So I was curious, and the other day I went scavenging to see what the internet had to say about Kate Chopin.  Here’s what I found:

The Awakening was first published in 1899. Set in New Orleans and the Southern Louisiana coast at the end of the nineteenth century, the plot centers around Edna Pontellier and her struggle to reconcile her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century South. It is one of the earliest American novels that focuses on women’s issues without condescension. It is also one of the most important novels written by an American woman in the nineteenth century in terms of historical and social significance). When published it was assailed for its frank depictions of female sexuality but has since been cited by critics and scholars as one of the most influential American novels ever written. It is also widely seen as a landmark work of early feminism.

Why not come to Madewood on May 15th to see a modern treatment (with lovely music!) of this classic work?  It’s not every day you get to see a work-in-progress of an opera, after all!  It’s going to be a a truly unique, once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience, so what are you waiting for?

If you like keeping up with the New Orleans Opera Assoication, there are now several ways to do that online…  There’s the blog, of course, but you know that because you’re here!

You can also check out our Facebook page (just search for ‘New Orleans Opera Association’), OR you can follow us on Twitter (our user name is NewOrleansOpera).

We’d love to see you around the internet somtime!

Loyola Opera presents ‘L’Enfant et les sortileges’ by Maurice Ravel

Date: Monday, April 26, 2010

Time: 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm

Location: Dixon Court, located in front of the Communications/Music Complex

“L’Enfant et les Sortilèges,” or “The Child and the Spells,” is the story of a misbehaved child who is reprimanded by the objects in his room which he has been abusing. Ignoring his mother’s scolding, the child throws a tantrum breaking things in his room. He is taken by surprise when the objects affected by his tirade suddenly come to life and begin to talk and terrorizing him. See what happens as the child attempts to mend the relationships with the creatures he has badly bruised.

Tickets or Fees: Free

For additional information contact: Jessica Roma at 504-865-2074 or by email at tickets@loyno.edu

Hey, All!

I’m getting pretty excited about The Awkaening at Madewood… and I was checking out the official Kate Chopin website when I discovered that they have the full text of the novel online!  If you’d like to check it out, here’s the link– just copy and paste into your browser window!

http://www.katechopin.org/the-awakening.shtml

This is such a great story… it really touches me in my Louisiana soul.  I cannot WAIT to hear the music…

“What I’ve learned from Opera.”

Compiled by music students, including yours truly, using the ultimate powers of term-paper procrastination (the most highly motivating creative force on earth).  It seems like some operas have some interesting messages to convey…  Silly, yes… but I hope you enjoy.  :-)

Flying Dutchman: Being a fan girl will get you killed

La Boheme: Being an Artist NEVER PAYS, Kids, and get that cough checked out

Don Giovanni: Womanizers will go to hell.

Lakme: Interracial love is doomed to failure and suicide.

Cosi: Italians are Slutty.

Samson et Dalila: Never trust a woman, no matter how hot she is.

Tosca: When the Tenor is a Pansy, the Soprano will man up and kill the bad guy.

Carmen: Tenors should stay away from Mezzos. No, for real.

Aida: If you hold out for love, you will die in a vault

Il Trovatore: Gypsy curses are a bitch.

La Traviata: Happy Women will Die Painfully.

Turandot: What’s in a name? Also… racism.

The Magic Flute: Join the Masons, Bro!

The Ballad of Baby Doe: Money won’t make you happy, but infidelity will.

Porgy and Bess: American Opera is valid TOO!

The Pearl Fishers: DUDE! Bros before Hos. Or else.

Madama Butterfly: Xenophobia is the right choice.

Pagliacci: ::sad clown face::

Rigoletto: Ugly dudes can have hot daughters too.

Elixir of Love: Sitcoms are older than you think.

Einstein on the Beach: ??????????????????

l’Enfant et les Sortileges: Parents, please: talk to your kids about drugs.

Wozzeck: Absence of Tonality makes people cranky.

Onegin/Prince Igor/Boris Goudunov: Being Russian is hard

Ring Cycle: Who needs Tolkein? Lord of the Rings: Now with more incest!

The Marriage of Figaro: Servants are way smarter than you.

