Illumination Opera

ILLUMINATION OPERA PRESENTS: OPERA SCENES AT THE PCA

2009-10-15T19:23:00.002-04:00

The Illumination Opera Company is very happy to announce that Mezzo Soprano Sondra Kelly will be directing our next program which will debut on February 6, 2010, at the Parish Center for the Arts in Westford.

Sondra Kelly, began studying acting with Uta Hagen at the Herbert Berghof Studios in New York City at a very young age. Soon thereafter, her acting skills were put to the test in musical theater. Upon completing her musical studies with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from The Boston Conservatory and apprenticing at the Santa Fe Opera, she was hired by the Metropolitan Opera and asked to play a variety of characters, some three times her age, quite an accomplishment for an opera singer still in her early twenties. She honed her craft still further with directors such as Franco Zeffirelli, Giancarlo del Monaco, Jonathan Miller, Otto Schenk and Fabrizio Melano, amongst others. Reviewers started noticing her acting skills and referred to her performances by writing “Her acting portrayed the gypsy, not as an old hag, but as a woman wracked by the deeds and memories of the past, her visions of her mother consumed by flames was terrifying”, “Her portrayal is authentic and tragic” and “For this observer, a characterization prize must go to mezzo Sondra Kelly.”

Ms. Kelly’s teaching career as a dramatic coach and director began while judging for the New England Region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Program. Several students auditioning approached Ms. Kelly and asked if they could work with her to fine tune their aria audition package thus began a new venture and outlet for her expertise.

Ms. Kelly has taught master classes for the Metropolitan Opera National Council, the Meet the Artist program of Lincoln Center, National Association of Teachers of Singing, Boston Chapter, the Conservatories in Beijing and Hanoi, Universities of Wisconsin, Kansas, and Missouri, as well as, many young artist and apprentice programs throughout the United States.

Further information on Ms. Kelly, can be found on her website: www.sondrakelly.com

Seating will be limited, so purchase your tickets now at http://www.westford.com/pca/

ILLUMINATION OPERA PRESENTS: ANASTASIA JAMIESON AND KATE EGAN, THE TWO SOPRANOS

2009-10-03T11:27:00.001-04:00

Alaskan sopranos Anastasia Jamieson and Kate Egan will be presenting a concert featuring arias and duets from operas by Purcell, Mozart, Donizetti, Rossini, Verdi and Puccini on Sunday, October 4 at 7:00 pm, at the Parish Center for the Arts, 10 Lincoln Street in Westford.

The program is the first of the Illumination Opera Series, Illuminating the World of Opera: the extraordinary fusion of all the arts — music, theater, dance, and the visual arts, interpreted through the intensity and beauty of the human voice.

Ms. Egan and Ms. Jamieson each perform frequently with the Anchorage Opera as well as several other opera companies. Ms. Egan recently sang the role of Rosina in Anchorage Opera’s 2009 production of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Ms. Jamieson will sing the title role in Anchorage Opera’s production of Puccini’s Suor Angelica in November 2009. Both Ms. Egan and Ms. Jamieson recently performed in a 50th Anniversary of Alaskan Statehood concert with Opera Fairbanks.  

There will be a post-concert reception to meet Ms. Egan and Ms. Jamieson.

Seating is limited. Tickets are available on line by visiting http://www.westford.com/pca/ or at the door. $12 Members; $15 Non-Members; $8 Teens / College Students; $5 Children 12 & under.

BRUSH UP YOUR SHAKESPEARE!

2009-09-04T14:32:00.003-04:00

In celebration of the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare's sonnets, Illumination Opera is presenting The Bard in Song from Purcell to the 21st century. We will be singing art songs based on Shakespeare texts, as well as duets and arias based on his plays. Priscilla Stevens will be narrating the program to give background and context to the music.

Please join us Saturday, September 12 at 7:00 pm at All Saints' Episcopal Church, 10 Billerica Road, Chelmsford.

The concert is free, but donations will be gratefully accepted.

Whistler House Museum of Art

2009-05-30T14:00:00.002-04:00

Last night we presented an abbreviated version of our Carnevale di Venezia program at the Whistler House Museum of Art in Lowell. The audience was wonderful and we all had a great time singing Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Rossini, and Gilbert & Sullivan. The theme of the gala was Venice, so our songs were perfect for evening.

It isn't often that people have a chance to hear this kind of music outside of a big city concert hall. Our mission is to expose our audience to music that isn't readily available to them. It is gratifying to see people's eye light up when they hear the music and to tell us afterwards that they didn't think they would like "opera," but they found it it was actually enjoyable (we like these back-handed compliments)!

The Venetian program has been very successful, but now we are on to our spring program of love songs. This time around the program will be in English, except for one aria in Italian. We look forward to this "quiver full" of new songs.

Our thanks to Michael Lally, Director of the Whistler House Museum of Art, for inviting us to sing and also to All Saints' Episcopal Church in Chelmsford for giving us our home.

