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.

Macbeth #Tweetfest

With the help of many friends, we will tweet Macbeth tomorrow!

Our rendition begins at 8am tomorrow and with a new scene every 30 minutes, we will complete the play just after 10pm. Follow along on Twitter and tell us what you think!

How would you tweet this?

Our Macbeth Tweet Fest is just around the corner. 

How about a sample to inspire our tweeters?

Maybe something like:

The witches hail Macbeth as thane of Glamis, thane of Cawdor, and the future king!  Is this really what the future will bring?

What form will your tweets take? 

Sign up with marketing@blo.org or to tweet at scene with us!

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!

Breaking Macbeth down into tweet-able bits!

Part 1: I.i.
Three witches get the story started.

Part 2: I.ii.

Post battle, Captain and soldiers alike praise Macbeth’s accomplishments and acknowledge him as the new Thane of Cawdor, however Macbeth is not present and not yet aware of his new title.

Part 3: I.iii.

The witches call Macbeth the Thane of Glamis (which he is), the Thane of Cawdor (which he is, but does not yet know), and the King of Scotland (which he is not yet). They tell Banquo that he will father a line of kings, but will not be one himself.

Part 4: I.iv.

Macbeth meets with King Duncan and receives his new title as the Thane of Cawdor.

Part 5: I.v.

Lady Macbeth reads the letter from Macbeth revealing his new title; she begins to plot the path to the throne.

Part 6: I.vi.

King Duncan arrives at Macbeth’s castle.

Part 7: I.vii.

Preparations for the feast at Macbeth’s castle honoring King Duncan begin; as does the Macbeth’s plot to overthrow Duncan.

Part 8: II.i.

Late in the evening; Banquo and Macbeth discuss Macbeth’s rising power.

Part 9: II.ii.

Macbeth murders Duncan, Lady Macbeth helps cover their tracks and Macbeth starts to worry about the repercussions.

Part 10: II.iii.

Macduff arrives the morning following Duncan’s murder and causes Macbeth to panic; Duncan’s body is discovered – panic ensues.

Part 11: II.iv.

Old Man and Ross discuss the news of Duncan’s death.

Part 12: III.i.

Macbeth plots to kill Banquo with the help of assassins.

Part 13: III.ii.           

Lady Macbeth and Macbeth fret over their recent actions.

Part 14: III.iii.

Banquo is murdered in a deserted area, but his son Fleance escapes.

Part 15: III.iv.

At the banquet at Macbeth’s home Macbeth receives notice of Banquo’s death. Macbeth believes he sees Banquo’s ghost while Lady Macbeth attempts to maintain order among the guests.

Part 16: III.v.          

Hecate and the three witches discuss Macbeth and his rise to power.

Part 17: III.vi.

Lennox and Lord discuss the recent spate of deaths.

Part 18: IV.i.

Macbeth meets up with the three witches and they make further prophecy that no man born of a woman shall harm Macbeth, beware Macduff and that he is safe until Byrnam Wood moves to Dunsinane Hill.

Part 19: IV.ii.

Lady Macduff receives false word her husband has died and is then attacked by the two assassins Macbeth hired.

Part 20: IV.iii.

Malcom and Macduff discuss recent events, feeling that much evil is afoot such as Macbeth’s greed for power. They receive news of uprising against Macbeth and are summoned to assist.

Part 21: V.i.

Doctor and Lady-In-Waiting stand witness as a sleepwalking Lady Macbeth confesses her crimes. Lady Macbeth later takes her own life.

Part 22: V.ii.

Macduff’s army, disguised with the branches of Byrnam wood, lays siege to Macbeth’s castle.

Part 23: V.iii.

Macbeth’s camp during the battle.

Part 24: V.iv.

Malcolm’s camp during the battle.

Part 25: V.v.

Macbeth learns his wife died.

Part 26: V.vi.

Malcom prepares to fight Macbeth that evening.

Part 27: V.vii.

Macbeth enters to battlefield.

Part 28: V.viii.

Macduff kills Macbeth; the brief era of tyranny and fear comes to an end.

And Now, A Word From Our Intern…

By BLO Intern Katarina Holmgren

As a two-year-old, I was giving mini concerts standing on top of my yellow and orange Fisher Price picnic table singing to my family and anyone else who would listen.  A bundle of energy, I could often be seen singing whimsical songs while twirling around.  Music truly has been my passion for as long as I can remember. Whether I am at home, in my dorm, or walking down the street, I am either singing or running through a melody in my mind, about to burst into song at the next possible moment.  I just can’t help myself!