Xerxes: Arranged marriage BAD.  Tree PRETTY.

Don Pasquale: It’s okay to swindle old men if you’re in love.

Lucia di Lammermoor : Don’t tell the women in your family who they can and cannot marry. (See also: Hamlet)

Did we forget anything?  Feel free to comment!

Yes, these are slightly belated…  but we are a fun bunch and I wanted to share a few pictures from backstage, and from our impromptu cast party at Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop in the French Quarter.  The oldest bar in New Orleans seems a fitting place for the oldest opera company in America to have a few drinks!

Not wanting to be left out of costume, the "Ghosts" arrive at a staging rehearsal.

Let it never be said that we don’t have fun at rehearsals.  The members of our “ghost” chorus decided they would show up to their first staging rehearsal draped in sheets as they sang their first entrance.  We were all laughing so hard it took us a few minutes to get back to work…

Ava, Lauren, and Rebecca in the dressing room, touching up costumes and make-up before the show

You’d be surprised how much make-up you have to wear even when your character isn’t supposed to be wearing any…

Vickie, Julie, and Emily onstage with their crocheting waiting for the curtain to go up for Act II

Listening to the orchestra tune as we get ready to sing is the best feeling!

Jimmy, Jody, and Simon are three of our "Ghost" choristers, happy to rejoin the living after the show

Work is over… now let’s party!

Roy Cornelius Smith, our "Erik", Assistant Stage Manager Ken Goode, and "Steuerman" Chauncey Packer come out to relax and decompress with us after a successful opening night.

What a fun show!  We can’t wait to see everyone next season.  :-)

Come see what a wonderful party our ladies can throw!  Reserve your ticket today:

Ticket to Patron Party and Opera Ball — $250 per person

Ticket to Opera Ball only — $200 per person

For tickets please call: 504.837.5107 or 504.897.6021

We hope to see you there!!!

The Awakening

Music @ Madewood is presenting a staged, work-in-progress of selected scenes from a new opera by American composer James Stapleton.

In 1899 the New Orleans literary world was shocked by Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, the impressionistic chronicle of a young woman who turns from her husband to a seductive younger man, and finally into the welcoming arms of the waters off Grand Isle in a conclusion that is as dramatic today as it was more than a century ago.

Madewood Plantation House in Napoleonville
4250 Highway 308, Napoleonville, Louisiana
(between Thibodaux and Donaldsonville)
www.madewood.com

Saturday, May 15, 2010
12:00 PM: A Cajun lunch – $14.95
1:00 PM: Free Screenings of two films inspired by The Awakening and a discussion of the opera, with comments by the composer, in Madewood’s Rosedale Theatre
6:00 PM: The performance followed by a buffet dinner – General admission $89.50
($84.50 if purchased before April 15)

Robert Lyall, General and Artistic Director of the New Orleans Opera Association and musical director for the Madewood performance, is an enthusiastic supporter of the composer and this eagerly-anticipated opera:

“Kate Chopin’s beautiful novel had its origins in the late-nineteenth century culture that is so well represented by Madewood Plantation. The enjoyment of this new and evocative musical setting of an important literary work, one that has invited at least two film treatments, will certainly be enhanced by the authenticity, charm and mystique of Madewood.”

In 2003, in the early stages of composition, The Awakening was given a reading by New York City Opera.  New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini, wrote:

“The excerpt earned a genuine ovation and stirred the most discussion . . .with its lullingly rich chromatic harmony, lacy textures and shimmering orchestra effects . . . utterly authentic — a sensitive setting of an elusive story about a young wife and mother from Kentucky who has married into the new and somewhat confusing world of well-to-do French Creole society in New Orleans.”

FOR TICKETS CALL THE NEW ORLEANS OPERA BOX OFFICE
(504) 529-3000 starting March 25, 2010
For more information visit www.madewood.com

New Orleans Opera, like many companies, always tries to schedule its shows on Friday and Sunday, to give the singers a chance to rest on Saturday so that they don’t have to sing their incredibly demanding roles two days in a row.  So, what does an internationally recognized opera singer do on his one day off?

