Page 7 – The Atlanta Opera

You’re a Georgia native. What is it like
to direct a show so close to home?

To be perfectly honest, I’ve been so
focused on staging the show, I’ve hardly taken a moment to soak it all in! However, it has been quite a few years since
I’ve been on the East Coast in the spring, and I had forgotten how perfectly
breathtaking it is when everything starts blooming. This is such a gorgeous city… it is a real
pleasure to be back in my native land.

In recent years, you’ve worked as an
assistant director in several major opera houses. What have you learned as an AD that you’ve applied as a stage director?

The job of a big house AD is very intense
and requires a very long list of skills that you might not use as often when
you are in the director chair, most having to do with organization and large
scale communication. As an AD I’ve
developed a strong appreciation for the many technicians and production staff
that make the “magic” happen behind the scenes. I’ve also gotten a lot of
experience working with huge choruses, and have really learned to love how a
chorus can help bring the stage to life and amplify the story.

What are some of your favorite moments,
musically or theatrically, in The Marriage of Figaro?

Where to begin?! Well, maybe at the beginning… when the
curtain rises we meet Figaro and Susanna, busily preparing for their wedding
day. I just love the hustle and bustle,
the playfulness and charm of these adorable people who are so clearly in love. Another favorite moment is the Figaro/Susanna duet in the finale of Act
4. There is a huge amount of physical
comedy in that section, and it ends when Figaro brings it all to a halt with a
big kiss. The two end up giggling on floor together. Musically and dramatically it is really
satisfying.

What is the most complicated scene to
direct in this opera?

This entire opera feels like a three-ring
circus from start to finish, with only small pause for breath during the
Countess’s arias and Susanna’s Act 4 aria. The rest of the time it is non-stop action. A household run by Figaro and Susanna would
be nothing less! Probably the most
physically (and mentally?) demanding scene is the finale of Act 4. There is an awful lot of back and forth, with
ladies in disguise, wrong exits, and intense wooing in the dark. Keeping up with it all is a real trick!

This show has several strong female
characters. What’s your take on their relationships and their world?

I love the women of Nozze. They are smart
and strong, and when they get hurt, they shed a tear and then they pick
themselves back up again. In another
opera, the Countess would probably go lose her mind when faced with her
husband’s infidelities. We would end with a mad scene and suicide. Not our Countess! She calls up the smartest lady she knows
(Susanna) and makes a plan.

What advice would you give to an audience
member enjoying The Marriage of Figaro for the first time?

Fasten
your seatbelt! This is an opera that is
filled to the brim with gorgeous and amusing tunes, and they are sung by
genuine, fully-developed characters experiencing all the many aspects of
love. Please laugh, but also allow
yourself to feel the pain of the Countess when she realizes she no longer holds
interest for her husband, or the jealousy and heartache of Figaro when he discovers he has been laughing at his
own expense. Relish how generously Mozart expends his beautiful music… even
the most ludicrous moments are exquisitely beautiful, because he has tunes to
spare. This is an amazing cast, and I
think it will be quite clear why this is one of the most beloved operas of all
time.

Did you grow up going to the theatre?

No, not really. I grew up on the far end of Staten Island during the 1960’s and early 1970’s. I remember thinking at the time that NYC was very far away. My parents were not the theatre-going type. In fact, I remember only one experience. It was during one of the holiday seasons. My parents took us to see the Radio City Christmas show (I believe I was 7, 8 years old at the time), and that experience really affected me. It was eye-opening in every sense of the word!

Do you remember the moment that captured your interest in theatre and design? Was there a particular designer that you admired or who influenced you?

Yes, I remember a distinct moment. In 1972, when I was 16 years old, my family moved to Florida,to a very small town called New Port Richey. The town is located on the west coast of Florida, north of the town of Tarpon Springs. It is a shoreline community, with lots of sun and beach culture. This was a time of major migration to the south from the northern states, and my high school was overcrowded. One day I remember coming home from school to make lunch, I turned on our small, black & white television as background noise. The only station we received was the local PBS station and (I believe) “Dance in America” was on. Valery and Galina Panov, the Russian dance couple, were in concert. The announcer stated that they would be performing the grande pas de deux from “The Nutcracker.” Well, for me, I had no idea what a pas de deux was. In fact, I did not know what “The Nutcracker” was either. However, I just continued to make my lunch. Then this beautiful music began. They started to dance; it began to pull my focus. I had never seen or experienced such striking physicality, strength and artistry. It was completely outside my frame of reference. I found myself transfixed. I stopped making my lunch and just focused on this small image on the TV. As the duet ended, it literally took my breath away. I remember standing there dazed, and somehow, I thought, “Whatever that is, that’s what I want to do.” I see that experience as the moment I decided to become a theatre artist and designer.

