The Opera Studio Melbourne

Newsletter February 2012

Dear Friends, 2011! What fabulous performances and exciting works we were privileged to produce. The 2011 Company of Singers equipped themselves remarkably well under the pressure of constant and varied performances, and the photographs are testament to the professionalism, imagination and dedication of everyone involved, including our valued supporters, without whom we would not exist. So busy were we, that our last newsletter was produced in July: for those of you who might have missed some of our activities and performances, and for those of you who were there celebrating the talent and enthusiasm of our diverse team, we have put together a brief summary for you:

Orpheus in the Underworld at the National

Directed by Linda Thompson

Costume Design by Cameron Menzies Lighting by Robert Taylor Photos by Jeff Busby

Offenbach's zany Orpheus in the Underworld was a delight! And our audiences loved it. The singers outdid themselves in what was a new genre for many, operetta. Dialogue and dancing,

Breaking News Australian dramatic contralto Ms Liane Keegan to return from Deutsche Oper in Berlin to take up a part-time position as Vocal Consultant with us for two extended periods in 2012.

International Studio Exchange Program Thanks to an Anonymous Donor, and our Co-SOS Chairman, Dr Mark Bryce, we have established a relationship with The Israeli Opera Studio to enable an annual 2-3 week exchange for one lucky singer from each Studio. More on page 5

We have a Corporate Partner: WHK Melbourne pledges to support the activities of The Opera Studio for 3 years.

The Opera Studio Melbourne News February 2012

“Vivamus porta est sed est.”

“When you go for a top note, it is not going to be there by the grace of God, there needs to be a lot of organisation” It was truly an extraordinary pleasure to welcome soprano Dame Kiri te Kanawa to take a private Master Class for The Opera Studio in October, when she was in Melbourne for her recital tour. Dame Kiri donated her time to work with six of our singers, generously discussing their singing and repertoire over lunch with the six singers, our Chairman Bill Gillies, accompanist Terence Dennis, Manager Paul Gleeson, Cameron Menzies and I.

Dame Kiri then devoted three hours to coaching and guiding our singers in a Master Class observed by singers of The Opera Studio, past and present, and a small audience of major Donors. Unfortunately, the class was not open to the public, but we hope that Dame Kiri enjoyed the experience and our singers enough to make a visit to The Opera Studio a regular event whenever she is in Melbourne, and hopefully allow the public to see her instruction.

Dame Kiri is renowned for her generosity in assisting young NZ singers through the Kiri te Kanawa Foundation, and was recently on the Adjudication Panel of The Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.

heels and comedy, the show pushed our young singers to the giddy heights of opera as entertainment, assisted by the incredibly inventive costumes, designed, and even mostly manufactured by, our own Head of Direction, Cameron Menzies. The pictures, taken by stalwart Melbourne theatre photographer Jeff Busby, show the energy and enthusiasm that the singers brought to the concept and the production. Special mention must be made of surely the first Elvis impersonation in an Offenbach operetta: Nicholas Dinopoulos managed to make the music of his character Styx sound as if it was penned for The King himself – a courageous and triumphant effort. With my Director hat on, it was a most enjoyable and rewarding task to encourage risk-taking in order to extend skills in our singers, in areas never before explored. Choreographer Laura Frew did a fantastic job of coordinating the array of dancing ability in our group, with the addition of young ballet dancers from the National Theatre Ballet School for the Can-Can. One of our delighted patrons emailed ‘Please accept my EXTREME Compliments…what a piece, what a delight, what a great team, and what great direction and what great costumes, what a great orchestra, what a great venue etc etc etc’ The Age declined to review our performance, so we will gladly take this rave review instead! A sincere thank you to all of you who sent in congratulatory emails and comments; it is wonderful to be able to pass these on to our singers as reward for their hard work.

Dame Kiri te Kanawa Master Class

October 2011

Dame Kiri took a particular shine to sopranos Stacey Alleaume (pictured; 2009, 2010) and Ashlyn Tymms (2011), providing them with complimentary tickets to all her performances in Melbourne. Dame Kiri invited Stacey to apply to the Solti Accademia Summer School in Tuscany, offering Stacey her own personal recommendation.

Dame Kiri’s generosity was further evidenced by the provision of her own personal accompanist, Dr Terence Dennis, who offered our singers his own valuable insight as well as sensitive and supportive accompaniment for the day.