Onward and upward

Cupid's Arrow: A Quiver Full of Love Songs

2009-04-30T22:08:00.002-04:00

Illumination Opera Presents...

Cupid's Arrow: A Quiver Full of Love Songs.

Songs from the 17th century to the 21st. Fanciful songs, songs of longing, comic songs, we will have it all. Cupid will be making his mischievous appearance throughout the program.

The concert is once again free, although donations will be gladly accepted!

All Saints' Episcopal Church

1o Billerica Road

Chelmsford, MA

June 20, 7 pm.

Love Therapy

2009-03-29T20:21:00.003-04:00

Carnevale di Venezia has been very successful. All Saints' Church is a great host as well as a great venue. Our next program will be "Love Therapy" on June 20th. It will be about love, good and bad. We will post more about the program as it develops.

Carnevale di Venezia II

2009-03-02T11:09:00.003-05:00

Our first performance of Carnevale di Venezia was a great success. Audience members really did come in masks! We are repeating the program this Friday night at 7:00 pm at United Methodist Church of Westford, 10 Church Street, Westford, Massachusetts. The program length is just right, about 65 minutes. There is a mix of solos and duets with opening and closing songs sung by the Company. Please join us!

CARNEVALE DI VENEZIA!

2009-01-01T18:51:00.005-05:00

Revelry and Song...

Join the Illumination Opera Company in an evening of Venetian inspired music from Monteverdi to Rossini to Gilbert & Sullivan.

The audience is invited to come in masque to add to the festivities.

Saturday, February 21, 7:00 pm

All Saints' Episcopal Church

10 Billerica Road

Chelmsford, MA 01824

Free parking on site and across the street

No tickets, but donations gratefully accepted to support community opera

Entering Our Second Year!

2009-01-01T10:47:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year to our patrons, our audience, and all our musical friends. We are indebted to all of you.

As I have said before, we are so happy that we completed our first production and we actually broke even. This would not have been possible without the generous grants we received. Many other producers have said it is truly amazing to break even the first time; however we are ambitious. Our unmet goal was actually to raise funds for our next production through ticket sales, but that was probably too ambitious. This just means rolling up of the proverbial sleeves and getting started on raising money for the next full production which is slated for February 2010.

There is much to look forward to in the coming year. Change is coming and we will keep our eyes on our goal to bring opera to our wonderful community.

Onward and upward!

WE DID IT!

2008-12-16T18:47:00.002-05:00

Illumination Opera proudly presented Hansel and Gretel on December 6 and 7, 2008! The Opera Gods were with us to extent that we just missed the ice storm that hit us the following week knocking out power for hundreds of thousands homes.

I still think it was insane to put together this production on such a short rehearsal schedule, but we did. We only rehearsed once a week (that is all we could afford), blocking an act each week, then running the first two acts once and the third act once. We then had three shots at running the whole thing plus one tech and one dress.

How I wish we had a sitz probe. Maybe next time.

For all the difficulties, it was worth all the effort. My favorite comment was from the mother of one of the little boys in the chorus. She told me he said, "Now that the opera is over, what do I have to look forward to?" His mother had to remind him about Christmas!!!!! An opera convert!

We were prepared for lots of rustling around in audience considering it was filled with little children. However, we were happily surprised because they were riveted. Not a peep from anyone. At the end we came out into the house and little children wanted to touch us and asked to see the oven and the ginger witch. They loved the Angels. It was fun explaining why I was playing a boy. We were all so very happy.

Long live opera!

ANGELS!!!

2008-11-29T18:43:00.002-05:00

I just came back from my first look at the Angels' dance and all I can say is WOW!!! Bryan Steele and Katie Correia are tops on our list. They own and run Academy of the Performing Arts in Chelmsford and have choreographed a beautiful dance for the Angels. I cried when I saw them because they are just so much more than I expected - a real corps de ballet. I can't wait to see them in costume with the feather wings.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T14:47:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the United States. Everyone's attention is turned toward being with family, cooking a turkey dinner, generally having fun. Everyone but me. I am thankful for a lot of things, especially our wonderful Patrons: TRINITY AMBULANCE, CHELMSFORD CULTURAL COUNCIL, CHELMSFORD TELEMEDIA, EASTERN BANK, and my dear friends who would never want to see their names in caps, Mr. and Mrs. Needles, but right now my complete attention is turned to selling tickets. We need to sell 320 more tickets to break even. That's only 160 tickets per performance and I know there are people out there to fill those seats. I'm praying for lots of walk ins...

We're in the news!

2008-11-23T18:24:00.002-05:00

The sad fact is that advertising is VERY expensive, so community music/theatre groups are totally dependent on local newspapers running stories about their productions. We are very fortunate that The Lowell Sun (the closest city newspaper) and The Chelmsford Independent have run stories with photographs. We are indebted to them for getting our story out. As much as people like to talk about the internet being the way to reach out, I think newspapers are really still the way to catch people's attention.

