Rodarte Sisters to create costumes for LA Opera's Don Giovanni

From luckymag.com:

"They were the creative force behind Black Swan's beautiful ballet costumes; now, Rodarte's Mulleavy sisters are taking their talents to the opera world. The pair will be designing the costumes for the Los Angeles Philharmonic's new production of Don Giovanni, which will debut on May 18."

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Who is Werther? Tempo Presents: An evening of cocktails and conversation.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012, 6-9pm

6pm-7pm Cocktails, mingling
7pm-9pm Meet the stars of Werther: James Valenti, Roxana Constantinescu, and director Kevin Newbury; hosted by Minnesota Public Radio's John Birge.
With special music selections by Victoria Vargas and Nathaniel Peake.

Complimentary hors d’oeuvres. Cash bar featuring fabulous French cocktails.

Where: 

The Minneapolis Women's Club, 410 Oak Grove Street, Minneapolis MN 55403

Tickets: $10 Tempo Members; $15 Non-members
General admission. Space is limited.

To purchase tickets, call Minnesota Opera's Ticket Office, 612-333-6669, M-F, 9am - 6pm.

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Opera Bootcamp: Basic Training

Thursday, December 8, 6pm

Minnesota Opera Center

Learn your operatic do re mi from your fa so la ti in a must-attend intense Opera Bootcamp. Last year Drill Sergeant Keeton broke a glass with her voice (not to mention, our fearless board chair dropped and gave his 20)—wait until you see what she has in store for us this year!

Tickets: $10 Tempo members or $15 General admission
Call the Minnesota Opera Ticket Office M-F, 9am-6pm at 612-333-6669.

Still hesitant?  Check out these rave reviews from last year's event:

http://blogs.citypages.com/dressingroom/2010/12/stand_at_ease_f.php

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/style/112035624.html

http://cocogoesout.blogspot.com/2010/12/i-enlist-in-opera-boot-camp.html

http://www.minnpost.com/maxsparber/2010/12/10/24106/basic_training_for_future_opera_patrons_fitzgerald_with_sound_effects

Bring a new and unwrapped toy to the event for Minesota Opera's Toys4Military Kids drive and receive a free copy of Angela Keeton's (aka Minnesota Opera’s Teaching Artist and Bootcamp Drill Sgt.) debut recording.

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The Met in Minneapolis? Drop-in on the Met Opera Regional Auditions this Saturday

Join some of your fellow Tempo opera-phites anytime between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2:30 this Saturday, December 3 at the McKnight Theatre in the Ordway Center for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Auditions. Different auditions will be taking place during this time-span, and you are free to come and go as you please!

What are the Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Auditions? They are the preliminary rounds for the National Council Auditions that will lead to fame, success and glory. Many of the world’s foremost singers, among them Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Thomas Hampson, Ben Heppner, Jessye Norman, Samuel Ramey, Frederica von Stade, Deborah Voigt and Dolora Zajick have received awards from the National Council. Annually, approximately 100 former auditioners appear in Metropolitan Opera productions. For more information on the auditions, visit: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/auditions/national/index.aspx

Special appearances from friends of Minnesota Opera will take place at 11:05, 11.25, 12:25 and 12:45.

11:05AM- Victoria Vargas, mezzo soprano – Victoria is a resident artist with Minnesota Opera and a featured performer at Opera Tasting 2011.

11:25AM- Angela Mortellaro, soprano – Angela is a resident artist with Minnesota Opera and was featured this season as Despina in Cosi fan tutte and Madeleine in Silent Night.

12:25PM- Rudolfo Nieto, bass baritone – Rudy was a resident artist with Minnesota Opera during the 09-10 and 10-11 seasons, as well as a featured performer at OT 2011.

12:45PM- Brad Benoit, tenor – Brad was a resident artist with Minnesota Opera during the 08-09, 09-10 and 10-11 seasons, as well as a featured performer at OT 2011. If you attended opening night of Silent Night, you will remember Brad’s brilliant tenor voice filling in for a sick William Burden.

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Newlyweds Matt & Chad win Tempo Membership and Subscription

Chad (L) and Matt (R) with Robyne Robinson (C) at Opera Tasting 2011

Newlyweds Matt and Chad won a Tempo membership and a 5-opera subscription to Minnesota Opera at Opera tasting 2011!  To win, Matt concocted a highly creative 3-opera season:

Opera 1:  Sandra Bullock directs Faust on a moving bus that cannot go slower than 60 MPH
Opera 2:  The Octomom directs Don Giovanni - - in the womb.
Opera 3:  Carmen Sandiego directs Carmen, set in historic places around the globe and conducted by Rockapella.

Chad received honorable mention for his...er...sensual...entry:

Opera 1:  Paris Hilton directs The Magic Flute - - with her mouth.
Opera 2:  Bob Barker directs Tosca using a cast of spaded cats.
Opera 3:  Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and Will Smith direct Porgy & Bess set in L. Ron Hubbard's basement.

Who knows?  Maybe Tempo has some new opera impresarios that just joined the ranks?  Good luck producing these operas, and welcome to Tempo, Matt & Chad!

