Reflections an Opera Lafayette Newsletter “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” So began Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities, his novel about the French Revolution, and so we might describe the events of the past year. For Opera Lafayette it began as a celebration of our 25th anniversary, full of enthusiasm and flush with the success of Blow’s Venus and Adonis and then Beethoven’s Leonore, our own opera emanating from the French Revolution. But the disappointments, cruelty, and sorrow which followed the initial excitement of that historical event have overtaken our own year and world as well. Nonetheless, we see rays of hope. Just as Dickens published his novels in installments, we released our film of Beethoven’s great opera similarly, but online, accompanied by intimate online discussions which probed the musical and theatrical inner workings and inspiring narrative of this masterpiece. Though we had to postpone Le Maréchal ferrant (The Blacksmith), we are finding ways to engage with the opera and our artists online, creating a new community of friends as we update this 18th-century French opéra comique to the early American West. Dickens told extraordinary tales about ordinary people, showing us the humanity of people from a different era and different walks of life. The Blacksmith has our artists take on the characters of ordinary folks in recognizable situations as well – a clever and hardworking father, his independent daughter, her unfortunate lover, a wary outsider, a flirtatious widower, and a conniving sister. These characters set up a comedy first written in plague-infested Florence in the 14th century which we will tour in rural and urban areas suffering from the coronavirus in the 21st. I am writing now from southwestern Colorado, where we have been planning a rural residency with The Blacksmith, not yet knowing whether it will take place in a local opera house or in front of a barn outdoors. Recently I took two photos which capture a couple of hopeful images. The orange poppies at sunset remind me of nature’s visible beauty even amidst its invisible dangers (and perhaps the Met’s set for the dream sequence in its production of Prince Igor!) The young cowboys working the cattle in the dust at twilight in front of the old barn and blacksmith’s shop (a future stage set?) remind me that doing what one does best can be a gritty job, but worthwhile when we cooperate and calmly persevere. Wishing you the very best and hoping to see you online and in person again soon, Thank you for your support. Ryan
WHAT IS REFLECTIONS? • A peek behind the curtain at Opera Lafayette • A glimpse of the projects and people that make Opera Lafayette as successful as it is • A place for new and noteworthy donor news • A celebration of our supporters Ryan Brown, Artistic Director
Toasting Leonore with February brought an afternoon tea and music recital in a private home. Ryan Brown talked about Opera Lafayette’s Leonore Project, and his decision to commission Will Crutchfield to reimagine Florestan’s lost aria. Crutchfield shared his exploration of Beethoven’s sketches to recreate this aria, and guests enjoyed the premiere performance of the aria sung by tenor Jean-Michel Richer, Florestan in OL’s Leonore and pianist Michael Fennelly.
Clockwise from top left: Ryan Brown, Jean-Michel Richer, Will Crutchfield, and Michael Fennelly | Lee Fryd and Michèle Gerber-Klein | Dennis Keogh, Jonathan Marder, and Roger Cardinal | Susan Gutfreund, Allyson Tang, Edgar Batista, and Alice Lutz | Marina Couloucoundes, Karen Burke, and Tony Bechara, Board President of the Museo del Barrio | Steven Rosandich and Ryan Brown. Photos by John Sanderson/AnnieWatt.com.
Tea and Champagne Opera Lafayette donors were invited onstage immediately following the New York opening night of Beethoven’s Leonore. Guests toasted the Leonore artists while mingling amidst the set designed by Laurence Mongeau.
Clockwise from top left: Pascale Beaudin (Marzelline); Nizam Kettaneh, OL’s Board Co-Chair; and Nathalie Paulin (Leonore) | Meche Kroop, Voce di Meche and Ryan Brown | The onstage After Party | Leonore stage director Oriol Tomas with Jean-Michel Richer (Florestan) and Alexandre Sylvestre (Don Fernando) | Member of OL’s Board of Directors Leonard Ralston and his wife Annemarie | Commissioner Everardo Jefferson, Joan Greenberg, Nizam Kettaneh, Dr. Myron Magnet, and Sara Caples | Julia Doe, Assistant Professor of Music, Historical Musicology, Columbia University and Ellen Rosand, Professor Emeritus of Music, Yale University | Janet Desforges, OL New York Advisory Committee member and Paula Rand | Chloe Ekkar, the evening’s stage manager; Lisa C. Mion, OL’s Production Manager; and Ryan Brown | Pascale Beaudin, (Marzelline) and Ishtar Méjanès, OL’s New York Advisory Committee member. Photos by Stephen Smith/AnnieWatt.com.
Praise for Opera Lafayette’s Leonore
Clockwise from left: Soprano Nathalie Paulin (Fidelio/Leonore) and bass-baritone Stephen Hegedus (Rocco) | Soprano Pascale Beaudin (Marzelline) and tenor Keven Geddes (Jacquino) | The Opera Lafayette Chorus. Photographs by Louis Forget.