Here's the link to the great Lowell Sun article by Nancye Tuttle titled "The Process of Illumination":

www.lowellsun.com/lifestyles/ci_11056564

If It's Not One Thing, It's Another...

2008-11-19T20:51:00.003-05:00

I don't even want to think about how close we are to opening. Act III is going to kill me. I think it is the most difficult thing I have ever tried to sing. Tomorrow night is our first complete run-through, but we're starting with Act III so the children can go home early and not have to stay up until 10 pm.

Scheduling is difficult because we don't want anyone to have to sit around, but it a bit like one of those SAT problems that ask you, "If the red house is next to the blue house and the green house is next to the yellow house with a purple house two doors to the right...where is the pink house?" The Sandman and the Dew Fairy are at the end of Act II and beginning of Act III, Gertrude (The Mother) and Peter (The Father) are in Act I and Act III, the Gingerbread Children are at the end of Act III...so how do you schedule so no one has to sit around? III, I, II solves most of the problems for the next couple of rehearsals, but when we get to the theatre I think we will have to run in order. Parents might not be so happy with that, but it is scary to only have one run-through in order.

Today we had a tech meeting with the TD and Manager of the school theatre. I guess I have to learn to roll with the punches. No piano in the pit, fire department doesn't allow fog machines, need for a $1 MILLION liability policy (talk about a budget buster). I hope there are no more surprises, but I shouldn't say that because certainly there will be something and it will be big.

Thankfully our Scenic Designer, Ben Oldham, is unflappable. He and the TD of the theatre had a chat and they both were happy. YAY!

Tomorrow night our Costume Designer, Laura Kampas, will be with us too. We are all especially excited to see the Dew Fairy and the Sandman costumes. I have utmost confidence in Laura.

Let the Magic begin....

The Tempo picks up...

2008-11-11T08:31:00.003-05:00

We have now blocked the entire show and last week we ran Acts I and II. Not pretty, but we got through without any train wrecks, our accompanist didn't have to stop us, and no one had any deer in the headlights moments. Hurray! However, this week will be different. Act III is a bear. Considering we are not professional singers, we need to do a lot more singing at the piano than pros would (in fact pros just walk in and sing at rehearsals; sometimes even flying in and right onto the stage for a performance.) How I wish we had more rehearsal time, but we just can't afford it.

The orchestra parts are now being printed. Through the wonders of the internet our wonderful orchestrator, Michael Withers, has been able to e-mail PDFs for me to take to Kinko's for printing and binding. Just having those in hand makes the endeavor more real and scary.

It is difficult at times to juggle everything from publicity, to consulting with designers, finding a choreographer (more on that next), chasing down the person to unlock the door to the rehearsal room, looking for props, etc., etc. while learning a part. All this while spending many sleepless nights worrying about ticket sales. We're at the point where we wake up with H&G in our heads and think we know everyone else's part, but not our own. Exciting, but scary.

Onward and upward.

Rehearsals have begun

2008-10-19T20:09:00.003-04:00

Thursday we had our first blocking rehearsal with our director, Nancy Howells. My heart sank when I arrived at the hall and saw the lights off and found everyone on the doorstep unable to get in the building, but a quick visit to the Town Offices resolved the problem. It was just a little miscommunication and Dave was there in a flash to let us in. (We LOVE everyone at the Town Offices because they really take care of us!) Everything from then on went well.

Unlike me (Hansel), our Gretel, Linda, is very physically fit, so the dancing and jumping around didn't seem to phase her. I hate going to the gym and THIS was truly hard, but FUN!!!! I hope we will convey that to the audience.

Next week, Act II...

Meet Our Scenic and Lighting Designer

2008-07-31T17:34:00.004-04:00

Ben Oldham is the director of technical theatre at Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts and is pleased to join the Illumination Opera family. Ben has designed school and professional shows in Minnesota an Tennessee before moving to New England last year. He has three degrees - bachelor in theatre arts and computer science, in addition to a B.F. (Bachelor of Fun) from Mooseburger Clown Camp, where he spent three sessions learning the ins an outs of circus clowning (he even has the big red shoes). When he is not working on a show, Ben enjoys writing about himself in the third person.

Planning Next Season!!!

2008-07-28T17:51:00.002-04:00

Although we are all in the middle of learning our roles for H&G, raising money, having design meetings, etc., etc., we have to plan what we do next. We had a company meeting and the vote was to put up Die Fledermaus in English. We are aiming for the first weekend in February 2010 to coincide with Chelmsford's WinterFest. Just imagine if we got the whole town to come to the opera in black tie!!! That would be a first, I am sure. Now back to H&G...

