BravoBravo! and My Farewell Letter

The time has come again -- that time is the fabulous BravoBravo! event hosted by the Detroit Opera House. With funding cuts threatening the existence of Metro Detroit's arts organizations, a group of 30 young professionals are taking the lead on filling the funding gaps left by state and corporate sponsorship budget cuts.

On June 5th, 2009 from 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., BravoBravo! will be celebrating its 10th anniversary. BravoBravo! co-chair, Carmen Bell Ross, said "Raising money for the arts has never been so important and BravoBravo! makes it easy for the average person our age to make a difference while having fun doing it."

Last year, the event sold out with a record crowd of 2,000 young professionals partying for a cause. BravoBravo! reveals the best sights, sounds, and tastes of Detroit all in one place. The event offers five indoor areas and an outdoor tent for taking in local music acts, lounging, and noshing on food from Detroit's best restaurants and bars.

Guests will see that the theatre's main floor is covered with a platformed joined to the stage to create a large lounge area for mingling and dancing. This is the one event where the gorgeous theatre is transformed into a posh night club.
The event will host 40 different restaurants and bars including Small Plates Detroit, Crave Restaurant & Sushi Bar, The Majestic Cafe, Chen Chow Brasserie, The Century Grill, Opus One, Jacoby's German Biergarden, Union Street Saloon, Slows Bar B Q, 24 Grille, Angelina Italian Bistro, Good Girls Go To Paris Crepes, and Wolfgang Puck.
The event is also hosted by WXYZ's Erin Nicole. In the ten year history, BravoBravo! is pleased to announce its first mainstream national entertainment, The Cherry Poppin' Daddies sponsored by Hard Rock Cafe.
Other local acts include DJ Captn 20, The John Arnold Trio, Malik Alston & the Linwood Ensemble and DJ Frank Raines from Funk Night Detroit. Internationally known Chuck Flask, John Johr and a surprise guest presented by Paxahau and Movement Festival will also be there.
Tickets are available at motopera.org or bravobravo.org.

And now the second part of this posting...


As summer is starting and Winter is ending, so is my semester-long internship at the Detroit Opera House. I not only saw it as a way to a free education and learning professional skills outside the classroom, but also as a way of networking, learning about the non-profit industry of Public Relations and Marketing, and experiencing my field in the real world with unfortunate realities, such as a non-profit surviving in this economy.
For those interested in what I did at the Detroit Opera House as the Public Relations and Marketing intern, here's a little bit about my semester-long experience. I wrote press releases with the amazing Rebekah Johnson guiding and teaching me to becoming a better writer, a created press kits and got the "hands-on" aspect of PR, I searched through magazines and newspapers daily or weekly and found clippings where the DOH was mentioned, I maintained this wonderful blog, interviewed world-famous artists such as Amanda Squiteiri, Stephen Lord, and others, along with helping out simple tasks like making program inserts, entering award contests, updating artists archives, entering events and updating press contacts.

Not only did I get to learn, but I got to go to almost every show during the Winter season for free. I also learned about strategies to be taken in a struggling economy. It makes me feel good knowing that I got to help out a non-profit (or so I hope) during these rough times. It felt good to be part of such a great cause- knowing that audiences are learning with me about opera or enjoying what they already know, that children come to see shows and hopefully are inspired and will one day become artists or supporters in the future.

I'm also glad my dance skills could come of use to my supervisor, Rebekah, at times along with my mad French skills when we were editing the copy of Bravo for Carmen.
Yes, I've had a great semester here at the Detroit Opera House and I hope another intern can benefit from this experience as much as I have. I have learned so much in these past five months and am forever grateful for the opportunity they awarded me. Thanks and farewell!

Interview with Lili Del Castillo

The last and final interview for the Carmen Series is with Lili Del Castillo. I had the pleasure of meeting with Lili and interviewing her with all my desiring questions about the choreography in Carmen. At the very end, you will find a slideshow of Lili coaching Kate Aldrich and Kendall Gladen who both are the lead role in Carmen.

Can you describe the choreography in Carmen?

