Boston
Singers' Resource News Bulletin, March
12 , 2003
She
is the energetic force behind Opera Providence in Rhode Island and an
international singer, herself - Artistic Director, Kathryne Jennings*
talks with us about the company's growth from summer, community opera
group in 1998, to a leading professional regional opera company today.
Thanks to Ms. Jennings and her OP outreach staff, Rhode Island is, for
the first time, filled with wonderful OPERAtunities. Congratulations Rhode
Island and to you, Kathryne Jennings!
OPERA PROVIDENCE -
THE NEW VOICE IN REGIONAL OPERA
Kathryne Jennings, Artistic Director
Mission:
Opera Providence (OP), until recently known as Ocean State Lyric Opera,
is a professional regional opera company that presents productions of
the highest artistic quality and fosters the public's appreciation of
opera through education. As an expression of this mission, OP has sought
out the best performers locally and nationally to perform with the company
and has assembled a staff and Board of Directors committed to the organization's
success and high standards of artistic quality. In addition, OP has created
an educational program called OPERAtunity which reaches out to schools
and public institutions through cross-disciplinary educational programs
on opera and the theatrical arts. By bringing opera to the schools, Opera
Providence exposes young people to the marvel of performing arts and plants
the seeds of interest in opera for the next generation.
History:
Opera Providence, was founded in 1990 as Ocean State Lyric Opera by Scott
Withrow and Ted Tuttle as a community supported performing arts group
which specialized in a summer series of fully staged operettas, primarily
those of Gilbert and Sullivan. In 1998, Kathryne Jennings became Artistic
Director and with the help of Artistic Advisor Maria Spacagna (Metropolitan
Opera soprano and RI native), the company began its transition to a professional
level opera company with a critically acclaimed production of a grand
opera, Verdi's RIGOLETTO. This was followed in successive years with productions
of Puccini's LA BOHÈME, Bizet's CARMEN, and Puccini's MADAMA BUTTERFLY.
These productions were unqualified artistic successes, garnering praise
from both the audience and critics. OP's OPERAtunity program also presented
LA BOHÈME, CARMEN, AND MADAMA BUTTERFLY to nearly 5,000 students
in grades 4-12 over the past three years at Veterans Memorial Auditorium.
These uncut performances, which were sung by a cover cast in the leading
roles with full chorus and orchestra, were extremely well received by
the students.
The opera company changed its name to Opera Providence in April, 2002
in order to celebrate its connection to Rhode Island's capital city. Since
the name change, a partnership has been established with the Providence
Tourism Council that will heighten awareness for both Providence and the
opera company.
The 2002-03 season marks an important step for Opera Providence as it
is the first season that the opera company has expanded its season to
include two grand opera productions at VMA Arts & Cultural Center
-- Rossini's comic fairy tale, CINDERELLA (LA CENERENTOLA) in September
2002 and Puccini's dramatic opera TOSCA in April 2003 (a co-production
with Boston Academy of Music). A second subscription series has also been
established this season at Sapinsley Theatre at Rhode Island College.
This Holiday Concert Series includes the popular concerts, "Music
and Mistletoe" in December and "That's Amore!" on Valentine's
Day, 2003. An additional concert, "The Three Divas in Concert,"
was presented at the Sapinsley Theatre in June to open Opera Providence's
2002-03 season.
Artistic Quality
Artistic quality has been Opera Providence's primary goal as it has steadily
worked to build a year-round performance calendar using the finest opera
talent available in the region and nationally. Notable additions to their
grand opera and operetta schedule include:
1999:
* An exciting collaborative concert with the Rhode Island Philharmonic
and Maggio Musicale Fiorentino to celebrate the opening of "The Splendor
of Florence" festival.
* "Maria Spacagna and Friends", a gala concert which featured
Metropolitan Opera soprano and Opera Providence Artistic advisor, Maria
Spacagna, legendary baritone Sherrill Milnes, and other stars from the
Met in an evening of favorite opera arias and ensembles.
* A lecture series about opera and art, "Opera in the Museum,"
held in conjunction with the RISD Museum.
2000:
* Notable OPERAtunity performances at Hasbro Children's Hospital, Meeting
Street Center, and two performances for prisoners (one for female and
one for male prisoners).
