with this most notorious, ambiguous and fascinating celebrity . 

Opera & Hockey: Parallel Worlds?

As we head into game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final (GO BRUINS!) we asked our Twitter followers to tell us what it's like being an opera lover and a sports fanatic: 

@abbottjones says: " Both get my heart rate up. I cheer at both: "Bravo" or "War Eagle" or "Go Sox!" Both make life more exciting. #operafan #sportsfan. "

@baritoneirvin says: " Some might argue that opera IS a sport. I know I feel that way after some shows. :-) " 

Baritone Matthew Worth (@worthmatthew), recently seen as Guglielmo in BLO's production of Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte, reflected on what it's like to be an opera singer and a (sometimes) athlete:

I was yelling at the opposing team's player with my soft palette raised high, producing a supported, vibrating {o} vowel.  I wasn't alone--my brother and I were seated behind one of the hoops for an important pair of free throws and our whole section was yelling in chorus to distract the player from the task at hand.  My brother wasn't fully committed to tripping up the guy at the line, though.  He couldn't stop laughing at my foreign sound and me, the opera singer with a sports problem.

There was a time when I was playing sports more often than I was performing on the stage.  These days, it's certainly reversed--I only occasionally play pickup basketball, flag football or a round of golf whereas my livelihood is made as an opera singer.  Every day, however, I'm able to draw similarities between the two mediums.  Both athletes and singers are entertainers, required to be focused in every moment on the stage.  We visualize success before it happens, having prepared countless hours on our own in practice rooms and on empty courts.  

There are less-obvious parallels to be drawn as well.  If I were to break down singing into very basic principles, it would go something like this: Intake of breath, onset of support, onset of sound, release of sound, release of support.  Every major athletic motion has an equivalent. In taking a free throw, I breathe while bending my knees, then extend through the shot while exhaling into the follow through.  My golf swing (when it's working) begins with a breath in the backswing, exhaling through contact into follow through.  I've never been a hockey player, but I'd bet dollars to donuts that every player on the ice in this Bruins/Blackhawks series has a similar progression in their wrister across the ice or slap shot. 

Make way for the Bruins!

Click here to read about our friendly wager with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. 
It's been a blast battling it out on Twitter with @LyricOpera. Follow us @BostLyricOpera to join in the fun and help us win our Re-Tweet Challenge!

Show Us Your Pride

Have you ever heard the old joke, “I went to the fights and a hockey game broke out”? Even if you have, you’ve never heard, “I went to the Stanley Cup finals and an opera broke out.” BLO wants to do something about that, and so we are challenging the Lyric Opera of Chicago to a friendly bet.

Think about it: Opera has all the spectacle and drama of a sporting event. Three acts.  Triple overtime. Need we say more?

In some ways, opera has it over sports. At a hockey game, you can hear music and singing only at the beginning (unless it’s a win at the Garden and then you get Dirty Water at the end).  

And this year is the first time in decades that two teams from the original six NHL teams are facing off in the season finale. We’ve got the traditions and history too. BLO and Lyric Opera of Chicago have almost a century of opera drama under their collective belt.

Boston and Chicago take pride in their world-class cultural organizations and in their championship franchises. We’ve got great museums, orchestras and opera companies. We’ve got major league soccer, basketball, football and baseball teams.

But it’s been almost 30 years since the Patriots and the Bears met in Super Bowl XX. And in spite of Theo Epstein’s move from our city to yours, it doesn’t look like the Red Sox and the Cubs will face each other in this year’s World Series. So the time is now.

BLO and Lyric Opera of Chicago are two teams at the top of their game.  

How about it Lyric, are you ready to take to the ice? 

Follow @BostLyricOpera and show us your @NHLBruins pride! Re-tweet for a chance to win dinner at a local restaurant + 2 tix to #MagicFlute. Can we beat @LyricOpera's RTs?? #OperaBruins #CHIvsBOS

The Inspector EXPOSED

During intermission at Wednesday evening’s performance of The Inspector, something dramatic happened.

