Wolf Trap Opera

A post by Lee Anne Myslewski

I’ve been playing long-distance Jenga. My Studio Co-Manager Grant Loehnig and I have these twelve talented Studio artists that will be spending the summer at The Trap. They serve as chorus and sometimes sing small roles in the mainstage operas. They have an educational curriculum that they follow, that includes dance classes, master classes, work with language and music coaches, and a series of seminars on the business of singing.

This curriculum also includes Studio Spotlight: a scenes program where our Studio singers get to take center stage and strut their stuff as principal artists.

From a singer’s perspective, scenes programs are invaluable; they allow young singers to “try on” some of the roles that they may inhabit in their professional lives. The programs are most often done with piano so that growing voices don’t have to compete with hordes of strings and brass; and with some set and costume pieces that represent the characters and scenes without fully fleshing them out. The singer is then tasked with completing the picture: if they’re successful, they’ll fill in those visual blanks with beautiful singing, dramatic connection, and some world-class storytelling.

But, who plans these programs? <insert evil laugh> Well, Grant and I have spent the last two months at a kind of virtual musical dim sum. We have to keep the best interests of the singers at the forefront, and we actually poll the singers to see what roles they’ve been wanting or advised to tackle. But once we have a sense of where the singer is going? After that point we have free rein to choose from the entirety of all operatic repertoire. Now, granted, we’re not likely to choose Wagner or big heavy romantic works, but that’s only because our younger singers aren’t quite ready for the vocal demands…and, while they might be able to soar gloriously over the piano, if they couldn’t realistically sing “In questa reggia” over an orchestra, we’re not likely to program it. But most everything else is fair game. Mozart? Most definitely. Monteverdi? Sure! Musto? Why the heck not? (We’ve even picked a few scenes by composers whose last names don’t start with the letter M!)

We have fairly lusty musical appetites, and narrowing down the choices is truly an exercise in discipline. If we had kept every piece that we had originally tapped for this performance it would’ve been absolutely Wagnerian in length: over three hours without an intermission, and chock-full of fantastic excerpts. But we’ve reined ourselves in, and have created an evening of diverse scenes with a little something for everyone. Romance, drama, comedy, duets and sextets, tunes in English and French and German and Italian…even pared down, it’s still a smorgasbord!

Grant and I are pretty pleased with the program, but we’re going to sleep on it in our respective Texan and Virginian homes for another night or two to make sure that it’s perfect. Only then will we let the singers in on the secret.

The program will be performed twice, on July 6 (8pm) and July 8 (3pm) at The Barns. It will be directed by Nathan Troup. And it’s an invitation-only performance: no tickets needed, but you need to be a Wolf Trap member to get on the guest list. Click here or write to us at wtoc@wolftrap.org to find out more.  We hope to see you in July for these delicious bite-sized operatic excerpts!

August 20, 2010

The Wolf Trap Opera Company is now accepting applications for its 2011 Company of Artists & Fellows.

The first deadline for applications is little over one month away (September 24)! The audition tour begins in New York this October, and finishes at our home in Vienna, Virginia. (Look to the Audition Calendar on the top right corner of this page.) The following positions within the company are available, pending a final decision about repertoire and schedule:

Filene Young Artists:

All principal roles in Wolf Trap Opera Company productions are performed by the singers selected as Filene Young Artists. Approximately 15-20 singers are chosen from an initial pool of approximately 800 applicants. They are in residence throughout the summer season, performing operas, concerts, recitals, and participating in activities related to their professional growth. Filene Young Artists have completed advanced degrees from the top music schools in the country, and have often participated in year-long young artist companies or summer apprenticeships. Many of them have already won prestigious awards and are on their way to significant careers.

Studio Artists

The Wolf Trap Opera Studio is a summer residency for singers of significant potential who are current undergraduates or who are making the transition between undergraduate and graduate study. The Wolf Trap Opera Studio offers young singers the professional and academic opportunities to take their talents to a higher level, and to cultivate and polish the skills needed to present themselves with confidence and authority in a very competitive field. Studio Artists perform comprimario and chorus roles in operas and concerts, and participate in educational seminars and outreach opportunities related to their ongoing artistic development.

