From November 2, 2009, Brian Dickie, Life As General Director of Chicago Opera Theater.
This was the sixth Neue Stimmen that I have been involved with.  I started out in 1999.  And it was by far the closest contest.  On each previous occasion the first three places were really clear with the remainder some way behind and quite easily separated.
We the jury came out at the intermission of the Finals Concert on Saturday evening unanimous that this was too close to call - and could we not just have 6 first prize winners?!  Well that would have been a cop out of course!  But I think it illustrated the situation that we found ourselves in very clearly.

Bass-baritone Alan Held will be performing the role of St. Francis on Friday and Saturday, June 26 and 27 as the Franciscans celebrate the milestone of the 800th anniversary of the founding of their order at a concert titled, “A Celebration of Hope and Peace.”

I was honored to be invited by one of Hungary's premiere actors and filmmakers, Robert Koltai, to attend a special invited performance of the musical “Sose halunk meg” which translates to " We Never Die".

The musical, which plays in the repertory of Jozsef Attila Szinhaz (Attila Jozsef Theatre) is based on Robert Koltai's 1994 hit film of the same name. Here is a link to the review of the movie: www.koltairobert.hu/sose.html

This past summer I was invited to be an International Judge at the Second Vladimir Kurochkin International Competition of Young Artists of Operetta and Musicals in Yetatrinburg, Russia. The contest took place from September 25^th to October 1, 2008.

When I learned that I could fly direct from Vienna to Yekatrinburg, I decided to finally visit Vienna. I have been involved with Light Opera Works for almost 30 years and had never been to Vienna. It was time.

In Vienna I was able to stay with my friend Suzanne Kerry and her family. She is an American who has made her living as an actress and singer in Vienna for many years. Through her contacts she was able to get me tickets to The Merry Widow at the Volksoper and to “Rebecca”, a new musical by Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay that is literally “burning up” Vienna. (You may remember the Hitchcock film based on the same novel.)

After seeing The Merry Widow performed at the most famous venue for operetta in the world, I believe that Light Opera Works can hold its head high and take great pride in the quality of our work here in Chicago. It is true that the musicians and vocalists at the Volkoper have a special affinity for the works of the composers that brought Vienna such renown in the 19^th and early 20^th century. But in many aspects of the production of operetta, including: scenery, costumes, staging, choreography, and the work of our singing actors and orchestra, I can honestly say that Chicago artists are as good as, if not better than their Viennese counterparts.

We cannot match a state supported operation like the Volksoper in terms of facilities, rehearsal space, number of performances etc. But in terms of what the audience sees on the stage when they attend a performance, Chicago can hold its head high.

Today's guest blog is written by Stefan Lano who will conduct the Chicago Sinfonietta during the upcoming performances of the opera Margaret Garner at the Auditorium Theater beginning November 1st.

As we prepare for the production of Margaret Garner at the Auditorium Theater, I am pleased to share some thoughts with you about this important opera. 
 
Although, the commissioning venues of Michigan Opera Theater,  the Cincinnati Opera and The Opera Company of Philadelphia were most generous in alotting ample time and funding for workshops prior to the world premiere here in Detroit, both hindsight and the experience gained through repeated performances will inevitably color subsequent re- visitations to this score.  That this is now the case, became evident at our first rehearsals and run-throughs of the
opera this past week.   The goals and priorities set by production teams of most any opera, play  or film are pretty
much the same:  1.  tell the story clearly and with dramatic efficiency; 2.  entertain the public while, hopefully, simultaneously edifying them;  3.  try to achieve a sense of closure at evening's end such that the public feels that they have been 'taken somewhere.'

An example of point number 3, would be the ambience in the public when the reprise of the Aria is reached in Bach's Goldberg Variations; or the sense of tragic inevitability at the end of Verdi's Otello as opposed to the comic inevitabiltiy at the end of his Falstaff.  Point number 2 is a bit more subtle.  In some opera, such as Mozart's Magic Flute, the moral of a given scene is presented as an aside in the form of the ensembles  where the characters address the public more directly rather than each other.  In an opera such as Margaret Garner, the message of Toni Morrison is, as one would expect from a literary national treasure, inherent in her story.    Thus do we arrive at the conundrum articulated by Madeleine in the final scene of Richard Strauss'  Capriccio: do the words or the music take precedence?  

Rather than argue for one or the other, I have always found that if the notion of effective theater is well-served, then both words and music are better clarified.  In the case of this run of Margaret Garner, this notion dictates our modus operandi perhaps moreso than the first time around. The care taken in the preparation of any first performance  is, more often than not, devoted to 'getting it right', especially when composer and librettist may be present.  There is, however, more to theater than merely getting it right.  One can get the words and the notes right while missing their element of dramatic marriage.  From the resonance of the opening productions of Margaret Garner, it seems that most would agree that we 'got it right.'  

It bespeaks the vision of David Di Chiera in his mounting a reprise of Margaret Garner relatively soon after the premier.  His decision is now the more felicitous as we approach an historic Presidential election in which an African-American could well become our next President.  That our country evolve as to embrace change. 

In the spirit of opera being an art form in perpetual evolution, Kenny Leon and I intend to greatly expand upon that which we presented some years ago and are especially thrilled that we will do so in the architectural landmark of the Roosevelt Theatre about which one can only echo George Ballanchine's comment: 'Why don't they build them like this any more...?"  Amen.

All best wishes to you,

Stefan Lano