Proud, Passionate, and Curious

(Posted by Damien Elwood, February 12, 2009)

It has been a while between posts but there are a few good reasons for this. First would be the holidays. Here's hoping they were great for all of you. The second would be our scenes program. It was a wonderful success! Congratulations to all of you who performed so well. The third would be that we have been working up the first of our monthly email newsletters called PROGRAM - notes. Most of you should have received it this week. The goal of this newsletter is to share with our core community of supporters what makes us proud, passionate, and curious. If you did not receive this email but would like to, join our email list!

The initial PROGRAM-notes features two articles. The first is commentary from Ken Cazan about how we should view the infamous Don Giovanni - DON GIOVANNI: HERO? ANTI HERO? It is great reading. Part of what I like about Ken's approach to his work is that he is committed to making even the most traditional of operatic repertoire relevant to 21st century audiences. Despite the beauty of Mozart's music and the care Da Ponte takes to endear us to the infamous "rake," there is no denying that Don Giovanni would be considered at least a player, if not much worse, in modern American society.

The other article is an email interview with perhaps the most successful of our recent graduates Angela Meade - Alumni Spotlight: Angela Meade. Angela, who left USC in 2005 after three years of graduate studies, has had an amazing 3 1/2 years since. The highlight was her debut with the Met last spring as Elvira in Verdi's Ernani. I found her responses to my questions genuine, informative, and sweet. I'm not sure how many of you know Angela, but it was a real pleasure to have her in our program. It is also good to see that nice gals don't have to finish last. As a bonus, Angela provided us with some truly fabulous pictures from her Ernani appearance. I have to admit I had a full blown, take my breath away, opera production geek experience over the beauty (and expense) of the costumes and sets in the Met's production. Oh to have the Met's budget.

Finally, we really want to make PROGRAM-notes something you all want to read. We have a pretty good sense that the Alumni Spotlights and opinion articles by Ken and Brent will be reasonably popular, But what else would you all like to read about? Tell us! Send email to opera@thornton.usc.edu with your ideas and suggestions. If you have an idea for something you would like to contribute to either the email newsletter or this blog let us know as well. We want to make both of them valuable online resources for all of you, our core community of supporters.

(Damien Elwood has been the USC Thornton Opera Program Manager since 2004)

The Daily Grind - COUSC

Written by Alexandra Loutsion December 3, 2008

One of the unique experiences the USC Thornton School of Music has to offer is the Chamber Opera of USC. It is a student run program consisting solely of undergraduate performers directed by their graduate peers. Undergraduates become the stars of their own performances and graduate students exercise new creative skills of stage direction and putting together a performance behind the scenes. From both stand points, the benefits are huge and create a lasting impression that can influence further exploration in the various artistic fields.

This past semester, I had the great joy of co-creating and co-directing the Chamber Opera performance of The Daily Grind. We essentially started from scratch, having some idea of works we wanted to include (A Hand of Bridge by Samuel Barber, The Coffee Cantata by J.S. Bach, and some musical theater pieces) but not really knowing the type of performance we wanted to create. We started by holding auditions in September, and, admittedly, we were not an easy panel. The singing-actors would offer a repertoire list of arias, songs and musical theater, and more often than not we would ask them to sing something a capella that they hadn't prepared to test our own theories and ideas of what we wanted them to ultimately do. The singing-actors were incredible. For five hours, we listened to absolutely fantastic auditions and we wrote down people who we thought would be good for the specific pieces we had in mind. We also wrote down ideas of what would be good for those who didn't fit into the two pieces. After auditions were completed, we were excited and totally overwhelmed with the amount of talent. Thus began the long task of casting.

I don't remember who in the end came up with the idea of how to create the show. We all kept throwing ideas out until finally we realized we could link the two pieces together, connecting them in between with musical theater numbers. As the discussions went on, we decided that each person would have one character that they would carry out through the show. Because the singing-actors were so wonderful, we also had to pick things that featured everyone somehow. From this, The Daily Grind was born. It became a story about a coffee shop, owned by the narrator of The Coffee Cantata whose employees were those in A Hand of Bridge. Throughout an hour and fifteen minutes of music, we created a world of colorful patrons and workers, ranging from an opera singer, a girl named Latte who was obsessed with coffee, disgruntled office workers, singing waitresses, and even people who were waiting to meet blind dates from match.com. The show flowed seamlessly throughout many styles of music, and we split all of the pieces to allow each of the 22 people to have a solo moment. Because The Coffee Cantata was so lengthy, we decided to double cast it to include more singers. Those who weren't cast in the fall were cast in the spring. Because of the organization of our new co-presidents Kira Dills-DeSurra and Alex Goldberg, we were also able to include two fabulous pianists and a string quintet for the Bach, conducted by Chris Eanes.