I realize that I want music to always be a huge part of my life.  As an economics and music (vocal performance concentration) double major, I looked to gain experience in arts administration and see the behind-the scenes-workings of an arts organization this summer.  It’s exciting to have the opportunity to intern with Boston Lyric Opera.  Working in an environment surrounded by people who enjoy their jobs and the final product that they work so hard to produce is really rewarding.  I have been doing tasks ranging from preparing orchestra scores for the Landmarks Concert, to organizing audition materials, to researching grants, to helping with press and publicity.  Although each day brings something a little bit different, I know that everyday I am part of the process which will produce a fabulous final product.  I am looking forward to continuing my work here in the coming weeks!

This internship has put me in a unique place in preparing for my career.  It has not only fostered my interest in arts administration and piqued my interest in PR, but also made me want to perform even more.  I realize that a career as a performer is challenging and that I am only in the beginning stages of preparing for this, but it’s still something I am interested in pursuing.  Maybe someday my performing venue will be transformed from a yellow and orange picnic table to the opera houses of the world.  Who knows!  I do know, however, that there are countless possibilities and that I am very thankful for the wide range of experiences I have gained through this internship with BLO.

Right Hand Red

By BLO's Audience Services Manager, Kate Walsh

I’ve often said with regard to box office ticketing that, like sausage making, it is best to just enjoy the end result.  
Much to many people’s surprise, mainly my mother’s, there is a lot that happens before you hand your ticket to the usher.  During the summer months, aside from breaking into impromptu opera dance parties, the ticketing office turns into a giant game of ticketing Twister.  Just go with it... it’ll make sense in a minute.  

Think of the Shubert Theatre. Think of all those seats as circles on a Twister mat.  Each time we sell a subscription we seat a subscriber on a circle.  Now break it apart into three Twister mats as each subscription has three shows.  A lot of times during the subscription renewal process people like to change their seats.  We wait until summer to do this so that everyone has enough time to renew.  We then release the seats that haven't been purchased and begin seating!  Later in the summer subscribers can make exchanges between performances if they have a conflict.  Now imagine 45 Twister mats. As fall approaches we give over seats to the Shubert and Telecharge to sell as individual ticket buys while we continue to sell new subscriptions and complete exchanges. You can see now why we’re very limber people.

At this point we need to get tickets in the mail!  
Warning: This section contains mind-numbing material about computer stuff.  Do not attempt to operate heavy machinery after reading.  Do not use if you are pregnant, intend to become pregnant, or might be pregnant.

For this we have to pull data about each subscriber. Name, address, subscription/ticketing information, and send it all to our ticketing printer who will then mail merge and print them. We then receive the sheets of tickets and check them for accuracy. We also put together collateral to tell you more about your benefits as a subscriber — did you know you get restaurant discounts?  Ask your box office about food, we may not be able to tell you why the Red Line can’t get it together, but we can tell you where to get the best meal with the shortest walking distance to a coordinating dessert.  It’s a skill.  We then create an elaborate assembly line akin to Henry Ford himself (thanks for that Wikipedia!)  We edit, fold, stuff, seal and stamp roughly 2,500 subscriptions!  By “we” I mean a staff of 3 including our lovely intern Katie! After the subscriptions are sent out we then print in-house anyone who needs changes as well as all our new subscribers who purchased after the above mind-number data has happened.

My mother always said that working on phones is payback for when I was a teenager and would never get off the phone.
The above is said with complete love of my job, but because a lot of patrons mostly do business by phone due to proximity we do spend a lot of time on the phones. Roughly 35 hours a week to be exact!  We work with colleges and other groups to arrange group ticketing packages and help create memorable experiences for them.  We give directions, help book restaurant reservations and suggest hotels.  We tell you where to pahk your cahr in Hahvad Yahd... not really, but I’m from the South so that’s the best New England accent I can do.  We are the concierges of the arts world.  We try to “translate” the premise of various operas to newbies. My favorite was when a very novice patron said he knew nothing about opera, “Remember that episode of The Simpsons where Sideshow Bob tries to kill Bart in Italy by cornering him in the opera coliseum and sings Vesti la giubba?”  “Have you ever seen Looney Toons?”  “Kill the Wabbit!  Kill the Wabbit!”- there, I knew Elmer Fudd would jog your memory.”

