Congratulations, Joe!

Joseph Krzysiak (center), bassist with the Light Opera Works Orchestra, played his 50th show with the company at the opening production of our 29th season, Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music. Pictured with Joe are Conductor and Music Director RogerBingaman (left), and concertmaster Harvey Lobstein, (right). Members of the Light Opera Works are represented by the Chicago Federation of Musicians.

Waltz Time!

Here's Light Opera Works Music Director Roger Bingaman discussing the use of the waltz in Sondheim's A Little Night Music, playing through June 14 at Cahn Auditorium in Evanston. Roger spoke at our recent "At Home" event. For more about the waltz and A Little Night Music, come hear Mike Kotze's "Balcony Talk" on Sunday, June 14 at 12:45 in the upstairs Balcony of Cahn.

At Home with Light Opera Works

Last month we had our annual Season Opening Party for donors, generously hosted by board member Cathy Westphal and her husband Gary Raphael at their beautiful North Shore home.

Forty Light Opera Works supporters (including our Gala committee and Events staff, picture right) enjoyed wine, Sangria and a light buffet, and enjoyed meeting each other and several cast members from A Little Night Music.

I always enjoy speaking directly with our patrons, and it was great to introduce the season to such an intimate and enthusiastic crowd . The event is part of our At Home series, where patrons who make direct donations of at least $100 are invited to meet our actors and designers in homes and boutiques around Chicago and the North Shore.

Artistic Director Rudy Hogenmiller also spoke, telling us about Sondheim’s wonderful dancing script, and showing guests the designer’s model of the set. Said Rudy, “the show never stops moving, with scenes dancing in and out, so we’ve tried to make the set dance as well.” It was delightful watching Rudy, with his dancer’s background, practically start to dance himself as he enthusiastically described the show. You’ll get to see it all for yourself June 5 through 14 at Cahn Auditorium in Evanston.

Find out more about our production and buy tickets by visiting us at www.LightOperaWorks.com.

More than just Great Music Great Stories and Great Shows

Light Opera Works also offers great deals to our patrons who want to eat out before or after the show!

While we can't send you to Maxim's with Gigi and Gaston (picture) , we can introduce you to our Dining Partners just a few short blocks from Cahn Auditorium. These terrific Light Opera Works supporters also offer you, the patron, great deals—like a 15% discount with your ticket stubs at Prairie Moon, or 20% off on performance days at Trattoria Demi on Sherman Street in Downtown Evanston. Or you might think about joining us on New Year's Eve at Oceanique for exquisite 4-star pre-show dining.

Our restaurant partners are active sponsors, providing financial support for our programs. When you dine at one of these restaurants you help provide a direct financial benefit to Light Opera Works.

Our other Dining partners include Quince, Trattoria D.O.C. on Main Street, Lulu's dim sum & then sum, and Campagnola, all in Evanston.

photo credit: Chris Ocken, copyright 2008

Great Music, Great Stories, Great Shows and a Great Party!

It’s not all work here at Light Opera Works. Sometimes we get to cut a rug and bring our friends together for fun and fundraising. The stars and the checkbooks came out to support 2009 YouthReach and SeniorReach, with 150 people coming together to raise more than $45,000 for these great community engagement programs.

This year’s spring benefit was themed “A Devil-May-Care Affair,” chaired by Diane Blake and Lori Twombly and hosted by Jim and Rosemary Hughes in the beautiful terrace level at the North Shore Country Club in Glenview.

John and Lori Twombly (pictured, far left) also hosted a special V.I.P. reception, where guests at the Premium level met opera great Samuel Ramey and the Hon. Judy Baar Topinka (photo, center) at a private Champagne Reception. Later, following dinner, Light Opera Works presented Ms. Topinka with the Arts Advocacy Award while Mr. Ramey received the Artistic Excellence Award. Also pictured is event co-chair Diane Blake with Tom Blake (far right)

Charming as ever, star of Light Opera Works and Chicago theater James Harms acted as the evening’s Master of Ceremonies, with Artistic director Rudy Hogenmiller hosting a star-studded musical program. Featuring More great Light Opera Works favorites including Larry Adams , Natalie Ford, Jessye Wright, Catherine Lord and Jim Harms, with Linda Slein on piano, performed songs from the upcoming 2009 season. For a finale, they surprised honoree Samuel Ramey by leading the crowd in “Happy Birthday.” You’ll be able to see all of these critically acclaimed and award winning actors in our upcoming season.

I’m so grateful to everyone who came and to our wonderful sponsors. Flowers were provided by Carl Davenport of Davenport Designs and photography by Jennifer Schumann of Horizon Photography. Other sponsors were Abt Electronics, LaserStar Productions and Marcus Productions.

We have lots more events planned for the season, and of course our wonderful shows. Check out our website for details, and subscribe to this blog to get the latest updates and offers!
(photo credits: Jennifer Schumann, © 2009)

Yekatrinburg, Russia

This is the third in a series of three blogs about my autumn trip to Vienna, Budapest and Yekatrinburg, Russia.

