Mezzo-soprano Katharine Goeldner, the Orfeo in April's production of "Orfeo ed Euridice," describes her recent experience in the Metropolitan Opera spotlight

There's never a dull moment at the Metropolitan Opera.  I've sung many roles there: the School Boy in "Lulu" (my debut), Prince Orlofsky, Cherubino, Nicklausse. And I've covered a couple of things, but I have never actually gone on stage as a cover at that house. On October 18th, all that changed.

At this point, I should explain a bit what a "cover" is. A "cover" is sort of an unofficial second cast. As a cover, you may not necessarily have scheduled performances, but you are "on call" for every one and must either be in the building or within a 20-minute cab ride of the Met, accessible by cell phone. You are responsible for learning the entire role and being present at every rehearsal, where you watch and carefully write down all of the stage directions. You also rehearse with the other covers and have a complete run-through before the day of the premiere, just in case something should happen to one of the first cast singers. I have to point out, though, that the covers have no stage or orchestra time.  And although you have your own set of costumes, made just for you, you don't actually get a chance to rehearse in them.  Bear this in mind as you read...

So, I've been here at the Met these past two months, covering the role of Giovanna (Jane) Seymour in the new production of "Anna Bolena," which stars Anna Netrebko in the title role.  I had been put on "official warning" for the three previous shows.  The woman I was covering, Ekaterina Gubanova, had a sore throat and thought she was going to have to cancel, so I needed to be ready just in case. They had me in a dressing room with my costumes at the ready, but each time she wound up singing the entire performance.

On October 18th, I didn't get that "official warning," so I was covering from my cell phone and having dinner with a friend. Halfway through the show, I get The Call. After singing Act 1, my "coveree" felt she was losing her voice, had cancelled the rest of the show and I needed to get down there pronto. So I hopped into a cab, told the driver to step on it and arrived at the Met as fast as I could. They held the curtain for about 15 minutes while I was rushed into makeup and my costume (warming up while they're dressing me!). I was quickly swept into the 15th century and out onto the stage of the Met to sing the big Act 2 duet with Anna Netrebko. Keep in mind, I had never been on the set and had never sung this role with an orchestra. Oh, and this was a role debut for me as well. Anna was a wonderful colleague, energy was high and we had FUN out there. And then back I went into the dressing room to be rushed into the next costume--that beautiful reproduction of the red dress in the famous Holbein portrait of Jane Seymour--and onto the stage for my last big scene with Henry VIII and my aria.

I have to tell you that every single mezzo I've talked to who has sung this role has the same opinion of it: it's HARD. The role really lies in soprano territory and it's very difficult to maintain the tessitura and then end the aria on a high B. It is definitely the most technically-challenging role I have ever sung.

So there I am, on the stage of the Met, singing the most difficult aria I have ever sung, never having sung the aria in public before. Was I nervous? A bit but not as much as I had expected. There just wasn't time to be nervous! In the end, it all went very, very well, and I was pleased to have pulled it off.
And then... three days later, my "coveree" cancels again, but this time I had two hours' notice and sang the entire show. This also happened to be a live Sirius radio broadcast with a new soprano in the title role, Angela Meade. And again, the performance went very, very well.

So it turned out to be a very lucky week for me. This is why I always pick up lucky pennies. From never expecting I would actually perform this role, I wound up singing two performances, got a review (always good for the website), a radio broadcast AND there happened to be a house photographer there.

I should have bought a lottery ticket. But maybe that would've been pushing my luck just a little too far.

As Arizona Opera prepares its world premiere performances of Gounod’s "Faust," stage director Bernard Uzan explains why this centuries-old tale of a man selling his soul is fitting for 2011 audiences.

When we reach a certain age, would or will we sell our soul to the devil for youth? Do we think about the last 35 years of our life and what we will do differently? Do we have regrets? Do we have remorse? Do we enjoy the memory of some of our successes? Do we hope to enjoy more future success?

The legend of "Faust" is one of the most valued and essential myths of society in the western world. It is timeless; it concerns the basic preoccupations of humanity—morality, love and passion. Since the beginning of time and even 200 years from now, humanity will deal with mortality and old age, and will consequently always try to find ways to escape the final chapter.
 

That is the basic reason why I decided to update this opera.
 

When Gounod wrote "Faust," only the first part of Goethe’s dramatic poem of the same name had been translated in France. This is why the opera concludes after Marguerite’s chapter, but nevertheless, it deals with the main desires of Faust, to once again find youth, love and life’s pleasures.
 