You too can possess this much useless information.  I can’t tell you who was president in 1902, but I can tell you who won the Tony for Best Leading Actress in Musical in 1978, I can quote 65% of all of the scripts from the “Golden Girls” TV show, and I have an unfulfilled dream of creating “Op-corn” which is selling popcorn at operas in little Viking helmets.  All of these topics of conversation have resulted in the sale of a ticket. 

We build relationships with our patrons and donors. We are at every show, we touch every ticket, we are typically the first interaction you have with BLO and we hope we have made/will make it a positive and lasting one.  We are the few, the proud, the constantly over-caffeinated. We are the Box Office. 

Now… Right Hand Red.

JOHN CONKLIN HONORED

On Friday morning it was announced by National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman that our very own John Conklin, BLO’s Artistic Advisor since 2008, is among the four recipients of the 2011 NEA Opera Honors—the highest award our nation bestows in opera! The other three award recipients include mezzo soprano Risë Stevens, composer Robert Ward, and Seattle Opera General Director Speight Jenkins. Past NEA Opera Honorees include John Adams, Philip Glass, Marilyn Horne, James Levine, and many more acclaimed artists. Congratulations, John! Read the full press release here.

An Exciting new Opera-tunity for Schools

Julie House at the 2009 Open House

A guest post written by BLO's Education & Community Programs Manager Julie House. 


Thinking back, I bet you can remember several field trips you took in school and what field trip days were like. You probably couldn't fall asleep the night before because you were too excited, and you may have had a special outfit to wear for the occasion. Field trips were a formative part of our school days because they let us break our routines and do something fun and creative. We were interacting with the “real world” and not just reading about it from our desks.

Sadly, the days of field trips are few and far between for many schools today. How could this tremendous rite of passage be allowed to slip away? Well for starters, gassing up a school bus is really dang expensive. Given the option of spending money on gas or something else, most schools pick something else. (Who likes paying for gas? Certainly not me.) Second, school days just aren’t long enough for teachers to accomplish everything they need to like the good ol’ “3 R’s” and the new focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). It’s no small feat to get kids ready to be tested in these areas when you only have September-June to do it. The result? Fewer field trips. Oh, and less art altogether, but that’s a post for another day.

If you’re me, you’re looking at this scenario and saying to yourself, “What can I do to help teachers provide some special days for their students where they break routines and do something creative?” The answer? Music! Words! Opera! No, that’s not three answers, it’s the name of the new curriculum BLO is providing to schools that takes opera right into the classroom. No gas to pay for. No time lost driving back and forth. Opera right in front of your desk!

Here’s how it works: any teacher who wants to can come to a FREE five-day workshop August 8-12 at BLO to learn about opera through the Music! Words! Opera! curriculum. We will be focusing on The Barber of Seville since it is part of BLO’s upcoming season. Then, teachers will work on creating an original opera piece with their students! When the school year starts up teachers can apply what they learned in the workshop to leading their students step-by-step through the lessons until they have a piece ready to perform!

BLO will be involved all along the way: Obviously, questions come up and the Education Department is there to help. Teachers can also request classroom visits by a singer, director, and designer and help from a real composer. Students will also be invited to attend a working rehearsal of The Barber of Seville — I refuse to give up on field trips! Finally, each classroom to create its own opera will be invited to a festival day where they will perform for one another. The goal is to get kids involved in making art and gather up all the intrinsic benefits of doing so along the way.

If you’d like more information on Music! Words! Opera! or anything else going on in BLO’s Education Department, call Julie House at 617.542.4912 x242 or email jhouse@blo.org.

-- Julie House, Education & Community Programs Manager

Pay Attention to that Man Behind the Curtain

“It will not always be summer: build barns.”

                                                          -- Hesiod

Ah, the summer at BLO. Quiet phones, reasonable amounts of email, the Scooperbowl! In the Artistic Department, this is most certainly a season to rest, lick our wounds, and in many cases, use up all of the vacation days we have accrued over the last eight months. Some of us take particular joy in attending the summer festivals of other opera companies, and as we stand by the bar after the second intermission, sipping a gin and tonic without a drop of production-related anxiety, it is possible to remember how enjoyable opera can be. 