As co-directors, Jacquelynne Fontaine and I split the piece in half, leaving me A Hand of Bridge, Coffee Break, and Taylor the Latte Boy, while she took The Coffee Cantata, Will He Like Me, It's An Art, and a Mexican folksong. We held rehearsals at the same time every Monday night, individually directing each scene or mini opera. The singing-actors were so eager to work, responding to every crazy thing either of us asked them to do, and really took some fantastic risks. We didn't have a chance to get the whole group together until the week of the show, and so in two days, we made our two halves a whole. The singing-actors took this challenge and ran with it, filling so much of it in on their own and going so far at points that we had to tell them to step back. By the weekend of the shows, we were ready to go.

We had a huge turn out for every one of the shows, and the audiences were very responsive. The performance garnered some new interest in the Chamber Opera from both undergraduate performers and graduate directors, and introduced the program to many people who had never heard of it before. I have found through many talks in the days after with faculty and students that there is a new found respect for the organization as a whole. It just goes to show you what can happen when everyone has a goal that they are willing to work towards.

The Daily Grind is one step in a line of many previous performances that has allowed the Chamber Opera to become what it is today. There are many more projects to come, and we are always looking for more people to become involved. The next project is slated for March 6-8, 2009 and we are currently in preparation as I type this blog. If you want to know more, please feel free to email us at cousc@usc.edu or become a member of our facebook group, "Chamber Opera of USC (COUSC)". New faces are always appreciated!

The Chamber Opera of USC is a student run organization funded and supported by the University and the Thornton School of Music.

Alexandra Loutsion has completed her Masters Degree in Vocal Arts at the USC Thornton School and is in the first year of the Graduate Certificate Program.

POH - Post-opera High

Written by Ariel Pisturino 11/26/2008

Looking back on the semester, I don’t know how I lived through going to class, working, and spending five hours a day in opera rehearsal. I know I must have felt on the verge of insanity, but now that
The Rape of Lucretia is over I find myself getting to school early so I can check the opera board. When four o’ clock rolls around I find myself instinctively packing up my things to head to rehearsal. I miss family dinners. I feel uncomfortable with the sudden abundance of free time. I have to do homework now instead of opera? That does not sound fun at all. I believe I am suffering from a syndrome I am deeming post-opera high or POH, the let down after the show is over. It is a sad occurrence, but a performer must always move forward.

The Rape of Lucretia is truly a masterpiece. It is an opera of difficult music combined with complex characters, and it was a very satisfying experience.

I played the role of Bianca an older Italian woman, the head servant of a politically powerful house, and mother figure to Lucretia. Honestly I did not understand the character at first. My first concern was the difficult music. I had nothing to relate with the character; my Italian grandparents both died before I was born. I am only twenty-four years old, and Bianca is at a menopausal age (another aspect I did not relate with). All I could think of was the mother on the T.V. show Everybody Loves Raymond. The musical aspect aside, I needed to get into the head of Bianca. Ken and Brent both helped me to understand each phrase she says in the opera. I researched the symptoms and changes of menopause, Elizabeth Hynes thought this was hilarious, and I thought about how to apply this to the character. I needed to think about what is Bianca like when she is alone, the obsession with Lucretia, and her relationship with Lucia? Based on the libretto, Ken and I made a background for her to add some depth to the character and also to help me develop Bianca.

It was very difficult. I had to put many hours into thinking about Bianca’s movements. In every rehearsal I discovered something new about her. It was great to realize that she is more then some character on a T.V. show, Bianca represents a generation of women. She symbolizes older women everywhere and all of the trials and tribulations and every feeling in between that they must face. By the time we began dress rehearsals, I finally understood Bianca. Ken and Brent were both open to questions, suggestions, and ideas that helped me to develop this character.

I felt like we were all a team focused on one central goal. The cast was supportive, and we frequently talked about our characters together outside of rehearsals. Even with my cover I felt that we were partners in learning the music and the character. I believe this is why the show turned out so great, because we all wanted this opera to have a meaning for the audience. I am not so sure we could have pulled off such an effective show if it had been double cast.

I am so proud of myself and all the other cast members. I had an amazing experience. The applause at the end of the show made the work worth it.

Thank you to Ken and Brent and everyone else for letting me be part of this production. I wish you all luck with Don Giovanni in the spring.

Ariel Pisturino is a Masters of Vocal Arts student at the USC Thornton School of Music.