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Win a Tempo Membership with Two Tickets to the entire MN Opera 2011-2012 Season

On Saturday, September 17, Tempo members and friends will attend Opera Tasting 2011: Pouring out from the Heavens. If YOU were to create your own “opera tasting,” what would it sound like?

In the comment section below, create your own season of 3-operas, listing who would direct each opera (John Waters? Hideo Nakata?) and a theme for the setting of each opera.  Be creative and feel free to list as much detail as you would like!

Ex. 1. Hideo Nakata directs La Traviata set in a Burmese brothel; 2. Jean-Pierre Jeunet directs Tristan und Isolde set in Cinderella's Castle in Disneyland Paris; and 3. John Waters directs The Girl of the Golden West set in a moon-colony. 

Get your friends to participate too! If we receive ten entries, we will draw one winner for a FREE Tempo membership with two opening night tickets for each opera in the 2011-2012 Minnesota Opera season.

Each individual may only enter once by creating their opera season in the comment section, below.  After you have commented, you must also email your answer with your contact information to tempo@mnopera.org. Only entries that are both commented on in the Tempo blog and emailed to Tempo will be eligible for the drawing.  Participants must be 21-39 years of age to enter.

The contest begins TODAY and will end on Monday, September 12, 2011. The winning entry will be randomly selected and presented at Opera Tasting on Saturday September 17. You need not attend Opera Tasting on September 17, 2011 in order to win.

Ready? Set? GO OPERA!

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How to Survive Your First Opera: A Guide

The auditorium of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York Photograph: Archive Holdings Inc./Getty Images

The Guardian.co.uk recently published a first-timer's guide to opera:  How to Survive your First Opera.

"Are you an opera virgin? We suggest how and where to make your own operatic debut. You can even go in jeans …"

Tempo is wild for first timers - we would love to introduce you to opera, the MN Opera community, and the fun that all young professionals have at Tempo!

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Suffering from a lack of opera?

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In the Clear to Jeer? When is Booing ok?

The New York Times offers an insightful history of booing at the opera and, in turn, questions whether this tradition transcends all of performance art:  Checkout Theater Talkback: Is It Fair to Jeer?

"Booing hit its stride in the 19th century, when opera was part circus, part blood sport. Staging conventions called for curtain calls after each act, and even the continuity-shattering practice of having singers bow following their arias. Booing, like cheering, was a passionate comment on star performers."

Rolando Villazon, Director of the only
production your Blogger-in-Chief
has ever booed.

I, your Blogger-in-Chief (BLOTUS), was "inspired" to boo at only one of the 80 or so productions I have seen - and many were indeed horrible.  This one, however, took the cake:  Rolando Villazon's directorial debut with Werther at the Lyon Opera House was so incoherent and lacking in sense that I jeered the famous tenor-turned-director when he stepped out for a bow.  


Although I was the only one with the courage (and conviction) to boo that night, I was vindicated in reading the review in Financial Times:  "What we get is a garish conceptual production – anti-realistic, anti-romantic, over-stylised – in which Schmidt and Johann are transformed into vulgar circus clowns and various characters spend time in a birdcage."

What do you think, Tempo-peeps?  Have you ever booed at an opera?  Leave your comments below!

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Tempo to Super Spectacular!: To Opera with Love

Join your fellow Tempo members at Minnesota Fringe for Super Spectacular!:  To Opera with Love, a performance by The Donovan Ensemble.

When:  Thursday, August 11 · 8:30pm - 11:30pm


Where:  Augsburg Main Stage

2211 Riverside Ave

Minneapolis, MN


After the performance, Tempo members will gather for discussion and drinks at Moto-i with members of the Crescendo Project. (Moto-i is located at 2940 Lyndale Avenue.)

A has-been/never-was actor and his sidekick reinvent classic operas including "La Boheme", "Madama Butterfly" and "Carmen" by injecting Puccini, Guns N' Roses, Taylor Swift and more.


This 60 minute comedy just completed a hit run at the Kansas City Fringe Festival this July where it won "Best of the Fringe" and was called, “A very funny show,” by The Kansas City Star and, “a joyous romp that will have you smiling and singing long after you leave the theatre.”by KCMetropolis.org.


For more information, checkout Minnesota Fringe's website.

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Like your Opera with a side of O negative?

Johannes Simon/Getty Images

Can’t get enough True Blood?  Go to the opera!  NPR has Five Operas that are truly Bloodier than True Blood.

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Ask Tempo

Q: A friend is dragging me to the opera in March. La traviata, I think. I've never been before, all I know about the opera is fat ladies and viking helmets. Plus it's so "fancy," do I have to wear a tux? I can think of a whole host of things I'd rather do on a Saturday night. Like go to the bar with my friends, catch a Wild game, or stay home and play Rock Band. But I gotta go (because I agreed), so what should I expect? - Classically Challenged 

A: Well, Classically Challenged, we're glad you asked. Actually, we're especially glad that you asked now. Why, you ask? Because we have the PERFECT answer to your question. It's clear to us that you like fun (Wild games), music (Rock Band), and partying with your friends (bar on Saturday night). We've got an answer that incorporates all 3 of those things.*

Next Thursday (December 9), get yourself to the Minnesota Opera Center for Opera Boot Camp. The evening starts off with happy hour (seriously). From 6 - 7, we'll all be mixing, mingling, and enjoying wine from The Naked Grape, beer from Summit Brewery, and appetizers from Toast Wine Bar. Then from 7 - 8:30 you get to meet Tempo and the United Way (double bonus), go through opera basic training (a quick and dirty lesson led by Angie Keeton), and you get to experience the music (not a full blown production, some military-esque arias sung by opera artists). All this for only $15 dollars. To enlist in Opera Boot Camp, all you have to do is call the Minnesota Opera's ticket office at 612-333-6669 (business hours, 9-6).