I essentially give Spanish culture 101 lecture. It starts from the way that Spanish people walk in ordinary times opposed to the way Americans walk. Americans slouch, Spaniards don't so I teach movement so that’s the base. From there I have to work with special ladies that are going to do dance movements within the act and so I teach them very simple moves that immediately say “Spanish” opposed to doing Tap or ballet or something like that. Its all about teaching attitude for Carmen, the strata of society you're dealing with is different than if you were upper class. I deal with movement and I do my own dance. In different Carmen's, sometimes I'm asked more and sometimes less. There have been Carmen's where I dance throughout Carmen, and where I've done the fight scene actually fighting Carmen. So I have to find out what the vision of the director is and what movements best describes what he or she sees as part of the scene.

What do you do to choreograph for each different character?

I do Carmen's, Frasquita's and Micaela and the chorus ladies. So that three levels of command within the group of Carmen's. Carmen is the boss so I give her dominant movement. Frasquita and Micaela are flirtatious, and the chorus ladies are having a good time so I give them more exuberant movement.

Do you often choreograph for operas?

I've been doing it for 15 years. Once I retired from the flamenco world. I got into it and word spread, and this is my last and retirement from opera. So I do Carmen's and La Traviata's. I’ve been trained in Spain, in both Flamenco and Spanish dance and that has helped me in the world of opera.

What do you feel the audience gets out of watching the choreography in an opera?

Excitement, exuberance, and a sense of the emotion from the specific scene.

What got you into dance in general?

From the time I was a little girl, every time I would hear music, stories would come in my head and I loved musicals and the musical movies. My family was a very proper Spanish family- and good girls don't dance. And so, when I was 14 I said I wanted to dance and I started taking lessons in Spanish Dance. When I was a teenager, I am such a stereotype in looks to a gypsy woman and a man who had just come from a company in Spain wanted to start a company in New Mexico, and he said he would train me if I were in his company. From there I married a flamenco guitarist and lived and studied in Spain where we were both on a flamenco troupe over there. When we came back from the U.S. we went to New Mexico and started our own company and toured.

What is the most fulfilling part of your job?

To be able to express what the music says to you. It enters you and through the years of taking lessons you have the technique to interpret the technique into movement that symbolizes your feeling.

Have you been trained in any other styles?

I've had some ballet and some jazz. And it helps a lot. Ballet gives you centering. And jazz lets you have movement flow through you. So ballet and jazz really helped my flamenco.

What is your favorite style of dance/What is your expertise?

For me personally, it would be of flamenco and Spanish classical. For watching any dance, I love beautiful movement of whatever culture or background. A good show is a good show!

Do you teach? Own your own company?

I've retired my company but I do teach and I coach. I teach students in Albuquerque, New Mexico; I like giving them a good base. I don't believe in clones and flamenco is very individual. Your personality comes out when you dance. If you only take from one person you become a clone of them so by taking from many styles, you learn what your style is.

Why did you decide to go down that path?

The only thing I was trained in was dance and in New Mexico there wasn't any other company to join so I started my own. I was fortunate to come into flamenco at the time where there were very few people doing it there and start a company and have a lifestyle strictly in the arts.

Anything else you would like to share with our readers?

That one of the great inspirations for me in flamenco is the fact that I'm married to a guitarist and I hear his music constantly and he gives me interpretations. If he gives me music that gives me bright and sunny things, and if I raise an arm he makes something that follows it. I'll give him a word such as “dark and smoky sounding” and he comes out with something that is evocative of something that is dark and smoky. It's been a lot of fun and has been quite the trip for the two of us. We married very young and have been together ever since.

Interview With Homero Velho

Hey again! Our second part of the Carmen interviews is with Baritone Homero Velho. Tomorrow with be the last part of the Carmen interviews with choreographer Lili Del Castillo.



What steps do you have to take in order to prepare for the show?
I guess what I try to do is being as musically prepared as I can. Make sure you have the music really well learned so you can follow what the director wants you to do. So I just try to be as best prepared I can with the music.

What is a typical day like for you when you arrive at the Opera House?
Well if I’m called from 2-5 I will warm up in my room and review a bit of the music and try to mentally think of the scene involved so I am prepared for what we are doing for that day. I guess it’s a little bit of anticipation so I’m prepared and when I get there I just do whatever has to be done.

How would you compare Carmen to other operas you have been apart of?
I think the one thing that sets Carmen apart is the sheer number of hit tunes. It has at least three or four tunes that everyone has heard of once in their life. I think that sets it apart from other operas. It’s one of those operas that becomes famous by its own right.

