20. February 2008

Dear Opera Lovers and Potential Opera Lovers,

Last week, you might remember, we talked about how the opera is to be done backwards in the auditorium. That is to say, audience on stage and the action happening in the regular seating area. That is just the first part of the evening!

As some of you may know, the opera Dido and Æneas is a short one - about 55 minutes long. One of the problems with programming Dido is that there always needs to be something to pair it with. Often it is done with another short baroque piece that compliments the sound of Purcell. Sometimes it is done with a wildly different opera, such as Schönberg's one-act opera Erwartung recently produced in the Theater Krefeld-Mönchengladbach (in Germany near the Belgian border). There have even been productions that add back the lost music that scholars think should have been in Dido and Æneas and then fill out the rest of the time with dances.

As you might come to expect, we are doing something a little different! Roald Simonson, our stage director, is also a film maker. Our 2nd Act will be a silent-film version that condenses the action into about 25 minutes, while re-singing and playing music that we have heard in the 1st Act with a very different visual take. For this the audience will be shifted to the regular auditorium seating to view the film.

Now, a few artist spotlights will hopefully bring the production a little closer to you. First, Tom Melville, who was sadly left off of the cast list by my oversight last week, has one of the most well known operatic voices in Juneau! Very rarely have you heard him sing a solo though (think back to JLO's 2000 production of La Bohème at the Palace Theatre). You know this voice as the host for the "Sunday at the Opera" on KRNN at 1pm on Sundays. Tom is one of the biggest opera buffs in town and occasionally graces the stage with his presence, as he does in our Dido and Æneas. Look for him as part of the Juneau Bach Society Ensemble.

Amanda Crider is our guest Mezzo-Soprano playing Dido. She currently hails from New York City, but was born in Pennsylvania, probably where she developed her love not only for opera, but for bluegrass music as well. Amanda has worked all over most of the country, but this is her first trip to Alaska. She has sung with companies such as New York City Opera, Glimmerglass, Opera Boston and Cincinnati Opera. She will be in Southeast for the duration of our performances and will be giving lessons as well as a master class during her stay. If you are interested in either, please just respond and let me know!

Our chamber orchestra features a number of well-known players, and certainly Steve Tada is no stranger to Juneau audiences. Performing most often as the concertmaster of the Juneau Symphony, he is also regularly heard as a recital soloist as well as in other groups such as the Fiery Gypsies. There were a number of people instrumental in convincing me that Dido and Æneas should be produced in Juneau, and Steve was one of the first to mention it to me - 8 years ago!

For more information on the people involved in Dido, please visit our website. www.operatogo.net and click on the Dido and Æneas banner. there you will find links to artist biographies, a plot synopsis and other details.

Until next time,

Todd Hunt