So, there you have it. The PERFECT answer to your question. Sure you've got to wait a little bit (only a week), but good things come to those who wait, right? Feel free to wrangle up your usual Thursday happy hour crew and bring them too (you seem like the kind of guy who might appreciate a regular Thursday HH). The more the merrier. 

Any more questions? Just ask.

- Tempo

* By the way, Tempo Night Out is a triple threat too - opening night at the opera, an intermission lounge for the "cool" kids, and a kick ass after party at Sakura (yes, we just said kick ass - it's THAT good). So, you should be glad that your friend is "dragging" you to the opera in March (clearly they are a good friend). And no, you don't have to wear a tux. Just come as you are.

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Opera on the Water



(Rick Rycroft/Associated Press)

Sydney operagoers are in for a treat. In March 2012, Sydney will host Opera on Sydney Harbour. What's that you ask? Well, according to The Sydney Morning Herald:

Audiences will enjoy a world-class opera production on a unique floating platform moored off the Royal Botanic Gardens.

The first opera to be staged as part of the event will be Verdi's La Traviata and is set to feature a giant chandelier and fireworks.

Sounds wonderful. A good reason to save some $$$ for a trip to Sydney in 2012. Now, we'll admit that the Sydney Harbour is gorgeous - but Minnesota isn't without it's own beautiful bodies of water. Opera on the Lake has a nice ring to it, no?

Where would you like to see a floating opera staged? Lake Calhoun? The Mississippi? The St. Croix? Take it to the lake country and put it on Mille Lacs? All the way up north to Duluth Harbor? Or go south, to Lake Pepin? And, for good measure, what opera should it be?

We'd love to hear from you.

Related articles

• Australia opera festival set on barge (cbc.ca)
• Sydney to get floating opera (news.theage.com.au)

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Cartoons & Opera - What's not to love?

One of Tempo's favorite sites is OperaPulse. Seriously, check them out. How can you not love a site that digs up gems like this:

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Life's a Masquerade!

Cinderella's Masquerade Ball is right around the corner - are you ready? Do you have a costume? Okay, maybe not a full fledged costume, but how about a mask? It is, after all, a masquerade ball.

If you don't have anything yet, no worries. There's still penty of time. You can peruse the selection at Twin Cities Costume & Magic Shop in St. Paul and pick out something fabulous or you can make your own mask.

We know what you're thinking. We were thinking it too. What? Arts and crafts? How? When? Well, here comes l'etoile to the rescue! They provide a fabulous step by step guide to making a masquerade mask. 

l'etoile shows you how to go from this:

to this:

Fabulous, no? Can't wait to see this gorgeous mask at the party. We were so inspired that we took a shot at the whole mask making thing. First, a little internet research for inspiration (a Google search for "venetian masks" turns up lots fun photos). A quick trip to Michaels. Then, we made a few masks. No leaves for us - some paint (black, gold, and a little glitter), some gems, a few feathers, even some butterflies. Check it out:

We're pretty impressed with ourselves. And we're definitely looking forward to the Ball. See you there!

Related articles

• Venetian mask sale on Gilt Groupe today (timeoutny.com)
• Chic Masquerades - Vogue Paris October 2011 Issue Glamorizes Masked Looks (GALLERY) (trendhunter.com)
• Avant-Garde Masquerades - Outrageous Masks at the Vogue Paris 90th Anniversary Ball (GALLERY) (trendhunter.com)

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Corsets & Period Costumes

With Halloween just around the corner, some of you gals (and guys) may be busting out your corsets and period costumes for fabulous Halloween soirees.* How do you breath and move in those suckers? Best to ask an expert. The Podium chatted with Kelly Kaduce and got some "Diva Tricks of the Trade." 

Here are some of the things that stood out to us:

• Corsets - practice, breath, and leave a little room (seriously, you don't want to pass out!)
• Long trains - walk in little circles, backwards is not your friend
• Potty breaks - ladies, you may need to rethink your point of view
• Walking - short steps, make 'em wait for you

Kelly clearly has experience singing while wearing corsets, heavy gowns, and uber long trains (maybe all at the same time). We plan on taking her advice - if we ever have to cinch ourselves into a corset. On second thought, maybe we'll leave all the fancy costumes to the experts. Kelly and all her fabulousness will be back in Minnesota this spring as Catherine Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights. Do you have your tickets yet?

*Speaking of fabulous Halloween soirees, mark your calendars for the Masquerade Ball after Cinderella. It's not to be missed!

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