11/07/2010 21:59:29

ESPAÑA WORLD CHAMPIONS 2010
Without a doubt the proudest moment in sports in my life!

23/02/2010 11:24:08

If you find it hard to enjoy current opera recordings, check out a few artists doing other stuff: Sigur Ros, Katatonia, Bon Iver, Muse, Mono

27/09/2009 3:45:39

A few things

So I had the back surgery on August 31. I was hoping for an endoscopic procedure but the doctor wanted to cut me open. And that was that. I was in the hospital until the 3rd and the whole ordeal was not entirely bad; the usual negligence on the part of the too-young nurses and the obvious pains. Today is almost 4 weeks after surgery and I don't seem to have sciatica any longer, or at least not as bad as it used to be. The lower back still hurts and I am still tentative with movement. I have a concert on October 11 in DC and that seems to be a high order right now, as singing for more than 10 minutes hurts. I guess this next week will serve me to evaluate where I am and if I need to give the boheme portion of the concert to another tenor.

During this time lying on my back, sports on tv have been the main thing I have done. I watched almost the whole Tennis US Open and the Eurobasket, which by the way, Spain won(!). The Spanish futbol league has started too and I have seen more games in three weeks than I had seen in the previous three years.

In any case, I am sitting for a few hours a day and I am able to do some website work, send audition applications, and to sing a bit. I am not entirely discouraged ;)

30/08/2009 8:26:12

Back surgery tomorrow, August 31, 2009 in the afternoon Spanish time. I should be in the hospital until Wednesday or so. Good times!

27/08/2009 15:21:41

Increíble que el Madrid se las de de club superpoderoso, fichando a jugadores por millonadas y luego tengan que vender a cracks como Sneijder y Robben, que ya eran parte de club, a precio de ganga. Los madridistas o son tontos o... muy tontos. Realmente, ¿alguien cree que el Madrid no necesita a Robben, que era el único extremo puro, o a Sneijder que es veinte veces el jugador que el Guti de hoy o Gago son?

11/08/2009 3:31:44

I have been in Mallorca, Spain, looking into having back surgery and ending the ordeal 2009 has been thus far. As of now it still bothers me to sing, walk, sit and to do other basic things. So, I believe I have crossed the bridge after 6 months of trying meds and non surgical approaches. Once doctors come back from their (absurd) mandatory vacation of August (In Spain you better not get sick during this month) I will be expecting to go into surgery no later than the first week of September. I am hoping to do nothing major, no disc replacement or such, but a removal of herniated disc volume via endoscopic procedure*. I should be able to resume full activity two weeks after the surgery. So, that's about it.

* Note on September 27: No endoscopic procedure. They cut me open and rehab will last at least 2 months. Yippie!

24/03/2009 9:42:42

Rafa Crushes Murray To Clinch 13th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Title Nadal (22) has now won 13 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles (13-4 in finals), placing him just one behind Federer and four behind all-time leader Andre Agassi. He has won at least two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles in each of the past four years, capturing a personal-best four in 2005. Article

26/02/2009 18:51:43

2009 has proven challenging so far. My first two cancellations one after the other (Boheme and Mathis der Maler) due to a bum back that hurts like hell and that, hopefully, will be surgically repaired soon. I expect to be at 100% by April. In the meantime, I cannot take on any singing engagements.

23/11/2008 18:32:57

Spain wins Davis Cup. Nice year for us!

16/10/2008 19:16:27

Buy The Cassettes new album "Countach" here: BUY

02/10/2008 19:53:57

20/09/2008 9:29:43

Metallica are BACK!

And I don't just mean they released a new album. I mean the band known as Metallica that thrilled us until 1991, are F**KING Back!

When they hired Bob Rock for the black album I believe it worked well because at that point (1991) he probably was merely producing the album (meaning, recording it). Once he started messing around with the actual sound of the band (the snare drum sounded like a cowbell), the duration of the pieces (too short by Metallica's standard), the level of aggression and the virtuosity of the pieces, he came close to destroying the band. Yeah, they sold a lot but, listening to Death Magnetic (the new album), they were not obviously doing either what they like or what they do best. Or maybe I am wrong and Bob had nothing to do with it.