“This was one of the most enlightening and informative opera performances I've attended in a while, and people who love opera, Beethoven, or both will want to watch it.” – Ralph P. Locke, American Record Guide “The theme of ‘rescue’ has stayed with us all night. Leonore rescued Florestan and Opera Lafayette rescued Beethoven's early attempt at creating the Fidelio that occupies a major place in the canon. – Meche Kroop, Voce di Meche “In The Leonore Project, Opera Lafayette did a great deal of research to understand Leonore in the context of its historical and musical landscape, a defining characteristic of Opera Lafayette in its mission to present modern premieres of works no longer presented today. – Michael Rogers, OperaGene "The depiction of [Opera Lafayette's] mission as performed by the company led by OL founder and artistic director Ryan Brown, was consummate. OL is a leader in works performed on period instruments. Ordinarily, there are 33 in the pit, but for this performance, 11 were added to meet Beethoven’s specifications... I found Brown’s tempi were even throughout, and every singer and instrumentalist blended effortlessly with the whole. The effect was a confident, sophisticated production made all the more so by design elements that were never under- nor overstated.” – Whitney Fishburn, DC Metro Theater Arts
“Ryan Brown paced the music surely and drew fine, accomplished playing from his period instrument orchestra. If one left feeling unconvinced by Jacobs’s claim that 1805 is the best version of Fidelio, you can’t blame that on Opera Lafayette. Rather, the feeling was one of gratitude for an engrossing and stimulating evening.” – George Loomis, Musical America “In this intimate setting, a venue of less than 700 seats, with a tasteful and simple set, and with Artistic Director Ryan Brown leading the small period orchestra with élan, the performance was a revelation... Thanks to this enterprising company and the dedicated work of Ryan Brown and others on this multi-year project, a wider audience will indeed be able not only to compare these closely linked works but also to savor a work, the Leonore from 1805, that has, as Brown intended to illustrate, “more connection to the 18th century than the later version [Fidelio].” – Richard Beams, Opera con Brio “Wednesday night’s performance of Leonore was a crowning achievement for Opera Lafayette, a testament to an arts organization at its most resourceful, most creative, and most industrious.” – Callum John Blackmore, Parterre Box “Opera Lafayette is celebrating its silver anniversary in style. On Wednesday night, Ryan Brown conducted a new production of the original 1805 version of Beethoven’s only opera… The companion piece to the evening was Opera Lafayette’s winning revival of Pierre Gaveaux’s opéra comique Léonore back in 2017. Premiered in 1789, that opera’s libretto was the basis for Beethoven’s new work, and by pairing the two works, this intrepid company has shown a strong musical and dramatic influence from it on Beethoven as well.” – Charles Downey, Washington Classical Review
Clockwise from left: Tenor Jean-Michel Richer (Florestan) | Soprano Nathalie Paulin (Fidelio/Leonore) and Pascale Beaudin (Marzelline) | Bass-baritone Alexandre Sylvestre (Don Fernando) and the ensemble . Photographs by Louis Forget.
“What is that Noise in My Attic?” By Susan Lynner, Member of Opera Lafayette’s Board of Directors
From left: Susan Lynner. Photo by Russell Hirshorn | Scarlatti/Geminiani double-bill. Photo by Louis Forget. | Meriem Bahri. Photo by Will Nunnally.
I have been hosting Opera Lafayette musicians, singers, dancers, and production team members for ten years, and it has been great fun. I have seen neighbors transfixed by the sound of a soprano vocalizing on a sunny day with the widows opened. A Baltimore-born, Parisbased pianist who cheerfully survived Hurricane Sandy with me is still a friend. But January 2018’s costume-design studio experiment was truly memorable.
A truck-full of lights, worktables, clothing racks, mannequins, and bolts of material arrived. So did Meriem, with duffel bags of tools, threads, trimmings, and other impedimenta. Two sewing machines materialized, along with two hard-working assistants, who took turns working with Meriem. And work they all did, from about 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., when the assistants would leave—but Meriem often worked until 11:00 p.m.; fortunately, she was also staying with me.
It started with a throw-away remark from Meriem Bahri, the hugely talented designer who produced Opera Lafayette’s critically acclaimed costumes for our Scarlatti/Geminiani winter double-bill. Meriem had spent a few days with me the previous November to familiarize herself with the dancers, props, and costumes of our collaborators at Kalanidhi Dance. As she was leaving for the airport, she mentioned that Opera Lafayette needed to find a design studio for her for about three weeks in the run-up to the late January performances. I have a large, mostly unfinished attic—could this be repurposed for a temporary design studio? I called Lisa Mion, our supremely capable production manager, and asked if she thought this was an idea worth exploring. She came; she was thrilled; and we were off.