What was your first assignment as a lighting designer?

Well, I’m not sure I remember the first show! I did become part of a wonderful community theater in New Port Richey–The Richey Suncoast Theatre–where I had my introduction to what “the Theatre” was, and specifically lighting. I did many musicals and comedies. I became (at 17 years of age) the “lighting guy” at the theatre. However, during this time I thought I wanted to be a dancer.

You’ve collaborated with Bill T. Jones and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company for 30 years. How did this relationship begin?

I first met Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane in 1985. As the company was growing, touring more, etc., they were looking for a lighting designer. I was recommended to them. I had a meeting with them. A few days later, I was asked to light a new piece called “Black Room.” I have the pleasure, joy and satisfaction the continue working with Bill and the BTJ/AZ Dance Company to this day.

Is there a significant difference between designing the lighting for dance and designing it for opera?

Yes and no. Both forms use music as a major part of the structure. Music and movement are non-verbal forms of communication. I feel that light is also a non-verbal form. Light can add, enhance, clarify or transform a moment that can have profound emotional and psychological impact. However, with light, one needs context to fully express an idea. It is the synthesis of the forms that create the moment.

What do you think is the greatest challenge for a lighting designer to convey in a show?

I think all elements–scenery, costumes, lighting, etc.–all share the same challenges, namely, how do we tell the story we want to tell?

Is it more difficult when directors allow you to build your vision from a blank slate, or when they give you a specific vision of their own?

Working in the theatre is a collaborative process. I do not believe it is just one person’s “vision.” The most satisfying projects are when we all contribute, each in their discipline. That being said, the director is the leader, of sorts. He/she had brought a group of designers, singers, managers, etc. together to create a production that will have impact for the time and moment it is created.

Has technology changed your process and execution for better or worse? Have there been any significant challenges you’ve faced with change?

This is a difficult question to consider…There is not a simple answer. Yes, technology has had (and is having) a profound effect on how we work in the theatre. Lighting in productions can be far more complex today than it could be 20-30 years ago. Computer-controlled lighting fixtures and consoles have opened new and exciting ways of thinking. This is definably better. However, although it is not really possible, time seems to get faster every year! The economics of our world means one must do more in less time. This is not always conducive to making meaningful art. This is not better.

In training the next generation of lighting designers, what do you try to impart to your students? Have their interests and goals changed over the years?

I try to impart to my students what the initial process of lighting design is, how to give light significance in context. Questions of meaning, structure, process and intent must be examined and discussed. What light can and cannot communicate. Hopefully, my students will begin to develop a visual and conceptual vocabulary, a first step in the practice of creating ideas with light. I hope I can give my students a different way of seeing. As to their interests and goals…most want what many of us want: to work in a profession that is fulfilling and satisfying and lead a fruitful life.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in lighting design?

Be open-minded…Embrace the world…Expand your passion…Understand the world you want to be part of…exploit a range of experiences, from opera, museums, dance, concerts, happenings, dance parties. Fill your mind with different points of view. And lastly, but most importantly, I would ask myself the question: What kind of life do you want to live?

When you have an answer, go and begin to live it.

On February 3rd, we unveiled our lineup for the coming 2015-16 season. We invite you to Join the Adventure as we embark on both the imaginative journeys of the operas, as well as the new pathways that opera in Atlanta has taken in recent years. The operas we have planned will take you on adventures around the world and into an exotic realm of beauty and heartbreak.

We open our mainstage season at the Cobb Energy Centre with a fresh interpretation of Puccini’s La bohème, a celebrated journey of romance and camaraderie in the magical French Quarter in Paris. March takes us on a rollicking sea-faring voyage to the shores of England with Gilbert and Sullivan’s adventurous The Pirates of Penzance, a first for the Atlanta Opera. The season draws to a close in the romantic town of Verona with Gounod’s grand interpretation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, an adventure of love that ends in tragedy.