But, hey, it only took bringing Rubin on board for Metallica to finally wake up. So, Rubin, thanks for your contribution to music. You surely brought something back that seemed long gone. Jason Newsted must be knocking his head against the wall after hearing this stuff. He certainly would not have left the band had they recorded this before. But, hey, who knows? Maybe Trujillo had something to do with it.

30/08/2008 10:22:15

If you think yourself a committed citizen of the US, you cannot possibly justify not electing Obama to the presidency. Here's a one in a lifetime chance of choosing a man who is prepared, intelligent, compassionate, has a conscience, and does not necessarily play to the benefit of big corporations. I know, I know, it's all political bs. BUT, this guy is at least all of the above and that is day and night compared to the presidency of the last eight years(!). It's easy, the "patriotic" choice is Obama, regardless of what propagandistic lies the politicians of any persuasion may tell you.

24/08/2008 6:08:36

Uff, that was close! Much closer than most people gave Spain credit for. The US basketball team will never learn and last night they almost left without the gold they believe belongs to them by birthright.

21/08/2008 17:19:05

Did you know...
That this 2008 season, Rafael Nadal has won Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the Olympic Gold (in addition to snatching the 1 ATP rank and winning a bunch of other ATP Master Series events)?

19/08/2008 9:49:37

She has the Olympic spirit, whatever that may mean, as far as I am concerned. She remained cheerful and all smiles throughout the events, while those around her kept complaining about judges' decisions. Not discouraged, at the end, she took a gold home. Grateful, graceful and beautiful, Brava Shawn Johnson!

29/06/2008 13:57:04

Campeones de Europa!!!!

29/05/2008 13:53:59

Luisa Fernanda is the real deal

Of all the zarzuelas that I have sung, Luisa Fernanda, arguably has the best music. The stuff Javier and, above all, Vidal sing is some of the most beautiful music I have heard, period. And that includes French and Italian opera.

Looking at the score one would not believe that singing Javier turns out to be so comfortable. In my past experience, when there's a high baritone part in an opera (Vidal here), the tenor tends to be way too high and uncomfortable. Javier's music is indeed high, but the word placement of M. Torroba's makes it feel quite natural in the voice. "De esta apacible rincón de Madrid" one certainly needs to put it in the voice. But, aside from that piece, the rest seems to fall just in the right spot. If you are lucky to have done the aria a bunch of times before doing the whole role, then it all should feel pretty organic.

La tabernera del puerto's Leandro was not the same kind of sing. The sea duet in that zarzuela is ruthless, and the word selection and placement does not help one bit. Bohemios' Roberto has also beautiful stuff, but it sort of sits low for a lyric zarzuela tenor. That said, I did love singing that piece.

12/05/2008 12:55:20

Disclaimer: this has little to do with my recent production.

Why are sopranos singing Rosina more and more these days? It is not a good idea. First of all, the ensembles already drown the mezzo in the texture of the music, as Almaviva, Berta and, sometimes, Figaro should be singing over Rosina. Imagine what the ensembles do to the soprano. She might as well be mimicking singing. Mezzi have a very limited post-classical repertory they can sing that is not dramatic (aka Verdi's or Bizet's Carmen - that means all light mezzi are screwed), so why do sopranos (and sometimes countertenors; see Cherubino) have to be singing those roles? Callas did a disfavor to mezzi by recording una voce poco fa with all those sopranesque embellishments, which sound nothing like the character. Now all soprani out there want to replicate that. Girls, stick to Zerbinetta, certainly a role mezzi won't be attempting any time soon.

It is ultimately the responsibility of the companies to hire mezzi for these roles. So, people, take a look at the score before you hire a soubrette for Rosina. It is wrong and not pleasant for those who know the piece well. Same can be said about roles such as Cherubino, The Composer, Zerlina and a whole lot of lyric mezzo roles people keep hiring soprani for.

Cheers for now.

07/04/2008 18:49:41

Barber in Mendocino, CA
For those Rossini fans in the West Coast, nearby the Mendocino area, be advised that the Barber that we will open on April 18 should be great fun. The production of director Carol Werner-Feiertag is dynamic and very entertaining.