But, like all good things, vacations are soon over, and we soon find ourselves back in the office, looking ahead in the calendar. Almost immediately after the close of the season (and often before), we are busy adding flesh, tendons, and other viscous material to the skeleton that is the upcoming season. While casting is generally complete at this point, there remains a mountain of contracts to be issued, meetings between directors and designers to schedule, and a great big mid-summer concert to coordinate.

This period of preparation is awfully rewarding, and certainly one of my favorite points in the year. From this vantage point, we can see the events of the next year slowly coming together, and the production that was only a twinkle in our eye a few years ago, starting to come into focus. This is also calming to us, because we are, as a rule, terrible at dealing with free time (we simply don’t know what to do with the stuff), and notions of impending arrivals and other deadlines are reassuring.

So, as we head towards July and the office air conditioners spring reluctantly to life, we can be found pushing that huge opera-rock up the hill towards Opening Night (Sisyphus-style), but also maintaining a healthy ‘love-you-from-here’ sort of attitude.

-- Erik Johnson, Artistic Coordinator

Hot-tempered Arias in the City

With temperatures in Boston predicted to climb well into the 90s today, we thought it the perfect opportunity to share some of our favorite hot-tempered arias with you.

Stay hot, dear readers, and enjoy!

Maria Callas in Covent Garden performs Habanera (Carmen, Georges Bizet)



Angela Gheorghiu performs Si, Mi chiamano Mimi (La Bohème, Puccini)

Renee Fleming performs Un bel di vedremo (Madama Butterfly, Puccini)

Cecilia Bartoli performs Voi, che sapete (The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart)

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa performs Vissi d'arte (Tosca, Puccini)

'Midsummer' musings

A Midsummer Night’s Dream was the third BLO production I have had the pleasure of seeing, and I must say although all three were products of the same organization, they were all so uniquely different that it is so difficult to compare them to each other; and even more difficult to pick a favorite.

I think the thing that struck me the most about Midsummer (aside from the adorable children’s chorus), was the juxtaposition of the classic Shakespearean story and characters with such an interesting and unusual set. From the various shapes and sizes of moons that appeared throughout the show, to a set comprised entirely of yellow chairs in a variety of positions and sizes; the set definitely brought an other-worldly feeling, and helped to place Oberon and the faeries in a different type of mystical setting.  The set, which was rather eerie at times, helped to emphasize the unsettling moments in Britten’s score; while the various forest set pieces featuring cartoon trees, then, more literally, the words “tree” and “leaf” underscored the more whimsical side of Britten’s orchestrations.

In comparison to the other productions BLO has done this season, I think this cast was definitely the largest. With the various subplots throughout the story there were so many characters to pay attention to. My personal favorites were the men in the acting troupe, led by Andrew Shore as Nick Bottom. They provided the perfect amount of real comedy in a show based entirely on fantasy.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 out of 4 productions I was able to see this season, and I am already looking forward to next year’s lineup. Midsummer definitely has me very excited to see BLO take on another Shakespearean work with Macbeth next fall; and after such a unique experience with The Emperor of Atlantis I am really curious to see the next Opera Annex production of The Lighthouse set in the JFK Library. I hope to continue to see many new faces with The BLO Bunch after next season’s shows!

-- Katie McNamara

Flashback: Caroline Worra

Tastee McBea shares another one of her intriguing opera interviews with Caroline Worra, who recently played the title role in our production of Agrippina.

Read the interview.

Opera Conference 2011: Part 3

Today marks the final day of Opera Conference 2011. What a ride! As sessions wrap up with a final day of round table discussions, a few lingering panels and the closing remarks today, I've learned quite a bit during this whirlwind conference. Yesterday I heard from Tracy Galligher from Opera Company of Philadelphia about their wildly successful viral videos and all the resources required for such an endeavor. I loved listening in on the initial round table discussion amongst marketing and PR folk from around the country. They shared the strategies they've used in their subscription and single ticket campaigns. As I began my BLO career in the Audience Services office, I love hearing about how subscriptions work at other companies - and about their ticketing systems!


After the closing remarks today we bid farewell to our colleagues! Thanks for joining us!