Digging In

2008-07-11T21:50:00.002-04:00

The cast is now in the middle of digging in and learning their parts. Although it is July, October is just around the corner. That is when our blocking rehearsals start and we should all be off book. We have a condensed rehearsal schedule because the cost of renting the theatre is so great. It would be wonderful to be able to have a long rehearsal period, but it is just impossible.

I don't know how other singers feel when they are preparing a role, but I know the music is starting to get into my bones when I wake up with it in my head. The lyrics pop into my mind even when I am not working on the music. I'm still at the point where it is all random and I don't know exactly where the part that popped into my head falls, but I know it will all come together. Better to be in that place in July than November!

Most people probably think of H&G as something just for kids, but they are wrong. This music is very Wagnerian and more difficult than one would think. The more I study the score the most exciting it all becomes. It seems the key changes every page, which is a complete challenge for the orchestrator.

As I have said before, onward and upward!

Our Patron

2008-05-23T09:29:00.002-04:00

Trinity Ambulance is our first corporate patron! Their donation will virtually fund the orchestra. This donation shows there are unlikely at first blush community supporters in every town. This type of patronage moves us from "Are we crazy to be trying this?" to "Wow! This is going to happen, we can do it!" There is no way to express enough thanks to Trinity for what they have done for us. We all promise to do the best we possibly can. Thanks will never, ever be enough.

It's Official - Illumination Opera is Tax Exempt!

2008-03-14T19:06:00.002-04:00

This is a red letter day for Illumination Opera because we just received our letter from the I.R.S. granting us tax exempt status. Contributions will be deductible for our donors which is a very big deal for our organization. Receiving this letter makes all the work in preparing the application worth the effort. Now it is time to roll up our sleeves and look for patrons...

Meet Our Director!

2008-03-10T10:44:00.001-04:00

Nancy Leinonen Howells, soprano, is noted as a singer in the greater Boston area. She has made solo appearances with the Boston Cecilia, Assabet Valley Mastersingers, Mass Theatrica, and with the Theater at Old South, where she appeared as Linda in the premiere of The Diet Monologues by playwright Monica Bauers. While in Michigan, Nancy sang the roles of Cathleen in Riders to the Sea and Nella in Gianni Schicchi with the Bay View Summer Opera. With the University of Michigan Opera Theatre, she sang roles in two casts of Suor Angelica, and with Central Michigan University she sang the role of Fiordiligi in Cosí fan tutte. Additional roles have included both First Lady and Second Lady in The Magic Flute; and Frasquita in Carmen. Nancy also performed as vocal soloist with the Central Michigan University Symphony, the Northeastern Michigan Symphony, and the University of Michigan Percussion Ensemble. Opera studies included work with Ken Cazan and Arden Hopkin; principal teachers include Mary Stewart Kiesgen, Martha Sheil and Dan Sullivan. While completing the doctorate at the University of Michigan's opera program, Nancy taught voice and co-taught vocal pedagogy for the Uof M School of Music. Presently a faculty member at Indian Hill Music, Dr. Howells also teaches private voice in her home studio, and in an after school music program at Weston High School.

MET Hansel and Gretel

2007-12-26T21:59:00.000-05:00

Here's the link to an Opera News interview of the newest MET Hansel, Alice Coote:

http://www.metoperafamily.org/operanews/issue/article.aspx?id=3284&issueID=155

Ms. Coote talks about young people not wanting a "sugary sweet story." This makes us think about what our H&G should be. How far can you push what was and is meant as a story for children? We are just getting started and our audience will be mostly people who have never seen an opera. Now wouldn't be the time to alienate our audience. They all know the story of Hansel and Gretel, so straying too far from what they know would be risky.

There are so many questions to ponder. Is the story "just a fairy tale"? How is it relevant to children today? Is it Pantomime scary or really scary?

There is also an interview with Philip Langridge who will be singing the part of the witch. (The role may be sung by a man or a woman.) We were surprised to see this quote:

"People say they don't like opera, and you say, what have you seen? And it turns out they've never seen it. They've just heard that it's the Big Bad Wolf."

This is something we have also noted in a previous posting. We hope to reach our young (both in age and in opera experience) audience and get them excited about opera. Heady stuff!

Here's the link for the rest of the interview:
http://www.metoperafamily.org/operanews/issue/article.aspx?id=3281&issueID=155

We are looking forward to the MET simulcast next week and are sure it will give us lots to think about in the coming months.

Accomplishments

2007-12-25T08:55:00.000-05:00

By this time next year we will have completed our first full production and will be in the middle of planning our second season. We spent the first half of 2007 thinking about starting an opera company and the second half doing it! We have a grant and a sizeable gift and have filed for 501(c)(3) status (a 47 page form with lots of financial projections).

Most importantly, we have a group of wonderful singers who love opera and want to make the extraordinary commitment necessary to produce a staged full length opera.

We look forward to 2008 and our Hansel & Gretel adventure!