In this production, we are maintaining the basic settings of the opera, but they are transposed to today’s sensitivities. The village fair becomes a bar/nightclub, Marguerite’s garden a flower shop and the prison a mental institution.  All of this is under the power of Mefisto, who will appear as a bartender, a delivery man and a doctor. He even materializes as a priest in the church scene, which turns out not to be a real church, but instead a trap set by Mefisto to torment Marguerite.
 

Of course, the costumes will support a modern approach with some obvious imitation and parodies of today’s fashion. I am also utilizing projections in order to support, comment or illustrate some ideas and thoughts of the characters throughout. But they are never used to replace the words or the music itself. While we have transposed the settings, the production stays faithful to the spirit of the opera and, most importantly, to the music and the meaning of the text.

Top 10 Reasons to See AZ Opera’s “Cav/Pag” this weekend

10. For first-time opera goers, this double bill flies by like a Jerry Bruckheimer action flick. Italian opera doesn’t get much sexier or more blood-and-guts.

9. Speaking of Hollywood, you can relive some of your favorite movie moments . Are you a fan of “Raging Bull,” “The Godfather Part III” or “The Untouchables”? Some of the music for these films come from “Cav/Pag,” including “Cavalleria”’s gorgeous Intermezzo.

8. How often do you see a vintage 1918 Harley on the opera stage?

7. Catch a glimpse of opera’s newest “love couple”: soprano Kelly Kaduce and baritone Lee Gregory. (Gheorghiu and Alagna are so 2000.)

6. During intermission, enter an opera trivia contest to win great prizes, including free gourmet meals before future performances.

5. You may know every note of “Pagliacci”’s “Vesti la giubba.” But have you heard it more elegantly sung than by tenor Allan Glassman?

4. Arizona Opera is debuting sparkling sets which have never before been seen on stage. You’ll be convinced that you’re in rural Italy.

3. One of the greatest, most spine-tingling choral numbers of all time is in “Cavalleria Rusticana” – the Easter Hymn or "Inneggiamo.” And the Arizona Opera Chorus sings it sublimely with soprano Lori Phillips.

2. Enjoy the company of fellow opera lovers at Symphony Hall. And starting this season you can actually bring drinks to your seats; enjoy some Italian opera with a glass of red wine!

1. Experience all the passion and sensory delight that opera has to offer with a cast of singers that are among the best in the world.

Still not convinced? Catch this preview video which includes the perspectives of tenors Allan Glassman and Joseph Wolverton, director Kay Walker Castaldo and soprano Lori Phillips.

Cav-Pag’s stage director Kay Walker Castaldo discusses her unique vision in these director's notes, explaining the deep psychological resonances of these hot-blooded operas

I’ve often thought it would be very fruitful to write director’s notes after the rehearsal process, when the backstage stories and the cast of characters have just flowered into all the art amid the chaos that must transpire behind the scenes...  Before you, the audience, arrive.

In a sense, you are aware of that secret process, as in Pagliacci's play within a play:  The watchers sense what the actor is thinking.

What lies in the space between reality and illusion, and how does the actor lose himself in a part, merging and developing another facet, even another full persona?    Divining those mysteries by experiencing that metamorphosis is the truth that is strived for. And the birth of verismo contributed to this phase of the modern theater.

Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, opera’s most famous twins, ignited a revolution. When first composed and performed in 1890 and 1892 respectively, they created a furor of excitement, ushered in a new age of modernity and changed the direction of Italian opera.  This verismo or “truth” style replaced the old protagonists of gods, kings, and heroes with the common man and his real-life dramas.

 

Cav-Pag, as it is affectionately been called since they were first paired in 1903, not only founded verismo, but holds the bar high in terms of the most passionate and high-voltage emotional conflicts presented in opera.

It is interesting to note that there are essentially two traditional periods in which Cavalleria and Pagliacci are usually set: one is the period of their composition and the other is the 1930s.  We have chosen the traditional 1930s setting, as it was a time of tremendous growth and ferment in Italy, with World War II brewing and the Mafiosi gaining power.  This Godfather era resonates powerfully with the images and conflicts of Cav-Pag.   As in Fellini’s La Strada, we see the mix of the ancient elements and birth of the modern world—a World War II motorcycle mixed with medieval customs and laws.  We see that, no matter what the birth struggle of a new time might be, the old order holds.   Even the commedia dell’arte play we present in Pagliacci is built from the ancient sources and drawings. Each lazzi, or trick and joke, is historical and has played for hundreds of years.

Find out why Todd Thomas, our upcoming Alfio and Tonio in Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci loves his job!