-- Karen Robichaud

Opera Conference 2011: Part 2

Ah the magic of opera in an unexpected space. My favorite thing about listening to opera singers in spaces outside of our traditional performance space of the Shubert Theatre is the intimacy, but more importantly, the feeling that I am engulfed in the power of their voices. When we have the privilege of listening to opera singers practice for small concerts in our conference room, I am blown away by the wall of sound they create. It is truly incredible. And that magic was re-created on Sunday night at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston at the Opera Conference 2011 Welcome Reception hosted by OPERA America, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Boston and Bank of America.

Enjoy!

Thanks to the cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream for lending their talent to the evening!

Opera Conference 2011: Part 1

My welcome packet!

Each spring OPERA America holds a conference in a different city in partnership with the local opera company and professionals from across the opera spectrum and the continent come together to discuss the successes, challenges and new horizons facing the world of opera today. This year, Opera Conference 2011 landed in Boston with Boston Lyric Opera and Opera Boston co-hosting, a hugely exciting opportunity!

The conference began with a couple of intimate seminars on Saturday and Sunday this past weekend and I kicked off my experience with the Electronic Media Form: Copyright Basics. I wasn't sure what to expect, but figured with all our content on YouTube, it would be helpful to know how to handle performance or rehearsal videos. While the gentlemen leading the session were certainly knowledgeable, I was disappointed that they didn't offer more guidelines or methods for navigating the murky waters of copyright laws that haven't caught up to new technologies. The overarching advice: ask for permission, do the legwork and you'll probably be okay. I left feeling a bit daunted: how would I ever sift through all the legal jargon and figure out what I needed to know? Nevertheless, there were more sessions to attend, a cocktail reception and a networking dinner the next day. For the time being, I needed my beauty rest.

Sunday I attended New and Social Media 201: Beyond the Basics, which I found interesting and energizing. I love hearing what other companies are doing, how they are doing it cheaply and how much fun it can be! Ceci Dadisman of Palm Beach Opera shared the services she uses for online contests, live chatting events and so much more - all on a budget. I have so many new ideas for the 2011/2012 Season, but before I tell you my ideas, tell me what you'd like to see BLO do more of in the online community? Do you wish we were more mobile friendly? Had an iphone app? Produced more video content? I'd love to hear from you!

The conference truly kicked off Sunday evening at the Welcome Reception at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and no opera event would be complete without singing and theatrics. I had a fabulous time soaking in the crowd, the excitement, the entertainment! These pictures do not do the evening justice, but the cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream provided excellent operatic moments during the reception!

 

Chad Johnson spontaneously started singing during the evening's festivities.

T. Steven Smith joined Chad in song.

Matthew Worth and Heather Johnson took the stage to delight the guests.

Matthew and Heather work their magic onstage.

Opera Conference 2011 continues throughout the week. Perhaps I'll see you there?

-- Karen Robichaud

A Dreamy Night at the Opera:

The BLO Bunch take on Britten's A Midsummer Nights Dream

On Wednesday night May 4^th, 2011 The BLO Bunch gathered for their last night of opera for the 2010-2011 season, A Midsummer Nights Dream by Benjamin Britten. There was great anticipation in the air as everyone gather in the Shubert Theatre at the Citi Performing Art Center for a night of magic and summer air. The curtain rose to a tableau of characters and the theatre was transformed to another dimension.

           

I have to say that I was overwhelmed by this opera. It was not that of Italian tradition but the music was captivating. The cast was flawless with fantastic vocal technique as well as wonderful acting. Puck was vibrant and entertaining; he added youthfulness to the productions. In addition, the comic nature brought to their characters by all of the singers made the night truthfully enjoyable. The entire audience was asking for more when the curtain fell at the end of part two.

Afterwards The BLO Bunch rendezvous with the cast at Jacob Worth around the corner from the Shubert Theatre on Stuart St. The event was filled with yummy appetizers and lots of chatter. This gathering was a true success and I believe enjoyed equally by patrons and cast members alike. I had the great pleasure of speaking with Andrew Shore, who plays Nick Bottom, and his wife. Andrew shared many candid stories about his time performing and his journey, as a performer, to get where he is today. His stories where captivating and inspiring. In addition, my friend Rachel and I had a wonderful time speaking to his wife about the royal wedding and Britain.

Overall, this was a truly magical night at the opera! It was filled with captivating music, wonderful acting and even better company! At the end of May I will be graduating from Boston University and moving back to New York, but I hope that The BLO Bunch continues to meet next season! Maybe I’ll be able to make a trip back to Boston for another wonderful event with The BLO Bunch!

