Memphis Traviata review

Here's a link to our review in the Commercial Appeal. With a fair amount of consistency, we get hit by doing standard repertoire and praised for doing things that are unusual. For a company our size, we do a lot of unusual stuff, but we have to balance it with standards that sell single tickets. We hire our local favorite diva, Kallen Esperian, exactly every other season. I wonder if large opera companies annoy their reviewers for hiring Renee Fleming or Deborah Voigt nearly every year.

From my perspective, it was one of the better evenings of opera we have done here, which is good enough for me.

Traviata Week

These pictures show the three leading cast members, Kallen Esperian, William Joyner and Quinn Kelsey.

Quinn Kelsey as Germont

Our upcoming TRAVIATA at Opera Memphis has a fine cast. Quinn Kelsey is a striking Germont. Here is a little sample of his aria "Di provenza" from the final piano run thru at our headquarters. As you can hear here, this is the real thing!

Check out Opera Memphis at ArtsMemphis TV

Our city arts council Arts Memphis has created a series of webisodes about the arts scene in Memphis. The latest one is on the opera and is about preparations for LA TRAVIATA. It's very well done and features our director of production, Allison Merritt.

Preview today on WKNO-FM

At 7pm Central today (Thursday) we have a live radio preview on WKNO-FM 91.1. They stream it at WKNOFM.ORG. In addition to the TRAVIATA cast, we have special guests--the Bartlett High School Choir.

Scott Joplin and Treemonisha

Our Scott Joplin and Treemonisha scenic designer Kris Stone is fleshing out her ideas for the show...

Subtitles and Surtitles easier and easier to deal with?

Does the increasing use of text messaging make things like opera surtitles seem more and more acceptable? Here's a piece in WIRED that implies it might be so.

I think that surtitles have changed the artform. They are making the audience want shows that make more sense, which is probably a good thing. I think they are, however, part of the reason why audiences are finding it increasingly difficult to suspend their disbelief about body types (large sopranos, short tenors etc.) . Certainly movies and television are the prime culprit, but perhaps sheer comprehension adds to it.

Congratulations Neal Boyd

Neal Boyd won America's Got Talent last night. This picture is from the 2003 production of CORPS OF DISCOVERY at University of Missouri when he played York, the slave to William Clark.

A very nice guy!

Bust of Virginia Clark

Artist Andrea Lugar and her husband Larry are creating a bust of Virginia Clark for the Clark Opera Memphis Center. This is a clay model, not quite done yet.

Getting ready for a fancy party