Papers, papers, papers...

2007-12-21T10:22:00.000-05:00

We are now incorporated with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have bylaws, and an EIN. We are in the process of filling out Form 1023 to become a 501(c)(3) organization. This is the painful part of the process. It isn't particularly difficult, but it does take a lot of time. The instruction form is 38 pages long and in the interest of saving trees we have been trying to toggle back and forth between the on-line instructions and the actual form. In this case paper would be much easier to reference, but we just don't want to kill more trees. We still have to complete another form for the AG's office if we want to solicit donations (and we do!). Back to the bureacracy...oh, and the title of this post is a reference to Menotti's "The Consul".

WE HAVE A GRANT!!!!

2007-11-30T16:53:00.001-05:00

Last night was a very important evening. The Chelmsford Cultural Council met to decide which grant proposals would be funded and we are very happy to announce Illumination Opera is one of the recipients! It feels wonderful to be able to say:

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Chelmsford Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

You can see the official logo (it looks like it was made just for us) at the top of the page.

We can now start our Hansel & Gretel countdown. Only 373 days to curtain.

How many people does it take to put up an opera?

2007-11-15T13:20:00.000-05:00

Hansel & Gretel doesn't have a huge cast, only seven named roles. However, when you add up all the people it takes to actually be able to bring up the curtain, we are at 101 and counting. This includes the co-producer, orchestra, lead singers, chorus, dancers, conductor, director, choral directors, choreographer, costumer, set builders, stage hands, video crew and ushers (so far). Not a small undertaking.

On January 1, the Metropolitan Opera production of H&G will be simulcast in movie theatres. We are sure there will be many more than 101 people behind the scenes at the Met! All the simulcasts we have seen have been breathtaking and we highly recommend them. We will be there to see their H&G and to hear the very same translation we will be singing here in Chelmsford. Every time we attend an opera we learn more about the art of singing. It isn't just hearing, but seeing too.

14 Angels...the icing on the cake...

2007-11-14T13:15:00.001-05:00

We are hoping to find a ballet instructor who would choreograph what we think of as "The 14 Angels Dance" for young ballerinas. We know there is a lot of competition with the various "Nutcracker" productions, but we think our production has a lot to offer young dancers. How often does a non-professional get to dance to a live orchestra rather than canned music? Answer: About as often as we avocational singers get to sing with an orchestra - once in a blue moon. For both the audience and the performers nothing compares with it. When we find a choreographer we will pretty much beside ourselves with joy, because the Angels will be icing on the cake, or should we say gingerbread?

Funding and Education

2007-11-10T07:50:00.000-05:00

Next week is the presentation to the local Cultural Council regarding our grant application. We are facing everything large arts organizations face in microcosm. For example, the true cost of 2 dress rehearsals and 2 performances in the public school theatre for a total of 12 hours is $2873.50 or $239/hour. The cost for renting the facility is only $900 (90 adult tickets would cover that cost), the rest is paying for 2 custodians, 3 technicians, 5 ushers. We have to sell 200 more adult tickets to pay for the added help. This is where blind faith comes into play. Right now we need to focus on the Cultural Council grant. That money will insure that we can pay our professional musicians and will help us should we need to find other patrons.

This kind of venture is a far cry from, "I know, let's do a show. My dad has a barn and your mom has a curtain." (apologies to "Babes on Broadway".) Over the past 10 years we have heard over and over, "Why isn't there a community theatre group?" "Why aren't there more music programs?", etc. It isn't because of lack of talent or just because people are so busy. It isn't because it is difficult to costume a show or find props or build a set (simple is always better and among just a few of us we can costume just about anything). It is because of $239/hour. It is so easy to give up when faced with that number.

Our main goal is to educate children and adults about opera, but we also want to educate the grown-up segment of our audience about the true cost of putting up a production that really is for our local community. $239/hour will be an eye-opener.

If we're singing in English we need a translation...

2007-10-27T14:46:00.000-04:00

We commissioned an orchestration, but since we're singing and we don't just want to sing la-la-la, we need words to sing. Hansel & Gretel was originally set in German by Adelheid Wette, who happened to be the sister of the composer, Engelbert Humperdinck (not that Engelbert Humperdinck, more about that later). Because this is an introduction to opera for our community, we thought it would be best to sing in English, so we started looking for a translation. Our conductor suggested contacting the Welsh National Opera and the English National Opera. We did and the Welsh National Opera referred us to David Pountney who was gracious enough to license his libretto to us. You can read about him and his impressive credentials here:

http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=12&c=2

We are very lucky because it is the same libretto used by the Metropolitan Opera!

Our project becomes more exciting by the day and we are continually astounded at the willingness of great musicians around the world to help us.

What do we mean by "intergenerational opera"?

