Friday, June 25 5:30pm
Veterans Building Green Room
This is the 1st official event for the 2010 class of the Merola Opera Program. Each of the 25 young singers, coaches & directors sat briefly with Opera Center General Director Sheri Greenawald, President Patrick Wilken & Chairman Jayne Davis & answered one or two questions in a light & chatty vein. This moved quickly & was followed by a reception for the Merolini & the program supporters. Only baritone Ao Li could not be present. A visa problem was rumored to be the cause.
The interviews often revealed the well-rounded lives of the participants. Mezzo Robin Flynn swam from Alcatraz the previous Sunday. Tenor Alexander Lewis listed "jumping off of things" as one of his hobbies. Tenor Daniel Montenegro went into business making vodka & whiskey. Several singers admited to being "freaked out" by their imminent Auditions for the General Director taking place this Sunday.
There is no singing at this event, but we can look forward to their performances this summer. The Schwabacher Summer Concerts on July 16 & July 25 will include excerpts from Rodelinda, Werther, Barbiere, The Bartered Bride & The Merry Wives of Windsor (Otto Nicolai). L'Elisir d'Amore will be presented at Fort Mason August 5 - 8, & the Merola Grand Finale at the Opera House will be August 21st.
During the reception I had the pleasure of chatting with SFMike before he hastily ran off to the all-Berlioz program at the SF Symphony. He also wondered aloud how the likes of myself & the Opera Tattler had been admitted to such a swank event.
5 comments:
Yes. I am jealous. I am not on SF Opera's radar. Not even a little itty bit. Boo hoo.
Btw, Robin Flynn blogs, in case yo don't already know: http://www.theathleticperformer.blogspot.com/
I'll be playing second oboe for the Schwabacher concerts. I'm looking forward to hearing her and the rest of the Merolini! :-)
As you well know, the question was ironic. The goddess known as OT actually gives money to this cultural institution so she certainly belonged there. The two of us? We're there to spread the word.
I haven't looked at the photos yet, but I think there has to be at least one decent snap of the two of you.
Patty: The event has no singing, so you may not be missing as much as you think. It seems you will have plenty of exposure to the Merolini this summer! I look forward to hearing you in a Schwabacher concert. & thanks for sharing the link to Robin Flynn's blog. I was not aware of it.
SFMike: All irony aside, you are quite right to point out the Opera Tattler's role as supporter of Merola. She is also president of the Opera Standees Assocation, which sponsors 2 Merolini each year.
Ah yes, those pictures. I was recognized by someone at a performance of Faust, & I am sure your photos had something to do with it!
So far everyone has been very polite in not mentioning that I showed up to this event a whole half-hour late, thus missing the 1st 3 interviews.
sfmike always makes me giggle when he asks how I manage to get into this or such event.
I figured I would not tattle on you about being late, I gave you some sort of Muni exemption. Plus you didn't make a big fuss coming in.
I am relieved to know that the Opera Tattler can show mercy on occasion.
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