Sweatpants and Green Sneakers

Posted by Alexandra Loutsion

As I write to you all, I find myself in a very familiar situation of which I am sure many of you can relate. I am in my bed, covers pulled high, ready and waiting patiently for much needed slumber. Instead, I am tossing and turning, thinking about the audition that waits for me in the morning. I think about my audition ritual that varies depending on location, but is extremely reliable. Wake up early, take a forty minute walk around whatever city I’m in, shower, vocalize, put my hair in curlers, vocalize more, do some stretches, look through all my music again, triple check my materials, put on the makeup, take out the curlers, put on the dress, slip on my black sweatpants and green sneakers, heels in my shoulder bag and head out the door with too much time to spare. Then I promptly worry that I have forgotten something, causing me to rifle through my bag and pull out my binder while I am crammed on a subway, speed walking, or driving to my destination, effectively angering anyone who I am in close quarters with as I elbow them in the face. Once I arrive, I find somewhere to hide so that no one will see me in my sweatpants and green sneakers, and I get totally ready to make my grand entrance into the building wearing my heels, pretending that I either trekked 150 blocks in them from the upper upper west side, or that I drove 90 to 400 odd miles in them, and just happen to show up looking perfect, feeling confident, and pretending like its just another day.

In truth, I guess it is. Another day in the life of a working (or trying to work) young opera singer.

I hope that you are all laughing, thinking on your own experiences of neurotic preparation. Of course, can anyone blame us? After the hours of practice, language study, coaching, dramatic work, and searching for the perfect audition outfit, we venture out into the world, hoping and praying that at least some of what we have learned along the way sticks with us. Right now, most people are preparing for the holiday season; we as opera singers are preparing for what I affectionately call “The Month”: audition season in New York City.

For the months of November and December, I will join the masses in NYC doing a series of young artist program auditions, as well as singing “Second Woman” in The Dido Project with the Sybarite Chamber Players. This is the first time that I will be pairing a gig with the audition rounds this year, creating a very busy two months full of singing and running around all corners of Manhattan. With the aid of my fabulous teacher and coaches, I have come up with a somewhat eclectic list of audition arias, all of which I absolutely love singing. My prep is done, and now its time to get out there and do it! So…(I ask myself, my heart starting to pound)…what does that mean exactly?

It is easy to dread this time of year. Auditioning is not easy. Out of towners (like me) are generally couch hopping with very understanding friends, (I myself will be in Harlem, Queens, and Innwood for the duration of my stay) warming up in subways or bathrooms, all the while trying to keep the outfit looking fresh for a month and asking ourselves why we signed up for this in the first place. However, the season also brings new excitement-the joy of discovering parts of the city you never knew about, the pleasure of meeting up with friends unexpectedly at audition sites, and of course, singing the arias that you love. I am not an expert, but the one thing I will say is always sing something that you can embrace and truly believe in with everything you have to offer. The audition process is so rewarding when we realize that a big part of it is about sharing what we love to do. As Ken told me the other day, “continue to sing for the joy of singing.” With all of the stuff I mentioned previously, sometimes that can be hard to remember, but we have been given one of the greatest gifts imaginable. We get to share in the beauty of humanity through melodies that journeyed from composers’ minds to the inner reaches of our bodies, letting them out in beautiful tones that are uniquely ours. We allow people to feel in a society that doesn’t always welcome grandiose emotions. We allow people to sit quietly in a think in a media driven world where fluff is praised. Most importantly, we allow people to connect in ways they never imagined possible. I ask you, what could be better than that?

So, I suppose another audition season will come and go. Hopefully, The Dido Project will be well received, and I am looking forward to seeing my friends from the east coast. But one thing I will keep in mind this time around is the joy of this art form, something that has been instilled in me because of my work at USC. The instruction, support, and encouragement we receive is truly life-altering. I consider myself extremely lucky to be a part of this eclectic and passionate group of people, who are not only rooting for what I’m about to do, but will share in the result because of all of the hours they have given to me.

To all of you auditionees out there: be strong, have fun, and enjoy every moment. This wild ride is about to begin!

Alexandra Loutsion has completed her Masters Degree in Vocal Arts at the USC Thornton School and is in the first year of the Graduate Certificate Program.

Life After James Conlon

Posted by Ken Cazan

James Conlon gave an insightful, heartfelt, sometimes confusing but always passionate Visions and Voices lecture the other night. It was about his life in the arts, the “classical” arts as he calls them and we are all aspiring to our little chip of the marble of those arts.

