Happy Holidays & Thank You

On behalf of the Austin Lyric Opera Board of Trustees and Staff I want to offer you our thanks for a really wonderful 2009.

First and foremost I want to say thank you to our subscribers, single ticket buyers, and patrons who support ALO. Without you there would be no opera in Austin. I applaud your support and I thank you.

As I look back at 2009 we certainly had our share of memorable events. I am proud that even during these uncertain economic times we held fast to our vision, our mission and our core values.

• I was proud of the Austin Lyric Opera Guild for showing the courage to cancel the Opera Ball in favor of the Curve Ball Campaign to put every dollar raised to good use toward the mission of ALO. Difficult economic times mean that there is an opportunity to innovate and the ALO Guild did an excellent job!
  
• Our production of Rigoletto introduced Lyubov Petrova, Todd Thomas and Chad Shelton to Austin audiences. We were grateful to Chad for stepping into the role of the Duke of Mantua at the last moment and singing the role for the very first time.
• I was proud of Dialogues of the Carmelites. The cast was outstanding, Eric Einhorn's production brought the story home to Austin and made it so relevant to our times. Emily Pulley stepped in at the last moment to sing Blanche and Jennifer Check singing Lindoine were both positively amazing. Bravi tutti to the entire cast! Having Virginia Zeani present in the audience to witness what she thought was the finest production ever of this work was truly a wonderful moment for the company.
• Receiving 19 nominations from the Austin Critics Table and 4 awards put a strong exclamation point on a great year.
• Receiving an Emmy nomination along with Dutch Rall for the video production of Cinderella was a great honor for us. Even though we didn't win an Emmy just to have the nomination was a nice validation of the collaboration. Dutch really made the artform look fantastic. Thank you Dutch and KLRU!
• La Boheme was a great opening to our 23rd season. The cast was fun. I enjoyed all the youthful enthusiasm on stage.
  
• The La Boheme gala opening, the champagne toast, the dinners, dancing on stage and the atmosphere was just outstanding. Thank you to everyone who supported us.
• I am proud of our educational programs. bringing children and families to opera, offering classes at the Armstrong Community Music School, and taking educational programming to the classrooms around Austin is so important to us and the community.
  

More than 5,000 people attended opera for the first time in 2009. To put that in perspective, that's like having almost 2 sold-out performances!

I can't wait for 2010. I am an optimist at heart and believe that there is always opportunity. WE are committed to the artform, the community, and our mission. To everyone in the Austin Lyric Opera family I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

See you at the Opera in 2010!

Opera, Its in the Stars!

Even though the Christmas holidays are just around the corner we here at ALO are getting ready for our next production, the operetta The Star (L'Etoile) by Emmanuel Chabrier.

Chabrier, who is know more in the symphony world for his symphonic work Espana, a rhapsody for orchestra, wrote one of the gems of French operetta in The Star. It premiered in 1877 and ran for 48 performances. Legend has it that the production closed thereafter because the theater managers did not want to pay the additional royalties to Chabrier that kicked in after the 50th performance! Unfortunately, The Star faded into obscurity. Chabrier died almost penniless at the age of 53.

Then as fate would have it the piece was revived by John Eliot Gardiner in 1996 for the Opera de Lyon. His production sparked both a CD recording by EMI Classics and a DVD recording of the production. this production of The Star proved to be pivotal.

Productions of The Star have sprung up all over Europe and North America. Opera De Montreal, Glimmerglass Opera, Cincinnati Opera and New York City Opera have all performed the piece with resounding success. Audiences have really fallen in love with this charming work.

Our production of The Star comes from Glimmerglass Opera. the production is completely over the top and totally outrageous. The scenic designs are whimsical, the costumes bold and striking.

After our performances on 30 January, 3, 5, 7 February The Star will make a return trip to New York City Opera. They have produced a really great video on the operetta that can been seen on YouTube. If you want to learn more about this amazing piece. Click on the link below. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you!

New York City Opera The Star Preview

ALO @ The HEB Feast of Sharing

ALO was thrilled to share in HEB's Feast of Sharing this year with a 1/2 hour program of holiday favourites while 12,000 people enjoyed a special Thanksgiving meal. Here's wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

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News from La Boheme

La Boheme opened the 23rd Austin Lyric Opera season Saturday night at The Long Center. The evening was just perfect. The KMFA broadcast was fantastic, the audience was electric, and the performance just splendid. The post-performance parties added a very festive atmosphere to the entire experience.

I'll be posting comments from the evening on this blog as the week progresses. Here are links to what is being said about the opening weekend of La Boheme.

Michael Barnes - Out and About - Opera Goes to Paris at the Long Center.

Dianne Donovan - Classical Austin - La Boheme

Daily Texan Preview - Long Center hosts classic opera with Bohemian ties

Jeanne Claire Van Ryzin’s Review in Austin American-Statesman

From The Bloggers

Austin Post - "La Boheme Rocks"

WebMikey - La Boheme Austin Lyric Opera 5 of 5

Austin On-stage - Review Austin Lyric Opera's La Boheme

Austin.com Austin Guide Site - Live from La Boheme at Intermission

Austin Lyric Opera Day Proclaimed!

Just hours before the final dress rehearsal for La Boheme, Mayor Lee Leffingwell proclaimed Thursday, 5 November "Austin Lyric Opera Day" in the city of Austin.

This was a great opportunity to showcase the opera in the community. We are very grateful to the mayor for this honor. Mayor Leffingwell introduced Sari Gruber, our Musetta, who sang Quando m'en vo' for the audience. It was a lot of fun!

Here's a video of the proclamation;

The opera is just a day away!

La Boheme - Final Dress Rehearsal

The final dress is underway at The Long Center for La Boheme. We've got a great house of parents and kids and they are having a great time.

Special thanks goes to Texas Blue Cross and Blue Shield for supporting the dress rehearsals this season. Opening night is just around the corner!

La Boheme Final Dress Rehearsal Tonught

I love this time of the year. The weather turns cooler, the World Series is played (No Comment on the Outcome), football is well underway and there is opera in the opera house again! After a couple of weeks of rehearsal and technical rehearsals tonight is final dress rehearsal and that means opening night is just two days away.

I have to admit that when I first worked on La Boheme as a student in college I didn't particularly care for the piece. At that time I found it overly sentimental and sappy. I wanted to work on what I considered to be more serious works like Bartok's Duke Bluebeard's Castle. I didn't really study La Boheme. After I left school I worked on a production of the opera and rediscovered it anew. I began to see the story in terms that I could relate in my own life. La Boheme has become an old familar friend that each time I see it teaches me something more while I am enjoying the experience of seeing a performance.

Here's a clip from the Tuesday night first orchestra dress. Check out the drum major leading the band. He might look familiar to you.

See you at the Opera!