* Loriana DeCrescenzo, Education Director for OPERAtunity, participates
as a faculty member for SmART Schools Institutes, and in-school teacher
for SmART schools, Rhode Island. Project of the Education Development
Center, Newton, Ma. (2000-2001)
2001
* The addition of The Vendetta, a taut urban tale of revenge and murder
based on Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana to the roster of OPERAtunity
programs, targeted toward middle school and high school students.
* "That's Amore" Valentine's concert and "Music and Mistletoe"
a family oriented holiday concert in December. These concerts are so successful
that they become regular features in their subscription series.
* Artistic Director Kathryne Jennings becomes an an Arts Community Representative
for Volunteer Orientation for the BVA in April, 2001.
* Loriana DeCrescenzo participates in "Crossing Paths," a National
Arts Educators Forum 2001, Indianapolis, Indiana.
* Loriana DeCrescenzo participates in the 2001 National Arts Marketing
Project Focus Group
2002-03:
* Opera Providence's first offering of a subscription series
* "The Three Divas in Concert", a gala concert which featured
Rhode Island sopranos Maria Spacagna, Diane Alexander, and Kathryne Jennings
in June, 2002 and was a resounding success.
* Selection of OPERAtunity's new show, "Everyone Does It" (an
adaptation of Mozart's opera, Cosí fan tutte) for participation
in the Fleet Arts Showcase at PPAC in May 2003.* "Using OPERA in
the Classroom," a workshop for education professionals to be presented
in August 2002 by OPERAtunity Education Director, Loriana DeCrescenzo.
* Participation by Loriana DeCrescenzo, OPERAtunity's Education Director,
participates as a panel member for "Educational Outreach programs:
Strategies for Growth and Diversification"* Selection as "Best
Cultural Secret" by RI Monthly for their 2002 "Best of Rhode
Island" series.
The Future
The future holds many exciting possibilities for Opera Providence. In
addition to our ongoing opera and concert series and OPERAtunity performances
and lectures, plans for the following three seasons (and beyond) include:
* The inauguration of a new summer tradition, "Opera in the Bag",
a series of four to six 45-minute performances on Wednesdays at lunchtime
at the Fleet Skating Center in downtown Providence
* An "Opera in the Park" series held at the Temple of Music
in Roger Williams Park in conjunction with the Providence Parks Department
and Bob Rizzo,* The possible commission of a new comic opera to be premiered
by Opera Providence
* The addition of an apprentice program for young artists during the main
season.
This artistic success and the bold plans for the future offer continuing
witness to Channing Gray's observation in the Providence Journal: "But
with the emergence in the past couple of years of the Ocean State Lyric
Opera (Opera Providence), a well-run troupe with a solid board, it looks
like Rhode Island might a last become home to a decent regional company."
Clearly, Opera Providence is proving itself to be the new voice in regional
opera.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, KATHRYNE JENNINGS
Kathryne Jennings, is an award-winning soprano who has performed in opera,
oratorio, and recital throughout the US. She has performed over 20 major
opera roles, including Musetta in LA BOHEME, Micaela and Frasquita in
CARMEN, Gretel in HANSEL UND GRETEL, Elvira in L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI, and
many Mozart heroines, including Susanna in LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, Pamina
in DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE, Konstanze in DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL,
Donna Elvira in DON GIOVANNI, Mlle. Silberklang in DER SCHAUSPIELDIREKTOR,
and both Fiordiligi and Despina in COSI FAN TUTTE. She has sung with San
Francisco Opera's Western Opera Theatre, Pittsburgh Opera Theatre, Opera
Carolina, Piedmont Opera Theatre, Greensboro Opera, Whitewater Opera,
and Triangle Opera Theatre. In Massachusetts, she sang Norina with the
Commonwealth Opera production of DON PASQUALE and appeared as Adele in
the Boston Aria Guild's staged production of DIE FLEDERMAUS.
