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Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) launched the Company's 30th Anniversary Season with an Artist Residency Program and Concert in September 2006. The Residency Program sessions were held in schools, community centers, and churches in many neighborhoods of Boston and one site in Cambridge. The format was a one-hour interactive session of music and conversation with the stars of BLO's 30th Anniversary Celebration Concert. All of the sessions were free and several are open to the public.
"The aim of BLO's Artist Residency Program is to provide role models to a wide, diverse audience and to engage and inspire the community of all ages about opera and its stars," said BLO's General Director Janice Mancini Del Sesto. "Audiences need to see themselves reflected on stage to feel they belong there; children need to see themselves reflected on stage to believe that they, too, could do the same. We all need models and mentors. We constantly hear stories of that magical moment in childhood when one first experienced great music, theater or dance and how this ultimately led to a professional career or to our audience. The interactive sessions are designed to offer the opportunity for young people and their families to meet and talk with rising stars of the opera stage and to hear personal stories about discovering their talent, the role played by their models and mentors, their training and career paths, and their future hopes and dreams."
"Society today celebrates 'pop' talent – and the discovery and promotion of this talent gets front page and prime time news coverage," Del Sesto said. "But there is exceptional talent destined for the opera, musical theater, and concert stage that could go undiscovered and undeveloped if the next generation of performers are not aware of their own potential and have no role models and mentors to help them see and realize the possibilities."
The artists talked about the discovery of their musical talent, the mentoring, training and preparation necessary to become an opera singer, and the challenges and rewards in their careers and personal lives.
The weeklong Artist Residency Program culminated in the Company's 30th Anniversary Celebration Concert featuring these artists performing with BLO's orchestra and chorus at The Wang Theatre on September 15, 2006. The concert featured some of the most popular music from the opera repertoire. Community participants in the Artist Residency Program received free concert tickets.
Below is a list of dates and locations of Artist Residency sites that were free and open to the public. Tickets were not required.
Participating organizations included:
For more information on all sessions, contact Luke Dennis, BLO's Education and Community Programs Manager at (617) 542-4912, ext. 239
Click here for the Concert Postcard
Click here for BLO's logo
Click here to download the press release
Artists
Lisa Daltirus, soprano
BLO Debut: Title role in Tosca
Notable Engagements:
Leonora in Il trovatore, Connecticut Opera
Title role in Aïda, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Michigan Opera Theatre and Cincinnati Opera
Title role in Tosca, Minnesota Opera and Palm Beach Opera
Morris Robinson, bass
BLO Debut: The King of Egypt in Aïda
Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Metropolitan Opera
Sparafucile in Rigoletto and Ramphis in Aïda, Florida Grand Opera
Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Boston Symphony Orchestra
Earle Patriarco, baritone
BLO Debut: Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia
Schaunard in La bohème and Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus, Metropolitan Opera
Taddeo in L;Italiana in Algeri, Seattle Opera
Valentin in Faust and Dandini in La cenerentola, Houston Grand Opera
Michael Hayes*, tenor
Title role in Faust, Nashville Opera
The Duke in Rigoletto, Manitoba Opera
Cavaradossi in Tosca, Opera North
Don José in Carmen, Teatro Lirico
Willie Anthony Waters*, conductor
Cavalleria Rusticana and Gianni Schicchi, Connecticut Opera (where he serves as artistic director)
Carmen, Opera de Quebec
Aïda, Opera de Montreal
Turandot, Michigan Opera Theatre
Click here for more information about the 30th Anniversary Concert on September 15, 2006.
*BLO Debut
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