After talking to all three of my classes about Mo. Conlon’s talk, the general consensus was that his Q&A session afterwards was the most honest and insightful part of the evening. There was, however, one consistent question: What is the answer to Prof. Gilfry’s question (and I paraphrase), “How do you explain to a non-classical arts person the relevance of the classical arts in Depression-era 2008?” Mo. Conlon answered form his heart and related personal anecdotes about his personal life, his growing up with the classical arts deep within his soul but never quite got around to a solid answer.

I have been thinking about this a lot since I began teaching here four years ago and have spoken with close colleagues worldwide in an effort to begin to hone down an answer to Prof. Gilfry’s question. The answer (or several answers to the question) is multi-faceted. What draws us to the arts in the first place? For me, it was a desperate search for a personal identity, a way to stand out, to be noticed in the midst of a large family with huge personalities, all of us fighting to be seen for our uniqueness, our “divine spark” (as G.B. Shaw would say). As I grew older and dealt with my sexuality, the arts became even more important to me as a place where I could belong and be who and what I am during the tumultuous period of coming out of the closet and accepting myself and allowing others to deal with their acceptance (or not) of my homosexuality.

Translate that into the soul of an inner-city youth whose parents are not present in their lives. Their parents might be a drug dealer, drug addict, prostitute, gang banger, abuser or child of an abused parent and carrying around so much baggage that their children get lost in the emotional melee of their existence. Maybe their parents are simply working two or three jobs to desperately make a life for their children and keep a roof over their heads. Where can that child turn for fulfillment, self-expression, and a way to release their anger and frustration at being forgotten, left behind, lost in the shuffle? The arts (classical or otherwise) are the most embracing, accepting, loving parental substitutes that I can imagine. Throughout my life, whether as a child or an adult, whenever a difficult personal event arose, I could always escape to the arts, my art, as a means of dealing with my troubles, of beginning to understand what I was going through and I could always use the arts as an avenue to express and release my angst while serving and enhancing whatever piece I was working on at the time. I still do (as members of my Directing 407 class experienced last week) use the arts as emotional release.

An artistic event can help us to identify a problem in our lives and more importantly, they can help us identify a solution to that problem. I can’t tell you how often in my career I have had a member of an audience come up to me and say, “I never looked at that character from that perspective before," and that it helped them answer questions about life's dilemmas. The arts can be re-affirming and powerful aids in an audience member's system of religious and spiritual beliefs. Suor Angelica had a profound impact on the women I was working with both times I collaborated on it. It made them realize the common bonds that women have with their bodies and the potential for their brains and bodies when working together towards the common goal of creating three-dimensional people behind the generic habits. It helped me to realize the strength it takes so many women to inhibit their natural instincts and believe in their faith so much that it becomes the over-riding passion in their lives. This is the power of the arts.

Finally, the arts, particularly the classical arts, are some of the most diverse records of the social, political, and religious histories available to us in 2008. Look back to “La Boheme” and capture the essence of a bunch of young people in Italy in the 1830s and flash forward to today. Working on “Boheme” as a young director helped me to understand what a universal situation striving for a career in the arts is. It also helped me immeasurably during the horrendous dark times in the 1980s when so many of our most talented and brilliant artists were falling prey to a plague the like of which hadn’t been seen since the advent of tuberculosis. This had religious, political, and sexual repercussions but through working on “Boheme,” “Traviata,” and other classical arts pieces that had similar context, I gradually began to learn how to deal with my grief and anger. I also understood that through history, cataclysmic illnesses have always been and sadly, always will be. How we handle them emotionally, how we survive them and live to tell cautionary, enlightening tales to future generations, this is what the classical arts can help us to learn to do. The arts are a chronicle of history and a guide to the future.

Beyond their beauty, their provocative aspects, and their timeless tales, if we didn’t have the classical arts, we would have no diverse world history, no optional viewpoints for our present, and no ammunition to deal with future dilemmas.

This is what the arts, classical or otherwise, have taught me and is why I believe in arts education and the continuing support of the arts on any level.

Ken Cazan is the Resident Stage Director for the USC Thornton School of Music and an internationally renowned stage director of operas, musical theatre, and legitimate theatre.

Storytelling

Posted by Brent McMunn

I’ve realized lately that I really like my job. The depth of talent of both graduate and undergraduate singers seems even greater this year, and I’m happy that we have two masterpieces to dig into, with lots of principal roles and our Lucretia cover cast getting a complete run with orchestra. Then, in case anyone’s worried about an excess of darkness, there’s that hour of operetta to look forward to on the scenes program. Wait, we’ve also pretty much landed on an intriguing high-profile season for ’09-’10. Stay tuned…

Still speaking of job satisfaction, in the last few weeks there have been repeated “this is what a music school should be like” days. Stimulated by separate events such as the John Duykers and Tom Allen masterclasses, and the particular challenges of Lucretia, a number of intense, spontaneous discussions have come up about complex issues such as what is really involved in bringing together thought and music, freedom and discipline, speech and musical line, and more. That’s the interesting stuff. Any insights or frustrations out there to be shared as comments?