What do you find most fulfilling about your job?
The fact that I get paid to do what I love. That’s really the main thing that I get paid to do something I like and most of the time I’m lucky in that.

What sparked your involvement with opera?
Singing in my high school choir definitely. I was 16 when I started and gradually got involved with music. I can definitely trace it back to singing in the choir.

What is your favorite opera?
Its hard to choose a favorite opera and you end up getting involved in every one of them. But if I had to choose I would choose Don Giovanni.

What do you think makes opera singers unique compared to singers in musicals or pop singers?
I think we have to have more discipline. Practicing everyday, learning languages, and taking care of our voices. I’m not going to go out drinking every night or anything like that so I think it’s the discipline that sets us apart from other singers.

Carmen-Behind the Scenes Part 1

I had the opportunity to interview Janinah Burnett who will be performing the role of Micaela in the Detroit Opera House's Production of Carmen May 9-17.

What steps do you have to take in order to prepare for the show?
Well I have to learn my notes, learn the words that I’m going to say, memorize what the words are, what I say, and what the character I interact with says. I also have to know the storyline so I get the libretto or the story so I have background information. And I get vocally lined up as well by my teacher if need be.


What is a typical day like for you when you arrive at the Opera House?
First we go into the rehearsal hall and wait for the director to tell us where to start. So I go in and wait until its time for me to go into the rehearsal. Then we run it and he’ll give us notes after we finish. Then we watch the other artists do their scenes and chat a little bit.


How would you compare Carmen to other operas you have been apart of?
Being an opera singer, most of the work that I do I really like. Carmen is really popular because it has a lot of memorable melodies that are rhythmically exciting, which makes it interesting for the artist. Carmen is different because there is a female heroine that is so free, which makes the opera so cool because we have a woman that is unwilling to conform to the norms.


What do you find most fulfilling about your job?
Well I love to sing so just the fact and the ability to do that is really exciting. Singing with other colleagues and singing with the orchestra is the most fulfilling thing.


What sparked your involvement with opera?
In college I had to sing arias from various operas and I was pulled in- I really enjoyed it. When I got to graduate school that’s when I really did opera. And what continued it was to see my colleagues doing it and I really loved it, which inspired me to be apart of it.


What is your favorite opera?
Carmen and Turandot are my two favorites.


What do you think makes opera singers unique compared to singers in musicals or pop singers?
Well the first thing is that we use the amplification of our bodies opposed to microphones. So that’s the primary difference. Other than that, we all have to act. I will say though that opera singers have to be more stage actors than pop singers.

Anything else to share with our readers?
That opera is really a fascinating medium and it seems kind of boring but if you get out to a show like Carmen and draw into the fact that these are just people making these sounds it is fascinating. Also, allow the music to be the catalyst of the emotion that you feel.

2009-2010 Dance Season Announced!

The Detroit Opera House is pleased to announce the details of a dance lineup with something for everyone – ballet, modern dance, and the classics – in a 2009-10 season that includes two exciting debuts and two returning favorites. The 2009-10 dance season includes the Detroit Opera House debut of Pilobolus (October 31-November 1, 2009), the return of the Cincinnati Ballet for The Nutcracker (December 3-6, 2009), Ballet Hispanico (February 13-14, 2010), and the debut of the Tchaikovsky Ballet in Sleeping Beauty (March 26-28, 2010).

PILOBOLUS DANCE THEATRE
October 31-November 1, 2009
Pilobolus Dance Theatre makes their Detroit Opera House debut in October 2009, bringing their athletic and innovative modern dance repertoire to the magnificent Detroit Opera House stage. The internationally-renowned Pilobolus Dance Theatre began in 1971 and quickly became known for their imaginative and athletic exploration of creative collaboration. Pilobolus Dance Theatre will perform at the Detroit Opera House October 30-31, 2009. Repertoire for the performances will be announced fall 2009.

