Posts Categorized: Blog

Held & DeYoung take SF

A brief shout-out to two WTOC alumni who made some fearsome waves with the San Francisco Symphony this week: Alan Held and Michelle DeYoung in Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle.

Read More

Let’s Talk

It’s 10pm on Saturday night, and we’re in the theatre for our first technical rehearsal. These days the Giovanni train is running me over (in the best possible way:)), and the blog is sitting over in the corner, unjustly ignored. There are photos and anecdotes to come in the next few days, but for now, I have just

Read More

Conference: Creative Resurgence

I’m finishing up two and a half days in Philadelphia (brilliant view from my hotel at left), shaking up the world of opera with colleagues from Opera America. In an attempt to synthesize the ideas and energy that result from an opportunity like this, I usually craft a written summary. This time, I’ve decided to

Read More

Studio Shuffle

Wednesday’s Little Lunch Music concert for Wolf Trap Foundation employees featured four of our Studio Artists. In a preview of next month’s Aria Jukebox concert format, the audience chose the selections. Thanks to mezzo-soprano Aleksandra Romano, baritone Brian Vu, soprano Courtney Johnson and tenor Yoni Rose for some amazing midday music. (See below the photo

Read More

Load In!

It’s time to squeeze the Giovanni set through the sliding glass doors on the side of the German Barn and up the ramp to the stage. (My kingdom for a loading dock… or an elevator…) And while we were at it, we had a lovely lunch with the crews of the scene and costume shops

Read More

Dancing

by Lee Anne Myslewski Imagine waking up on a clear morning at the beginning of a new artistic adventure…the sun is high, the humidity is already in the air. And you’re headed to one of the largest outdoor theaters in the US…to that sacred backstage space. When you arrive you meet a tiny blonde pixie

Read More

Don Giovanni Casting Update

Making opera at WTOC is a continual dance between process and product. The same could be said of life in any opera company, but here it’s more central than most other places. We focus on the process because our mission is to develop and promote the skills and artistry of our young professional singers. We

Read More

A Guest from (the other) Vienna

Above: Robert Koerner & Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (Opéra de Lyon), Thomas Lausmann (Wiener Staatsopera) and Philip Broeking (Komische Oper Berlin) talk with WTOC artists and staff about auditioning and working in Europe. They discussed how Fest contracts are and aren’t similar to YAPs in the United States, how the singer/manager business relationship is different in Europe, and how

Read More

First Week on the Job

Most new jobs or internships move slowly at first, to give the newbie a chance to get his feed on the ground. But if you’re reporting for work as a Wolf Trap Opera Studio Artist, it’s a different story… During their first 6 days at Wolf Trap, these 20-somethings have already: Strutted their stuff in

Read More