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Opera Tampa Vocal Arts FestivalBy Paul Bilyeu
Director of Public Relations
June 25, 2010
Opera Tampa kicks off 2010-2011 season with Vocal Arts Festival *** Tampa, Fla. - Opera Tampa’s 2010-2011 season begins with a celebration of beautiful singing. The Vocal Arts Festival, presented in collaboration by Opera Tampa, the Patel Conservatory and the V.O.I.C.Experience Foundation, will feature presentations, workshops and concerts showcasing vocal artists of all ages. The festival performances will all be presented in the TECO Theater at the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts (formerly the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center) beginning Aug. 1 and continuing for three weeks. Performances in the 2010 Vocal Arts Festival include:
The New Generation – Sunday, Aug. 1, at 6 p.m. • Young aspiring artists kick off the festival with a concert of favorite music from all genres.
Opera Tampa Movie Night – Tuesday, Aug. 3, at 7:30 p.m. • Franco Zeffirelli’s epic film version of La Traviata with Teresa Stratas and Plácido Domingo.
Showcase for Generation X and the Children’s Show Choir – Friday, Aug. 6 at 6 p.m. • A concert featuring students from this pre-professional intensive and from the Patel Conservatory.
Death, by Aria – Parts I & II – Sunday, Aug. 8, at 5 and 7:30 p.m. • A line-up of emerging vocal artists singing all the operatic arias you know and love.
Master Class with Tito Capobianco – Monday, Aug. 9, at 7:30 p.m. • This renowned director stirs things up on a dramatic level in an observational class that gives audiences the opportunity to watch singers perform and be critiqued in an educational setting.
Songs of Love – Wednesday, Aug. 11, at 7:30 p.m. • A concert of exquisite melodies featuring aspiring artists and composer David Friedman.
Showcase for Vocal Arts Intensive and Advanced Show Choir – Friday, Aug. 13, at 7:30 p.m. • A concert featuring the young vocal talent from the Patel Conservatory and artists from V.O.I.C.Experience.
Master Class with Sherrill Milnes – Sunday, Aug. 15, at 6 p.m. • This opera legend works with rising stars in an observational class that gives audiences the opportunity to watch singers perform and be critiqued in an educational setting.
Total Interpretation: La Bohème – Saturday, Aug. 21, at 7:30 p.m. • The secrets of this Puccini masterpiece are revealed in this in-depth scene study as part of the Capobianco Opera Studio.
Arias & Encores – Sunday, Aug. 22, at 2 p.m. • An introduction to the music of the 2010-2011 Opera Tampa season.
The artists featured in Opera Tampa’s 2010 Vocal Arts Festival will train with some of the greatest talents in the world in a variety of programs designed to teach and nurture singers of all ages and skill levels. In addition to the performances listed above, the 2010 Vocal Arts Festival will host a full schedule of intensive coaching sessions, lessons, master classes and workshops. When young singers find their path in singing, they need a place to go to explore, evaluate and absorb what is truly the highest level of music. Singers, ages 15 to 20, will be chosen from around the country for Generation X (July 31-Aug. 6), a pre-professional intensive featuring faculty from Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music and the Metropolitan Opera.
Opera Tampa Artistic Advisor Sherrill Milnes and Vice President/Associate General Director of Opera Tampa Maria Zouves founded V.O.I.C.Experience (VE) in 2001, with the aim to create a means for singers to advance in their careers, to give them access to the highest level of educators and to guide them in directions that will lead to their success. VE will take place at the Straz Center, Aug. 6-22. At the end of the program, five singers will be chosen to be the Opera Tampa New Artists and be part of Opera Tampa productions and community and educational events for the 2010-11 season.
Sherrill Milnes & Friends is an intensive for the professional and career-seeking singer and includes the audition workshop “Mission: Audition.” Educators from around the globe converge at the Straz Center, Aug. 6 – 22, for three weeks of high-level workshops, master classes and performances, presented by VE.
The Patel Conservatory Vocal Arts Intensive Program, for ages 11-18, will run Aug. 2-13. Students will study voice, theory and interpretation in classes with Patel Conservatory vocal teachers and guest instructors. Students will have the opportunity to observe VE singers as they work with master teachers.
In the distinctive Total Interpretation workshop presented by VE, legendary director/producer Tito Capobianco (founder of the Juilliard Opera Center) leads a group of specially selected singers through Puccini’s great master work, La Bohème - delving deeply into the characters and their motivation. Workshops, held Aug. 19-21, are open to a public audience and culminate in an Aug. 21 performance as part of the Capobianco Opera Studio.
Tickets go on sale July 1. A Festival Pass is available for $66 and includes admission to all of the 2010 Vocal Arts Festival events. Tickets for individual events are $8-$15, and are available by calling 813.229.STAR (7827) or 800.955.1045 outside Tampa Bay, in person at the Straz Center Ticket Office or online at www.strazcenter.org.
For more information about the Straz Center and its upcoming events, please visit www.strazcenter.org.
For more information about Opera Tampa, please visit www.operatampa.org.
For more information about the Patel Conservatory, please visit www.operatampa.org.
Events, days, dates, times, performers and prices are subject to change without notice.
