Of Opera Idols

James Morris as Philip II in "Don Carlo" (courtesy Cincinnati Opera)

"Opera Idol," Cincinnati Opera's latest voyage into advanced multi-media, takes place at 7 p.m. June 24 in Jarson-Kaplan Theater at the Aronoff Center for the Arts.
   The public concert, fashioned after TV's "American Idol," features winners of preliminary auditions held June 6 at Music Hall.
   Netted from over 160 singers in the Greater Cincinnati area were ten semi-finalists.  Each will perform on the June 24 concert and there will be commentary by the judges.
Giving the event an "American Idol" dimension, members of the audience will be asked to vote at intermission, after all ten singers have been heard.  Based upon this vote, five finalists will be chosen to sing again after intermission.
   Cincinnati Opera will post videos of the finalists on the Internet, and voting for the winner will take place online.  Cincinnati's new "Opera Idol" will be announced on the opening night of "Carmen" July 22 at Music Hall. Grand prize is a $3,500 contract with Cincinnati Opera.

The semi-finalists are:
 
Krystina Booker, Wilberforce, Ohio; Phillip Jennings, Oxford, Ohio; Alex Kozlovsky, West Chester, Ohio (no photo available); Daniel Moody, Moscow, Ohio; Jesse Ragland, Cincinnati, Ohio; Margaret Russo, Cincinnati, Ohio; Quandra Ryan, Cincinnati, Ohio; Steven Schafer, Cincinnati, Ohio; Jenny Smith, West Chester, Ohio; Molly Stehn, Highland Heights, Kentucky     

Krystina Booker

Phillip Jennings

Daniel Moody

Jesse Ragland

Margaret Russo

Quandra Ryan

Steven Shafer

Jenny Smith

Molly Stehn

    Tickets are $10.  Call (513) 621-2787, or order online at www.cincinnatiarts.org

James Morris (left) as Philip II, Marco Caria as Rodrigo in "Don Carlo" (courtesy Cincinnati Opera)

For some opera idols already on their pedestals, Cincinnati Opera's "Don Carlo," 7:30 p.m. June 25 and 27 at Music Hall, fills the bill nicely.
   Starring as Philip II of Spain is bass James Morris, famed for his portrayal of Wotan in Wagner's "Ring" cycle and many other roles central to the bass repertoire.  A favorite of Cincinnati Opera, Morris has performed Mephistopheles in Gounod's "Faust," the Dutchman in Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman," the Three Villains in Offenbach's "Tales of Offenbach" and the Don in Mozart's "Don Giovanni" on the Music Hall stage.

Angela Brown as Elizabeth in "Don Carlo" (courtesy Cincinnati Opera)

Elizabeth is soprano Angela Brown, who sang Cilla in Richard Danielpour's "Margaret Garner" to much acclaim here in 2006, as well as Aida in Verdi's "Aida" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
    Making their Cincinnati Opera debuts will be tenor Frank Poretta as Don Carlo, mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung as Princess Eboli (in love with Carlo), baritone Marco Caria as Carlo's friend Rodrigo and bass Morris Robinson as the Grand Inquisitor.

scene from "Don Carlo" (courtesy Cincinnati Opera)

Cincinnati Opera promises a production to match the gravitas of the opera, with a massive set and lavish costumes of the period (16th-century Spain).  The production is by Hawaii Opera Theatre, Opera Hong Kong and Vancouver Opera.  "Don Carlo" is a historical drama based on a play by Friedrich Schiller.  The story is a tragic one, with father pitted against son, impossible love, a ghost?? (the mysterious monk at the tomb of Carlo's grandfather, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) and even an auto da fe.
    The opera will be sung in Italian with English surtitles.  Richard Buckley will conduct the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Sandra Bernhard, former head of the opera department at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, will direct.  Cincinnati Opera artistic director Evans Mirageas presents "Opera Insights," a discussion prior to the performance, at 6:30 p.m. both nights.
   Tickets are $26-$152 at the Cincinnati Opera box office in Music Hall, (513) 241-2742, or online at www.cincinnatiopera.org.