More The Mikado Media Coverage

The Mikado photo by Cory Weaver for Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre

The Lyric Opera production of The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan opens at the Kauffman Center on Saturday and this past Sunday The Kansas City Star featured a preview article about the new production.  If you missed the article, click the headline below to learn more about this hilarious operetta.

Patrick Neas for The Kansas City Star
Lyric Opera launches the wacky, absurd ‘Mikado’

For more information about the Lyric Opera production of The Mikado, click here.

10 Questions with Pish-Tush

Chris Carr

Chris Carr recently took some time to answer 10 questions about his life as a opera singer and student.  Mr. Carr, who will be starring as Pish Tush in The Mikado, is in his second year in the Lyric Opera/UMKC Apprentice Program and has some exciting plans after he finishes at UMKC this spring. Read below as Mr. Carr talks about how his interest in opera began and why he probably knows how to ride a horse!

1.  How did your initial interest in the art form of opera begin?
Mr. Carr: My interest of opera grew during college. I had begun college as a performance major in saxophone and was taking voice lessons for scholarship money. I was put in a production the first semester and I haven’t looked back.

2.  Where did you grow up?
Mr. Carr: I grew up in Quasqueton, IA. A small town in Eastern Iowa with a population around 500-600 people. My mother is a horseback riding instructor so we moved there when I was young to start our own farm.

3.  What is an average day like for you? Do you have a set routine?
Mr. Carr: An average day for me consists of just a few key things. Rehearsals/practicing, workout, and keeping social. I have no set routines, but I consider it an good day when all three of those things happen.

4.  What is your favorite opera to watch/experience?
Mr. Carr: Tough question, but probably Pagliacci. It was the first opera I ever saw that made me realize that I wanted to be an opera singer.

5.  What was the first opera to watched/experienced?
Mr. Carr: I believe the first opera I saw was The Magic Flute, when I was probably 12 or so. Funny thing is I hated it! I had no interest in opera and I remember spending the night being fidgety and bored.

6.  What language(s) do you speak fluently?
Mr. Carr: Just English

7. What have you learned or experienced during your apprenticeship with the Lyric Opera that has been most helpful? Alternatively, what do you hope to get out of your apprenticeship with the Company?
Mr. Carr: I have been fortunate enough to have the time to understudy several roles in my time here. It gives me a great chance to see how the professionals work on a daily basis and more importantly to me, I get to meet them and connect with people I don’t know. Meeting new people is one of my favorite parts of this job.

As far as what I hope to get out of it, this season is giving me those things. I have some good roles this season and I’m getting to work pretty much full time as a singer. Steady work is a great thing to have.

8.  What facts about you would our audiences be surprised to learn?
Mr. Carr: Growing up on a horse farm in small town Iowa, I was trained and competed on horses. I didn’t start singing until college. I had originally intended to be a jazz musician in my life time.

9.  The opera role you haven’t performed, but would like to perform the most in your career?
Mr. Carr: Pelleas from Pelléas and Mélisande and Macbeth from Verdi’s Macbeth.

10.  If you bumped into me at a coffee shop and learned that I had never been to an opera before, what would you say to entice me to give it a try?
Mr. Carr: I would say that opera would surprise anyone that goes to see it. It’s still entertainment written for everyday enjoyment. The stereotypes of opera are old and outdated. If you give it a chance, you’d probably be surprised. I have yet to meet someone who went to the opera for the first time and didn’t walk out happy.

For more information about the upcoming Lyric Opera production of The Mikado, click here.

10 Questions with The Mikado

We recently had a chance to ask Dale Travis some questions as part of our 10 Questions Series.  Mr. Travis, making his Lyric Opera and role debut, will star in the title role of the upcoming Lyric Opera production as The Mikado. Read below as Mr. Travis explains how a football injury changed his life and why he should probably teach stage techniques.

1. How did your initial interest in the art form of opera begin?

Mr. Travis: I always loved to sing and was quite involved in choirs, musicals, and even was in a rock band in high school and college.  I did my first opera as a senior in high school, singing Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors. I was still not sure about what I wanted to do so I went to Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania to play football and major in Geology.  Because of a football injury, I suddenly had a lot of free time, so I auditioned for the university choir.  After hearing me, the choir director took me immediately to the voice faculty.  After singing for them, I was accepted into the music program as a Vocal Performance major.  That’s how this all started.

