Hello! This is resident artist Michael Nyby updating after our final run-through of Casanova’s Homecoming before we go into production week. This opera was a challenge musically, but the end result is going to be well worth the effort. When I first received my score, I spent some time reading through the text and laughed out loud on several occasions. Now that I’ve had the chance to see the entire production come together, I can honestly say that this is one of the most hilarious operas I have ever encountered. Argento wrote both the music and the libretto, a feat only a few composers have dared, and with a few exceptions, many of whom ended up with rather middling to woefully poor results. Casanova on the other hand has a delightfully funny libretto in which the text never becomes subservient to the music nor vice versa. It boggles the mind that this opera hasn’t been produced more than three times since the original premiere twenty-five years ago. I hope this time around it is again well-received and more productions are mounted elsewhere; this work certainly deserves it. I hate to sound like an advertisement, but I really love this opera!
Casanova’s Homecoming production week
November 7th, 2009Up Next–Brad
October 18th, 2009Hi everyone!
This week we start production on resident composer Dominick Argento’s Casanova’s Homecoming. It is a wildly difficult, but wildly funny opera that features many local singers, but welcomes many beloved guest artists, as well.
But do not think that between The Pearl Fishers and Casanova’s Homecoming we have just been sitting around!
Besides everyone hurriedly getting ready for Casanova, the resident artists have been involved with many events. A few weeks ago we put on a very successful Cabaret dinner party in which we performed not only opera, but pop, musical theater, and Spanish music. The event was a great success and there were many new faces in the crowd. So hopefully we have gained some new fans to the opera world. Last night, the head of music, Mary Dibbern, resident artist, Mike Nyby, and I sang at the Minneapolis Institute for the Arts. The museum held the opening gala for the touring Louvre exhibit. Something definitely worth seeing.
As you can see, among the productions that we put on at The Minnesota Opera, we have many events, too. Up next weekend, some of the cast of Casanova’s Homecoming and I will be taking part in the Rochester Aria Group concert in Rochester, MN. The events are just as important to building the support and love for opera as putting on opera themselves. Hope to see you at not only the operas, but at some events, as well!
CIAO!!!
Opera Insights
October 3rd, 2009MN Opera resident artist Michael Nyby here, updating from the intermission of our penultimate performance of the Pearl Fishers. If any readers are coming to our last performance on Sunday, come to the Ordway an hour prior to curtain to watch the Opera Insights presentation, hosted by Mary Dibbern, our marvelous head of music and featuring the vocal stylings of myself and fellow resident artists Naomi Isabel Ruiz and Brad Benoit. Before each performance we sing a few excerpts from the opera and Mary gives a short but very informative and entertaining talk about the opera’s genesis. Hope to see you there!
Off to Great Start-Brad
September 30th, 2009Hi Everyone!
The season opened with great success, well received by audiences and critics alike. The deluge of promotions for The Pearl Fishers not only helped make for a great opening night, but let the public take part in the process of the artists putting the show together, ranging from the witty discussions of Zandra Rhodes design process at a Vita.mn sponsored event to the singing artist singing all over town for many social events to making commercials!
The opening night gala was a huge success, too, as the four Resident Artists males sang their hearts out in renditions of Unchained Melody and My Way, waggishly in the manner of a certain all male opera group.
Yes, the season has opened, but the work has just begun. We have already started work on the comical Casanova’s Homecoming and are looking forward to putting that production together with so many Twin City locals and favorites!
Catch Pearl Fisher if you haven’t yet!!
Pearl Fishers’ Opening Night!
September 26th, 2009I’m Leonardo Vordoni, conductor of Pearl Fishers, and tonight at the Ordway Performing Arts Center we are going to open this show.
I cannot describe the excitement for an opening night: after a period of hard work in the rehearsal space we are going to deliver the final product to the community and to the opera aficionados.
The entire rehearsal period has been amazing and we worked very well and in a very productive way: the cast is superb and the staging colorful and inspiring. The orchestra and the chorus sound fantastic and I’m really looking forward for tonight!
Hurry up because tickets are going pretty fast and this is a fun and intense night at the opera that you cannot miss!
TOI TOI TOI to everybody!!!!
See you at the theater!
Pearl Fishers at the Ordway
September 23rd, 2009Good evening readers! Resident artist Michael Nyby here, updating from the first Pearl Fishers orchestra run at the Ordway. I’ve always felt that opera is best viewed from the balcony, where one can best assimilate the full visual and auditory value of a production. As viewed from seat 28 of balcony row 2, this is quite a visually striking production. Anyone familiar with the design of Zandra Rhodes would not be surprised.
