Central City Opera Podcast

American Baritone Will Liverman talks with Central City Opera Education Coordinator Meg Ozaki Graves about his experiences as a Black opera singer, how he's staying inspired during the pandemic and his thoughts on how arts organizations can move forward. Will was last seen at Central City Opera as Papageno in THE MAGIC FLUTE, 2018. Watch the video version of this interview on the new Opera Central series at centralcityopera.org.

Learn more about Will Liverman, and follow his career at willliverman.com, on Facebook @WillLivermanBaritone and Instagram @Willie1525.

Will was nothing short of iconic as an ostrich-mounted Papageno in Central City Opera's 2018 THE MAGIC FLUTE. Take a look at the magical production, dreamed out of a toy theater in a Victorian nursery, in photos and video. Read about Will's historical performance as the first-ever Black baritone to sing Papageno at the Metropolitan Opera last January on OperaWire.

The virtual concert discussed in this episode—"Will Liverman Live in Concert with Paul Sánchez" with Valhalla Media Live—is no longer available, but Will's albums and many other recordings are available on his website. Composers featured on his recital included Shawn E. Okpebholo, Robert Owens, Margaret Bonds and Damien Sneed. You can listen to Okpebholo's "Two Black Churches," referenced in the episode, on YouTube.

Will is a versatile performer who excels in styles ranging from classic opera to popular music. One of our favorites is his arrangement of "Smile."

Finally, to all the other artists out there, Will Liverman has a message for you... LEARN YOUR MUSIC! He'll preach it to anyone who'll listen — if this doesn't inspire you, nothing will!

On this final episode of season four, I'm joined by the stars of ENCORE: A MUSICAL REVUE, Jennifer DeDominici and Curt Olds. (Curt is also the director and curator!) ENCORE is happening at the very end of summer festival. Performed in our opera house, it's 90 minutes of scenes from music theatre performed with full orchestra. Jen and Curt talk about the show and also dive into the many connections between opera and music theatre, as well as their exciting experiences performing on international tours.

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 to buy tickets to the shows, visit us at centralcityopera.org.

This episode shines a spotlight on the Bonfils-Stanton Artists Training Program, and features three Apprentice Artists - soprano Caitlin Crabill, baritone Matthew Peterson, and soprano Véronique Filloux - as well as a graduate of the program, Developing Artist and tenor Jonas Hacker. They represent a wide swath of roles across the Festival. We find out what got them interested in the first place, the specifics of their experiences this summer, and how the Bonfils-Stanton Artists Training Program has impacted their careers.

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, I'm joined by Margaret Ozaki Graves, Gil Asakawa, and Erin Yoshimura. Margaret was the cultural consultant for our production of MADAMA BUTTERFLY, Gil is a journalist and arts critic, and Erin is a consultant who does leadership and cultural diversity training. They give their thoughts on MADAMA BUTTERFLY and related issues from their perspectives of being Japanese-American.

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, director Alessandro Talevi talks about the unusual double-bill production this summer: Debussy's THE BLESSED DAMOZEL and Poulenc's LITANIES TO THE BLACK VIRGIN. These French cantatas, performed back-to-back, are only about 30 minutes total and were not conceived to be staged. Alessandro shares his unique concept for the pieces, the luxury of having time to develop backstories with the performers, and why even though these pieces have religious themes and texts, they are about the human experience and can be enjoyed by people of all backgrounds.

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, we celebrate Herman Melville, the author of BILLY BUDD, SAILOR, and talk to Dr. Dawn Coleman from the University of Tennessee. Dr. Coleman is a Melville expert, and she dives deep into Melville's extraordinary life and how BILLY BUDD the novel came to be.

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, I get to talk to tenor Cody Austin and baritone Troy Cook about their roles in Madama Butterfly. Cody is playing Lt. Pinkerton and Troy is Sharpless. Our conversation covers a lot, like the timelessness of this opera and how audiences can relate to it, and what it's like to sing highly emotional scenes.

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, I talk with the three leading men of Central City Opera's Colorado premiere of Billy Budd: our Billy Budd, baritone Joshua Hopkins; tenor Daniel Norman, singing Captain Vere, and bass-baritone Kevin Burdette, who is Master-at-Arms John Claggart. These three characters make up the heart of the conflict of the story. Josh, Dan, and Kevin discuss their complex characters, Britten's gift of setting this story and text with such deliberate care and attention, and why this production is one that you really should not miss.

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.

This summer is a very special summer at Central City Opera, and that's because we are producing the Colorado premiere of Benjamin Britten's grand opera Billy Budd. On this episode, I talk with the production's director, Ken Cazan, and conductor, John Baril. What a conversation. Ken and John unpack the drama, music, the opera's significant to this company and to the operatic canon, interpretation and emotional impact, and so much more.

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, I talk to the two principal women in Madama Butterfly: Raquel González, who plays the title role, and Annie Rosen, who plays the role of Suzuki, Butterfly's maid and companion. Raquel and Annie share how they develop the rapport necessary to portray this close relationship onstage and what they've learned about how to play characters of another race without fear and with respect. We also talk about lighter things like "propography" and the necessity of knee pads - and the more serious issues that the final scene of Madama Butterfly brings to the surface.

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