Until Next Season Opera Lovers!

-- Kara Fleishaker, Boston University

A 1935 Midsummer Night’s Hollywood Dream

In 1943 the famous German director Max Reinhardt received an invitation from the California Festival Association to direct A Midsummer Night’s Dream in three different venues. He responded enthusiastically to the possibilities of these “California Dreams” suggesting they would advertise the California landscape and perhaps lead to the creation of a cultural festival like Salzburg’s—Reinhardt had been instrumental in the founding of that festival.

One of the locations was the Hollywood Bowl and the production there was on a vast scale. The orchestra shell was removed and a stage 250 feet wide and 100 feet deep was created. An artificial hill sloped down to a playing area planted with bushes, fully grown trees, and a pond. A suspension bridge ran 350 feet down to the stage from an adjacent hill down which court processions (with hundreds of extras) entered by torchlight. The Mendelssohn score was played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, hidden behind the playing area. Four thousand arc lights were used—fireflies were simulated by thirty thousand electric lights strung throughout the stage area. The actors’ voices were amplified to reach the audience of twelve thousand.

Reinhardt’s initial casting ideas were more evocative of his iconic view of Hollywood star mythology than of the practicalities of the studio system, but what a wild production it would have been—John Barrymore as Oberon, Greta Garbo as Tytania, Fred Astaire as Puck, Charlie Chaplin as Bottom, Clark Gable and Myrna Loy as Demetrius and Helena, Gary Cooper and Joan Crawford as Lysander and Hermia, and W.C. Fields as Flute.

In the end, even without this lineup, it was a huge success and Warner Brothers quickly signed Reinhardt to direct a film version of Midsummer – with William Dieterle as a co –director as Reinhardt spoke only a few words of English. Dieterle went on to direct many movies including The Hunchback of Notre Dame before he ran into blacklist problems. Only Mickey Rooney and Olivia de Havilland of the original cast were taken over into the film version – but another intriguing set of actors was hired – many performing Shakespeare for the first (and last) times in their  careers.

 

The trailer for the film perhaps suggest the both the ambitious pride and uneasiness of Warner Brothers in making Shakespeare and “high culture” into a viable popular product…

A 1936 promo for the film presents a glimpse of behind-the-scenes preparations and a fascinating picture of a Hollywood  red carpet event more the 75 years ago… not so very different in many respects from today’s…

       

One of the film’s most controversial performances in that of the 14-year old Mickey Rooney as Puck … Completely original, manic, brilliant… or sufferable?  An almost Satanic Oberon is played by Victor Jory (perhaps most memorable as the villainous plantation overseer in Gone With The Wind)

Mickey Rooney grew up to be Andy Hardy and Judy Garland’s partner in numerous “let’s put on a show” movies as well as appearing in a wide range of roles in  a mighty number of movies and TV shows over 80 years.

The movie’s other famous performance is James Cagney as Bottom.

Cagney was already known as tough guy but he was as versatile an actor as Bottom pretends to be. A great song and dance man  and superbly psychotic criminal. Like Mickey Rooney he acted a huge range of parts over a span from 1930 to 1985.

    

The Flute in the scene is Joe E. Brown… forever known for the last line of Some Like it Hot (among many other charming portrayals)

Olivia de Havilland

Olivia de Havilland’s film debut was Midsummer playing opposite Dick Powell but she of course went on to have a long and distinguished career… but there is always Melanie.

Dick Powell was widely regarded as being hopelessly miscast as Lysander…but he is more fondly remembered for his musical roles.

The choreography was by Bronislava Nijinska—Vaslav Nijinsky’s sister and a fine dancer and great choreographer with Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes.

  

If we look at a sequence from Nijinska’s 1923 masterpiece LES NOCES we can see some of the same movement she devised for the fairies.

The last scene from the movie shows the extravagant baroque opulence of the film which is  often sharply contrasted with darker elements.

1935 was a cruel year…Europe was in a growing crisis with the  brutal rise of fascism and America was suffering in the depths. of the Depression Reinhardt, Dieterle and Korngold were eventually  forced to flee Europe and seek a new life  in America. The movie was banned in Germany (as was all of Mendelssohn’s music) and four years later World War II broke out. The film is a fascinating combination of  opalescent beauty and a sinister, dark magic….of fantasy, madness, of  ravishing light and violent darkness. Check out the whole film on an excellent Criterion edition with some interesting extras.