Along a similar vein, I am always fascinated by the transformation of voices once a production enters the performance space. Sure, all the soloists sound good in the small rehearsal spaces, but the acoustics of a well-designed performance hall have a way of adding a richness and warmth to the voice, and the design of the Ordway makes excellent use of this effect. The design is essentially that of the classic European opera house–tall, shallow, and steep–as opposed to the wider, deeper design of many North American houses. The classic design was tailor made for opera, whereas the larger American houses were often built as multi-use venues, where the unique acoustical requirements of the human voice tend to take a backseat to economic efficiency of design. With that in mind, the Minnesota Opera and the residents of the Twin Cities are fortunate to have such a wonderful space for opera. I’m excited to observe the onstage experience firsthand when I sing my role in Casanova’s Homecoming in November!
First Impressions of The Pearl Fishers
September 22nd, 2009Greetings, readers! My name is Michael Nyby, I’m a first year resident artist baritone with the Minnesota Opera. My first assignment this season is the cover to Zurga in the Pearl Fishers, so here I am in the Ordway watching the production’s first piano tech rehearsal. The rehearsal hasn’t yet started, but let me tell you, the set is a sight to behold. This production was designed by renowned fashion designer Zandra Rhodes. The bright colours and wild angles of the design stand in stark contrast to the classy old-fashioned billiard hall look of the Ordway’s interior. Speaking of Ms. Rhodes, she just walked in the room. She has bright pink hair and is wearing a very loud outfit which matches the set to a T!
I’ve watched the cast run through the opera many times now, but tonight–with the costumes, set, and some lighting work–is when we’ll really start to make some magic….
And to think I’m getting paid to sit here and watch it!
Best-
Mike
Opera Tasting Debauchery
September 21st, 2009HI EVERYONE!
Brad here.
It was quite a weekend. The social club Tempo, a group of young professionals that love to support opera, kicked off the season with a night of wine tasting and opera music presented by members of the Resident Artist Program. The night was lots of fun for the performers and audience since most of the performing was coming right from the tables of those attending the event.
Afterwards, a couple dozen of attendees, event coordinators, and artist went to the Chambers Hotel in Downtown Minneapolis to continue the fun only to end up with a dozen more people reliving their glory days late into the night at me and fellow Resident Artist Octavio’s place. It made for a long Sunday, but it was all worth it since this week we start technical rehearsals for The Pearl Fishers which opens next week!!
Hope you are all coming!
Pearl Fishers opening week: exciting!!!!
September 21st, 2009CIAO to everybody!
I’m Leonardo Vordoni and I’m the conductor for the spectacular production of Pearl Fishers at Minnesota Opera 2009/2010 season.
It’s my first time with this company and in Minneapolis as well and I’m enjoying every second of it: every single person is super nice and kind and passionate about their work.
I feel very lucky to have the chance to work with such an amazing cast, chorus, dancers and, last but not least, orchestra ( just in order of appearance): everybody feels so committed with the staging and the music and for a conductor it’s simply a gift to be in situation where all together we are working to prepare a show that in my opinion will be pretty amazing ( touching wood of course!) for the audience and for us performers.
I need three adjectives to describe this Bizet’s piece: sweet, wild and passionate. The music is really fantastic and gives you the possibility to explore a lot of your own inside world with a wide range of colors where very intimate moments are followed by explosive situation.
Probably it seems pretty obvious that I love this piece but I have to say that I learned to love it even more during the rehearsal process and I have to give a big thank you to the entire cast that has been and is very inspiring.
Come to see Pearl Fishers, it’s a boat that you cannot miss: a true gem, or I should say a precious pearl!
Hello from Mary
September 17th, 2009Greetings everyone! I am Mary Dibbern, Head of Music for the Minnesota Opera. I just moved to Minnesota from Paris France, and am happy to be collaborating for the first production of the season, Bizet’s Pearl Fishers! Everyone joked with me about the cold weather here, but actually it is in the upper 70s…perfect to go apple picking when we are not rehearsing. I just bought some tickets as gifts for my cousins, and I hear from the Box Office that Pearl Fishers is already 90 % sold out! So get online or come in to see us at the Minnesota Opera Center and get your tickets toute de suite!!!!