Opera Modesto

TOP YOUNG ARTISTS VALENTINE'S CONCERT! Valentine's Day is a week away! Just in time, Opera Modesto's FESTIVAL @ HOME continues with a wonderful concert featuring 22 talented young artists. In this photo, they are performing "Masquerade" from PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. -Two 2018 Kristina Townsend Memorial Vocal Competitions Winners: Valerie Elizabeth Loera and Hannah Hanson... -Twenty 2018-19 Summer Opera Institute stars: Katie Overton, Darby Schmidt, Shaleiyah Russell, Roy Mendiola, Christopher Cancino, Steven Burkum, Thomas Corn, Theron Osterhout, Levi Johannsen, Michael Balerite, Robert Lo, Genevieve Delacour, Ellie Barton, Avery Weber, Caroline Fletcher, Yahaira Villegas, Luca Mitchell, Katie Osterhout, Morgan Boyd and Carma Mize...accompanied by Dashiel Reed. The concert was performed on for Valentine's Day, 2019 at Mistlin Art Gallery and was a resounding success! Tickets for on demand streaming February 12-28, 2021 ($15, or chose Senior or Student Discount, or pay as little as $5 with "Pay What You Want"): www.operamodesto.org/concerts Photo from the video by Kendall Mitchell.

UPDATE: THE ONLINE APPLICATION IS LIVE! For more information and the link to the application, go to https://www.operamodesto.org/kristina-townsend-competition/ ++++... The annual Kristina Townsend Memorial Vocal Competition will be held this spring. Created to honor the daughter of Erika and Buck Townsend, founder of Opera Modesto, the competition is designed to encourage and inspire talented young singers. Participants in this year’s competition will need to submit audition videos online by March 31, 2021. There are three categories: Ages 16-19, 20-22, 23-26. Details including eligibility, competition/video requirements, and application process will be announced soon on the Opera Modesto website. IMPORTANT NOTE: The competition is open ONLY to singers 16-26 who are living or studying full-time in one of the following California counties: Amador, Calaveras, Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, or Yolo

A wonderful, charming Valentine's Concert. Tickets and Information: www.OperaModesto.org

Wave goodbye to MANSFIELD PARK!! You can still enjoy this wonderful opera by the fantastic British composer Jonathan Dove through Sunday at midnight PST (January 31). Buy a ticket for as little as $5 with the Pay What You Want option!... Tickets & Info: www.OperaModesto.org It has been a pleasure to remember this beautiful production, directed by Carolina Stevens, designed by Allison McSwain, lovely costumes by Kristine Doiel, conducted by Ryan Murray and Liisa Davila. Photos by Kelly Osterhout

We are thrilled to have Anakira Gabriella-Graça back with Opera Modesto after a long hiatus. In the early years of Townsend Opera Players, she performed many memorable lead roles, and also performed in other regional companies, such as Livermore Valley Opera and West Bay Opera. Last season with Opera Modesto, she performed in both MANSFIELD PARK and RIGOLETTO, both are part of Opera Modesto's FESTIVAL @ HOME, 8 months of locally, joyfully created artistic content...to lighten your days of isolation! You can enjoy Anakira's wonderful performance as Lady Bertram in the Jane Austen based MANSFIELD PARK though January 31! See if you catch the moment when she has Pug (the dog) on her lap, with a parasol over her head and holding a mini parasol for Pug! Tickets and Information: www.OperaModesto.org

Filming is going strong on our movie, THE RACE, an Aesop’s Fables Mash Up. This shot was taken by Photographer David Schroeder, as a drone prepared to magically capture the smiles of members of the cast, crew, and orchestra. Featured in the center of the shot is Maestra Liisa Dávila, the musical conductor in the film. Liisa, a professional soloist equally at home with concert work as well as opera, has been Opera Modesto’s Chorus Director for the past six seasons and debuted... as a conductor in January’s MANSFIELD PARK. Thank you to our partners: Top Notch Kennels, The Trans-California Pathway, Sierra Blue Farms, Opera America Innovation Grants generously funded by The Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation, Modesto Subaru, Modesto Irrigation District, Mid Valley Nut Company, Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation, Kids Care Dental & Orthodontics, California Arts Council, Boyett Petroleum-Make Dreams Real Endowment Fund, and Beard Land and Investment Company.

One of the fantastic storylines in our world premiere youth literacy opera, THE RACE, is the fable of the Bear and the Bees. It presents many challenges for staging in a theater...or in a movie. Our Film Director, Carolina Stevens, came up with a brilliant and very fun solution. She reconceived the bees into "Buzzketeers" (inspired by the Three Musketeers). This has resulted in an absolutely delightful scene where the cute Bear, played by Michael Balerite, attempts to take th...e honey hive, defended by 8 teenage girls with rapiers. They were trained in Erroll Flynn style sword play by Fight Master, J. Tyler Jones, (via Zoom from Washington D.C.!). Our brilliant Costume Designer, Keilani Gleave from Los Angeles helped pull off this great concept. Here are some photos from last weekend's on-location shoot of this scene. Photos by David Schroeder. Thank you to our business partners for making THE RACE possible: Boyett Petroleum-Make Dreams Real Endowment Fund, Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation, California Arts Council, Opera America, The Trans-California Pathway, Modesto Subaru, Beard Land and Investment Company, Kids Care Dental & Orthodontics, Modesto Irrigation District, Top Notch Kennels, Blue Sierra Farms and Mid Valley Nut Company.