While living in Germany from 1995 to 1999, I was cast as Tonio for an eight-city European tour marking the anniversary celebration of Utrecht University in Holland. The university cast the opera with young professional international soloists and pulled the orchestra, chorus and crew from students, alumni and folks from Utrecht. Now, what made this tour particularly special was that we performed the opera in a round blue and orange circus tent. While the orchestra was set up on one portion of the outer ring, bleachers were set up in an identical way that one would find when attending a circus. As the crowds would come into the tent with sodas and popcorn, etc., the orchestra played Fellini Film music scores while a host of clowns, acrobats, and jugglers created a unique atmosphere preparing the environment for this magnificent piece of music drama. The audience, the tent, the summer time, and outside air all joined together to create an incredible evening. The action took place inside the tent ring where you would expect to see animal acts and the like. Nedda's huge dress, which was hung atop the tent, looked like a net dropped and draped over the waiting sopranos head in the middle of her aria. Canio's vest flew in as he prepared for his aria. For the Commedia scenes as well as the opening chorus the extra acrobats and jugglers had wonderful tricks.

The single element which made this a particularly wonderful experience was that the entire company traveled and camped in each city much the same way that Canio, Nedda, Tonio and Canio do in the first act. Each city where we played: Cagnes su mer, Sarlat, Luxenbourg, Bologna, Fiesole, Pisa, Luzerne, and Utrecht, greeted us as we entered the city much the same way as Leoncavallo's characters are welcomed. We had a staff who cooked for us and the entire company of crew, orchestra and chorus camped in their own personal tents. While the principals were provided with pension or hotel stays, I chose to camp with the company. This experience of truly living Pagliacci was a tremendous gift. After the show closed the company needed to liquidate all objects and items associated with the tour. I acquired my Tonio costume which included very special shoes just made for me. I wear these shoes each time I sing this role and Rigoletto as well. Be sure to look at my shoes.

Arizona, get ready for a wonderful evening of music and drama coming soon. This is another moment when I can sincerely say, "I love my job!"

ARIZONA OPERA ANNOUNCES
OPERABOT VIDEO ANIMATION CONTEST

Winning contestant receives iPad2

Arizona Opera invites fans, artists and budding film-makers to create their own mini video opera and enter Arizona Opera’s OperaBot Video Contest. Video should be themed or based on a character or plot from one of the opera’s 2011-12 productions this season, including Cavalleria/Rusticana, Pagliacci, Madama Butterfly, Aida, Faust or Orfeo & Euridice. From the crying clown and his murderous revenge, to the temples of ancient Egypt, to
the man who sells his soul to the devil to win the girl, Arizona Opera’s 2011-12 season has a visually rich array of concepts to animate.

All OperaBot contestants will receive two tickets to Arizona Opera’s April performances and the winning submission will receive an iPad2! Submissions can be viewed and voted for on the Arizona Opera’s You Tube Channel, under OperaBot Playlist. To enter, go to www.azopera.org to learn about the stories, create your own mini-version, upload your video to YouTube and then email your link to csullivan@azopera.org. All entries must be received by December 1, 2011.

Winning entry will be selected by popular vote!

Baritone Mark Walters' Plea to Placido!

This will be my second time to sing the role of Valentin in Faust.  It is one of 10 roles that I have been fortunate to have studied with renowned American Baritone Sherrill Milnes.  I’m really excited about working with the excellent cast lined up for this production.

One of Valentin’s main concerns in the opera is protecting his younger sister.  My younger sister, Stephanie, actually lives in the Phoenix area.  We don’t get to see each other very often and I am looking forward to spending time with her and her husband, Brad, and my 2 young nephews – Tyler and Parker.

I love to hike when I’m on the road and am eager to explore the trails in the area.  I’m also a novice golfer and will bring my clubs with me to hit a course or two with my brother-in-law.

 

What got me started in music?  

My mother’s uncle was a local French Horn teacher and she encouraged me to join the public school band in 4^th grade.  I wasn’t too interested in joining band - until LeAnn, the blond-haired, blue-eyed, Baptist preacher’s daughter who lived across the street joined band in 5^th grade.  I then announced to my mother that I thought I’d like to give band a try.J  It didn’t workout with LeAnn, but music stuck in a big way.

Coolest gig that I wasn’t able to take? 

Placido Domingo asked me to understudy him in Simon Boccanegra in Los Angeles this coming January. Unfortunately, I was already booked to sing the title role in Rigoletto in Miami at the same time. 

Placido – please give me a call the next time you need a baritone cover!

www.markwaltersbaritone.com