Fellowships

Candidates for administrative, coaching, and directing fellowships are typically involved in graduate degree programs or young artist training programs. Candidates who are already working professionally (as assistant directors, opera coaches, etc) are typically beyond the reach of this program.

Internships

Internships are offered in stage management, administration, directing, technical theater, multi-media and costumes. Undergraduate students, graduate students, recent (up to 2 years) graduates, and career-change candidates are considered. Internships are handled through the Education Programs of the Wolf Trap Foundation.  Internships are handled on a different timeline;  the deadline for summer 2011 will be March 1, and the application materials may be found here.

Start here for all important information about this fall’s application process and audition tour!

This past week, members of the Wolf Trap Opera Studio took their fabulous Instant Opera! improvised opera to hundreds of children in the magical part of Wolf Trap National Park called the Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods.  Five years ago, I was onstage with the singers, developing this incredible project with Jim Doyle (of Comedy Sportz, and now of Disney).  This year I was alternately on the road, then managing orchestra readings, so I missed all of the fun.  Still can’t believe it.

You can read more about how Instant Opera! works here.  And for your enjoyment, here are a few Mad Libs-style opera plots that the children created during Instant Opera! 2010:

Star Wars Lizard
Once upon a time in a backyard, Darth Vader and Yoda were doing yoga.
Along came Zeus and a cheetah, and they danced!

The Secret Castle
Once upon a time in a castle, a princess and a dragon were dancing.
Along came a King and a salesperson, and they cooked dinner.

Wolf Trap Superstars
Once upon a time in a forest, Justin Bieber and Hannah Montana were cutting down trees.  Along came Harry Potter and Hermione G, and they did some magic!

SpongeBob in a Castle
Once upon a time in a castle, a prince and a pig were eating lunch.
Along came a princess and SpongeBob, and they danced!

Thanks and congratulations to Claudia, Hillary, Paul, Hunter, Christopher, Patrick, Scott, Judy, Amelia, and of course, your friend and mine Jim Doyle.

(Wish I had photos, but I didn’t get to attend a single show, and someone let Melear move to Europe with his camera…)

On Sunday afternoon, we turned the theatre over to our studio singers, fellows and interns.  75 minutes of scenes from 7 operas in 4 languages were sung, played, supertitled, and stage-managed by folks whose average age couldn’t have topped 23.  The rest of us cheered, enjoyed, and did the best we could at house management.  Even a 3:10pm severe thunderstorm that wreaked havoc with the light board and supertitle projectors didn’t faze these folks.

It’s the first time we held this event (which itself is a mere 3 years old) at The Barns, our small-but-mighty mainstage.   It was an experiment that paid great dividends, and we will be seeking to replicate it and improve on it in future seasons.  I came away with lots of food for thought, some of which I didn’t bargain on.

I’ve been puzzling out the dramatically different vibe that was present in the house that afternoon. On one hand, it shouldn’t have been a surprise.  The audience comprised mostly friends/family of the performers and a wide range of Wolf Trap donors.  They were predisposed to wish us well.  Admission was free, which also doesn’t hurt the frame of mind.  I knew all of this, but the overwhelmingly relaxed, open, dare-I-say-happy groove that pervaded the afternoon was somehow shocking.

There are folks who do enjoy their time at the opera, no doubt, but at a typical show in a typical house, we don’t usually hear from them.  We are more aware of their discontent fellow patrons, with an inner monologue of…. this-better-be-worth-the-money… I-went-through-rush-hour-hell-to-get-here… I-don’t-like-my-seats… I-hate-this-director/conductor/singer.  You get the idea, and I’m sure you can fill in some of your own.

So why, for a program of scenes with no orchestra, no sets and no costumes, were people seemingly more willing to relax and try to have a good time?  Is it all about the free ticket? Is it about low expectations being exceeded?  Is it bundled up with a personal connection to the artists and/or the organization?  Is it that the ticketed performance is a business transaction with a complicated return-on-investment mindset?

I’ll never know, but it is my mission to bottle some of it and figure out how to embed it in every show we do.

The Wolf Trap Opera Studio takes the stage of The Barns tomorrow for scenes from The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Barber of Seville, Turando, Love for Three Oranges, The Daughter of the Regiment, Iphigenie en Tauride, and West Side Story!

(Photos from Friday’s dress rehearsal)