There is a major renaissance going on in the world of opera right now, and its epicenter in the United States. We plan to be a key player in that revolution, and in the evolution of the art form. While Atlanta audiences enthusiastically embrace the classical works that we present in a new, innovative way on the main stage, they have also shown as appetite for both new and experimental works, and new perspectives on less frequently staged operas. We are proud to launch our Atlanta Opera Discoveries series this spring with out inaugural production of Three Decembers at the Alliance Theatre in May. Next season, Discoveries brings us Schubert’s song-cycle Winterreise (Winter’s Journey), presented in a striking new multimedia production. We will also present the Southeastern premiere of David T. Little’s Soldier Songs, a powerful musical event that combines elements of theater, opera, and rock-infused music to explore the perceptions and realities of a soldier’s journey from innocence to experience.

Rather than write a lot about the shows, we hope you will come experience them yourself. As Lewis Carroll wrote in Alice in Wonderland: “No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time.” We’re off on a great adventure. Join us.

Tomer Zvulun
General & Artistic Director

It all began and ended with four simple colors: pink, purple, orange, and green.

It was a rainy Friday morning at 9 o’clock, and a raw chill seemed to hush the usual whir of cars speeding down Peachtree. The drizzle dampened the brick exterior of First Presbyterian with a fresh coat of dew. Inside, four composers and four librettists, some veterans and some newbies, sat wondering with whom they would be paired. Four colors sat in a basket, each hand hesitantly grabbing its owner’s fate. The teams were formed:

Pink: Composer Marvin Carlton & Librettist Sumita Chakraborty

Purple: Composer Andy Bayles & Librettist Daniel Bosch

Orange: Composer Natalie Williams & Librettist Madeleine St. Romain

Green: Composer Lauren McCall & Librettist Vynnie Meli

The teams immediately broke free to work for the next 12 hours around their baby grands. Working with a mandatory prop (a hideous polyester shirt, a telephone, a camera, and a bouquet of flowers, respectively) and attempting to incorporate the overarching theme of “Not for the Faint of Heart,” the courageous composers and librettists crafted and honed their pieces through Friday afternoon into the evening until 10 p.m.

On Saturday morning at 10 a.m., the singers, stage directors and musical directors were added to the mix. After being assigned to each team of composer and librettist combination, the new teams rehearsed and staged the pieces that had just been created some 12 hours earlier. The lineup:

Pink

Stage Director: Kristin Kenning

Musical Director: Catherine Giel

Singers: Sakinah Davis, Laura Ann Cotney, Nick Yaquinto, and Jonathan Spuhler

Purple

Stage Director: Heidi Cline McKurley

Musical Director: Erin Palmer

Singers: Jeanette Simpson, CatieLeigh Laszewski, Abigail Halon, and C. Augustus Godbee

Orange

Stage Director: Michael Nutter

Musical Director: Daniel Solberg

Singers: Megan Brunning, Laurie Tossing, Reina Powell, Alan Higgs, and David Porter

Green

Stage Director: David DeVries

Musical Director: Erika Tanawa

Singers: Jayme Alilaw, Caitlin Andrews, William Green and Brandon Odom

Fast forward to Saturday evening. Everyone moved downtown to Theatrical Outfit, where the madness was about to begin. As the crowds filed into the lobby of the theatre, the singers and directors rehearsed their pieces for one last time.

Host and Atlanta Opera Director of Marketing and Communications, Dave Paule, jumped on stage to start the evening. He introduced the judges: Tom Key, Artistic Director at Theatrical Outfit, Andrew Alexander from Creative Loafing and Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Noel Morris from WABE. They would determine the Judges Winner. Paule then introduced the performers, and thanked the audience who would also be choosing their favorite composition with ballots of four simple colors: pink, purple, orange, and green.

The Pink team, with a piece titled Love in Idleness, was an irreverent exploration of

materialism. Set to Marvin Carlton’s jaunty melody and Sumita Chakraborty’s lyrics, the singers took whiffs of a magic potion from a gilded chalice and immediately fell in love with inanimate objects. Baritone Jonathan Spuhler did double duty, first with a polyester disco shirt (the mandatory prop), and then with a rubber chicken, hilariously serenading and fondling the synthetic piece of poultry.