THE RACE is a world premiere youth literacy opera, based on five overlapping Aesop's Fables. Opera Modesto is making a Literacy movie of this wonderful opera by composer Deborah Kavasch and librettist Linda Bunney-Sarhad. It features 19 regional young artists, 11-19 years old, that represent the first three years of Opera Modesto's Summer Opera Institute. In these photos, Michael Balerite as the Bear, searches for honey!... Thank you to our business partners for making THE RACE possible: Boyett Petroleum-Make Dreams Real Endowment Fund, Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation, California Arts Council, Opera America, The Trans-California Pathway, Modesto Subaru, Beard Land and Investment Company, Kids Care Dental & Orthodontics, Modesto Irrigation District, Top Notch Kennels, Blue Sierra Farms and Mid Valley Nut Company.

Thank you to some of our business partners for THE RACE, an Aesop's Fables Mash Up.

On #WorldOperaDay #operamodesto is making a movie! #operamodestotherace

Today is world opera day. An opportunity for people around the globe to celebrate opera. https://www.worldoperaday.com/ How has opera touched your life? Let us know. Make a comment, share a post, sing a song. Celebrate!... #worldoperaday #meetopera #operamodesto Opening Scene of Opera Modesto's production of RIGOLETTO.

Filming officially begins on Opera Modesto's movie - THE RACE Saturday, Oct. 24. Two teen cast members are cleaning up under the "orchestra tree" in preparation. To find out what an "orchestra tree" is, check back often and look for our world premiere movie coming in January 2021. THE RACE is made possible in part due to the support of our partners: Boyett Petroleum-Make Dreams Real Endowment Fund, Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation, California Arts Council, Opera America Innovation Grants generously funded by The Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation, The Trans-California Pathway, Modesto Subaru, Beard Land and Investment Company, Kids Care Dental & Orthodontics, Modesto Irrigation District, Sierra Blue Farms, Top Notch Kennels, and Mid Valley Nut Company. #operamodestotherace, #operamodestotherace

From the on-location rehearsals of THE RACE - Aesop, the Wily Fox, a Bee and the Fox practice their duel, and the Hare! Thank you to our business partners for making THE RACE possible: Boyett Petroleum-Make Dreams Real Endowment Fund, Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation, California Arts Council, Opera America, The Trans-California Pathway, Modesto Subaru, Beard Land and Investment Company, Kids Care Dental & Orthodontics, Modesto Irrigation District, Top Notch Kennels, and Mid Valley Nut Company. We appreciate you all. #operamodestotherace, #operamodesto

Over the weekend we had many wonderful hours of exciting "on-location" rehearsal for the upcoming filming of the THE RACE (Movie!), a world premiere youth opera that was commissioned from composer Deborah Kavasch and librettists Linda Bunney-Sarhad by Opera Modesto. As the weekend progressed, more and more of Keilani Gleave's costumes began to appear. The rehearsals were "performed" with the wonderful soundtrack laid down by the Opera Modesto orchestra and the young singers o...ver two different weekends of in studio recording at The Creation Lab. Filming will commence in two weeks!! We can't wait. #operamodestotherace, #operamodesto

Today is Opera Modesto Artistic Director Annalisa Winberg's birthday...and she will be out "on-location" working with young singers on THE RACE! Let's make her birthday very special by contributing to her chosen cause on her birthday...OPERA MODESTO!! #operamodesto

We are having a lot of fun rehearsing THE RACE, An Aesop's Fables Mash Up...a youth opera that is becoming a literacy initiative high level movie. Commissioned by Opera Modesto from composer Deborah Kavasch and librettist Linda Sarhad. Most of the rehearsals are on Zoom, but one rehearsal was to have been outdoors in a large backyard, but because of DANGEROUS air quality (smoke) we moved it indoors (thank you McHenry Bowl!). One of the amazing things is that 8 young ladies ar...e learning Erroll Flynn style swashbuckling swordplay (with fancy rapiers) as the Bees to defend the hive from the Bear! Our fantastic stage combat instructor and choreographer is in Washington D.C. area and joining us by Zoom; J. Tyler Jones. Carolina Stevens, the Director, was leading the rehearsal and Chelsea Lorraine Damante carried Tyler around in the computer! That is Allison Harris from the cast, work on her sword technique! #operamodesto #operamodestotherace See more

The next step in the production of THE RACE, An Aesop's Fables Mash Up, is to bring the actors out from their Zoom rehearsals to try out the outdoors "on location" filming challenges; both in terms of how the staging will work in orchards, vineyards, thickets, by the Tuolumne River, etc...as well as adding the complication of costume elements. To give an idea of the fascinating costume designs dreamed up by our wonderful costume designer, Keilani Gleave (www.keilanigleave.co...m), here is a portion of her design presentation to the cast. Keilani is a recent MFA graduate of UCLA in costume design. In addition to being an imaginative designer, she is a super cutter/fitter and is just embarking on a secret year long job with Disney! Since The Race will also be featured opera for Opera Modesto's "Story Into Song Literacy Initiative" this season, Keilani's ideas for incorporating writing into the costume designs are fascinating! Enjoy! See more

THE RACE has now been recorded! Conductor Liisa Davila, with input and guidance from Composer Dr. Deborah Kavasch and Opera Modesto's Artistic Consultant Annalisa Winberg, did an amazing job. The 19 young artists, representing a sampling of the three years of Summer Opera Institute, were pretty incredible themselves! ... It was an remarkable weekend. The recording will be fantastic. It was such fun to hear Dr. Kavasch's music and Linda Bunney-Sarhad's clever words coming to life with so much beauty and character. Congratulations to all! Recording engineer, Michael Everett, of The Creation Lab, is a master of his craft. Now we begin the preparations for on-location filming in orchards, vineyards, by the Tuolumne River, etc! Now over to you, Director Carolina Stevens!