As a concert soloist, Ms. Jennings has sung with the Savannah Symphony,
Winston-Salem Symphony, Boston's Masterworks Chorale, Rhode Island Philharmonic,
Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra, Manchester Choral Society, National
Chamber Orchestra, Oak Ridge Symphony, Pioneer Valley Symphony, Prince
William Symphony Orchestra, Brown University Orchestra, Eastern Philharmonic
Orchestra at Eastern Music Festival. and at the Norfolk Chamber Music
Festival. Her performances include BACH'S MASS IN B MINOR and CANTATA
NO. 51, Barber's KNOXVILLE: SUMMER OF 1915, BRAHMS' REQUIEM, Debussy's
LA DAMOISELLE ÉLUE, Handel's MESSIAH, Haydn's LORD NELSON MASS,
Honegger's KING DAVID, Mozart's VESPERS AND REQUIEM, Mahler's Symphony
No. 2 and No. 4, Nielsen's SINFONIA ESPANSIVA, Orff's CARMINA BURANA,
Poulence's GLORIA, Villa-Lobos' BACHIANAS BRASILEIRAS NO. 5, and Vaughan
Williams' SEA SYMPHONY. Her performances of contemporary repertoire include
Lukas Foss' SONG OF SONGS, Dan Locklair's LAIRS OF SOUNDINGS (for the
North Carolina Dance Theatre) and Arvo Pärt's MISERERE.
Ms. Jennings was a prize winner in the Fourth International Vocal Competition
of the Center for Contemporary Opera in New York. She has studied with
Ileana Cotrubas, Italo Tajo, Robert and Lucile Evans, Wesley Balk, and
Richard Hughes, and holds degrees from Queens College in Charlotte and
the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she was awarded the
Corbett Scholarship. She has performed recitals throughout the eastern
United States and was featured in the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston,
South Carolina.
In 1998, she was named Artistic Director of Ocean State Lyric Opera (OSLO),
an opera company based in Providence, RI. Under her guidance, the company
has made the leap from a community level organization to that of a professional
regional opera company with productions of Verdi's RIGOLETTO, Puccini's
LA BOHÈME, and Bizet's CARMEN. This summer the opera company performed
Gilbert and Sullivan's THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE which marked Ms. Jennings
professional debut as a stage director. The production received rave reviews
from both the critics and the audience as did the mainstage production
for OSLO, Puccini's MADAMA BUTTERFLY which was performed in the fall.
Ms. Jennings is on the Arts-in-Education roster of the Rhode Island State
Council on the Arts and is Instructor of Voice at Brown University. She
resides in Rhode Island with her husband, conductor Paul Phillips, and
her two daughters, Joanna, (12) and Alanna (3).
BSR: Kathryne, are there any other opera companies in Rhode Island?
KJ: None that are active at this time (to my knowledge). The history of
opera companies in Rhode Island is a long and rather sordid one -- at
least from what I've been told!
BSR: Unfortunately, I have not seen any Opera Providence productions.
Do you tend to stage most operas traditionally?
KJ: We tend to feature traditional stagings of our operas -- and this
is mainly due to budget limitations. It's often less expensive to rent
a set than to build a new one, especially for an opera from the standard
repertoire. The collaboration with Boston Academy of Music is the first
time that Opera Providence has been able to build a new set for a production
(which we are very excited about) - and that is due to the fact that we
can share the expenses with BAM.
I would, personally, like to incorporate different locales, time periods,
etc for some of our future productions, however doing this always needs
to be done with a great deal of thought and care. I don't believe in updating
or changing a standard work just for the sake of changing it -- it needs
to make sense with the libretto and the music. I also want to make sure
that our audience is ready to receive it. Another dream of mine for Opera
Providence is to commission a new opera - preferably a comic opera.
BSR: How have you found most of your talent?
KJ: Like many opera companies, we employ several different resources to
cast our artists for opera and concert productions. We hold auditions
in Providence during the spring (this year at the end of April) and of
course, I will be hearing singers at the BSR auditions on Saturday. I
have found many talented young singers for our productions and our OPERAtunity
program through these auditions.
In addition, my Artistic Advisor, Maria Spacagna, and I have sung with
many wonderful performers in our careers and we have been able to persuade
some of these singers to perform in our opera productions (for less than
their regular fees) to help build Opera Providence as favors to us. Occasionally
we will use Mangement companies to help us find certain singers for productions.
And, of course, networking is very important -- someone will tell me that
I need to hear this or that singer (and I do), or I will attend a performance
of another opera company's production and hear a singer that I would like
to bring to Opera Providence.
BSR: Do you cast Rhode Island singers?
