Central City Opera Podcast

On this episode, we pull back the curtain and hear from the Costume Designer for THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, Edina Hiser. There are a LOT of costumes in this production, and Edina gives us the insights into the symbolism she embeds in the design, the anatomy of a quick change – since there are so many! – how she is able to engineer costumes to function efficiently yet not alter their authenticity, and the joy she gets from helping performers become more comfortable with their body images through well designed costumes.

Edina Hiser graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre design, and she is now the Resident Costume Designer for the Thornton School of Music at USC. As a designer, she is bold, colorful, and collaborative, with a passion for storytelling and a talent for creative problem-solving.

Have questions or want to provide feedback? Email us at [email protected]. To hear more stories from inside Central City Opera and buy tickets to the shows, visit us at centralcityopera.org.

On this episode, we hear from two principal singers in DIE FLEDERMAUS: mezzo-soprano Kira Dills-DeSurra who plays the role of Prince Orlofsky, and tenor William Ferguson, who plays the role of Eisenstein. Both Kira and Will are seasoned comedic performers, and their healthy senses of humor are on full display during this episode. Will and Kira talk about the magic of live performance and how much the audience influences them, how April Fools' is a recognized holiday in both their families, how they got into opera in the first place, and the role that Central City Opera plays in the context of opera in America.

Kira Dills-DeSurra is a vibrant American mezzo-soprano whose magnetic stage presence communicates effortless charm and truth. A champion of new and rarely performed works, Kira has appeared in many American premieres, and she also cultivates skills in musical improvisation and circus arts as part of her broad-ranging palate of storytelling tools. She is a graduate of Roosevelt University and the University of Southern California.

Tenor William Ferguson has always pushed the boundaries of opera performance through his exploration of new repertoire and through the commitment of his characterizations. A Juilliard graduate, he has sung with Santa Fe Opera, Opera Australia, New York City Opera, Salzburger Landestheater, Opéra de Québec, Opera Philadelphia, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Dallas Opera and The Metropolitan Opera, as well as symphonies around the world.

Have questions or want to provide feedback? Email us at [email protected]. To hear more stories from inside Central City Opera and buy tickets to the shows, visit us at centralcityopera.org.

On this episode, we dive deep into DIE FLEDERMAUS with stage director Joachim Schamberger and conductor John Baril. While on the surface, this operetta may seem like nothing but champagne bubbles and fun, Joachim and John reveal the complexities of the story and music that make this operetta timeless.

Joachim is an acclaimed stage director and video designer who is currently Director of Opera at Northwestern University in Chicago. He is in demand as a director, designer, and teacher throughout the world. DIE FLEDERMAUS is his third production with Central City Opera.

John Baril, Principal Conductor, is also the Music Director of Central City Opera, and this is his 30th year with the company. He got his start as Festival Scheduler back in 1992. John has conducted throughout the United States in the genres of opera, ballet, symphonic works, and music theatre.

Both John and Joachim have been featured on the Central City Opera Podcast in past seasons – visit ccopodcast.org to find their episodes and learn more about them.

Have questions or want to provide feedback? Email us at [email protected]. To hear more stories from inside Central City Opera and buy tickets to the shows, visit us at centralcityopera.org.

On this episode, stage director Ken Cazan and conductor Adam Turner share their insights into the musical THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA. This is Ken's 20th season directing at Central City Opera, and Adam has worked on the music side for seven seasons since 2011, first as associate conductor, then as guest principal conductor. Ken and Adam dig into the story and sounds of this Tony-Award-winning musical, elaborating on the cast, the universal themes in the story, and the inspiration behind the work. And in celebration of our 90th Anniversary, they share what makes Central City Opera special to them.

Ken Cazan is currently a Full Professor, Resident Stage Director, and Chair of Vocal Arts and Opera at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, where he has worked since 2004. He is in demand internationally as a stage director and masterclass clinician. In 2017, he was inducted into the Grove Dictionary of Music as an expert in the works of Benjamin Britten.

Conductor Adam Turner is currently Artistic Director of Virginia Opera. He is a champion of new works, and first emerged on the international stage at age 25 when he took over conducting responsibilities of a production of Les Miserables in Germany.

Find out more about Ken and Adam on past episodes of the Central City Opera Podcast at ccopodcast.org. Have questions or want to provide feedback? Email us at [email protected]. To hear more stories from inside Central City Opera and buy tickets to the shows, visit us at centralcityopera.org.