Singers and dancers came for fittings. English Breakfast tea transformed plain white muslin into sepia-hued gowns. Spray paint and sandpaper turned a flimsy dime-store sword into a warrior’s weapon that a singer could heft. Split-second costume changes were devised. And then, finally, up on the stage, the long hours in my attic melted into the beautifully crafted turbans, swords, and costumes that helped to create a gorgeous evening of magical forests, ancient loves, bitter conquests, and small kindnesses. The experience left me with a heightened sense of what it takes to produce staged opera, including the costs, in both hours worked and dollars needed, and an even deeper affection for Opera Lafayette and the many people who work so hard to create these evenings of splendid musical artistry.
AT HOME WITH OPERA LAFAYETTE We are grateful to Susan Lynner and the many other hosts who, over the years, have opened up their homes and welcomed in Opera Lafayette artists. We look forward to the day when COVID-19 is a thing of the past, and we are able to return to this practice. If you are interested in hosting an artist (or two) when this time arrives, please email ErsianFrancois@OperaLafayette.org.
The Leonore Series | Opera Lafayette Online A culmination of years of study and performance By Ersian François, Artist Services and Community Engagement Manager On Monday, June 1 we held the final Leonore discussion of our Leonore Series – the pilot program of Opera Lafayette Online.
When we launched The Leonore Series on April 10, 2020, we were boldly stepping into unchartered territory in response to the pandemic. Our goal was to create a social moment with our patrons while offering a closer look at our video recordings of two extraordinary works: Gaveaux’s Léonore, ou L’Amour conjugal and Beethoven’s Leonore (1805). “This was a wonderful enterprise, and a welcome respite from the horrific pandemic rearing its ugly head,” wrote one participant. “But such a series would, of course, be equally welcome in less stressful times.” Over the course of eight weeks, Ryan Brown led discussions and analyses of both productions – his brainchild project that has been many years in the making. Week after week, we were joined by singers, instrumentalists, musicologists, our film director, and assistant film director. Guests included: Kimy Mc Laren (title role in Gaveaux’s Léonore, ou L’Amour conjugal); Nathalie Paulin, Matthew Scollin, Stephen Hegedus from Beethoven’s Leonore in the roles of Leonore, Pizarro, and Rocco, respectively); from both productions Jean Michel Richer (Florestan), Pascale Beaudin (Marzelline), and Keven Geddes (Jaquino); Charles Brink, flutist; Jason Rylander, chorister; Jason Starr, film director; Julia Doe, musicologist; and Will Crutchfield, who reimagined the Florestan’s lost aria. Each shared their unique perspectives on the roles with which they had all spent significant time. Together we explored the notions of justice and righteousness; examined the characters through their musical motifs and actions; and recounted backstage stories. One anecdote that you can see immortalized on film is chorus member Bradley King using his improvisational skills to quickly scoop up a loose screw that fell off the set when Leonore opened the gates for the barefoot prisoners.
The pandemic challenged Opera Lafayette to find new ways to connect our patrons to different perspectives of our work through our recordings and discussions. It also presented a unique opportunity to dig into the evolution of the rehearsal and recording process and give a sneak peek of our upcoming Beethoven DVD, which will be released this year on the Naxos label. Opera Lafayette has always been committed to bringing works to the forefront that one would not have another opportunity to see. Commented Kimy at the final session: “It is important for the music ecosystem that Opera Lafayette exists and presents works such as these Leonores – operas that are outside the regular repertoire.” Pascale agreed, saying “What a clever way to keep opera living!” Neophytes and musicologists agreed that these exchanges enhanced their live performance experience and that both experiences go hand in hand; enriching each other. “I so enjoyed this focused forum led by Ryan Brown,” said Karen Gerstbrein. “I have no musical background, but I learn from these kinds of discussions. Thank you for affording me this great opportunity.” While author and Professor of Musicology at Indiana University Kristina Muxfeldt wrote: “I truly enjoyed spending my Monday afternoons with you and admire the way you so graciously and thoughtfully hosted these gatherings. I hope that many good things will come out of this endeavor.” Some of our patrons were team Beethoven, while others were team Gaveaux. But, whether participant or artist, everyone was team music.
At present, we are focusing on our younger audience with our Opera starts with OH! running from June 3 – July 1. Make sure you sign-up to receive Friday’s Musical Moment, a weekly email with an excerpt selected by Ryan, plus news about upcoming online programs. OperaLafayette.org/newsletter Opera Lafayette’s production of Beethoven’s Leonore was partially supported by Wage Foundation and Rea Charitable Trust. The recordings of both Beethoven’s Leonore and Gaveaux’s Léonore, ou L’Amour conjugal were partially funded by Nizam Kettaneh and Ishtar Méjanès.
You have the capacity to nourish the souls of our communities by supporting the creative arts, and together we can help ensure the arts continue throughout the challenges we face today! As you contemplate your charitable giving, we ask that you consider making an additional donation in celebration of Opera Lafayette’s 25th anniversary. Your support helps sustain all of us.
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Ryan Brown, Artistic Director