The theater's address is:
Cotton Auditorium
500 N Harold St
Fort Bragg, CA 95437

11/03/2008 11:34:33

The Cassettes Recording
I recorded a song (and a whole lot of other crazy stuff) with the world famous The Cassettes last Saturday, and had a chance to listen to a lot of their new album, whose title, apparently, remains secret at this point. For those who do not know, I am big rock and heavy metal music fan, as this is the way I started singing. Anyway, The Cassettes are not exactly metal, it is more like psychadelic rock, but this new album does get a bit harder than the previous one and, even at these early mixing stages, it sounds amazing. I will add info on how to buy the album in this website, once it gets released.

In the meantime, listen to the previous album, which kicks ass, in their official site (which also kicks ass) at www.thecassettes.com.

15/02/2008 18:10:24

I must be suffering from some sort of social disfunction. For years I have been unable to understand how people can spend more than 2 minutes at a time in front of TV shows a-la American Idol. I have to be in the minority here. I mean, I can see how people in their homes and in the audience love the imbecility going on. Is it that I suffer from some sort of condition that prevents me from taking things lightly? I like humor and I have enjoyed TV shows in the past. So, what is it that make me feel revolted and disgusted when I see the typical 3-4 people panel judging someone who is trying to become the next big shot? I don't believe it has to do with the actual talent of the folks participating. I think I can tell crap from talent. It must have to do with the whole wanna-be a star no matter what business in addition to humiliating oneself in front of a bunch of people who are trying to sound smart at my expense. I just don't know. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise that everything I find worth watching in TV you have to pay for, and I don't have the money, the energy or the time to buy it.

06/02/2008 6:48:42

The NBA has gotten crazy:
Suns, Heat agree to Shaq trade

05/02/2008 11:30:16

Mind you this is only my poorly informed opinion but... What a beautiful city Prague is! With plenty of history within/on its walls, but what a pity that a high percentage of the people who populate it are paradigm of why Europeans are rottenly-perceived internationally. And it is a pity because people make cities and not walls, churches, bridges, castles and big clocks. Hardly anyone will argue that the majority of Prague residents pay the slightest attention to their surroundings. Some might as well ignore the visitors for their benefit.

The European drunk is no longer charming after you have ran out of fingers to count them. Teenagers puking in the metro may very well represent the sort of "freedom" the US youth lacks, but who wants it? Is it the rough winter or each other (I bet it is the latter, after all, see how nice people are in Minnesota) what drives people to lose their minds? How can one explain extravagant anger that arises from something you'd deem harmless? Cultural differences? Who knows? Too many tourists (too many Spaniards) distributed in less than 10% of the surface of the city is also a bad omen.

Public transportation works very well and, yes, there are lots of pretty women in Prague.

02/02/2008 8:56:48

Oh yeah! This is good news:
Gasol good fit for Lakers' triangle offense

23/02/2007 12:31:37

I am quoting Bernard Holland in his Met's Boccanegra review for The New York Times: "Given the trough in tenor talent these days, we should be grateful to have him." "Him" referring to Marcello Giordani, the one tenor the Met uses for absolutely everything (only this season, he has (at least) sung Butterfly, Boheme and Boccanegra on that stage).

If the Met uses three to four principal lyric tenors per season and seldom a new ones makes a debut (usually thanks to a cover), one can hardly blame Holland for his perception of the lack of tenor talent.

Aside from music critics, it is disgusting that the paying opera goer/lover may be perceiving a tenor talent "trough" as a consequence of his attending The Met, whose policy of hiring singers is, at the very least, questionable.

11/09/2006 23:41:12

There is this show in HBO called "Deadwood." It is fantastic, with great characters, script, sets, costumes etc. I have enjoyed it thoroughly throughout the first two seasons

I was watching the bonus disk of the second season and enjoying the documentaries, when I bumped into the following commentary by the creator, executive producer and head writer David Milch: "I've never been to an opera in my life and, if I'm lucky, I'll never go."

I would assume that he, in his own self importance and the fact that he, unlike his actors, probably gets nervous in front of a camera, made the comment without giving it much thought beforehand.

But how disappointing it is to hear something like that from a writer/producer whose work one admires. Possibly he has lost touch with reality at being surrounded by people who drool over the path he walks. But what is he trying to accomplish by saying that? Is that some sort of conscious statement? Is he implying that opera is a lesser (than TV), outdated art form? Does he really want us to believe that the truth is in television, where everything is rehearsed, recorded and re-recorded, and where there is no room for true genial spontaneity? Are film and opera so far apart from each other that those involved in either would not be able to enjoy the other?