On to some current ideas brought about by the piece at hand, Lucretia. First, about singing in English, and a heightened English it is: I recently went to a friend’s 70th birthday party where there were essentially 4 generations of talented, working actors present. While everyone was smart as a whip, I noticed that the older the actor, the better they were at telling stories. They find the right moment, shape the story with rhythm, energetically speak to the whole room, and expertly act out voices. Later that evening, watching TV, I found myself especially irritated at the close-mic'd mumbling of some of the actors.

Now I don’t believe in taking a regressive “in the old days…” stand about our language. I’m just pointing out that we’re much less immersed in the dramatic use of English than previously. So for singers who otherwise have plenty of flair, fulfilling the English of this piece, written in 1940’s England, turns out to take more detail work, and even courage, than an opera in Italian. It takes bold experimentation, some technical diction guidance (looking forward to Jennifer Ringo’s magic), the ability to self monitor every vowel and consonant chosen, and of course, most importantly, meaningful intention. After all, a rrrolled 'R' can be either effective or affected. Then the music makes such sense - and what music! But that’s for another day.

I have a feeling that by mid November we’re going to have some very skillful storytelling at parties around here.

Brent McMunn is the Conductor/Music Director of USC Thornton Opera

Corraggio, amici!

(Posted by Ken Cazan)

Hello all of you—this is my first blog entry ever and it is new and slightly strange! I hope the beginning of the school year doesn’t find you too obfuscated and panicked. The first three or four weeks are always crazy. Eventually they settle down into something resembling a routine.

I am sitting here in my loft looking at the beautiful skyline of L.A. on a bright sunny day. I should be working but I am just too enthralled by the sun, the sounds of busses and trucks passing below my window, and the car whose alarm won’t shut off. And I am grateful for all of the work I have lined up for the next three years or so. I am grateful because after that I know I am going to have to tighten my belt. We are heading into another recession if not a full blown depression and no amount of posturing by presidential candidates and Congress is going to spare us.

As always when finances get tight, the arts get slammed. It happened in my career in the late 1980s and it is now happening at the beginning of your careers, in the late part of the first decade of the 2000s. Some opera companies and universities will hit the panic button and revert to performing opera’s “greatest hits.” There will be endless trashy productions of Carmen, Butterfly, Traviata, Boheme, etc. They will be safe and sanitized and not terribly interesting. These same companies will disband a penchant for using younger (cheaper) singers in favor of more established artists to build audience and sell tickets. Apprentice programs will be put on hold as far as numbers go and everybody will huddle, terrified around the stove, trying to sacrifice artistic excellence and risk to the fire to save their jobs.

I, however, believe that this is precisely the time to take risks. This is the time to branch outside of the box for at least one production per season with THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA (or any Britten for that matter) or Rota’s ITALIAN STRAW HAT or perhaps Henze’s ELEGY FOR YOUNG LOVERS. These pieces could very easily bring in a younger and new audience who don’t want to laugh at the over-blown dramatics of badly produced standard opera pieces. Use younger singers, as well, to people these productions, singers perhaps better trained in contemporary theatrical techniques. Let the audience feel that they are discovering the next Deborah Voigt, Renee Flemming, Marcello Giordani or Rene Pape. These great artists all had to start somewhere and work their ways up from obscurity and part-time waiter/waitress jobs to attain the level they are at today.

When money gets tight, the arts as a “luxury” item suffer and dwindle. Some theatre and opera companies, museums, and symphonies will disappear. We need to be ready to tighten our belts and breathe deeply and be willing to re-conceive our theories of opera production. Through this re-conception, we will be forced to be more creative with less money and “re-invent the wheel” as the adage goes. We must not dumb down opera, musical-theatre ,legitimate theatre, museum exhibits, or symphonic programming to fit a wrong-headed notion that in doing so we are somehow bringing in more public and consequently more income. We will also keep the careers and hopes of many fine young artists alive and thriving amidst the frustrations of companies hesitating to take the risk of using them.

Corraggio, amici! Fight the good fight!

Ken Cazan is the Resident Stage Director for the USC Thornton School of Music and an internationally renowned stage director of operas, musical theatre, and legitimate theatre.