Curtain Call

It’s been a great year with The BLO Bunch of varied and beautiful opera, not to mention the opportunity to meet new people. It was also a lot of fun to go to the opera with three friends who were relatively new to the experience (I think all three asked what they should wear for the occasion), who I would like to recognize here for taking a chance on opera, and for joining me in the schlep from Providence to Boston.

Puccini’s Tosca, November 2010—Maggie, my former roommate and a highly cultured journalist, joined me to see her first professional opera. Tosca, in all its full-blooded passion, makes a great first opera. The BLO production, updated to Fascist Italy in the 1940s, was a new setting that married very well with the original context of the work, and was perfectly understandable even for a first viewing of the opera. Maggie thought Jill Gardner in the title role was outstanding, and Bradley Garvin rather dashing for such a nefarious villain.

The Emperor of Atlantis, February 2011—my date for the evening, Alena, had seen very little opera—we became friends when she played Miles (a role usually given to a boy soprano) in my production of The Turn of the Screw. We sat square in the front row, and we both agreed that David Schweizer’s production was the most exciting theater we’d seen in a long time—the show turned the image of conventional opera on its head. However, only afterward did Alena learn about the incredible, improbable history of how the opera came into being—the score written in the concentration camp at Terezin, hidden from the Nazis, re-created decades later with the help of a spiritual medium, and finally coming into its own in the operatic repertoire in recent times.

Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, May 2011—I brought my friend Andrew to last night’s show, another singer and actor friend who has performed opera, but never seen a professional production. Fortunately, the Shakespearean text of Britten’s opera formed a convenient lens for understanding the production, and the striking visuals of the production stood on their own. Afterward, we went to The BLO Bunch after-party at Jacob Wirth for some outstanding fried pickles.

I love bringing people to the opera, and I think they’ll all be back.

And, well, that’s the season.  Join The BLO Bunch next year, and come see what’s up with all the fuss about opera, because there’s been more than 400 years worth (and counting.)

-- Audrey Chait, Brown University

Backstage at the Opera at the Movies

The Audition is a documentary about the Met National Council Auditions—absolutely required viewing for opera lovers.

Competing in the Met Auditions is the ultimate way for a singer to get noticed. Nadine Sierra, who stars as Tytania in the upcoming BLO production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, won the competition in 2009.  Her fellow finalist Anthony Roth Costanzo also recently graced the BLO stage as Ottone in Agrippina. (The two of them were featured in an article about the Met auditions, check it out.

In other words, this competition is It. A list of past winners of the Met auditions reads like a Who’s Who of opera. This documentary, made by Susan Froemke, follows the finalists of the 2007 auditions as they prepare for their final performance onstage at the Met. The pressure the singers are under is enough to radiate from your TV and make your hair stand on end. (And, O BLO Bunch-ers, some of the singers are no older than we are.) 

This documentary usually prompts comparisons to American Idol, or other talent-based reality shows, and it’s true that the format is similar—the contestants and their idiosyncrasies are introduced, and some potential sources of trouble are set up—for instance, tenor Alek Shrader’s choice to sing “Ah! mes amis,” an aria famous for nine high Cs, and Pavarotti’s signature piece. However, this choice does not bring trouble. Just glory. My only complaint is that the movie doesn’t show the whole aria. 

The film focuses on the three tenor finalists: Shrader, Michael Fabiano, a volatile and thrilling-voiced twenty-two year-old, and Ryan Smith, who is thirty and giving an operatic career a last shot. He interviews that if it doesn’t work out, he’ll finish his doctorate. Even at the height of the tension, there is no drama between the contestants—everyone is very professional, if intensely focused. It defies expectation to see a taut, engaging film about a group of young people who will do anything to win—not American Idol at all, but an opera competition. 

The contestants speak frankly about everything from the pressures on singers concerning age and weight, to the giddiness and terror of getting their one big shot on the Met stage, all of ten minutes long. However, by just making it to the finals, the contestants are singing in front of a pre-eminent group of opera directors and agents, and chances are they won’t go home empty-handed. 

The film itself is very well put together, and a fascinating look at what it’s like to be a young singer on the verge of a dazzling career in opera. For the rest of us, I’ll see you at A Midsummer Night’s Dream!

(The 2007 finalists. What are the odds that three out of five of the women are wearing identical shades of red?)

- Audrey Chait, Brown University