2007-10-24T15:58:00.000-04:00

Hansel & Gretel: An Intergenerational Opera Production does not just mean that we expect adults and children in our audience. Illumination Opera's goal is to not only produce operas for our community, but to also give children and adults in our community the opportunity to take part in creating this ephemeral work of art, an opera production.

Elementary age children will learn about Hansel & Gretel in their music classes. By the time they attend our production they will have learned the story and some of the music, including the Gingerbread Children's chorus.

The Hansel & Gretel chorus will be made up of children from our two Middle Schools and youth church choirs in Chelmsford. For most of these young singers this will probably be the first time they have appeared with an orchestra and as part of a production with adults.

Michael Withers is orchestrating for 14 players with a core of professionals who will be supplemented by high school and community players. Our teenage musicians will have their first opportunity of playing with professional musicians who have played with major U.S. orchestras.

Senior citizen volunteers will be building our sets and other adults have volunteered to help costume our production.

We believe that we will not only build community by having all ages involved, but we will build an audience that didn't previously exist for the exciting art form of opera.

More about our Orchestrator

2007-10-20T10:29:00.000-04:00

Michael Withers came into our lives when our conductor, Dan Rowntree, met him in England. Maestro Rowntree was looking for a reduction of Carmen for Westford Chorus and as it happened Michael had orchestrated the opera for chamber orchestra. That was our lucky day, because the orchestration was perfect and gave us the experience of singing with an orchestra rather than just piano. Michael's orchestration followed the original very closely and with only 14 players. (SHAMELESS PLUG: Michael's orchestrations may be rented, so contact us if you have interest.)

When we began thinking about Hansel & Gretel, we wrote to Michael. By coincidence Susan was going to be in England and she and Michael arranged to meet for tea. Michael graciously agreed to the commission of the orchestration for Hansel & Gretel. The photo of Susan and Michael commemorates that wonderful moment of agreement! (Susan and her husband were going to Glyndebourne that evening, thus the formal attire.)

Michael is truly a Renaissance man. He originally trained in chemistry at Imperial College, London, and has subsequently enjoyed a career in journalism and editorial work in the fields of science and medicine, but his main passion is making music. He trained privately in violin and clarinet, but his abiding interest from an early age has been conducting.

Opera is his first love, and he has conducted a wide repertoire, ranging from Purcell (King Arthur and Dido and Aeneas) to Britten (Rape of Lucretia). His interest in bringing new life to rarely performed works has led him to perform works such as Dvorak's The Devil and Kate and Holst's The Perfect Fool, and more recently, in Brighton, three neglected operas by Vaughan Williams Hugh the Drover, The Poisoned Kiss and The Pilgrim's Progress. Michael conducts regularly with the Brighton-based opera group, Heber Opera.

Michael started conducting regularly in 1975 when he was appointed conductor of Imperial College Operatic Society. He had already conducted several choirs and chamber groups and this appointment gave him the opportunity to work regularly with a very capable student group. Between 1975 and 1979 he conducted a wide range of performances including:
Utopia Ltd (Gilbert and Sullivan)
Orpheus in the Underworld (including translation of the lyrics)
Yeomen of the Guard
Pirates of Penzance
Grand Duchess of Gerolstein (Offenbach)
Venus and Adonis (John Blow)
Excerpts from The Tales of Hoffman
Gondoliers

In 1979 Michael left Imperial College Operatic Society and become one of the founder members of Imperial Opera. Imperial Opera drew on a wide range of soloists, and had a regular, very capable chorus. All performances were fully staged using full orchestras. Many of the soloists Michael worked with in Imperial Opera have made successful performing careers in music. The repertoire for Imperial Opera included
Robinson Crusoe (Offenbach)
La Belle Helene (Offenbach)
Acis and Galatea (Handel)
The Chaplet (Boyce)
The Perfect Fool (Holst)
The Wandering Scholar (Holst)
The Devil and Kate (Dvorak)
King Arthur (Purcell)

During this period Michael also worked with Betchworth Operatic and Dramatic Society in several G&S operettas, and some Christmas musicals. He also sang with and was assistant conductor of the Horniman Singers, a chamber choir specialising equally in the renaissance repertoire and contemporary music.

The relationship with Imperial Opera also led to some enterprising concerts conducted on behalf of the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society. Michael conducted the first modern performances of several of Sullivan's serious compositions, including the oratorio The Martyr of Antioch, On Shore and Sea and incidental music to Macbeth, The Merry Wives of Windsor and others.

Since moving to Brighton in 1989, Michael has been involved with a number of Sussex-based companies, including the Brighton-based Wandering Minstrels, Burgess Hill Operatic Society, and is the regular musical director of Heber Opera.