The curtain stayed up.

What? Why!?

The curtain stayed up, because we presented BLO Exposed, which is a conversation designed to bring you closer to the opera.

At BLO’s Wednesday night shows, we round up a few individuals involved with the production and have a live conversation about what it’s really like behind-the-scenes at the opera.

We also scour Facebook and Twitter for your questions (@bostlyricopera, #bloexposed) and answer them live. BLO Exposed is really all about you.

This past Wednesday’s performance was great fun. David Angus, BLO’s Music Director and conductor of The Inspector, Sandra Kott (concertmaster), and Craig McNutt (percussion) answered questions from quite a few people in the audience.  

Here are a few of the questions and answers you may have missed:

#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

UPDATE: MACBETH T-shirt Giveaway!

Thank you to all our super-fans who shared what you love about BLO and Macbeth!

Ten lucky winners were randomly selected to win a MACBETH t-shirt.

And the winners are:

Blog alias: AF
Blog alias: Mcbeth
Blog alias: Kym Phelan Meyer
Blog alias: Kat
Blog alias: Loren Lieberman
Twitter handle: Y2000K
Twitter handle: Vnook1
Twitter handle: KnEzmom
Twitter handle: Sean_ct
Twitter handle: 88k8y

Congratulations to all our lucky winners!
Please contact marketing@blo.org to claim your t-shirt!

Stay tuned for more giveaways, contests and more!

Follow Boston Lyric Opera on Twitter.

Follow Boston Lyric Opera on Facebook.

Macbeth #Tweetfest comes to life!

On July 27, 2011, with the help of many talented tweeters, we live-tweeted Macbeth. If you missed it, you can read the entire piece below. Enjoy!

And many thanks again, to our tweeters! We delighted in your creativity.

Act 1, Scene 1 -- @NPAC Convention

#Macbeth. Act 1, Scene 1: Thunder, lightning. Enter three #witches.

The #witches discuss when they’ll meet again - Upon the heath. After the battle. Today. They’re going to meet #Macbeth.

The #witches, called by their mystic animals, say, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog & filthy air.” They exeunt.

Could Shakespeare Tweet?

We all know the Bard. We all know his prolific works, ranging from sonnets to comedy to tragedy. And this fall BLO premieres a new production of Verdi’s Macbeth, based on Shakespeare’s tragedy of the same name.

So, what if we prepared a bit for the big opening? In the opera world we frequently prepare English translations to help the audience follow along with the plot. Let’s put a modern spin on that concept and use Twitter to tell the story of Macbeth.

On July 27, we’ll tweet each scene from Shakespeare’s Macbeth in roughly 4-6 tweets, beginning a new scene every thirty minutes. We can’t do it alone. We need your help, brilliance and creativity!

We call for up to 28 volunteers – one to cover each of the 28 scenes in Shakespeare’s play. Don’t worry, we have a brief breakdown of each scene for your convenience.

How it works:
-      Interested parties email marketing@blo.org by Sunday July 17
-         We’ll assign sections to each participant
-         You’ll have one week to compose 4-6 tweets comprising the scene. No need to quote verbatim or write in iambic pentameter; in fact, please don’t! Give us the essence of the scene or highlight the best moment and do it in 140 characters or less. Maybe you’ll try the No Fear Shakespeare style and break it down in modern layman’s term; whatever your tack, we want it!
-         Email your completed tweets to marketing@blo.org by midnight on Monday, July 25
-         Tune in and follow @BostLyricOpera on July 27 for a day filled with witches, dark intentions and lust for power.

And just for fun: All participants will receive a special edition Macbeth t-shirt and an invitation to join us the following week (August 3) at the DCR Hatch Shell for our annual concert with Boston Landmarks Orchestra. After the concert we'll meet up around the corner at 75 Chestnut for drinks and appetizers!

Flex your twitterary muscles this summer!