The Purple team was next with Our Needs Align. Using a black 1990s push button telephone as the inspiration, Composer Andy Bayles and Librettist Daniel Bosch explored both the differences and sameness inherent in technological changes. As Bosch explained, “Two times, two couples, the same problem.”

The Orange team presented Tuesdays with Pictures, which could best be described as Verdi meets Scooby Doo. Three ghost hunters (who identify themselves as “Paranatural P.I.s” in a catchy chorus) believe they can help the Andersons, who live in a haunted house. They show them proof of ghosts in pictures they took with their (prop alert!) camera. Natalie Williams’ score and Madeline St. Romain’s libretto was a perfect fusion of

a sarcastic angle with mysterious overtones. By the end, we learn that the Paranatural P.I.s are actually ghosts themselves. In a society that is fairly well jaded by Law & Order plot devices, it was a pleasant surprise to know that a good mystery can still keep an audience captivated.

Finally, the Green team got political with the very funny Mother Nature, Sister Sludge. Composer Lauren McCall and Librettist Vynnie Meli, inspired by a bouquet of flowers, lambasted the rise of corporate greed and indifference for our home planet. Sister Sludge leads the audience in a melodic chant of “Reduce, reuse, recycle” to bring Mother Nature back to life, only to fall victim to the evils of human intervention.

It was time for the judges to deliberate and the audience to choose their favorite piece. As Key, Alexander, and Morris huddled in the lobby, baskets were passed down the aisles to collect ballots with four simple colors. Local comedy troupe Dad’s Garage helped to pass the time with gut-busting improve games and hilarious audience participation.

Paule made his way out to the stage, and called Pink, Purple, Orange, and Green to stand behind him. The judges and the audience had chosen their favorites (Drum roll, please…):

Judges’ Favorite: Our Needs Align (Purple Team)

Audience Favorite: Tuesdays with Pictures (Orange Team)

The audience immediately stood to their feet with a resounding applause. They had chosen a favorite, but they were clapping for everyone. The seemingly impossible feat of composing, writing, blocking, and performing four different operas in a 24 hour time span had proven possible. It was proof for the audience, but more importantly, it was proof for the artists. Those who walked in the door Friday and Saturday morning, hungry for a challenge, or merely trying to be brave, walked away from the 24-Hour Opera Project feeling more confident in themselves and maybe even a little more inspired when they would remember themselves as pink, purple, orange, or green.

Where did you grow up?

I was born and raised in Odessa (former USSR) which is now Ukraine. A year before the USSR fell apart, my family immigrated to Israel, where I finished school and got a B.F.A. in design for theater at Tel Aviv University. Then I moved to the U.S. to complete my M.F.A. in costume design for stage, and production design for film. It’s been a fascinating journey to live in three countries that are so extremely different. I constantly draw from those experiences in my design work.

How did you get into costume design?

My father is a stage and costume designer, a painter, and an art educator. When I was growing up, I spent long hours at his studio that was located at the theater where he worked and I was inspired and fascinated by that world from an early age.
For a while, I wanted to become a fashion designer, but later I realized that I am drawn to storytelling as much as I am drawn to fabrics, colors, and patterns, and what better way to combine those two passions than design costumes for complex characters?

Who is your favorite artist, living or dead?

There are so many amazing artists in so many different disciplines. It would be quite impossible for me to single one out. A theater and film designer needs to be very well-rounded in order to be able to design for different stories that take place in different time periods.
Depending on the project, I often find myself drawing inspiration from a wide range of artists: Medieval composers, pre-Raphaelite painters, modern installation artists like Matthew Barney and Ryoji Ikeda, electronic musicians like Björk, The Knife, Grimes, DADA poets, symbolists, Russian constructivists, writers like Dostoyevsky, Kurt Vonnegut, and Haruki Murakami, and the list goes on….

During a production, what is a typical day for you?

My day never really consists of working on one production, as I (and designers in general) typically work on multiple projects that are in different phases at any given moment. A typical work day for me ranges from 10-16 hours. For example, today I spent the morning scouting locations for a film I’ll be working on in NYC. This afternoon, I was in meetings for a dance piece that will premiere in Germany, for which I will design costumes. This evening, I will be 3D drafting scenic sketches for a rock opera starring Courtney Love.