How amazingly thoughtless, Mr. Milch. You may not even know what you are missing. Even though there is a lot of mediocre opera out there, there is plenty of the opposite. Opera is still real, as real as it was three hundred years ago, long before your beloved Deadwood was even dreamt up.

Milch: "[Opera has to do with] a seeming exaggeration of intention." - Not always Mr. Milch. Forget those TV commercials with the big, fat, Walkyrie holding a spear. Opera is not necessarily so.

13/07/2006 11:32:40

I reached the semi finals in Trujillo but did not advance to the finals. In the process I learned a few things and I am ready to share some wisdom, as, regardless of how you place, it is important to know you gave 100%. And I did not feel I did.

First of all, it is important that you trust the pianist who will be playing for you. After all it is two people who perform a piece and, no matter how much you try, music cannot be done by the singer alone. If no collaboration comes from the pianist you are shooting yourself in the foot. Choose those pianists who are musical and can follow the singer easily, providing the singer with the freedom that will allow him/her to stand out.

Second, make sure you only present pieces you know very well and that you have sung a thousand times. It won't get you anywhere singing Nessun Dorma! if you are not sure you can hit the B successfully. So, sing Quanto e bella quanto e cara yet another time. Juries don't seem to mind that the piece is much easier.

If singing in a foreign country, learn about the food and climate. I was in fairly good shape in the preliminary round in Trujillo, but by the semi finals I had ugly allergies (for which I was medicating myself, resulting in a very dry throat) and stomach complications that were dehydrating me as well. By the time I opened my mouth to sing I knew I was in for some blue-collar action. No room for fancy. Only enough to keep it going. And I paid for that.

Not that opera singing is like tennis. Judging it is subjective. But, with all due respect to my colleagues, I believe I could have won a prize had I followed my own advice a bit. And, if nothing more, that is reassuring.

07/07/2006 13:42:40

Trujillo Competition day 1

I pulled number 1 out of the lottery bag and I will be opening the first concert in Trujillo. I actually like to go first. Get it done and then enjoy the rest of the singing.

Trujillo and its women are really beautiful, and the food is just unbelievable. Even though I wish to advance rounds in the contest, I look forward to having a night off and actually be able to go out and indulge.

27/06/2006 21:54:43

What a shame! Spain kicked out of the world cup by the French (congrats to you by the way - did well on the field). And all of us, soccer fans, deprived of a visually appetizing game against Brazil. It sounds like a recipe for the perfect nightmare. Zidane, dude, I don't think I have seen you score a goal in the whole season with Real Madrid. What got you?

My fellow Spaniards, I would love to be proud of us in the tournament at least once before I am an old man. Is that too much to ask?

Maybe for once we could have Italy's luck and play Australia and Ukraine in the second round. That would be nice for a change.

Finally: where's Guti? Is he injured? The one classy player we have and he was not there. Just painful.

22/06/2006 8:51:27

I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Wednesday

The show last night went really well. Considering that it was our first venture in this space, we could not have been happier with the result. The audience seemed to enjoy the singing in such a small venue, and that was comforting, as we did not know if it would be a bit too overwhelming. Nonetheless, Bellini in a concert adaptation will probably be the loudest thing we will ever present at the center.

One of our concerns was the lack of a conductor. And we did pretty well without one. The quintet/final of the first act was very tight despite that fact. And I believe none of us ever missed being conducted for this production (I am sure we could never get away with it in a larger venue).

Now, thank you Yoko & Tom. You know I am control freak and with you there I knew I could let go and concentrate in the singing. Also, thank you Waka and Cristina for helping us last minute.

Sales for Friday are going really well, and I am positive that, with yesterday's experience, we will step it up even more. So get the tickets online now or you will likely miss it ;)

www.chamberopera.org

15/06/2006 23:59:35

The Turn of the Screw and Der Rosenkavalier?

I have been thinking about works we could present in our chamber opera series and we will indeed be doing Turn of the Screw for Halloween of 06. This piece by Britten is brilliant and it does justice to the book by Henry James.