In the nearly 40 years since its founding, Pilobolus has evolved into a pioneering American arts organization of the 21st century. The 2009 season will mark Pilobolus’ 39th year of growth, expansion, and refinement of its unusual collaborative methods to produce a body of over 100 choreographic works. Based in Washington Depot, Connecticut, the company performs for stage and television audiences all over the world. Pilobolus Dance Theatre performances have been characterized by the strong element of physical interaction between company members and contortions of the human body often similar to gymnastics. Company works appear in the repertoires of many major dance companies, including the Joffrey, Feld, Ohio, Arizona and Aspen/Santa Fe Ballets in the U.S., the Ballet National de Nancy et de Lorraine and the Ballet Rhin in France, and Italy’s Verona Ballet.
Pilobolus regularly appears on broadcast media and advertising. Recently the company was featured on the 2007 Academy Awards show, the Oprah Winfrey Show, and most recently, on the Late Show with Conan O’Brien. The company has also appeared in television spots for Mobil, Ford, Toyota, Opel and Hyundai.

THE CINCINNATI BALLET: The Nutcracker
December 3-6, 2009

In December 2009, the Detroit Opera House will once again usher in the holiday season with the Cincinnati Ballet’s captivating production of The Nutcracker, appearing at the Detroit Opera House for the first time since 2003. One of Detroit’s most beloved holiday traditions held annually at the Detroit Opera House, this magical tale will enthrall audiences with Tchaikovsky’s incredible score, performed live by the Michigan Opera Theatre orchestra. The Cincinnati Ballet Nutcracker will entrance Detroit audiences in six performances, December 3-6, 2009.


This enormously popular full-scale production choreographed by Val Caniparoli is an annual tradition for many Detroit families. Cincinnati Ballet’s The Nutcracker is rich in glitter, adventure and charm, and features magnificent sets (including a tree that grows 56 feet!), 180 lavish costumes, over 100 local children and mesmerizing special effects full of dazzling surprises including the return of the beloved Mother Ginger. The production’s broad appeal to adults and children alike make it a classic and a holiday tradition for all.
The Nutcracker, presented in 2 acts, is the classic tale of Clara and her Nutcracker Doll as together, they visit the land of fantasies and sugar plums, toy soldiers and Christmas mice all set to the dazzling costumes and sparkling sets of the Cincinnati Ballet. Sets and costumes designed by award-winning children’s book illustrator Alain Vaes and constructed at the Kirov Studios in St. Petersburg, Russia, will delight the young and the young at heart.
The 2009 Nutcracker festivities will again feature special family matinee activities, including box lunches, face painting, photos with Santa and the Nutcracker, and the Sugar Plum Parade – a special opportunity to meet Nutcracker dancers on the stage of the Detroit Opera House.

BALLET HISPANICO
February 13-14, 2010

Ballet Hispanico returns to the Detroit Opera House in February 2010 for the first time since making their Detroit Opera House debut in 1999. Founded in 1970 by Artistic Director Tina Ramirez, Ballet Hispanico is the foremost dance representative of Hispanic culture in the United States, with a professional company which tours nationally and internationally. Ballet Hispanico will perform at the Detroit Opera House February 13-14, 2010. Program repertory will be announced in early 2010.

Acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, the Ballet Hispanico Company has performed for over two million people throughout eleven countries, on 3 continents, appearing in such major venues as The John F. Kennedy Center, Houston's Wortham Center, the Auditorium Theater in Chicago, UCLA's Royce Hall, the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia, Wolf Trap, Jacob's Pillow, Boston's Celebrity Series and The Joyce Theater. The company's national television appearances include CBS Sunday Morning and, on NBC, Hispanics Today, Latin Access and the 1999 Hispanic Heritage Awards.

Today, Ballet Hispanico performs works by the foremost Latino choreographers as well as emerging artists, including Talley Beatty, William Whitener, Anne Reinking, Graciela Daniele, Sergio Triujillo, and Pedro Ruiz. The Company's innovative repertory fuses ballet, modern and Latin dance forms into a spirited image of the contemporary Hispanic world. Nearly 80 new works have been commissioned by Tina Ramirez from choreographers of international stature such as Alberto Alonso, Talley Beatty, Graciela Daniele, George Faison, Vicente Nebrada and Ann Reinking, and such dynamic young artists as Susan Marshall, Ramón Oller, David Roussève, Pedro Ruiz and William Whitener.

Alumni of the Ballet Hispanico school have gone on to careers in theater (Nancy Ticotin), film (Jennifer Lopez, Leelee Sobieski and Rachel Ticotin) and television (Michael DeLorenzo), as well as with other leading dance companies.