2.  Where did you grow up?
Mr. Travis: Pennington, NJ

3.  Do you have a significant other? Children? Pets?
Mr. Travis: I’ve been married to my wife, Lisa, since 1984, so next year we celebrate our 30^th anniversary. She is a flautist, pianist, and is the Music Director at our church.  She taught elementary music for 12 years and now teaches flute and piano privately.  We have a son, Zachary, who graduates from high school this year and is continuing on to college as to major in Music.  He is a French horn player and enjoys conducting and writing music.

4.  What is an average day like for you? Do you have a set routine?
Mr. Travis: I like to read the paper first thing in the morning, work out for an hour, and then work on upcoming repertoire for a few hours.  If I am working, then it’s off to rehearsal or a performance.  If I’m home, I take care of whatever needs attention: wife, son, parents, in-laws, house, etc.  If I have free time, I love to play golf or fly fish.

5.  What is your favorite opera to watch/experience?
Mr. Travis: I have no favorites – there is so much wonderful repertoire and styles, each have something to offer.  If I had to pick one, I guess it would be Puccini or Janacek.

6.  What language(s) do you speak fluently?
Mr. Travis: I wouldn’t say I’m “fluent”, but I am pretty comfortable speaking German and Italian, and can function quite well when I’m in Europe there singing or traveling

7.  What story about your professional life do you wish reporters would tell when promoting your work for a producing Company, but have not?
Mr. Travis: I have been singing professionally for 28 years and have developed a stage technique that was taught to me from some of the greatest Italian singing actors of the 20^th century – Italo Tajo, Paolo Montarsolo, and Renato Capecchi.

8.  What facts about you would our audiences be surprised to learn?
Mr. Travis: My favorite singers are Elvis and Frank Sinatra.   I used to perform a lot of Elvis tunes in my rock bands and Sinatra songs as a singing waiter.

9.  The opera role you haven’t performed, but would like to perform the most in your career?
Mr. Travis: Baron Ochs from Der Rosenkavalier.

10.  If you bumped into me at a coffee shop and learned that I had never been to an opera before, what would you say to entice me to give it a try?
Mr. Travis: Go to a comic opera first – they are the most accessible and enjoyable for a first timer.  After that, try Puccini for gorgeous melodies and heartfelt emotion.

For more information about the upcoming Lyric Opera production of The Mikado, click here.

10 Questions with Yum-Yum

Sarah Jane McMahon

We recently spoke with Sarah Jane McMahon, Yum-Yum in the upcoming production of The Mikado, as part of our 10 Questions Series.  Mrs. McMahon is making her Lyric Opera debut and talked about her favorite operas.  Read below to learn more about this talented Soprano who we hope you can see on stage at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in April.

1.  How did your initial interest in the art form of opera begin?
Mrs. McMahon: I was not interested in opera until college when I had formal voice training and my voice teacher suggested I audition for L’Elisir D’Amore. I was fortunate to be cast as Adina as a sophomore, and I’ve been hooked ever since!

2.  Where did you grow up?
Mrs. McMahon: New Orleans, Louisiana

3.  Do you have a significant other? Children? Pets?
Mrs. McMahon: Yes! I got married last year, and it’s the best thing that has ever happened to me!

4.  What is an average day like for you? Do you have a set routine?
Mrs. McMahon: Fortunately, I have been busy performing, so a rehearsal day is usually about 6 hours a day.  But right now, I’m working on recording my new album, Blessings and Silver Linings, so I’ve been in the recording studio, rehearsing with musicians, and working out all of the other many details that are involved in the recording process.

5.  What is your favorite opera to watch/experience?
Mrs. McMahon: To experience, my favorites are La Traviata and La bohème.  My favorite to watch is Roméo et Juliette.

6.  Have you performed your role in The Mikado before? If so, do you have any interesting anecdotes you can share about the experience?
Mrs. McMahon: I have performed it once before with the Colorado Symphony.

7.  What language(s) do you speak fluently?
Mrs. McMahon: English and almost French!

8.  What facts about you would our audiences be surprised to learn?
Mrs. McMahon: I can juggle and do the splits, cartwheels, and high kicks.  Also, my favorite place to sing is at church.

9.  The opera role you haven’t performed, but would like to perform the most in your career?
Mrs. McMahon: I would most like to perform Mimì in La bohème and Juliette in Roméo et Juliette.

10.  If you bumped into me at a coffee shop and learned that I had never been to an opera before, what would you say to entice me to give it a try?
Mrs. McMahon: You don’t know what you’re missing! Don’t be daunted by the foreign languages because there are titles to read. It will be some of the most beautiful music that you’ve ever heard!

For more information about the upcoming Lyric Opera production of The Mikado, click here.

An Introduction to The Mikado

Kansas City Lyric Opera Guild member Don Dagenais sat down for an informational video about The Mikado.  Watch the video below and learn about Gilbert and Sullivan’s instant classic:

For more information about the upcoming Lyric Opera production of The Mikado, click here.

Local Lyric Opera singer featured in KC Studio preview of The Mikado

Robert Gibby Brand

Kansas City actor and baritone Robert Gibby Brand recently sat down with KC Studio to discuss the upcoming Lyric Opera production of The Mikado.  To explain the Gilbert and Sullivan’s perennial appeal, Brand noted, “What’s the appeal? There’s really nothing else like it. It’s creativity and nonsense thrown together with biting commentary that is truly amazing.” Click the headline below to read the article.

Lyric Opera: The Mikado
by Kellie Houx for KC Studio

The Flying Dutchman Costumes discussed on KCUR

This week KCUR ran a piece about the costumes in the Company’s production of The Flying Dutchman, which has two remaining performances tonight and Sunday afternoon.  In addition to newly constructed scenery for this production, which we highlighted during construction, new costumes were also designed and created to fully realize the vision director Bernard Uzan and costume designer Mary Traylor had for the production.  Click the headline below to read or listen to the article about these amazing costumes, which were created by Kansas City Costume Company.

‘The Flying Dutchman’ Captain Cursed To Sail The High Seas
by Julie Denesha for KCUR

To learn more about the Lyric Opera production of The Flying Dutchman, click here.

10 Questions with the Steersman

We recently spoke with Casey Finnigan, a second year 2012-13 Lyric Opera of Kansas City/University of Kansas City, Missouri Apprentice, about his life as an opera singer.  Mr. Finnigan talked about his young start in opera and Texas pride. Read the full interview below.

1. How did your initial interest in the art form of opera begin?
Casey: My first experience with opera came as part of a boys choir in Austin, TX when the organization was asked to sing as part of the children’s chorus in La bohème and, later, Carmen.  However, it wasn’t until I started my education at the University of North Texas that I really began to fall in love with opera.  By the time I did my first role (Dr. Cajus in Falstaff) I was hooked!

2. Where did you grow up?
Casey: I’m a native Texan.  I was born in Houston, raised primarily in Austin, received my BM at the University of North Texas in Denton, TX about a half hour north of Dallas-Fort Worth, and my MM at the University of Houston.  When I tell people I’m from Texas, I really mean it.

3. Do you have a significant other? Children? Pets?
Casey: My wife Sarah and I have been married for one year.  We have four pets, all of them snakes.

4. What is an average day like for you? Do you have a set routine?
Casey: Aside from my morning coffee, no.  I make sure to get to the gym 3-5 times a week, and I practice and work on music daily; but I don’t have a rigid routine.

5. What is your favorite opera to watch/experience?
Casey: You’ll have to settle for a top five.  In no particular order I would have to say The Tales of Hoffmann, Falstaff, Peter Grimes, Siegfried, and Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.

6. What was the first opera to watched/experienced?
Casey: The first opera that I sang in was La bohème as part of the children’s chorus.  The first I went and saw was Così fan tutte; followed shortly by a fantastic production of Turandot.

7.  What story about your personal/professional life do you wish reporters would tell when promoting your work for a producing Company, but have not?
Casey: I got a unique opportunity in 2011 to perform the role of Pablo Neruda in Daniel Catan’s opera Il Postino.  It was written for LA Opera and for Placido Domingo in particular, and when I met him the following year it was great to be able to talk to him about something that only we and one other person had gotten to perform thus far.

8. What facts about you would our audiences be surprised to learn?
Casey: I’m a goofy guy.  I love to do things just to make people smile and laugh.  Once during a concert (that happened to fall on April Fool’s day) a friend and I sang “La ci darem la mano” from Don Giovanni.  I sang Zerlina’s part…in the soprano octave.  Anything for a laugh.

9. The opera role you haven’t performed, but would like to perform the most in your career?
Casey: I would have to say either Hoffmann from The Tales of Hoffmann or Siegfried from Siegfried.  They’re both very interesting; not the standard lovey-dovey tenor roles.

10. If you bumped into me at a coffee shop and learned that I had never been to an opera before, what would you say to entice me to give it a try?
Casey: It’s the total entertainment experience.  There is literally an opera for everyone.  The trick is finding the one, or ones, for you.

Bonus Apprentice Question:
What have you learned or experienced during your apprenticeship with the Lyric Opera that has been most helpful? Alternatively, what do you hope to get out of your apprenticeship with the Company?
Casey: The number one thing I have learned is to never let an opportunity go to waste.  We get a great opportunity to work with some very knowledgeable and very experienced performers; not to mention the fantastic repertoire.

To learn more about the upcoming Lyric Opera production of The Flying Dutchman, click here.

An Introduction to The Flying Dutchman

Kansas City Lyric Opera Guild member Don Dagenais sat down for an informational video about The Flying Dutchman.  Watch the video below and learn about Wagner’s classic tale:

To learn more about the Company’s upcoming production of The Flying Dutchman, click here.

10 Questions with Ruiz

We recently spoke with Benjamin Cleveland, a 2012-13 Lyric Opera of Kansas City/University of Kansas Apprentice, about the life of a young opera singer and his portrayal of Ruiz in Il Trovatore.  Mr. Cleveland talked about his favorite operatic moments and how he came to perform opera.  Read the full interview below.

1.  How did your initial interest in the art form of opera begin?
Ben: I developed in interest in opera late. I saw my first opera when I was a junior in college.

I thought that it was really impressive because it combines so many different art forms into one.

2.  Where did you grow up?
Ben: I grew up just outside of Spokane, Washington.

3.  What is an average day like for you? Do you have a set routine?
Ben: I am a student as well as an apprentice, so generally I go to classes in the morning at the University of Kansas. I teach voice lessons in the afternoons at KU and the evenings are usually left for a combination of rehearsals, working on music, or homework.

4.  What is your favorite opera to watch/experience?
Ben: I don’t know that I could choose one favorite, but a favorite moment of mine is Act I of La bohéme. I love the playfulness of the score, the interactions between characters, and of course the budding romance between Rodolfo and Mimì.

5.  What was the first opera you watched/experienced?
Ben: My first opera was Le nozze di Figaro – I went with a few fellow voice students.

6.  What language(s) do you speak fluently?
Ben: Unfortunately just English, but I am working on others!

7. What have you learned or experienced during your apprenticeship with the Lyric Opera that has been most helpful?
Ben: I have really enjoyed the opportunity to work alongside some great singers that have come to sing at the Lyric Opera. Watching them work and working with them throughout the rehearsal process is exciting and gives us a lot of opportunity to learn from them.

8.  What facts about you would our audiences be surprised to learn?
Ben: I think that people would be surprised to learn that I have changed career paths several times before I deciding that I wanted to be a singer. I began studies in business and medicine for a little while before I switched to singing.

9.  What opera role you haven’t performed, but would like to perform the most in your career?
Ben: I would love to sing Alfredo, from La Traviata. That opera has some of my favorite music.

10.  If you bumped into me at a coffee shop and learned that I had never been to an opera before, what would you say to entice me to give it a try?
Ben: I would ask you to give opera a chance. Let go of any preconceived notions you have about it, because there are a lot of great things to love. It combines many different art forms together and makes something really special. Come see what it’s all about.

To learn about the upcoming Lyric Opera production of Il Trovatore, click here.