For Wandering Minstrels, Michael's repertoire has included
Patience
La Belle Helene
Pirates of Penzance
Carmen
Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci
The Poisoned Kiss (Vaughan Williams)

With Heber Opera, he has conducted
The Rape of Lucretia (Britten)
Hugh the Drover (Vaughan Williams)
The Pilgrim's Progress (Vaughan Williams)
The Ephesian Matron (Charles Dibdin)
Pyramus and Thisbe (John Frederick Lampe)
The Beggar's Opera (Gay/Pepusch)
Dido and Aeneas (Purcell)
Tosca (Puccini)
Otello (Verdi)
Don Giovanni (Mozart)
Carmen (Bizet)
Cavalleria Rusticana and I Paglicci
Magic Flute (Mozart)
Die Fledermaus (Strauss)
Cosi fan Tutte (Mozart)
Masked Ball (Verdi)
Aida (Verdi)
Dragon of Wantley (John Frederick Lampe)
La Bohème (Puccini)

With Burgess Hill Operatic Society, he has conducted
West Side Story (Bernstein)
Brigadoon (Lowe)
Carousel (Rogers)
Sugar (Styne) – currently in rehearsal

Orchestrations
Michael started to prepare reduced orchestral version of the Heber Opera repertoire around 10 years ago when the company began to tour to smaller venues. His 'chamber orchestrations' have been successfully used for a number of years in a variety of venues. They retain much of the composer's orchestral colour whilst shifting the emphasis from a large orchestral timbre to a chamber sound.

He recently began to make his orchestrations available to other performing companies, and has had several of them performed on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Illumination Opera Company

2007-10-10T20:55:00.000-04:00

Our company in alphabetical order...

Demetra Bristol, soprano (Sandman and Dew Fairy) is a graduate of the University of Michigan’s Colleges of Engineering and Business Administration. Upon joining the Westford Chorus in 2001, Demetra rediscovered her passion for classical voice and found many new friends who share her love of music. Demetra sang the role of Mercedes in the Westford Chorus’ 2006 production of Bizet’s Carmen and has sung several solos, duets and ensembles in past Westford Chorus programs. Demetra also sang the role of a Stepsister in Sondheim’s Into the Woods, and the role of Mrs. Nolan in Menotti’s The Medium for a scene study class, both at Indian Hill Music School. Demetra studies voice with Chelmsford resident Monique Phinney.

Nancy Bush, soprano (The Witch) After an early start pursuing a musical performance degree which included many opera scene study roles as well as a turn as Ado Annie in Oklahoma, Nancy returned to serious singing in 2000. Since that time she has performed solo work in Schubert’s Mass in G as well as Handel’s Judas Maccabeus and The Messiah. With the Westford Chorus she is a soloist and sang the role of Marcellina in an abridged production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro as well as Frasquite in the full production of Bizet's Carmen. She also appeared as one of the Trio in the fall 2005 production of Trouble in Tahiti by Leonard Bernstein, as The Witch in a production of Into the Woods and Anna Maurant in Kurt Weill's Street Scene through Indian Hill Music Center. Nancy lives in Westford with her husband Dan and children Emily and Kevin. She is currently a student of Monique Phinney.

Megan Errgong-Weider, soprano (Gertrude) is very excited to be making her debut in Hansel and Gretel. Megan holds her Master of Music from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ. She is an elementary music educator in the Chelmsford Public Schools as
well as the choir director for the Atkinson Congregational Church in Atkinson, NH. Megan is a member of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and is currently studying voice with Monique Phinney.

Susan Julian Gates, mezzo-soprano (Hansel) and co-producer, is a resident of Chelmsford. She studies voice with Monique Phinney and is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with a B.A. in Dramatic Art. She began her career in stage management with the Inverness Music Festival and the Washington Opera. She has also worked for the Manhattan Theatre Club and the New York Lyric Opera. She sang the title role in the Westford Chorus production of Carmen in 2006, as well as Cherubino in a reduction of The Marriage of Figaro and Julie in Show Boat. At Indian Hill Music School she has sung the role of The Mother in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, which she is reprising in December, as well as Dinah in Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti, and Miss Todd in Menotti's The Old Maid and the Thief. She, along with Nancy Bush and Bill Kruger, are the founding members of After Five Cabaret. They debuted at The Java Room in Maltby and Shire’s Starting Here, Starting Now. Ms. Gates also is a member of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, the official chorus of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Debra LeBrun, Assistant Conductor/Rehearsal Pianist received her B. Mus. from Syracuse University and her M.M. in Organ Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign. She is active in the New England area as a teacher and performer on both piano and organ and as a conductor. Since 1986, Mrs. LeBrun has been the Minister of Music for the Congregational Church of Littleton where she directs an active music program including an intergenerational handbell and singing choir program. Debra has been the accompanist for the Nashoba Valley Chorale since 2000 and regularly accompanies for many musicians in the area. She is a staff accompanist at Indian Hill Music School in Littleton, MA where, in addition to general accompanying, she assists with the opera workshop program. She has accompanied and helped with the music direction of opera workshop productions of The Old Maid and the Thief, Trouble in Tahiti, Into the Woods, and Amahl and the Night Visitors as well as scenes from many other operas. Other local shows she has played piano for recently include You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Just So!, the Bug Opera, and Starting Here, Starting Now. Debra is also an adjunct Professor of Organ at UMass Lowell, has served on the board for the Worcester American Guild of Organists, and is Past Chair of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers, Area I, Inc. She lives in Westford, MA with her husband, Steven, and daughter, Sarah.