TCHAIKOVSKY BALLET: Sleeping Beauty
March 26 – 28, 2010

Also debuting at the Detroit Opera House is the Tchaikovsky Ballet, one of Russia’s most distinguished artistic companies, with their critically acclaimed production of Sleeping Beauty. With Tchaikovsky’s famous and whimsical score performed live by the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra, and Marius Petipa’s glorious choreography as the foundation for this enduring ballet classic, Sleeping Beauty, will be performed March 26-28, 2010.

Somewhere in an imaginary land, the Princess Aurora is born, and the king calls for a grand christening celebration in which all the fairies of the kingdom are invited to welcome the newborn child. The ceremony is interrupted by an evil-doer who curses the princess and says she will one day prick her finger and die. Luckily, a fairy gives a present to the princess and says that the princess will not die when she pricks her finger, but instead will fall into a deep sleep and will be awoken by a prince after 100 years. On the princess’s 18th birthday, she pricks her finger and sleeps for 100 years until her prince charming awakens her with a kiss.

Since the premiere of their first ballet season in 1926, The Tchaikovsky Ballet Theatre of Perm, Russia, has produced a growing number of classical and contemporary works, with an emphasis on the operas and ballets of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The magic of several Kirov artists profoundly influenced the ballet company, which shares in the standards and styles of the Kirov school. The company is unique in that it draws all of its dancers from its own school, one of the most prestigious training institutions for ballet in Russia. The Tchaikovsky Ballet’s artists have distinguished themselves in national and international ballet competitions and festivals, and have won international fame. They are now known throughout the world from numerous foreign tours and appearances at international arts festivals in Viena, Bregentz, Spoleto, Seget, Dubrovnik, and Servantino in Mexico.

For tickets visit www.motopera.org or call the ticket office at(313) 237-SING (7464).

Stephen Lord's Interview Q & A's

This is the last part of our interview series for The Elixir of Love. We will have more updates about the Detroit Opera House later this week! Enjoy.

Stephen Lord


What steps do you have to take in order to prepare for the show?

In order for me to prepare for this show, I have to know the singers- In this sort of music you have to know what the singers can and cannot do- you have to rehearse with the singers and have the same common goals. And hopefully the acting will come as we continue to rehearse.

When people start gathering for the production, what is a typical day like for you?

I have to be with the singers individually so we get to know and trust each other. So my typical day I will have an hour or hour and a half with just me the piano and the person and I can hear how they sing it and we come to an agreement. Then we start putting people together so they get to know each other. This is usually a two day process. If we don't establish that rapport in the beginning you don't get a complete product.

How would you compare Elixir of Love to other operas you may have conducted?

To quote Benjamin Brittan “the notes are all the same, they're just arranged differently.” This is a comedy with a lot of heart and I try to find the operas with the most honest sentiment. Its funny, but its also about a lovers misunderstanding. It has its own life in itself. I wouldn't conduct it if I didn't love it.

What is your favorite score of music to conduct?

My favorite operas to conduct are Norma, Salome, and the Marriage of Figaro.

What do you find most fulfilling about your job?

Communicating with my performers. When we're all on the same wave length, theres no feeling like it. Its a love fest. Its the give and take between us as performers. Its the unsaid things thats the most fulfilling part of it.

Is there any kind of unique story you could tell that you have experienced?

I started my career here- my first job is at the MOT doing the barber of Seville on tour. We opened in Alpena, MI, that's where my career started. I'll always be very thankful for starting me on this wild path. And I've been doing this for 35 years. In Michigan I made some of my most significant professional friends first and we've stayed friends this 35 years.

I read in your bio that you have conducted both traditional and contemporary works- Do you favor one style over another?

Yeah, I favor the traditional ones because they're the ones that need the most help. They've become cliché written, you have to invent the musical demands opposed to contemporary. You have to find out whats behind the notes and not just do the notes.

What kind of relationship do you have to have with the singers in order for the score to come together?

I'm reuniting myself with old friends, but I have several cast members I've never met before, but its establishing new relationships and its very wonderful once you've been in the business for a long time. And I hope it shows to the public. We cant forget in opera that we have the singers but we also have the orchestra, and we have to bring them into the family as we do it.

Anything else you would like to share?

Historically people have found relief from the grind of everyday and the hard times that they have they found it through art and hopefully In these bad times, we can give them back some of what they have invested in by spending money thats hard to come by. Hopefully they'll feel rewarded by us.

Elixir of Love Rehearsal