The Opera Studio Melbourne News February 2012

2011 Mini-Opera Festival The Juniper Tree (Glass/Moran) Love’s Luggage Lost (Rossini, English translation by Amanda Holden) Beechworth Memorial Hall Abbotsford Convent In what seemed like no time at all, we were back in rehearsal for our mini-opera festival: three little operas with innumerable challenges. From Phillip Glass to Rossini, and then the jumble of Orpheus-related music in our Schools’ opera, by Offenbach, Gluck and Monteverdi. We said goodbye and a heartfelt thank you to our inaugural Head of Music Andrea Katz as she went off to pursue her concert career, and welcomed our new rehearsal pianist from the UK, now resident in Melbourne, Rhodri Clarke, who jumped with superior skill from one piece to the other. The two one-act operas complemented each other brilliantly, and the singers equipped themselves admirably in both styles. One singer was heard to remark, “if this is a one act Rossini opera and we’re exhausted, imagine doing three acts!” The excellent diction and characterizations were appreciated by audiences in Beechworth and in Abbotsford, as they readily chuckled at the antics of the cast of Love’s Luggage Lost, directed by Leonie Cambage. The piano score of The Juniper Tree was expertly realized by Rhodri, cleverly incorporating atmostpheric effects indicated by the orchestral score on the digital keyboard. Rhodri comes on board next year as our part-time Resident Répétiteur, for which we are indeed fortunate. He is a delight to work with, and a consummate musician. The production itself was quite simply breathtaking, directed and designed by Cameron Menzies, with costumes by the incredible Chloe Greaves. The vocal and dramatic challenges of each opera were met with skill and flair by our young singers, and valuable experience in jumping from one style to another in a very short time was gained. There is a trend in companies, particularly smaller companies, to combine diverse, shorter works in one program. It is suggested that it is designed to fit the attention span of our modern audience, used to switching over when their attention wanes. Each audience member it seemed left with their ‘favourite’ of the double bill, but the acclaim and praise, especially for the singers, was equally complimentary.

The Juniper Tree Directed & Designed by Cameron Menzies Costume Design Chloe Greaves

Love’s Luggage Lost Directed & Designed by Leonie Cambage Costume Design & Supply New Model, Brunswick

The Opera Studio Melbourne News February 2012

As a valued Friend of The Opera Studio, you are most welcome to drop in and observe rehearsals and classes at any time. You’ll find us putting it all together Monday – Thursday 10am-4pm, but best to email first to make sure something is actually scheduled on the day you would like to attend.

Keep an eye out for our Pop Up Performances etc.. by following our blog:

www.theoperastudio-melbourne.blogspot.com

And sign up to follow us on Twitter

@OperaStudio

Any help in Friend-raising, promoting and selling tickets is greatly appreciated.

Contact

admin@ theoperastudio.com.au

Tel. 9415 9392

for further information.

Did you know…?

2011 All Wrapped Up Co-SOS Fund-Raiser

On November 24, Dr Mark Bryce, Chair of the recently formed Co-SOS (Committee to Support The Opera Studio), held a Fund-Raising Dinner for 50 fortunate people. Guest Speaker was Film Director Bruce Beresford, who talked about his films, directing opera and his forthcoming production of Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt with Opera Australia in 2012. Special guests baritone Michael Lewis, soprano Nicole Youl and conductor Brian Castles-Onion generously donated their time to perform a bracket with singers of The Opera Studio. The setting, the singing, the music, the food (The Big Group), and the atmosphere was spectacular, and the event raised an incredible $50000 towards funding our international Music Director position. Thank you to all those who attended, and to those who donated above the cost of attendance, your assistance is greatly appreciated. We look forward to continuing to provide performance training and experience, thanks to your support. Sincere thanks to Dr & Mrs Ann Bryce for hosting a truly memorable evening.