KJ: It's very important to us that, whenever possible, we feature qualified
talented performers from Rhode Island in our productions and have done
so in all of our mainstage productions. Sometimes these singers currently
live in RI and sometimes they are RI natives who have moved away and are
making names for themselvesin the opera world. Here is a brief list of
the RI singers we have featurered in our productions:
Rigoletto (1998) Diane Alexander as Gilda; Hillary Nicholson as Maddalena:
Noel Velasco as the Duke
La Boheme (1999) Maria Spacagna as Mimi; Diane Alexander as Musetta; Rene
de la Garza as Schaunard
Carmen (2000) James Kleyla as Escamillo; Valerie Nicolosi as Mercedes;
Brad Logan as Raimendado
Madama Butterfly (2001) Maria Spacagna as Cio-Cio San; Hillary Nicholson
as Suzuki; Loriana De Crescenzo as Kate Pinkerton; Bill Beeman as The
Bonze
La Cenerentola (2002) Valerie Nicolosi as Cenerentola; Frank Ward as Alidoro
Tosca (2003 - March and April) Lori Phillips as Tosca; Rene de la Garza
as Scarpia
Notice that these are just the Rhode Island singers that we've cast in
the mainstage productions -- this list doesn't include all of the Boston
area singers that we've also cast in these productions. We also present
a student performance of these shows and employ a "cover cast"
for these performances. The singers in the cover cast attend all of the
rehearsals and perform the entire opera in costumes on the sets with the
orchestra and chorus on the morning between the 2 evening performances.
As a singer myself, it gives me great pleasure to offer a young singer
the chance to add a new role to their repertoire in a professional setting.
BSR: An excellent opportunity indeed. It is nice to have a singer in charge
and who is so considerate.
BSR: Do you house singers from out of the area?
KJ: We do house singers that are from out of town. We don't usually house
singers from Boston or the immediate New England area.
BSR: What qualities do you look for in singers?
KJ: We like to cast singers who have the whole package -- beautiful and/or
exciting voices, believable and engaging acting, excellent intonation,
good musicianship, the ability to make their characters come alive onstage,
an understanding of the style that they are singing (ie Mozart style,
Puccini, bel canto, etc), and singers can look like the characters they
should portray. We also prefer to cast singers who are singing the right
repertoire for their voices now (not what they might sing in 10 or 20
years) which is why we sometimes go elsewhere to hire certain voices and/or
characters for some of our productions.
Another thing I'd like to emphasize is the importance of singers to maintain
good working relations with both their colleagues onstage and those behind
the scenes. One of the first questions I ask (and am asked by) other Artistic
Directors regarding the possible hiring of a certain singer is "How
is he/she to work with? Is this person 'high maintenance' or easy to get
along with?" There is a limited amount of rehearsal time to get a
big production to the stage and it's important not to have negative energy
from insecure performers disrupt that rehearsal time. A singer's reputation
definitely gets around -- especially if he/she is difficult to work with.
BSR: Absolutely. It is good to hear this said again. Some performers still
do not hear it.
BSR: I am so impressed
with your outreach programs and am thrilled that you make this such an
important part of your company. This is definitely the key to the arts'
future (as many other organizations are discovering, also). Any tips for
bringing opera to younger audiences?
KJ: You should really talk to our Education Director, Loriana De Crescenzo.
She has done such a marvelous job of expanding our OPERAtunity program.
I will say that I have always felt that it was important to introduce
young people to the marvels of opera in order to build our future audiences.
As a mother myself, I have seen the positive influences that music and
the arts have had on my own daughters' development in so many different
ways. It's important that our young people understand and develop a respect
and love for culture -- not just for sports and pop music!
As for tips -- I think it's important that the students have a study guide
(which OP always includes) to prepare them for each opera performance.
I also think it's important for them to see that opera can be fun. It
is something that they can relate to and enjoy. One of the ways we have
tried to do this is by offering interactive performances in some of our
school shows -- moments where volunteers from the audience are asked to
join the singers onstage. The students love to see one of "their
own" up there!
BSR: What sparked this collaboration between Opera Providence and Boston
Academy of Music?
KJ: First of all, let me say that I believe that collaborations and co-productions
are the wave of the future for opera companies. In order to survive this
tough economy, more and more arts organizations are going to have to work
together in order to cut costs and continue to bring exciting new productions
to their audiences.
Opera Providence made the decision in the fall of 2001 to try to find
partners with which to collaborate for mainstage productions. In November
of that year, I received a phone call from Richard Conrad at Boston Academy
of Music asking if we might be interested in collaborating on a production
in the spring of 2003. After much discussion, we all agreed in January
2002 to the collaboration and determined that it would be a new production
of Puccini's TOSCA which would incorporate the use of some muti-media
elements to the set. I have been working closely with BAM's Executive
Director, Carole Charnow on this collaboration over the past year.