What kind of preparation went into creating the period costumes for Rigoletto?

Vita Tzykun

A lot of research went into this production because Elizabethan era costumes are some of the most technically complicated in the history of clothing. Most of the costumes were built in Hungary by a costume shop called Jelmez-Art that specializes in period clothing.

Some additional builds were created by an American costume shop called CostumeWorks, located in Boston. Fabrics for the costumes were purchased in Berlin, Budapest, Boston, and New York, so you can say that it was truly an international effort to bring those designs to life.

Do you prefer creating period costumes or doing more conceptual work?

The style of the design is always derived from the story.
I prefer to design for interesting stories and work with inspiring collaborators.
The first question should always be: “What do you want to say with this show?” How you are going to say it is the next step.

How does Rigoletto’s physical transformation factor into the design of his costume?

I always start with character analysis and derive the design from there. Rigoletto is described as a physically crippled man, but the curse cripples him morally, and that makes him deteriorate and deform progressively throughout the course of the night.
Tomer and I employed visual metaphors through costume and movement to show that Rigoletto’s inability to carry out his revenge progressively weighs on him physically to such a degree that by the end of the show he can hardly carry himself upright.
His hump grows larger, eventually bursting through the lacing of his doublet, his jester coat no longer fits, forcing him to invent new ways to tie it around his torso, his shoe platform grows in height and weight making it more and more difficult for him to move, dragging his limp foot behind. During the course of the show he turns from an agile and cynical jester to a helpless and crippled old man.

When one looks at your designs up close, it is clear that you have incredible attention to detail. Is this an important quality to have in costume design?

Photos: David Adam Moore

Attention to detail is extremely important, as there is simply no excuse for generic design in any discipline. God is in the details.

What has been your favorite show to work on?

Whichever show I’m designing at the moment.

What was the most interesting or challenging costume you created? What made it so?

Costumes for the production of Falstaff that Tomer and I did at Wolf Trap Opera were probably among the most challenging because I fused Elizabethan and Victorian costume styles together to create a whimsical world that draws from both the time period in which the opera was written and the time period in which the story was set. You can see some examples of that here: http://www.vitavision.net/#!falstaff/c1cof

What piece of advice would you give to an artist starting out in costume design?

Serve the story first and make sure that every design choice you make propels the story forward. Acquire technical skills with passion so that you can have a more versatile and

potent expressive range.

Photos: Marina Levitskaya

More photos and information about Vita at: http://www.vitavision.net/

How did you and Tomer meet?

I met Tomer in 2009 when we both collaborated on Richard Eyre’s hit production of Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera. I was assisting choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and Tomer was assisting Richard. It was one of those times in creating opera when everything is magical and everyone respects and adores each other! Tomer took over the directorial reigns when Carmen was revived so we spent many years together creating and recreating the passion and desperation of Bizet’s Seville.
Fortunately, this summer, I was able to join the artistic team of Tomer’s brilliant Madama Butterfly when it premiered at Castleton Festival.

What is it like to work with Tomer?

Working with Tomer is extraordinary. First of all, he’s incredibly kind and smart. This immediately puts his colleagues – conductors, singers, stage managers, everyone – at complete ease in a truly creative and enthusiastic spirit. Tomer knows what he wants from other artists and from the piece. He is passionate about what he creates, a strong and fierce visionary, but also a generous collaborator. He knows how to encourage and shape the best ideas from us all. He also amazes me with the way he balances knowing what he wants to create with creating on the spot. Tomer is like a master jazz musician – able and happy to improvise around a steady structure. That’s why his work is fresh and new. It’s alive.

How was it working with Maestro Lorin Maazel at the Castleton Festival this past summer?

This summer in Castleton was unparalleled. As we all know, Mo. Maazel was ill, but he was on the mend throughout the summer and was energized by the creative work going on around him. When we would arrive at rehearsal on any given day and see a comfy blue recliner, we would know that he’d be with us that day. And I would often watch him watching the artists and the creation going on. He looked absolutely THRILLED! I feel blessed to have shared Mo. Maazel’s last summer. I can report that he was very happy, inspired, and inspiring to all around him. He absolutely loved Tomer’s Madama Butterfly, and he utterly adored Tomer.