And, what about a Rosenkavalier for 07? It it sounds almost crazy to do the piece in a small venue with piano, but if any R. Strauss were to work in such a setting it would be this. Also I do not have the kind of budget that would allow me to hire a Salome (my favorite Strauss). So, that is a thought. If Jose bites, then we will get it rolling late in 06.

14/06/2006 10:48:40

Spain 4-0 Ukraine

I don't know what it will be of Spain for the rest of the world cup but today's result felt good. Very good.

Prior to the game, funnily enough, I was in this little chat in the world cup's site and there were all these people prognosticating Ukraine victory or even a tie. I do not enjoy chatting but I felt like adding my two cents of common sense and said that Spain would beat Ukraine 4-0, as we are a much better team. Quite a thing then that we did beat them 4-0. Hopefully Spain will stay focused and prove to all that we are good enough to beat anybody. With all the young players we have now in the team we may finally find the bit of boldness we did not have before. That and, hopefully, we will not have to deal with referees such as the one who called us against Korea in 02.

Keep it up boys! Viva España!

07/06/2006 14:15:09

My dear DC people,

We are approaching opening of "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" (June 21 & 23). This should be an exciting performance. The place where we will be doing it is tiny, and that is the way we wanted it. We thought we escaped from the tradition of late of doing opera in large churches, where acoustics aren't that great, and are impossible to fill up. Personally I do not enjoy watching a performance of opera in a church but I understand people may have to use those spaces out of budgetary constraints. Not that we have a large budget (or a budget at all), but we wanted to invest any potential income in offering a show in a more exciting venue.

That said, I do encourage you to come check it out. It is only $20, has great music and is not long at all. By the time it ends you will have had just enough (nothing to do with that Tito at WNO - Cristina, you were amazing though). Get tickets here: www.chamberopera.org or call me or email me to reserve.

There is not that much opera going on these days in DC and you might as well drop by and check ours out. It is well worth the trip and the twenty bucks.

25/04/2006 21:06:02

Alan Savada's review of Il Matrimonio Segreto for Opera-L follows:

Over the weekend the University of Maryland School of Music/Opera Studio presented what has to be the most spectacularly staged student production I have ever seen in my life. Domenico Cimarosa's adorable IL MATRIMONIO SEGRETO received a truly marvelous staging thanks to the genius of director NICK OLCOTT (a local theater director who has thankfully entered the opera world many times to great success!). Under the baton of RYAN BROWN, the all-student orchestra excelled and gave a wondrous rendition of the music.

The excellent and intimate Kay Theatre at the gorgeous Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on the UMD's Campus in College Park was the perfect place for this ensemble work, and kudos also go to set designer DANIEL CONWAY for what has to be one of the finest sets I have seen in years! A two-storey Italian villa with a wraparound balcony on the second level sports shuttered doors opening from the various rooms onto the balcony. An ornate gilded double door is centered on the lower level. There are ivies, plants and potted topiary trees throughout. The floor is made up of panels of marble and the "patio" has teak chaise lounges and outdoor furniture with striped cushions. At the rear right is a white baby grand piano and bar with a small swimming pool leading offstage. The rear has a terra cotta wall with a double iron gate leading to a rear balconied area (it gave the feeling of being on a cliff over the ocean, actually; think Amalfi coast). One can't leave out the superb 1960s costume designs by TIMM BURROW, lighting by ANDREW J GUBAN and wigs by Jeanne DiBattista Crocke. This entire prodcution team just MADE MY DAY!

Add this to the superb and talented young cast that performed at the matinee I saw yesterday (there are four more shows on April 25,27, 29 & 30mat) and you have a show that is NOT TO BE MISSED:

Darren Perry as Geronimo
Brooke Evers as Carolina
Kari Marie Sorenson as Elisetta
Alvaro Rodriguez as Paolino
Alexandra Christoforakis as Fidalma
Kyle Hastings as Count Robinson