Merry Christmas Gifts

Our final event at St Ignatius Hall for 2011 was an inspired treatment of popular opera arias and ensembles, presented as ‘Gifts’ for Christmas, directed by Guest Director Naomi Edwards. Using mostly materials on hand, including the now infamous sheep on wheels from Orpheus, the park bench from the Peter Kazaras project, and champagne glasses from our Friends function kit, a canopy was created and strung with festoon lighting to turn the large bare hall into a cosy, festive performance space. Making their debuts with The Opera Studio were our three singers from the Hong Kong Performing Arts Academy, Li Yang, Samantha Chong, and Eric Ferrer. Applause was rapturous from the very first item. Special mention to Rhodri Clarke again, for his sensitive and versatile skill at the piano. Other December performances were at West Space, in Bourke Street, WHK Client Christmas Party in Carlton Gardens, and some of our singers performed Christmas Carols at

The Opera Studio Melbourne News February 2012

Inaugural International Studio Exchange

The Opera Studio Melbourne and The Israeli Opera Studio, Tel Aviv

As we go to press, thanks to an anonymous donor, tenor Eric Ferrer is winging his way to Tel Aviv to represent The Opera Studio Melbourne in Israel, as a participant in the non-simultaneous exchange program with The Israeli Opera Studio. Eric will arrive on Monday, and on Wednesday be performing at a function with the Young Artists of The Israeli Opera Studio. During his three weeks at TIOS, Eric will receive music, dramatic and language coaching, participate in concerts, observe rehearsals of the Israeli Opera, and be immersed in the activities of TIOS. Subsequently, we will welcome an Israeli singer to Melbourne in August, and (although yet to be announced a little birdy says it’s a she) you will have the opportunity to see ‘her’ and Eric Ferrer perform in our Rorem/Lehmann Chamber Double Bill on Sunday August 26.

Dramatic contralto, Liane Keegan Liane Keegan, currently under contract to the Deutsche Oper, Berlin, will joins us as part time Vocal Consultant to oversee and assist in vocal technique and health in 2012. Liane recently performed as a principal artist in Glyndebourne. She has had a teaching studio in London for 20 years, and in Berlin for 4. We were excited and privileged to have her devote two months to coaching and mentoring our singers at the Studio in 2011. Liane will regularly give open workshops/master classes for Friends of TOSM – details TBA. The Opera Studio Melbourne will also perform at the ‘Liane Keegan & Friends’ Gala Concert at the Frankston Arts Centre on April 13.

Congratulations, Cameron Menzies In 2011 Studio Opera Director, Cameron Menzies won the prestigious Berlin New Music Opera Award through Opera Foundation Australia and Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst. Cameron spent 8 weeks in Berlin working on new contemporary opera. He also undertook a research and contact tour of international opera studios and Institutions in London and New York looking at international training of opera performers for the 21st century. In 2012, along with his ongoing commitment as Studio Opera Director at The Opera Studio Melbourne, he will undertake directing contracts with Victorian Opera and OzOpera, the touring arm of Opera Australia.

Welcome, our International Music Director, Eve Legault! Our new Music Director, Eve Legault is French-Canadian, currently living in New York. She has worked as a coach/répétiteur at the Royal Opera House, Seattle Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Glimmerglass, Boston Lyric Opera, and is on staff at Manhattan School of Music. Aside from her obvious experience, Eve comes with glowing recommendations. She describes herself as 'an iron fist in a velvet glove', which we think the ideal description of a Music Director! Eve is scheduled to be joining us on March 13, and we look forward to welcoming her and benefitting immensely from her artistic input and commitment to our Program.

Staff News

City of Stonnington Opera in the Park – from Twilight to Starlight

Studio Director Cameron Menzies (Artistic Director of Opera in the Park) put together a wonderful program of arias and ensembles that was enjoyed by in excess of 5000 people on Saturday February 4. The weather was as glorious as the music. Conductor Trevor Jones, a small orchestra and a selection of singers from The Opera Studio, past and present, made up the small chorus, and performed exquisitely. Soloists were Linda Thompson, Dimity Shepherd, Michael Lapina and Grant Smith. The City of Stonnington is to be heartily congratulated on producing a superb event to bring free opera to so many people.

2012 The Israeli Prize

AWARDED TO TENOR ERIC IGLESIA FERRER

The Opera Studio Melbourne News February 2012

Hadleigh Adams, NZ (2009) During his time with us, Hadleigh performed the major roles of Papageno in Magic Flute, and Bob in Menotti’s The Old Maid & The Thief. Whilst with us, Hadleigh was awarded a prestigious Scholarship to study at Guildhall in the UK. Hadleigh recently auditioned successfully in New York for a place in the Merola Young Artists Program at San Francisco Opera.