What do you find intriguing about this production of Madama Butterfly?

Tomer’s Madama Butterfly probes the tragedy that ensues when cultures clash and human beings misunderstand and therefore mistreat each other. His ideas of character begin with their humanity and a deep understanding of their struggles and desires. His staging is always born from the natural drive of the characters, from what they want from themselves and from each other, and above all, from Puccini’s glorious music. On a personal note, I adore watching Tomer when he’s directing because as he becomes more and more transformed by the singing and the music, he nearly dances. And for a choreographer, that’s heaven!

What other productions have you worked on at the Met?

I started at the Met in 1996 as a flamenco dancer in Franco Zeffirelli’s Carmen. I soon progressed to working as an assistant choreographer/movement coach and have collaborated in this capacity on many productions including Carmen, La Traviata, Don Carlo, and Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Last season, I made my choreography debut in Richard Eyre’s Werther with Jonas Kauffmann, and recently choreographed Mr. Eyre’s Le Nozze di Figaro which opened the Met season.

I’m also in my fourth season as a member of the Met directing staff. Since 2011 I’ve been fortunate to be one of the directors in charge of remounting Anthony Minghella and Carolyn Choi’s sublime Madama Butterfly. It’s been a blessing to be intimately involved with this opera for so long. It’s a masterpiece and makes me weep every time.

How do you like Atlanta so far?

Atlanta is a gorgeous city filled with wonderful people. I worked at the Alliance Theatre in 2013 performing Zorro the Musical, so I arrived here at the start of our Butterfly rehearsals already in love with the kindness and generosity of the terrific Atlantans.

Some favorite spots include the Botanical Gardens, Piedmont Park, the Alliance Theatre, and the delicious Optimist restaurant. Of course, when my 7-year-old daughter visits, we head straight for the aquarium and Lego Land!

How long have you been with The Atlanta Opera?

Since the late 1970s. There have been several reincarnations. The stability of the last 20 years has been a great blessing to the city, as well as patrons and practitioners of this art form.

At what age did you know that you wanted to be a percussionist, and how did that come about?

I began playing drums in the third grade. My parents, on limited income, were visionaries in having all of their children (8) study a musical instrument until the eighth grade, then longer if desired. School band programs and directors, music/percussion as my 4-H project area, private study with Jack Bell (then principle percussionist of the Atlanta Symphony), all fueled my interests in both the details of percussion study and the social interactions they afforded me. I was midway through a music education degree at Georgia State University when I “won” my first professional audition – to play as an extra with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra – and was then hooked.

As a percussionist, where do you feel you will have a particularly important role in creating the experience of the new season?

Especially as principle percussionist with the opera, I have the opportunity and responsibility of organizing the music and the percussion players. I am blessed that colleagues John Lawless, and often Jeff Kershner and Karen Hunt, share the same enthusiasm for presenting the percussion aspects of opera at the highest levels. Opera is also unique in that the “stagecraft” of a production is often written into the percussion parts.
For example, last year, my brother Steve helped me build a beautiful reproduction of a Turkish Crescent (played by Jeff Kershner) for L’Italienne en Algiers. This season, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly includes “exotic” tuned gongs, a Japanese carillon (which I made years ago), and some other special sound effects. We do this in order to present a “world class” experience for our patrons.

If you could give one piece of advice for someone starting out in music performance, what would it be?

I’ve taught all levels of percussion from elementary private students through college graduates and post-college. I get a thrill working with anyone who strives to improve. Going into performance as a career or serious study comes about many years after one’s connection with the love of studying the instrument.
Two main pieces of advice: study with the best teachers you can, and try to put yourself into situations that will help you grow and improve. These situations will also probably force you to become flexible in new ways. A career in music, especially music performance, is rarely a straight path; so flexibility and adaptability are important along with the foundational basics of your instrument(s).

What will a patron coming to the opera this season experience?

I became familiar with opera through my performing career. Listening to excerpts in music school, etc. did not really impact me as much as being a part of the live performance of the art. I hope that enthusiasm and dedication to high artistry in all areas of opera reach our patrons. More importantly, I trust that audiences will enjoy themselves immensely and experience the wide range of emotion and drama presented through opera. Most of the entertainment we enjoy — movies, theater, television, even popular music — strive for the same emotional impact of great opera.
It is hard to match the energy of so many singers, instrumentalists, stage crew and directors that each work to bring their best every night.