On this episode, we go behind the scenes with Technical Director Kerry Cripe and Stage Manager Angela Turner. Kerry's been TD with Central City Opera since 2017, and this was Angela's first summer with us. And what a summer it's been! Kerry and Angela share all the insider details on producing an outdoor opera festival in Colorado, complete with 100-degree weather and monsoons. They also share some of their favorite parts of Rigoletto, the show that Angela is working on, as well as what they each did to keep their spirits and skills up during their long hiatus from live performance this past year-and-a-half. After this interview, I saw Kerry and Angela backstage at a show. Kerry wanted to emphasize that while they talked a lot about challenges and things that went wrong this summer – which they then fixed – there's also 1000 things that have to go RIGHT in order to make a show happen…and if they go right, the audience is blissfully unaware of all those intricate processes and parts. The magic of live theatre – it's so good to be back!

Read the show notes from this episode here.

Have questions or want to provide feedback? Email us at [email protected]. Remember to subscribe to our podcast to get the latest episodes delivered directly to your device. To hear more stories from inside Central City Opera and buy tickets to the shows, visit us at centralcityopera.org.

On this special "Young Artist Spotlight" episode, we meet three singers from Central City Opera's Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program: baritone Bernardo Medeiros, mezzo-soprano Michelle Monroe, and soprano Marin Tack. The two women have small but significant roles in all three shows, and Bernardo is covering the two title roles, Rigoletto and Aeneas. We talk about what this summer has been like so far and what they see as priorities to keep opera going into the future. All three auditioned for the program back in 2019 – and when the pandemic hit, CCO had to postpone the 2020 festival. Like so many others in the performing arts industry, Bernardo, Michelle and Marin had to find ways to keep going. The first line of the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" from CAROUSEL is, "When you walk through a storm, keep your chin up high." These artists, along with the rest of their colleagues, did just that.

Read the show notes from this episode here.

Have questions or want to provide feedback? Email us at [email protected]. Remember to subscribe to our podcast to get the latest episodes delivered directly to your device. To hear more stories from inside Central City Opera and buy tickets to the shows, visit us at centralcityopera.org.

On this episode, the director of this summer's production of Purcell's DIDO AND AENEAS, Dan Wallace Miller, talks about ALL the things - his outdoor, updated production in the Central City Opera Garden, his background in film and how he brings that into opera, how his love of Wagner and all things music drama started at the very young age of four, how he approaches older works to make them new again for today's audiences, his vision and hope for the future of opera - and so much more. You'll definitely want to check out the show notes page for this episode - it is chock full of goodies.

Read the show notes for this episode here.

Have questions or want to provide feedback? Email us at [email protected]. Remember to subscribe to our podcast to get the latest episodes delivered directly to your device. To hear more stories from inside Central City Opera and buy tickets to the shows, visit us at centralcityopera.org.

On this episode, soprano Anna Christy and baritone Steven LaBrie talk about their roles of Julie Jordan and Billy Bigelow in CAROUSEL. Steven and Anna discuss the big question most of us think when watching this show – why does Billy treat Julie the way that he does, and why does Julie stay? Anna also shares how the roles she's played on the Central City Opera House stage have shaped her as an artist, and Steven goes into how his first big role with a lot of spoken dialogue has been both challenging and immensely rewarding. They also share what they'd like audiences to take away from this summer's production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's CAROUSEL.

Read the show notes for this episode here.

Have questions or want to provide feedback? Email us at [email protected]. Remember to subscribe to our podcast to get the latest episodes delivered directly to your device. To hear more stories from inside Central City Opera and buy tickets to the shows, visit us at centralcityopera.org.

On this episode, soprano Alisa Jordheim and tenor Galeano Salas join the podcast from a porch in Central City – so you'll hear some wind and cars driving by. Alisa is performing the role of Gilda in this summer's production of Verdi's RIGOLETTO, and Galeano is performing the role of The Duke of Mantua in the same production. They are also fairly recent past Apprentice Artists, having gone through CCO's Bonfils-Stanton Artists Training Program about a decade ago. Alisa and Galeano share what they've been up to since then, and what it's like to be back in Central City singing these roles, plus they dig into the psyche of their characters, talk about the challenges of singing outdoors, and so much more.

Read the show notes for this episode here.

Have questions or want to provide feedback? Email us at [email protected]. Remember to subscribe to our podcast to get the latest episodes delivered directly to your device. To hear more stories from inside Central City Opera and buy tickets to the shows, visit us at centralcityopera.org.