Today is the day we perform this show for an audience! Finalmente. Tonight we will have many students and relatives in the theater for our final dress rehearsal and they will most likely be an enthusiastic crowd. You audience members have such an important job! You change the energy on stage. You make us nervous, which usually makes us better performers. You give us feedback. We realize that during the first scene or two, you’re taking it all in. Then we all sense the calm as the performers realize they have their voices and their wits about them, and you all settle in for the ride. I love watching people’s faces to see which moments will make them sigh or snicker or shout….yes, you can actually shout at an opera, as long as its in the form of bravo, brava or bravi! It is so exciting when an audience realizes that they can have an active part in the show…as long as you don’t get too excited and take it as far as the locals do at La Scala in Italy, by bringing your rotten vegetables with you. ♥

Read the rest of this entry »

Sunday, Oct. 26, 2 pm
First United Methodist Church, Boise

Opera Idaho’s Children’s Chorus joins the Boise Master Chorale for its season-opening concert. For further information or to purchase tickets, visit www.boisemasterchorale.net or call 208-344-4794. Opera Idaho’s Children’s Chorus includes Angelus Choir [2nd-4th graders], Children’s Chorus [5th-8th] and Select Teen Chorus [9th-12th]; all are directed by Tiffany Calas.

…are good! So, Boise, do you realize that you have an excellent opera company? I am pleasantly surprised and I’ll tell you why. We artists are shuffled around from company to company from anywhere from 2-4 weeks at a time. Sometimes we stay in hotels and live out of suitcases, sometimes we have host families. It can be a lonely existance and expensive if we’re not careful. Little things in a company make all the difference. The executive director picked me up at the airport in the middle of Boise’s earliest snowfall in history. I arrived at the home of Max and Rosemary Bearden, where I will be housed for my stay. I have my own space and freedom and use of a beautiful kitchen, and I sigh with relief. The next day I come downtown to the Opera Idaho offices and rehearsal space, part of the Simplot Performing Arts Academy, and not only do I jump up and down like a kid in a candy store, but I realize that my stay here will be more than alright. The facilities are a singer’s dream: beautiful pianos, excellent accoustics and spacious rooms. Ok, then its the cherry on the sundae that they give me a choice of cars donated by Lyle Pearson and of course I choose the red Jaguar. I think it will help me get into character while I’m here. These first impressions are delightful and better than many of my experiences in the past, so thank you. I hope I will always be as grateful for the little things as I am today.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rochelle Bard

Dear Opera Idaho friends,

I have often wondered from the stage what you are thinking. After performances, I seek out people I know in the audience and pick their brains on what they thought about everything from the sets and staging concepts to whether they noticed that I tripped on my costume. I imagine you might wonder what we are thinking too. Opera Idaho’s new Executive Director Mark Junkert has asked me to share my side of the story as I prepare to sing the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor in a few weeks. I hope you find it enlightening and I am open to your questions if you would like to participate in this blog. Read the rest of this entry »