Favorite opera and why?

From the operas which we have performed, from a sheer musical experience, it is hard to outdo Puccini. What glorious, heavenly melodies he writes. From a technical standpoint, it was very gratifying to render such performances of The Golden Ticket, which at times seemed almost like a percussion concerto!

Favorite Atlanta restaurant and why?

I must admit most of my restaurant experiences are rather pedestrian as I do not often go out to fine restaurants. I actually get a big kick when my small gardens provide most of my vegetables, etc. for some healthy home-cooked meals.

What’s the last show you saw on stage in Atlanta?

I thoroughly enjoyed the Atlanta Ballet’s production of MAYhem and was blessed to witness the farewell pas-de-deux by Christine Winkler and her husband John Welker.

What’s your favorite thing about Atlanta audiences?

I love that Atlanta audiences LOVE their live music. Whether opera, ballet, theater or symphony, Atlanta does treasure its musicians. Audiences cross over more than many realize. Currently, some of the most dedicated ballet and opera patrons were people I met at shows when I played with an indie rock band! So, patrons can be much more flexible in what they experience.

General & Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun
Jeff Roffman

   I am so excited to finally kick off the Atlanta Opera
2014-15 season, my first planned season as a General and Artistic Director. I
have heard the term “Southern hospitality” before, but in the past 16 months I
have seen it daily as I was offered a warm, genuine welcome to a wonderful city
that I now call home. Moving here was an
adventure for me, and I believe this new season will start an adventure for all
of us, together.

     This will be an incredible season that includes familiar,
well-loved operas reimagined in new productions and featuring great
performances by exciting up-and-coming stars. One of the highlights of the
season for me is the Southeastern premiere of a modern American Opera by
arguably, the most prominent living opera composers of our time: Jake Heggie.
     The season opens this weekend with a delicious appetizer: an
outstanding concert of chorus’ greatest
hits, where we present the most popular chorus numbers from operas such as Carmen, Traviata and Porgy and Bess performed by the world-renowned Atlanta Opera
chorus and led by Walter Huff. It is also a unique collaboration with three
leading universities: Emory, Georgia State, and Kennesaw State.
      Performances will take place on different campuses in town:
Emory’s Schwartz Center on September 12th, 14th and the Bailey Performance
Center September 16th at Kennesaw State. Soloists in the concert include
popular local stars: Leah Partridge, Indra Thomas, and Tim Miller among others.
      It is not an accident that the first performance I scheduled
and planned as General Director celebrates the Atlanta Opera Chorus and Walter
Huff’s 25th year with the company. I have worked with the chorus
regularly over the past decade as a stage director. From the very first time I
encountered this incredible group of musicians, I have admired their work and
the passion that they bring to every rehearsal and performance. Their leader
over the past quarter century, Walter Huff, is one of the most respected chorus
masters in the country and this special concert is in his and their honor.

Ray Boc

   We open our mainstage season at the magnificent Cobb Energy
Centre with Puccini’s immortal Madama Butterfly, in a stunning new
production co-produced by late Lorin Maazel’s Castleton Festival. The opera,
which I will direct, will be led by our music Director, Arthur Fagen and
feature a spectacular cast, including Dina Kuznetsova – who triumphed in London
with her portrayal as Cio Cio San; Adam Diegel – who sang the role of Pinkerton
at the Metropolitan Opera last year; and Nina Yoshida Nelsen – who performed
Suzuki with The New York City Opera. This new production is making a
sophisticated use of projection and multimedia effects, which will transform
the stage into countless, magical locations. The design team that brought
Atlanta audiences the 2011 Lucia di
Lammermoor (Robert Wierzel, Erhard Rom and myself) returns with this new
interpretation of Puccini’s masterpiece.