Stacey Alleaume (2009, 2010) performed the roles of Pamina (Magic Flute), Laetitia (The Old Maid & The Thief), Gretel (Hansel & Gretel) and was subsequently employed by Opera Australia – OzOpera to perform the role of Gretel in more than 75 performances in 2011. This year, she has been employed to sing Pamina in the OzOpera Schools’ Company Magic Flute. Stacey has also been personally invited to apply for participation in the prestigious Sir Georg Solti Academia Summer School in Italy by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.

Sophie Yelland (2010) performed the roles of Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) Hansel (Hansel & Gretel), Miss Todd (The Old Maid & the Thief) with us. Her first OzOpera Schools Company audition had her successfully employed as Hansel for more than 80 performances across Victoria for Opera Australia. Currently in the UK, Sophie has just been cast in the title role of Carmen for Bath Opera.

Hannah Dahlenburg (2011) Last year Hannah performed the role of Diana in Orpheus, Daughter in The Juniper Tree, and the Harp in Orpheus & The Underworld Zoo. Hannah successfully auditioned for Opera Australia Oz-Opera Schools Company, and will sing the ‘swing’ roles of Lady & Queen of the Night in the Met Opera Children’s version of The Magic Flute all over Victoria in 2012.

Cameron Lukey (2010) performed the title role in Don Giovanni, Bob in The Old Maid & The Thief, Peter in Hansel & Gretel; and subsequently was awarded a contract with Opera Australia-OzOpera Schools Company to perform the role of the Father (Peter) on tour in Hansel and Gretel. Cameron is Producer of an anticipated Australian premiere of an acclaimed contemporary American Opera.

News Snippets from our very own ‘Singers of the World’

Kari Lyon (2009) sang First Lady in Magic Flute and Antonia in Hoffmann’s Heart with us. Kari was recently awarded the Concert Artist Prize at the inaugural Metropolitan International Festival of Music in New York. She will perform in the Finals Concert, and in a recital as part of the main season in 2013.

Greg Eldridge (Trainee Director 2010, 2011) will direct Victorian Youth Opera Play of Daniel in 2012. Gladys Chua (Trainee Répétiteur 2010) is in her second year of the Professional Performance Program at ANAM. Nathan Lay (2010,2011) & Kristian Gregory (2009-2011) sharing the role of Shaunard in Melbourne Opera’s La Boheme in March, David Costello (2010) Young Artist with WA Opera, Timothy Jaques (2009, 2010) sings in the Chorus and small roles with Melbourne Opera, Rosel Labone (2010) recently participated in the Lisa Gasteen Summer School and Nicholas Dinopoulos (2010, 2011) recently appeared in a new music theatre work for IHOS/MONA FOMA in Hobart. Mandy Lyn Brook (2009) has a contract to sing in the new ‘netball opera’ Contact, directed by Cameron Menzies, for the Victorian Arts Centre.

Other news, in brief:

The Opera Studio Melbourne News February 2012

Dearest Friends! Have you paid your membership for 2012? Still only $55 per person per year.

Pay online

www.trybooking.com/BEIA

Send us a cheque or credit card details with your Name, Address, Email Address & Telephone number

P.O. Box 529 East Melbourne VIC 3002

Or drop us an email if you prefer to pay by Phone, and we will call you to take credit card details.

friends@theoperastudio.com.au

We take this opportunity to remind you that The Opera Studio Melbourne is on the ATO Register of Cultural Organizations, with DGR status, as well as a Tax-Exempt Charity, and as such, donations to our Fund Account over $2 (above your Friends’ membership) are tax-deductible. All donations gratefully received. We would not exist without philanthropic support.

Our first Free-for-Friends Soirée is on Wednesday March 28 at 7pm

In the historic Ballroom at Ravenswood, 40 Beauview Parade, Ivanhoe.

Meet, hear and mingle with our Company of Singers for 2012, accompanied by our new Music Director, Eve Legault. Our artistic team will also outline the Performance Program for 2012. Our sincere thanks to Dr David and Margaret Young for once again opening their beautiful home for us.

We reiterate that the most important element for any performance is an audience, and we ask for your help in encouraging people to attend our events. Word-of-mouth and personal recommendations are still the most effective forms of promotion.

To secure a seat, and to ensure there’s a sandwich and a glass of wine for you, please make it a habit to RSVP via friends@theoperastudio.com.au or by leaving a message on 03 9415 9392

On behalf of the Board, Co-SOS, the Artistic Team, our helpers, and our all-important Company of Singers 2012, I thank you sincerely for your continued support, and look forward to another exhilarating and rewarding year at The Opera Studio Melbourne.