BSR: Who is in charge of what? How is that working? Is the talent a mixture
of both groups?
KJ: Basically, Boston Academy of Music has taken the lead in the production/business
area and Opera Providence has provided the leadership in the artistic
arena. The production team is led by BAM's Production Manager, Milo Lanoue.
Most of the principles have been cast by Opera Providence with Boston
Academy of Music's approval and the chorus for both performance venues
is from Opera Providence. There are separate orchestras and childrens'
choruses in both cities. Most of the production expenses are shared by
both companies, however theater rentals and other specific expenses are
not shared. Revenues remain with each individual company. There are always
a few glitches in any working relationship, but, so far, it's been working
quite well.
BSR: You wear so many hats: "singer," "teacher," "parent,"
"artistic director," "stage director..." Why add impresario
and director to your already successful list in 1998? Do you like doing
this as much as singing and teaching?
KJ: It's the old saying, "Be careful what you wish for..." coming
true in my case! I had often said to my husband (Director of Orchestra
and Chamber Music at Brown University) that we should start an opera company
to which he always replied, "You have no idea how much work that
would take!" Well, he was right!
Here's a little history of how I became the Artistic Director. I gave
birth to my first daughter, Joanna, soon after moving to Providence in
1990. Though I still continued to perform, I wasn't able to go away and
sing as often as I could before I had my daughter, and I didn't want to
be away from my family for long stretches of time. And frankly, I was
getting older -- most opera companies were more interested in hiring younger
singers for the repertoire that I sang -- and the jobs weren't coming
as often as they had in the past.
The former Artistic Director of OP, Marilyn Levine, approached me in 1997
to see if I would help her take the opera company from a community level
to a professional level. Through a series of events too numerous to recount,
I ended up becoming the Artistic Director in March 1998. I had no experience
other than being onstage as a singer, so I had a lot to learn in a very
short amount of time. In fact, I am still learning something new each
day! It's been a wild rollercoaster ride!
Why do it (be an Artisic Director)? It's certainly not easy. No other
art form incorporates so many different artistic elements into one production
which means that there are infinitely more things that can go wrong (and
often do!) than in other types of artistic endeavors. In fact, it's a
lot like being pregnant and delivering a child -- you go through nine
difficult months of preparation, you have a difficult labor (the actual
rehearsal and production period), and once the baby is born, you forget
all of the pain that it took to bring it into the world -- all you see
is a beautiful baby with so much potential. When one of our opera productions
is finally onstage in front of a live audience, I only see the beauty
and forget the difficulties. It's worth it all when I see and hear the
audience's reactions to our shows. In fact, I laugh and cry along with
them. The fact that I've helped to create this experience for them that
they would not have had anyplace else is deeply satisfying -- in fact,
more satisfying for me than taking a bow after a performance. In my experience,
it's certainly more difficult to produce an opera than to perform in one!
BSR: How do you juggle parenting with your day and night music duties?
KJ: I believe that parenting IS my most important job, however it's difficult
not to let all of my other responsibilities interfere with my family life.
It's not easy to juggle everything -- especially since my husband is also
a musician and constantly in rehearsals himself. (We have 2 daughters,
Joanna, 12 and Alanna, 3 -- who is a real handful!). Certainly, our girls
are not growing up in a "normal" household with 2 musicians
as parents!
I think we just take things one day at a time and try to plan ahead when
we know we're going to go through a very busy period of time. Paul and
I have to constantly check in with each other's schedules to make sure
we know who is going to get which child and when -- believe it or not,
we've had relatively few mishaps!
BSR: What is next for you, personally?
KJ: I will continue to lead Opera Providence and teach my voice students
at Brown. I would like to be able to spend more time with my family too
(as is evident from the previous question).
Personally, I would like to do more stage directing in the future. At
this time, I find it too difficult to both produce and stage direct a
production for Opera Providence since our staff is so limited. I would
enjoy going elsewhere to stage an opera producton (someplace where I wouldn't
have to produce it!). I'd also like to write more (something that I did
prior to becoming Artistic Director of Opera Providence). I enjoy performing
and would love to have more opportunities to do so, but it's difficult
due to my busy schedule. One of my dreams for the future is to put together
my own cabaret show, but I guess I had better be careful what I wish for...!
For more information about Kathryne Jennings or Opera Providence, please
go to their website: www.operaprovidence.org