      Verdi’s incredibly touching Rigoletto will be
presented this winter in a co-production that premiered in Boston last year and
features one of opera’s fastest rising stars – Nadine Sierra. Baritone Todd Thomas portrays the cursed
hunchback; sonorous bass Morris Robinson will reprise his signature role of the
murderer Sparafucile; and rising American tenor Scott Quinn

Marina Levitskaya

will debut as the
heartless Duke of Mantua.
Maestro Joe Rescigno, a regular guest at our podium, will
return to lead the Atlanta Opera Chorus and Orchestra. This brand new
production, designed by NEA award winner John Conklin with opulent Renaissance
costumes by Vita Tzykun and arresting lighting design by Robert Wierzel, was
premiered to great critical and audience acclaim at the Boston Lyric Opera and
will be seen in multiple other cities in the US.
Our spring production at the Cobb Energy Centre will feature
Mozart’s profound masterpiece The Marriage of Figaro in a
production that was widely applauded across the US and Canada. Designer Susan
Benson’s elegant, lush costumes and gorgeous period sets, combined with Tara
Faircloth’s stage direction will create a lovely, colorful evening in the
theatre. Maestro Fagen will lead a dynamic cast, combined of up and coming
young singers: Craig Colcough, Loren Snouffer, Katie Van Kooten and John
Moore. They will join veteran performers
Victoria Livengood and Bruno Pratico, who delighted Atlanta audiences in
2012-13’s The Italian Girl in Algiers.

Brett Croomer

      I am excited to close this season by our anticipated move
back to midtown’s Alliance Theatre to showcase the Atlanta premiere of the
deeply moving American opera, Three Decembers by Jake Heggie. This
theatrical, intimate opera is highly intense and effective as it spans over 3
decades and multiple cities, but clocks in at just under 90 minutes. The
contemporary story of a distraught family that deals with loss, estranged relationships
and reconciliation is propelled by Jake Heggie’s richly melodic and inventive
music. Metropolitan Opera Veteran Teddy Hanslow sings the career-obsessed
mother Maddy; Jennifer Black and Jesse Blumberg portray her estranged children.
Steven Osgood conducts the Atlanta Opera Orchestra in a new production conceived by innovative director Emma Griffin.
      This varied season reinvents the familiar by presenting
well-known operas in fresh productions that focus on theatrical and visual
effects. It features the up-and-coming opera stars of tomorrow and relies on
the continuous leadership and musicianship of our maestros: chorus master
Walter Huff leading our world renowned Chorus, and our beloved Music Director
Arthur Fagen. At the same time, we establish our commitment to new exciting
work, by leading living composers. Those programming choices are enhanced by
our commitment to reach into the community and establish presence all over the
city by collaborating with other arts organizations. In addition to our
university partnerships this fall, Theatrical Outfit will feature our 24 Hour
Project; we will celebrate our 2nd season collaboration with the
Bremen Museum concert series; and of course our return to midtown with the
Alliance Theatre.

     I always think of an opera performance as the greatest
miracle possible: orchestra, chorus, designers,
directors, conductors, stage managers, stage hands and hundreds of other people
working tirelessly to coordinate efforts and create a moving experience that
will stir the audience’s hearts. There are so many things that can go wrong,
yet when everything gels and the stars align, I can’t think of any art form
that has a stronger impact on the audience’s soul. It is pure magic.

     This upcoming season, planned with so much thought and
passion, will be when all those efforts perfectly align to create that elusive
magic that we are constantly chasing.

These are the evenings I live for. Come join us.

Pick Up Your Q: Stage Director Tara Faircloth

Tomer Zvulun Welcomes you to The Marriage of Figaro

24-Hour Opera Project Recap Video

Pick Up Your Q: Lighting Designer Robert Wierzel

Join the Adventure in our 2015-16 Season!

An Entire Opera Written and Performed in 24 Hours?

Pick Up Your Q: Costume Designer Vita Tzykun

Pick Up Your Q: Sara Erde, Associate Stage Director/Choreographer for Madama Butterfly

Pick Up Your Q: Percussionist Michael Cebulski

General & Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun on our exciting 2014-2015 season!

Thank you to our sponsors

What's on

Fiddler on the Roof

La Belle et la Bête

La traviata

The Marriage of Figaro

Turandot

Twilight of the Gods

Studio Tour Live Performance Request

Contact Information

School/Organization Information

Please choose number of performances, and three preferred dates, and program start time

Attendance Information

Final Dress Rehearsal Ticket Request

Point of Contact

School Information

Performance Information

Please choose two preferred performances

Groups Request Online Form