Mr. Olcott included a bevy of supers which actually were given names and titles in the program and were involved intimately in the performance. Chief amongst these was Continuo/Recitative Pianist JEFFREY WATSON who never left the stage and also played the bartender, who was the only person that knew everything that was happening in the plot and tried to salvage everyone's love life. He was a gem. The others were: Efficienza, Geronimo's secretary-Tara McCredie Arrogante, the butler-Bradford Wilkins Rapido, the chauffeur-Kyle Kallgren Bellezza, the chief cosmetologist-Ashley Fleming Eleganza, Grazia & Allegra, 3 dancing cosmetologists-Jenni Frederick,Julia Wang,Paulina Nusinovich Bruno, the masseur-Jeremy Barth Sopra, the upstairs maid-Michelle Kaplan Sotta, the downstairs maid-Arielle Menick Dilliegnzia, the count's secretary-Stacy Musselman

As you can see from the names, Mr. Olcott worked and diligently to develop a theme and plot and indeed, an entirely fabulous feel to this concept.

During the overture lots of activity took place with the staff, a swimmer even came onstage in the pool, got out and toweled off. The maids were in black and white uniforms with small frilly pillbox hats serving canapes. Fidalma entered in a white terrycloth robe and turban, sunglasses and diamond earrings. We could identify the characters by large letters on their robes or costumes, although they were easily developed and defined within minutes. Paolino looked a bit nerdy with black glasses and a cotton vest sweater, Carolina wore a simple yellow summery dress, but looked classy as her station and family implied.

As the first recitative started Mr. Watson sprinkled hits of the 60's prior to each entry that often reflected what was going on onstage such as "Love is Blue," "Rock a Bye Baby" and more. It garnered lots of laughs and somehow NEVER went sour throughout the entire show.

Fidalma and Elisetta come out in robes with mud masks on as the cosmetologists do a ballet (this sometimes did get a bit overdone with the choreography of Autumn Mist Belk). The hunky masseur enters as well for Fidalma's massage which is perfectly times with her coloratura and his chops to her shoulders and back!

The Count arrives on an orange Vespa with sunglasses and a Panama-type hat and ascot at the neck. Fidalma and Elisetta, now dressed to meet the count enter in blue and pale red silk gowns respectively and matching BIG hats and gloves. Mr. Burrow's costumes just kept getting better and better all afternoon! Even the lighting during the ensuing quartet for the Count and the three women was perfect as he sang from the balcony in a spotlight and they vogued below until their lines came when they were lit up. The water in the pool shimmered and reflected across the stage beautifully.

During Paolino's aria begging the Count to reconsider his misplaced love for Carolina (Paolino's secret wife) the bartender kept refilling his martini glass resulting in a drunken ending. In between, the pianist ran from bartending to play those hysterical recit interludes!

The finale was quite busy with the entire cast getting totally confused on stage and a ballet as well from the cosmetologists!

The curtain rose for Act II with Mr. Watson back at the baby grand playing "More." As he finished the masseur swims in, gets out of the pool (there was no lack of muscle in this show!) and towels off. The scene commences with Count Robinson attempted to break his marriage contract with Geronimo. The contracts are presented and thrown around by their respective secretaries who wear glasses and sweaters on their shoulder with clasps (remember those from the 60's?).

In the scene where Fidalma tries to seduce Paolino she comes out on her balcony to him in her evening gown (everyone has now dressed formally for the evening) which she strips off to reveal enticing black lingerie. Ms. Christoforakis uses her bust to good and comical advantage here as Paolino passes out on the floor.

Elisetta emerges with even more hair it seems and jewels embedded therein wearing a gaudy gown (think stepsister in Cenerentola) and during the ensuing moments where Fidalma tries to convince Geronimo to put Carolina in a convent we hear strains of "Climb Every Mountain" during the recitative!

As Carolina finds out about the convent, she removes her shoes and is about to kill herself by jumping into the pool; the Count saves her as he emerges in a classically elegant maroon dinner jacket with black lapels. The maids come out to mop up the water and a tango with mops ensues as the pianist/bartender seeming chases off the hunky masseur.

As things quiet down, the Count emerges on the balcony in hideous patterned silk pajamas with Elisetta emerging from her room below in an equally dreadful short pink frilly negligee with matching fluffy high-heel slippers. Paolino arrives with the Vespa to elope with Carolina, but they are forced into her room when they hear noises. Elisetta wakes all the staff and singers who emerge in various types of sleepwear, but Fidalma's skin-tight leopard robe with black boa trim and matching shoes easily takes the winning prize. As everything is explained and cleared up the finale has yet another (really unnecessary) ballet. The masseur and pianist enter, the former wearing silk pajama bottoms and no top, the latter sporting boxer shorts and the former's pajama top! They also roll in a baby carriage as everyone is finally getting married in the end.