In the case of Mr.  Evgeny Nikitin, the answer is, “more music!”  No… not opera, but instead a change of pace.  We’ve mentioned before that Mr. Nikitin is a passionate drummer as well as a skilled singer.  This past Saturday he treated a couple of our chorus members to a first-hand experience of this as they spent a few hours relaxing, making music, and taking their minds off of Wagner for a little while.

Maxwell Eaton, Evgeny Nikitin, Mike Rihner, and David Bode enjoy a laid-back afternoon with music of a different sort.

Apparently, Friday night chorus members Mike Rihner and David Bode had been talking to Evgeny Nikitin about his interest in rock music. Evgeny mentioned how he was a drummer and the chorus members suggested that they should get together on Saturday and have a jam session. Mike Rihner called NOCCA, where he is a full-time music instructor, and set up a rehearsal room for Saturday evening. The quartet met there and played through a variety of tunes including blues, New Orleans funky grooves, hard rock, swing jazz, and even a selection by Pink Floyd. Evgeny was smiling throughout the hour-long jam session, and lots of laughs and good fun was had by all.

Although playing a proper Second Line is difficult, Evgeny is such a fine musician that he picked it up pretty well after Mike showed him the basics, so they played “Do What You Wanna” by the Rebirth Brass Band.  They closed out the afternoon by playing a jazz standard, “All of Me” and then listened to Evgeny’s rock album in Mike’s office.  It’s pretty complex rock and besides singing and writing the music, Evgeny also plays drums, bass, keyboards, and a little guitar on his album.  It was very different from the loose and easy style of New Orleans music they had just been playing and the guys said it was very interesting to see and hear all the different styles of music Evgeny can perform, ranging from Opera Masterpieces to funk jams to through composed rock music.  He is truly an incredible musician.  It was a lot of fun and hopefully they’ll do it again when Evgeny comes back to sing with New Orleans Opera sometime in the future.

Mike and David sing Baritone and Tenor in the chorus, but they’re both accomplished instrumental musicians as well!  Their friend Maxwell Eaton is a local singer and guitarist who decided to join in the fun.

It is a special treat for a musician to meet someone whose eclectic interests intersect with his own.  Thanks a million to David and Mike for taking the time to share their experiences with me for the blog!  From everything I’ve heard, it seems like these guys had a great day.  I’m only upset I didn’t know about it sooner– I would have loved to have crashed the party!

Thank you to everyone who came to see The Flying Dutchman this weekend!

As predicted, the principal singers for the show did a FANTASTIC job… which is reflected in the reviews.  Check out what NOLA.com had to say:

http://www.nola.com/arts/index.ssf/2010/03/no_opera_stages_vivid_flying_d.html

All of us performing in the show hope you enjoyed watching it every bit as much as we enjoyed being involved in it.  We were proud of how our chorus scenes came together after all our work on what turned out to be rather challenging music.  I found the performances by the principal singers to be breathtaking; I’m very glad my staging allowed me to just sit and listen while Ms. Lindstrom sang her ballade, because that’s all I wanted to do at that point in the show!

Roy Smith, Gwendolyn Jones, Chauncey Packer, Ray Aceto, Lise Lindstrom, and Evgeny Nikitin after the Friday night performance of Dutchman

As a young singer in the opera chorus I find it incredibly heartening to work with such a wonderfully good natured group of singers.  Aside from being incredibly professional and talented, all of the stars of this show were down-to-earth, friendly, and funny!  Seeing people laugh and enjoy themselves as they put together a production makes me aware of how much I love doing this, and how much I love being around other people who enjoy it as much as I do.

Thanks again to everyone who came to the show, from the familiar faces of our season ticket holders to the students who came looking to make a donation to the Red Cross.  Our audience is important to us, and we really appreciate you!  Without you, we would have no one to sing for, and the energy that we feel from you is what makes the performance come to life.

This is the end of our season, but please join us again next year.  You can already reserve season tickets if you give us a call, and next year is going to be amazing: Porgy and Bess, The Magic Flute, The Pearl Fishers, and Il Trovatore are all on the docket.  Our box office can be reached at:  504-529-3000.  We’ll see you soon, I hope!