Blog - 2018-19 Season

Blog

Category: 2018-19 Season

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Connections & Vulnerability: A Note from Michael Sakir

From Michael Sakir | Music Director: I grew up without any emotional connection to the United States Armed Forces. I was born on the “Left Coast” to two Baby Boomer hippies. I attended a small liberal arts college in the 2000s where we protested the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I lived most of my life detached from and even slightly distrustful of the military. That is, until very recently when this perspective was challenged in a rather unexpected way.     ... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, March 20, 2019
2018-19 Season Michael Sakir music director The Falling and the Rising U.S. Military Veterans

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Opera Memphis Celebrates Our Troops

Opera Memphis to celebrate our troops with premiere of The Falling and the Rising at Midtown Opera Festival 2019. This April, Opera Memphis’ seventh annual Midtown Opera Festival will be anchored by premiere performances of The Falling and the Rising, a new American story written by Memphis playwright Jerre Dye and composed by Opera Memphis favorite Zach Redler. The Falling and the Rising takes the stage at Playhouse on the Square April 6, 12, & 13 at 7:30 PM. Free tickets... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, March 13, 2019
2018-19 Season Armed Forces Midtown Opera Festival New American Opera U.S. Military Veterans

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Midtown Opera Festival 2019

Opera Memphis Announces Full Line-up for Midtown Opera Festival 2019 The seventh annual Midtown Opera Festival is upon us, and this year Opera Memphis is celebrating more than just opera. From the anchoring opera The Falling and the Rising celebrating our nation's troops, to the Festival Fringe Events celebrating everything from aerialists to Bugs Bunny to improv theatre to Broadway showtunes, this year's festival has something for everyone. CLICK HERE to find o... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, March 6, 2019
2018-19 Season Family friendly! Free Midtown Opera Festival

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Charlie Schaffler 2019 National Opera Trustee

Opera Memphis Trustee Charlie Schaffler One of Five Recipients of OPERA America 2019 National Trustee Recognition Award.   From Nicholas Wise at OPERA America: February 6, 2019 (New York) — OPERA America, the national service organization for opera and the nation's leading champion for American opera, is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2019 National Opera Trustee Recognition Awards. Now in their 12th year, t... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, February 20, 2019
2018-19 Season awards Charlie Schaffler national recognition OPERA America trustee

Monday, January 28, 2019

Dick Deadeye Related to Parks&Rec Jerry Gergich!

BREAKING NEWS: Dick Deadeye of H.M.S. Pinafore and Gary/Jerry/Larry/Terry Gergich/Gengurch of Parks and Rec actually related! Local researchers and art enthusiasts find "undeniable proof" that Jerry Gergich is great-great-great-great-great-great grandson of Dick Deadeye.  After weeks of late-night Netflix binges and scouring the internet for any scrap of information to support their claims, these researchers say the truth is undeniabl... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Monday, January 28, 2019
2018-19 Season Dick Deadeye HMS Pinafore

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Robert Orth Returns to Opera Memphis

World-renowned baritone Robert Orth returns to Opera Memphis after nearly two decades. The year was 1980. The hair was big, the shoulder pads bigger, and Opera Memphis was celebrating its 25th anniversary with an exceptional season including performances of Lucia Di Lammermoor, La Périchole, Madame Butterfly, and La Traviata. That November a young man with an indomitable moustache took the stage as Don Pedro in Jacques Offenbach's La Périchole and wowed audiences with his... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, January 16, 2019
2018-19 Season Baritone Gilbert & Sullivan HMS Pinafore Opera Memphis Celebs Robert Orth

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

A Victorian Holiday with Opera Memphis

Opera Memphis celebrates the holiday season with a new interactive operatic experience, A Victorian Holiday with Opera Memphis. This one-of-a-kind experience puts guests in the center of an 1890's holiday party with interactive characters and games, opera singers, caroling, Victorian Conjurer Jeffrey Day performing illusions on stage and amongst party-goers, and festive libations being served. The evening is tied together by an ongoing story of love lost and found that plays out ... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, December 5, 2018
2018-19 Season Family friendly! Holiday Victorian

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Yunah Lee Headlines in Madama Butterfly

"With her strong, forthright soprano, Yunah Lee brought unflagging stage presence and confidence to Butterfly, demonstrating the geisha's spine, not her victimhood," - The Wall Street Journal Opera Memphis opens its 2018-19 Season with Puccini's classic Madama Butterfly on Oct. 26 & 27 with internationally-acclaimed soprano Yunah Lee performing the title role of Cio-Cio-San, Madama Butterfly. Since her first performance of Madama Butterfly i... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, October 17, 2018
2018-19 Season Madama Butterfly Opera Memphis Celebs Puccini Soprano Yunah Lee

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

2018 Company Artist: Philip Himebook

"I'm a singer first, actor second, dancer never." - Philip Himebook Say, "Hello!" to Opera Memphis Company Artist Philip Himebook. A tenor who grew up in Huntsville, AL and Atlanta, GA, and a self-proclaimed rookie in the professional opera realm, Himebook grew up surrounded by music. His parents both have degrees in Music Education, his mother's parents were symphony musicians (violin and cello), his father's father was a member of the United... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, September 19, 2018
2018-19 Season HMS Pinafore Madama Butterfly Opera Memphis Celebs Philip Himebook Resident Artist Tenor

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

2018 Company Artist: Stephanie Doche

Say, "Hello!" to Stephanie Doche, one of our 2018 company artists. Stephanie Doche (rhymes with posh), was born in France and moved to the United States with her parents when she was 4 years old. Her love for music and opera began around this time between listening to Luciano Pavarotti and Friends on the stereo and encouragement she received from her grandmother to play piano and pursue music. Doche received her first solo during a kindergarten performance, and in high scho... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, September 5, 2018
2018-19 Season French-American Singer Mezzo Resident Artist Soprano Stephanie Doche