During the bows the butler yells, "Everyone in the pool!" and the curtain falls on what was a hysterical, enjoyable and visually pleasing performance. These are the singers of tomorrow, and to praise them now is such a pleasure. Some of them will undoubtedly go on to careers in opera and we can only wish them all the best of luck in their career choices, for they are surely already on their way!

ALAN J. SAVADA, CTC
Washington, DC

24/04/2006 13:01:21

Our Matrimonio Segreto got a nice review in the Washington Post:

Here are some excerpts:

At Clarice Smith Center, It's Fun, Fun, Fun With Cimarosa Monday, April 24, 2006; Page C03

Domenico Cimarosa's "Il Matrimonio Segreto" ("The Secret Marriage"), which received a rare performance at the Clarice Smith Center on Friday night, is pure comedy. It's something straight out of opera buffa tradition that strives for entertainment more than profundity. It speaks in contagious tunes, hopelessly hapless characters and zany antics.

The Maryland Opera Studio's week-long run is a rollicking affair. The story follows the plight of the young couple Carolina and Paolino, whose scheme to gain acceptance for their secret nuptials goes terribly awry. No need for anything too outre here. Director Nick Olcott seems to understand that a little updating (Daniel Conway's sets place the story poolside at a 1960s Italian villa) and a couple of new twists (a spryly dancing chorus choreographed by Autumn Mist Belk) can unleash all of the opera's potential.

Costume designer Tim Burrow dresses the players in bright colors and busy patterns, while a cast of non-singing actors enlivens both acts.

Conductor Ryan Brown elicited a supple sound from the University of Maryland Orchestra, which played with the precision and vigor that have become hallmarks of its recent concerts.

03/04/2006 3:04:10

(click on the image to enlarge it)

On Sunday April 2nd there was a picture of yours truly in the Washington Post. Surprisingly enough I did not make it to the Sunday Source because of my singing abilities but because of my caffeine addiction. There was an article which featured several coffee shops and a picture of me at Murky Coffee in Arlington made it to the paper. By looking at it I now realize how economic my sipping may seem when drinking espresso.

01/04/2006 23:03:38

We got a nice review by Alan Savada for el barberillo at IABD. It follows:

Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 10:29:17 EST
Subject: Zizzling Zarzuela in DC: El Barberillo de Lavapies

Last night was a fun night at the Inter-American Development Bank where a full house was in evidence for a totally free performance of Francisco Asenjo Barbieri's zarzuela, "The Littlle Barber of Lavapies." It was a budget production for sure, with virtually no set, although there were some computer generated projections at the rear. The costumes were simple, yet adequate, but it was the singing that we all went for. When I say all, I mean the crowd included even children down to age 3! Indeed, the excellent children's chorus from the Oyster Bilingual School, really excelled and proved what a good education can do for kids, not only in language, but in music!

Director Jose Sacin brought together some of the best Latino singers in DC for a wonderful performance, where everyone sang impressively, not to mention the chorus of 17. This was a big crowd, along with the kids, to fit on one small stage. My only regret is that there was just ONE performance of this work, and at this time, none of you will have the opportunity to see it again!

Cast:
Amanda Gosier as "la marquesita del Bierzo";
Anamer Castrello as "Paloma";
Pablo Henrich as "Lamparilla";
Alvaro Rodriguez as "Don Luis";
Eduardo Castro as "Don Juan/Don Pedro";
Luis Simon, narrator; priest
Mario Montenegro, principal dancer

Jose Sacin, artistic director and conductor;
SeungShin Sophia Yoo, music director and pianist;
Luis Simon, stage director;
Mario Montenegro, choreographer

With the participation of the Zarzuela Di Si chorus and the Oyster Bilingual School Chorus

ALAN J. SAVADA, CTC
Washington, DC

August 2010 / Agosto 2010

Concert in Lima, Perú

December 2010

SWINGTIME! (reprise)

Xavier Prado

In Series