Opera isn't dying, but you can find it at Green-Wood Cemetery

Andrew Bogard and Samantha Hankey

Opera isn't dying, but it will be at the Green-Wood Cemetery starting on June 6th and making a ghostly reappearance on June 8 and 10.

The world premiere of David Hertzberg's chamber opera The Rose Elf will be presented in the catacombs of the historic cemetery, which was founded in 1838. The opera will be directed by the visionary director R. B. Schlather and features bass-barihunk Andrew Bogard, along with the amazing, award-winning mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey, as well as lyric soprano Alisa Jordheim and hunkentenor Kyle Bielfield.

The Rose Elf, which is based on Hans Christian Anderson's 1839 story The Elf of the Rose,  tells the tale of two lovers torn apart by a senseless act of violence; and of a strange and sensuous being, at once near and distant, who witnesses this tragedy and is transformed.

Andrew Bogard (left) and Kyle Bielfield (right)

When the "rural cemetery" movement started in the 1830's and burials moved from churches to park-like settings, cemeteries became gathering places for the public. They were often designed by noted landscape architects like Frederick Law Olmsted and included Victorian gardens, beautiful statues, fountains and gathering areas.

Opera companies are also seeking out more original spaces to perform operas, with West Edge Opera performing in an abandoned train station and an old pipe and steel factory, On Site Opera put on a production at Madame Tussauds Wax museum as well as the Bronx Zoo, and an interactive opera was performed at the old Los Angeles Train Station complete with headphones and unsuspecting passengers as part of the "cast".

The amazing young mezzo Samantha Hankey:

For The Rose Elf, spectators will be placed in long single rows along the sides of the central space, with a nine-piece orchestra at the far end and the singers moving up and down. The catacombs, which were built in the 1850s are normally closed to the public. Ticket information is available online.

Andrew Bogard has a Master of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School. He won first place in the 2014 Mario Lanza Scholarship Competition, second place and audience choice in the 2015 Cooper-Bing Opera Columbus Competition, and was a Mid-Atlantic regional finalist and encouragement award recipient in the 2015 MET Competition. Last season he joined the Washington National Opera's Young Artist Program, where he sang the title role in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and Leporello in Don Giovanni.

Three Barihunks Advance at Metropolitan Opera Auditions in Wisconsin

Darik Knutsen (Top), Joseph Beutel (r), Anthony Reed (l)

 
Three barihunks were among the five singers selected by judges to advance to the next round at Saturday's Wisconsin District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Bass-baritone Joseph Beutel,  bass Anthony Reed and baritone Darik Knutsen will join mezzo-soprano Kathryn Leemhuis and soprano Alisa Jordheim in the next round of competition. Anthony Reed was also chosen to perform a Florentine Opera recital.

The five will next compete at the Upper Midwest Regional in St. Paul, Minnesota on February 4, 2012.

Joseph Beutel

Joseph Beutel is an emerging bass-baritone originally from Indiana.  For the Minnesota Opera this season, he will appear as the British Major in Silent Night, Le Bailli in Werther, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor and the Bonze in Madame Butterfly, and covering the role of Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte.  He has joined the Minnesota Opera’s Resident Artist program after spending the summer as a Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist, where he covered the role of Méphistophélès in Faust and the Catholic Priest in The Last Savage. Previous roles have also included the Impresario/Direttore in the young artist production of Viva La Mamma! at Seattle Opera; Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Mustafà in L’italiana in Algeri, Simone in Gianni Schicchi, and Herr Reich in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor for IU Opera Theatre and the Sergeant in Pirates of Penzance

Darik Knutsen

Darik Knutsen, baritone from McLean, VA is excited to make his Kennedy Center debut with Evelyn Lear's Wagner Society, as well as his Madison Opera debut in Phillip Glass's Galileo Galilei this season. He also looks forward to recitals with the American Opera Society of Chicago and with the Lyric Opera of Chicago's Wilmette Chapter. The past two summers Knutsen was an Apprentice with the Santa Fe Opera where he sang the role of Wagner in Faust (2011) and Schlemil in The Tales of Hoffmann (2010).       

Here is Darik Knutsen rehearsing with Mark S. Doss, who was Mephistopheles in the Santa Fe Opera's production of Faust last season:

Knutsen has also worked with the Chicago Opera Theater for the past two seasons where he sang the role of Arcas in Charpentier's Médée (2011), and understudied the role of Charlie in Jake Heggie's Three Decembers (2010). Other operatic experience includes the title role of Eugene Onegin at the Chautauqua Institute of Music, as well as Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte and Peachum in The Threepenny Opera at Northwestern University. Knutsen is the recipient of numerous awards including 2nd Place Winner in the Central Region Finals of the Metropolitan Council Auditions (2010), Winner of the American Opera Society Scholarship (2011), and 1st Place in the Bel Canto Foundation of Chicago (2011). Mr. Knutsen is a current voice student of Marlena Malas.

Anthony Reed

Bass Anthony Reed hails from Alexandria, Minnesota, attended the University of Wisconsin at Eau-Claire and was part of the 2011 Seagle Music Colony.

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