Maggie Marshall, Co-Producer, has degrees in English from SUNY Binghamton and Library Science from URI. She has sung in choirs for decades, taken piano and organ lessons for decades, and has been the Minister of Music at All Saints' Episcopal Church since 1985. Maggie has been a strong proponent of the arts through her many years as Enrichment Chair at the Harrington Elementary School, and is also passionate about literacy, and has been a Chelmsford Public Library Trustee for many years.

Daniel Rowntree, Conductor (B.M./M.M University of Michigan/ Western Michigan University. Post-grad: Moscow Conservatory - formerly USSR) is a native of Michigan and began his conducting studies as a high school student at Interlochen Academy. After completing his undergraduate and graduate work at University of Michigan and Western Michigan University, he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and completed his postgraduate work in orchestral conducting and orchestration at the Moscow Conservatory of Music, where he studied conducting with Dmitri Kitaenko. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1982, Mr. Rowntree studied conducting with Leonard Bernstein and Mistislav Rostrapovitch at Tanglewood, and with Zubin Mehta, Sir Georg Solti and other prominent conductors in master classes at the Julliard School, Boston Conservatory, Oberlin College, and Chicago Conservatory of Music.
Since that time, Mr. Rowntree has directed hundreds of ensembles and productions, ranging from touring companies of “Annie"; to a great deal of studio work in NYC (creating some of the most catchy used-car dealership jingles ever recorded for New Jersey demographics) and Renaissance Ensembles; from World Music Groups to professional orchestral productions; from community orchestra to community choruses. For the past ten years, Dan's passion has been to foster excellence and innovation in amateur community ensembles, taking singers and instrumentalists to performance at levels beyond the usual scope of what they would generally achieve in local groups.
Mr. Rowntree has directed the Westford Chorus since 1997.

Linda Holstein Stronge, soprano (Gretel) returned to singing six years ago when she joined Westford Chorus. It was a terrific decision for not only has she had the opportunity to grow vocally but she’s made a wonderfully supportive group of friends whom she cherishes. Previous roles with Westford Chorus include Edith in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen, Barbarina in a reduction of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, and most recently Magnolia in Showboat. As a student at Indian Hill Music School, Linda sang the role of Monica in Menotti’s The Medium and Rose in Weil’s Street Scene for a scene study class. She also sang the role of Cinderella in the IHMS production of Into the Woods. When not practicing, Linda works with young children and their families in the Lowell area. Linda studies with Chelmsford resident Monique Phinney.

Dan Swanson, baritone (Peter), a resident of Westford, MA, is a graduate of the University of Illinois and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. At the Univ. of Illinois he sang with the Oratorio Society, which included a recorded performance of the Beethoven Missa Solemnis directed by Robert Shaw. At the Univ. of Michigan he sang with the Men’s Glee Club, which included a 30 day tour of Europe and a first place finish at the The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, Llangollen, Wales. Dan has been singing with the Westford Chorus since 1997 and is in his second season with Spectrum Singers. His previous roles include the Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance, Hucklebee in The Fantasticks, Noah in Two by Two, Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief, Figaro in scenes from The Marriage of Figaro, the Postman in The Most Happy Fella, Sam in Trouble in Tahiti, Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Escamillo in Carmen, and Dr. Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro. Dan studies voice with Chelmsford resident Monique Phinney.

Michael Withers, Orchestrator, has over 30 years experience conducting a wide range of opera, from Purcell to Britten, and taking in a healthy dose of Mozart, Puccini and Verdi en route. Over the past 15 years he has been working with Heber Opera, a semi-professional group based in Brighton, UK, and specializing in chamber-scale productions ‘in the round’. It was Heber Opera’s need for orchestrations of operas that would suit the group’s touring performances that led Michael to start ‘re-orchestrating’ the repertoire – with the result that he has completed chamber orchestrations of 11 operas.

We're Off and Running...

2007-10-08T10:01:00.000-04:00

I have always believed that opera is a planet where the muses work together, join hands and celebrate all the arts. Franco Zeffirelli

This blog chronicles the progress of a fledgling community opera company in almost rural New England. We are avocational singers who love opera and who believe that most of the people who say they don't like opera have never seen one. Many of us were part of the Westford Chorus production of Carmen and we know first hand what it is like to have audience members say, "Now I want to see a REAL opera." This was the greatest compliment we could have because it meant they had never seen an opera and our performance made them want more.

In later posts you will learn more about our first production: Hansel & Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck.