An extra special trip to the Opera for two young superfans!

OperaDelaware’s Development Associate Sarah Asmar was able to make some dreams come true for two young opera fans over the holidays! Coordinating with parents for a trip to the Metropolitan Opera, Sarah arranged a special stage door meet up with the sisters and soprano Lindsay Ohse following one of Lindsay’s performances as Papagena in The Magic Flute. We are so excited to welcome Lindsay Ohse to Delaware this March to star as Violetta in La traviata at The Grand Opera House. Read Sarah’s guest blog below.

Greetings from your favorite opera singer turned Development Associate, Sarah Asmar!

Sarah Asmar

Development Associate, OperaDelaware

As a recovering singer (I will always remember my literal and proverbial turn on the Grand Opera House stage in OperaDelaware's production of Amleto) and true believer in nurturing a love of music in children, it will come as no surprise to anyone that I have had many forms of employment over the years that have combined music making and tiny tots. One day, as I considered a new adventure, I found myself researching Music Together. The Music Together curriculum is highly based in research and childhood development, which I love, but at its core is a play-based class where parents and their little ones can connect and learn through a shared musical experience. I loved watching bonds form and musical skills develop as the weeks went on, but what I now most cherish is the relationship that I built with my families and that I am now a permanent part of their lives and can continue to share the wonders of music with them outside of the class experience (I do miss those weekly classes though).

I have remained particularly close to one particular family (let’s call the children G & L) and love hearing about the new music they are listening to. As music lovers themselves, the parents are dedicated to sharing new experiences in very digestible ways. One day, mom told me that they were gifted Classical Kids cds by Grandma. The Classical Kids website describes them as “a dramatic story, a little bit of history and the world’s best-loved classical music set the scene for these fun-filled musical adventures.” All I remember is that soon G and L were hooked on The Magic Flute. What followed were hours of listening to different recordings, asking me to sing, Queen of the Night inspired Halloween costumes, and not a single one of us will forget G & L’s versions of the Queen’s Vengeance Aria.

Finally, this winter, mom and dad gifted the girls with a trip to the MET to see the holiday performance of The Magic Flute. Now, I cannot and will not claim credit, but I certainly wanted to share in the joy of the occasion. I told the girls all about the sparkly chandeliers and the big staircase in the lobby, asked for plenty of pictures both inside the theater and outside in Lincoln Center, and just basically acted as the world’s most excited “aunt.” I was determined to make this already incredible experience just a little more special if I could. I love my singer friends and know that they also love seeing young children who are excited about opera. Lindsay Ohse, who will be starring as Violetta in OD’s spring production of La traviata, happens to have an enormous heart and deep love of kids (she once babysat by niece and nephew while their parents watched me in a production of Don Giovanni, and I don’t know who had more fun). She happened to be singing the role Papagena in the MET production and I had a sudden image of what it would be like for G & L to meet her. My text to Lindsay requesting a meeting at the stage door was met with a resounding “yes” and I was able to fill in mom but we kept it a secret from the girls.

The day arrived, and G & L dressed their best. Both said that nothing except a long skirt would do for the opera and L’s outfit included a cape which I can only assume was a nod to the Queen of the Night. As I understand it the girls were captivated by the performance and requested that next time they sit closer! After the show, they were greeted by Lindsay at the stage door and the pictures speak a thousand words. There is my generous, loving friend examining L’s cape and engaged in heartfelt conversation with two little girls who consume music as a basic food group and I can only imagine that the care that was taken that day to make sure they were heard and honored was immense.

I can only say that being able to share what I love, to make a connection that heightened an already memorable day, and to see those three smiling faces at the stage door is nothing short of a core memory for me. Music and theater are magical. We are lucky everyday to be a part of its creation and we are even luckier to be able to help make lasting memories for our audiences. Let’s lean in. Every one of us. Our children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews (even honorary) want to create connections with us and there is no better glue than music.

Sarah Asmar
OperaDelaware
Development Associate

Photo of lindsay ohse with two young opera fans after the magic flute at the Metropolitan Opera. Shared with permission.

Sarah Asmar as Ofelia in Operadelaware’s production of amleto (2016) Photo by Moonloop photography

Sunday Spotlight Artist: Marie Engle, mezzo-soprano

Following a rollicking portrayal of Dorabella in OperaDelaware's fall production of Così fan tutte, mezzo-soprano Marie Engle (OperaDelaware Young Artist, 2020) prepares for her upcoming Sunday Spotlight recital with pianist Aurelien Eulert on November 20. In contrast to her effervescent and highly comedic portrayal of Mozart's lovesick Dorabella, Marie and Aurelien have selected a cathartic and powerful recital program that will show even more of the rich color and vulnerability of this talented pair of artists. We caught up with Marie for a few questions to get to know her before her upcoming performance! Be sure to grab your tickets for Marie's Sunday Spotlight recital on November 20. Seating is extremely limited at the OperaDelaware Studios, and you don't want to miss this opportunity to experience glorious music and intimate storytelling up close and personal.

---

Kerriann Otaño, VP of Engagement: Marie, where are you from and what are you most passionate about?

Marie Engle, mezzo-soprano: I mostly grew up in Streetsboro, OH, a town right off the Ohio turnpike between Akron and Cleveland. It is a working class area and sports were much more supported than music, so I played a lot of sports, but also was involved in the band and marching band programs. I am most passionate about have heart-to-heart connections with people, whether in one on one relationships or as a performer. The most important thing to me is communicating authentically and meeting people where they are, and wanting them to know that wherever they are is okay with me.

KO: When did you decide you wanted to be an opera singer and also what is your favorite ice cream flavor?

ME: When 16-year-old Marie started taking voice lessons and learned that there was a way to became a professional singer that had to do with studying hard (something at which I have always excelled) rather than looking a certain way and knowing the right people, I decided to dive head on into this industry that I knew nothing at all about. But I have always been loud, so it’s a match made in heaven. For ice cream, I always like to try new flavors, something fun and funky, like wasabi or durian (I even had a green pea flavor in Paris). BUT, if I am in Vermont, I always get maple cream. In a waffle cone. Is it way too much? Yes. Is it the best ice cream I have ever had, also yes.

KO: What drew you to the music you chose for your recital?

ME: The main piece I focused my energy on learning this past year in Paris was Fauré’s La bonne chanson. It is not performed often because it is devilishly complex harmonically, but when the musicians legitimately take the time to dig into the score and the hinges of its harmonic progression, it is bliss. It is so crunchy and brilliant and expressive. This piece in like wine and cheese: it improves with time. My first performance of it in Paris was just the introduction, the meet-cute. This is a piece with which one should share a lifetime, developing deep relational bonds and seeking more from both the piece and from yourself every time you encounter it. I cannot wait to see what this second performance brings out of Fauré’s brilliant score.

KO: How is recital preparation different from preparing for Dorabella in Così fan tutte?

ME: For me, the biggest difference in this recital’s preparation is that I have performed all of the music on the program before, whereas Dorabella was brand new to me. Another huge difference is that most of recital preparation happens independently. Duos usually do not have weeks to soak in a piece together before they perform them.

KO: What's your personal brand? What's your vibe?

ME: Good golly! This question is deeply personal for me… I am still working on it, but I think I am like a 55-year-old fun auntie who likes to go on adventures around the world and visit friends.

KO: What's one word you hope people will use to describe you as an artist?

ME: Expressive

KO: What's one word you hope people will use to describe you as a person?

ME: Loving

KO: What piece of theater has most inspired you?

ME: I was in the chorus of Christof Loy’s 2015 production of Peter Grimes at Theater an der Wien in Vienna. Peter Grimes in at of itself is a transformative show, but the role that the chorus plays in that show is so significant: the chorus represents society and it the antagonist of the narrative. The music is deeply disturbing and moving and painful and beautiful. Loy’s production was very simple and he dressed the chorus in shades of blues and grays. Between the colors and the choreography, we were the sea. The sea that eventually ruins Grimes and kills him. It was pure genius.

KO: In the wonderful world of the internet, how do you want people to find you?

ME: My website and my professional page on Facebook! I am NOT a social media person, but I am trying to get better. I try to keep my Facebook and Instagram profiles largely personal.

---

Visit Marie's website | Follow Marie's professional page

Get your tickets to Marie Engle and Aurelien Eulert's Sunday Spotlight recital on November 20 at 2 PM at the OperaDelaware Studios!

A peek behind the scenes: Così fan tutte

As we wrap up our rehearsals at the OperaDelaware Studios and prepare for tech week at The Grand and next weekend's performances, we are so grateful to these remarkable artists who poured themselves into this process over the last few weeks. Colleen Daly, Marie Engle, Amanda Sheriff, David Walton, Paul La Rosa, and Eric McKeever have been as dynamic and engaging in their acting as they are in their singing. The level of talent is out of this world. Led by Maestro Domenico Boyegian and directed by Sam Mungo, this production has come together with charm, cheek, heart, and soul.

We were fortunate to be able to share an evening with donors and board members, and give them a sneak peek into the rehearsal process during week 1. While the artists rehearsed on the second floor, friends of OperaDelaware gathered in the third floor observation area for drinks. From there, they were able to watch rehearsal on our state-of-the-art CCTV, or by viewing the artists through the windows overlooking the second floor. This gave our supporters the opportunity to see what early days of the rehearsal process are like, while maintaining a safe distance from the artists. This also allowed us to bring our friends and donors closer to opera through robust conversation and by asking questions about this elusive and wonderfully wild art form.

As one of OperaDelaware's newest board members, Meghan Newberry was on the scene to capture these fabulous photos. In addition to her work at CSC Digital Brand Services, Meghan also runs Meghan Newberry Photography here in town, and we are so grateful to have her artistic eye and generous spirit on the team.

Enjoy the pictures and pick up your tickets for Così fan tutte today! Only two chances to experience OperaDelaware at The Grand this fall on October 28 and 30!

First Day of Rehearsal: Così fan tutte

Cosi fan tutte rehearsals started yesterday and the artists are all smiles after their first sing through. Singers often refer to the first day of rehearsal as “the first day of school” which is even more appropriate when we’re doing Cosi! For those who don’t know, the full title is “Così fan tutte ossia La scuola degli amanti” which means “All women are like that or The School for Lovers” - too appropriate, right?

Mozart’s classic comedy lampoons relationships by introducing a cheeky bet to test the fidelity of two devoted couples. In our production, soprano Colleen Daly takes on the tour de force role of Fiordiligi, who proclaims that her love is as steady and immovable as a rock in the powerhouse aria “Come Scoglio.” She’s joined by mezzo-soprano and former OperaDelaware Young Artist Marie Engle as her impetuous and melodramatic sister, Dorabella, whose emotional outbursts are fodder for comedy and connection (who doesn’t like to be a little dramatic from time to time?). Amanda Sheriff, who sang Norina in OperaDelaware’s 2021 production of Don Pasquale, takes on the quirky, campy, and exuberant role of Despina, the sister’s bold maid who refuses to pull punches. In her saucy aria “In uomini, in soldati”, she warns the sisters not to expect loyalty from their partners. “The leaves and fickle breezes,” Despina says, “are more stable than men!”

The role of Don Alfonso, the jaded mentor who disparages romance and lays the groundwork for the bet, will be sung by Eric McKeever, baritone and OperaDelaware Artist in Residence. While the rest of the cast joined us at the OperaDelaware Studios only yesterday, Eric has been working with OD since early September, acting as an ambassador for the arts and using his infectious charisma to share the joy of opera with the people of Wilmington.

Baritone Paul La Rosa and tenor David Walton play Guglielmo and Ferrando, respectively. Paul is making his OperaDelaware debut as the charismatic and impulsive Guglielmo, while the naive and wide-eyed Ferrando will be sung by David Walton. David sang Ernesto in Don Pasquale last season, and his swoon-worthy singing is perfect for the romantic, heart-on-his-sleeve Ferrando.

We are just three weeks away from opening and if the sing through is any indication, we are in for quite a show! The music is sublime, the story is a scream, and we can’t wait to see you at the opera! Get your tickets today by clicking the button below or by visiting operade.org/tickets.

https://operade.secure.force.com/ticket#/

Meet the Artists: Opening Night at The Grand

On Saturday, September 10, OperaDelaware and the Delaware Symphony Orchestra will join The Grand Opera House in an opening night celebration featuring Tony Award-winning Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell. Learn more about "Stokes" (as he prefers to be called) and the fabulous OD artists sharing the stage for this one-night-only event!

Brian Stokes Mitchell

Dubbed “the last leading man” by The New York Times, Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell has enjoyed a career that spans more than 40 years in Broadway, television, film, recordings and concert appearances with the country’s finest conductors and orchestras.

Mr. Mitchell received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle awards for his star turn in Kiss Me, Kate. He also gave Tony-nominated performances in Man of La Mancha, August Wilson’s King Hedley II, and Ragtime. Other notable Broadway shows include Kiss of the Spider Woman, Jelly’s Last Jam, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and most recently in Shuffle Along. His off-Broadway credits include Do Re Mi, Carnival, Kismet and The Bandwagon at City Center Encores and Much Ado About Nothing at the Delacorte Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park. Regional credits include Sweeney Todd at the Sondheim Celebration at The Kennedy Center with Christine Baranski and The Light in the Piazza at the Los Angeles Opera with Renee Fleming. Stokes was four days from opening LOVE/LIFE at City Center Encores when all of Broadway, and most of the country, shut down due to the pandemic. However, that didn’t stop him from performing. Even while recovering from COVID in March of 2020, he received unexpected acclaim and attention for singing “The Impossible Dream” from his apartment window every night for a number of weeks during the pandemic, in honor of essential workers.

---

OPERADELAWARE GUEST ARTISTS

Soprano Vanessa Becerra

Peruvian- and Mexican-American soprano Vanessa Becerra is a recent graduate of LA Opera’s prestigious Young Artist Program praised for her “bold and bright” singing (Opera News), “full, beautifully focused” instrument (The Wall Street Journal), and “charismatic and eloquent” presence (San Francisco Chronicle).  

In the 2022-23 season, Vanessa debuts the roles of Marie in La fille du régiment (Minnesota Opera), Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro (Opera Omaha), Carolina in El matrimonio secreto (Florida Grand Opera), Despina in Così fan tutte (Opera Theater of St. Louis), and Juliette in Roméo et Juliette (Boston Lyric Opera) for which she received praise from the Boston Globe for her “clarity, luster, and charisma”. She revisits La mujer in El Milagro del Recuerdo (Houston Grand Opera) and this summer joins Madison Opera and Madison Symphony Orchestra for their annual Opera in the Park celebration. OD patrons will remember Vanessa’s stunning performance as Sophie in Werther (2017).

---

Tenor William Davenport

William Davenport has received attention for his strong yet lyric tenor and Italianate style. The Baltimore Sun raves, “William Davenport has the makings of a significant tenor. There’s an immediately expressive and appealing quality in the timbre, one with quite an Italianate tint…” Upon his role debut of the Duca in Rigoletto with the Italian Opera Festival of Orange County, Italian News reported, “The biggest ovation, however, was for William Davenport. The young tenor demonstrated a huge vocal ability.” His other leading roles include Edgardo with the Baltimore Concert Opera, the title role in Les Contes Hoffman, Alfredo in La traviata, Riccardo in Oberto and Un Ballo in Maschera at the Academy of Vocal Arts.

His other recent engagements include Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore with the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia Valencia, OperaDelaware, Baltimore Concert Opera, Orlando Philharmonic, Rodolfo in La bohème with Opera Naples under the baton of Ramón Tebar, Ernesto in Don Pasquale with Opera Naples, Roberto Devereux at Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, Arnold in Guglielmo Tell with the Southern Illinois Music Festival, Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia alongside Mariella Devia with the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia Valencia, and Alfredo at the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova. Having just sung his first Lenski in Eugene Onegin, Mr Davenport looks forward to upcoming Opera Galas with OperaDelaware, Opera Southwest, and the Costa Rican National Symphony Orchestra. He will also be revisiting two of his favorite roles as Rodolfo in La bohème, and as Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore with Charleston Opera Theater.

---

Mezzo-Soprano Marie Engle

Marie Engle is an American lyric mezzo-soprano based in New York. Her operatic roles include Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni (Wichita Grand Opera), Ramiro in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera (Juilliard Opera), Romeo in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Chautauqua Institute), and Mercédès in Bizet’s Carmen (Chautauqua Institute). She will make her debut as Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan tutte in 2022. Marie studied at the Chautauqua Institution during the summers of 2018 and 2019 and was a Young Artist at OperaDelaware in 2020.

Marie is an active recitalist and chamber musician and spent the summers of 2021 and 2022 at the Marlboro Music Festival and School. She performed Hindemith’s Des Todes Tod, Loeffler’s 4 poèmes op. 5, Libby Larsen’s Sifting Through the Ruins, Schumann’s Spanisches Liederspiel, Reger’s 5 Duette op. 14, Brahms’ Drei Quartetten op. 64 and various informal concerts on the Potash Hill campus. In 2019, Marie joined Matthew Polenzani and Julius Drake in their Carnegie Hall recital performance of Janáček’s The Diary of One Who Disappeared and later that year made her orchestral debut of Mahler’s “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen” with the Chautauqua Festival Symphony Orchestra. Marie has won awards from the Gerda Lissner and Grand Stage Song Competitions and has performed on WQXR’s Midday Masterpieces. She made her Pierrot Lunaire debut at Juilliard’s Chamberfest in 2018. 

---

Baritone Eric McKeever

American operatic baritone Eric McKeever has won consistent praise for his voice of “power and brilliance” (Chicago Tribune) and “considerable flexibility and a communicative presence enhanced by expressive, crystalline diction.” (Opera News)

2021-2022 brought about several exciting projects including joining Indianapolis Opera in the title role of Don Giovanni, a role and house debut as Papa-Daddy in the World Premiere of Why I Live at the P.O. with Urban Arias, as well as covering Monforte in New Amsterdam Opera’s I Vespri Sicilani. He returned to Salt Marsh Opera for their “Opera in the Park” and joins OperaDelaware as an Artist-in-Residence performing Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte. In the spring of 2022, he joined the roster of On Site Opera covering the title role in Gianni Schicchi and made his debut with Teatro Grattacielo as the Banditore (Tebaldo cover) in Zandonai’s rarely-performed Giulietta e Romeo. He returns to Opera Columbus as Henry “Box” Brown in a new production of Vanqui by Leslie Savoy Burrs and makes his Opera on the James debut in their summer park concert.