This was my fourth time to the city of Yekatrinburg and has it changed! I have not been to Russia in eight years, and seeing it again was an experience in itself. It would take many pages to describe the changes. I will just say it is now much like any other place in Europe in regards to technology, but still retains its Russian soul (for better and worse). But this is about my experiences at the Svedlovsk State Academic Theater of Musical Comedy, a major state theater in the third largest city in the Russian Republic.













I was one of 10 international judges at the Second Vladimir Kurochkin International Competition of Young Artists of Operetta and Musicals. The other judges were from Hungary, Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.

The competitors, age 21 to 35, were professional performers from theaters all over Russia. They entered in one of three categories: Musical Theater, Operetta, Musical Theater Dance.

It was our job, as judges, to watch a first round of competition, where each of the contestants performed two pieces. Operetta was performed with live piano; musical theater with recorded accompaniment and dance with recorded music. We were asked to rate the performances on a scale of 0 to 25, and to judge overall performances; not just voices. Everything counted - presentation, choice of material, dancing, acting, singing etc.

We then had to eliminate about one-third of the contestants. Those remaining moved to a second round, where they again performed two pieces. Some had one new piece and repeated one from the first round; others had two new pieces. In this round the operetta contestants performed their selections with full orchestra. (Ah -- the glories of state funded theaters!)

The entire contest took place in the theater, with full tech -- lighting, sound, costumes (which the performers brought with them), etc. Each contestant received one rehearsal of each piece.

After this round we again rated the performers on the scale of 0 to 25. Following the tabulation, we discussed who should receive the grand prize; plus first, second and third prizes in each category, as well as honorable mentions.

Then all performers were invited to perform in the final Gala Concert. The judging was completed on Monday evening and the concert was on Wednesday evening.

The prizewinners knew they would receive a prize, but did not know what it would be -- maybe honorable mention, maybe grand prize. At the Gala Concert, members of the theater also performed, as well as several of the judges. There were other prizes awarded that did not come from the judges. The audience got to vote for an "Audience Favorite" and the family of Vladimir Kurochkin, the actor and director for whom the contest is named, was awarded a prize.

The entrance fee was 500 rubles. The prizes were pretty substantial -- $5,000 (yes, dollars) for the grand prize, $1,500 for each first prize, $1,000 for each second prize and $500 for each third prize. Honorable mentions received certificates. The special prizes got trophies.

In addition to the contest, the theater held a concurrent meeting of musical theater professors from 15 universities, who shared workshops and master classes on the teaching of musical theater. They also attended some of the competition rounds and the final Gala Concert.

I was able to attend several master classes in addition to the judging. The theater was not running their season yet; it started on October 3. It would have been interesting to see their new musical based on the life of Catherine the Great, but I had to get back for the opening of Side by Side by Sondheim at my theater, Light Opera Works.

I have never served on a jury before and it was a great experience. It was fascinating to hear the judges' widely divergent opinions of the performers, and wonderful to meet musical theater professionals from other nations. I have many fond memories of my week in Yekatrinburg.

Budapest

I was honored to be invited by one of Hungary's premiere actors and filmmakers, Robert Koltai, to attend a special invited performance of the musical “Sose halunk meg” which translates to " We Never Die".

The musical, which plays in the repertory of Jozsef Attila Szinhaz (Attila Jozsef Theatre) is based on Robert Koltai's 1994 hit film of the same name. Here is a link to the review of the movie: www.koltairobert.hu/sose.html

This musical is a current favorite in Budapest with more than 50 performances last season and many more performances scheduled for the coming year.

The story, also written by Koltai, is based on the life of his own real Uncle Gyuszi, a small time salesman, hustler, gambler and womanizer who leads his teenage nephew on a coming-of-age adventure in communist Hungary in the 1960's.

Mr. Koltai worked with composer Dés László and lyricist Nemes István to turn this popular movie into a stage musical with Koltai himself as Uncle Gyuszi.

I found the show to be delightful and moving. A true love story between a nephew and his uncle and between the uncle and life. Of course, the performance was in Hungarian, but the humanity of the story transcended the language barrier. The music is catchy - ranging from 1960's pop, to gypsy folk, to contemporary jazz and more. I find myself popping the CD in my car player as I drive around Chicago -caught up in its infectious good feeling - even though I do not know a word of Hungarian.

The production's scenery is a minimal unit set that functions for many locations. The 1960's are evoked with the period costumes. An added bonus is the parade of Hungarian stage legends playing a number of compelling characters that the pair encounter on their journey.

The only drawback to the production was the use of recorded music. The theater in which it is performed is traditionally a drama theater and does not usually produce musicals - so there is no place for live musicians. But that aside, if you are traveling to Budapest - Check out “Sose halunk meg”