About our production of "Diamonds and Toads"
"I could not leave school without letting you know how much we all enjoyed your performance today.  The children and teachers have not stopped talking about it.  Bravo!  You were all fantastic!"

About our production of "Amahl and the Night Visitors"

January 14. 2009 10:15AM
‘Amahl’ production WOWs audience

Worcester area residents found a belated Christmas present at the First Baptist Church on Friday night as WOW, Worcester Opera Works, presented Gian Carlo Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” and wow was felt by all with their gift.

They say great gifts come in small packages, and I’m here to attest that is true. Working from a small stage, with no real wings, stage director Rebecca Grimes, musical director Ian Watson and choreographer Cory Lane Anderson took us all to another time and place, in as tight and beautifully sung a presentation that could have been found at the Met.

Commissioned by NBC in 1951 to write an opera for television, Menotti was at first reluctant to do so, until he saw a painting of Bosch’s “Adoration of the Magi,” and the story of “Amahl” quickly emerged.

The music is carefully written, especially for the treble lead, and puts the opera within easy reach of amateurs, but it is in no way simple or dull. Its tight construction, sentimentality and humor make it the quintessential vehicle to introduce opera to children.

On stage Friday night were no amateurs, beginning with sixth-grader Ryan Matthew Beals as Amahl. A student at the Sherwood Middle School in Shrewsbury, Ryan began performing at age 7, and he looks as at home on stage as Manny Ramirez must have looked when he first put a bat in his hand. This boy can act, and it was very easy to follow the opera through his actions.

The curricula vitae of the rest of the main singers made you wonder how Elaine Crane, WOW’s executive director, was able to assemble them all for the small stage at Gordon Hall, for the singing was incredible. Mezzo Mauri Tetreault, as the mother, had the most difficult role to play. Hers is an extensive part that requires a lot of emotion, but you have to be careful to be not too operatic. This she accomplished while still being able to show the struggles her character was undergoing.

The three kings, William Posey (King Kaspar), Dave Bonneau (King Balthazar) and John Salvi (King Melchoir), with Andrea Pisani (Page), brought out all the purpose of their journey, with fine singing and humor. Hearing baritone John Salvi’s King Melchoir made the price of admission the bargain of the year.

Kudos also to Cory Anderson for such an entertaining dance set, while keeping all 10 dancers from falling off the stage.

That indispensable gem of Worcester, Ian Watson, led the small assemble of musicians (Ian Watson piano, Joe Halko and Chris Hewes oboe) through a wonderful rendition of the score, while at the same time directing the chorus from the keyboard.

Great cities are blessed with great cultural institutions. With Opera Worcester, the Worcester Chorus and the Worcester Collegium orchestra, Worcester certainly qualifies. The Worcester Opera Works can now be added to that group.

Bravo WOW.

About our production of "The Impresario" and "The Beautiful Bridegroom"

"I had the pleasure of attending Worcester Opera Works productions at Gordon Hall on February 23 in Worcester, MA.  The BEAUTIFUL BRIDEGROOM was a delightful and engaging story of trickery and matchmaking. The performances were very strong and the characters were well formed and consistent. The voices were wonderful to listen to with their clarity and versatility, supporting the characters with wonderful interpretations and phrasing. Elaine Crane as Pernille was delightful in her planning and manipulating of the action. The performances of Erin Conley and  Elizabeth Gondek as sisters Leonora and Laurentia were especially strong in their girlish interpretations and strong singing.

I found THE IMPRESARIO to be equally wonderful and really enjoyed the vocal sparing between Rebecca Grimes as Miss Sweetsong and Stephanie Mann as Madame Silberklang. Both showed incredible range and versatility and wonderful interpretations of the music and characters. The male supporting cast was very strong and successfully moved the plot in a very entertaining way with great spirit.

The set was simple and appropriate to both pieces changing quickly from one to the next. Elaine Crane did admirably with costumes adding color to the scene, supporting and enhancing the characters.

Worcester Opera Works provided me with a wonderful evening of Opera. I commend them for a job well done."

About our production of "The Marriage of Figaro"

"YOU DID IT AND WITH STYLE AND GRACE! The orchestra, voices, costumes and staging were just awesome."

"The creative and simple set piece brought focus to the many intrigues of this opera buffa...I loved the voices blending in wonderful harmonies and the artful direction that kept the comedic contrast of motives and plot twist in view...  I was especially grateful that the opera was performed in English. I think the English version of the libretto keeps the characterizations accessible to contemporary audiences... The sophistication of the use of music to tell the story is Mozart’s genius and your performances gave that genius its greatest compliment."

"...*everything* was incredible.  I can't wait to see your next production."

"It was fantastic...directing, music, singing, costumes, everything."

"It was a charming performance."

"I could not agree more with the music critic, it was just wonderful... We sure have some wonderful talent in the area."

"You have set a very high bar for yourself with this exceptional presentation.  The colorful costumes, ingenious stage setting and creative stage business were exceeded only by the many beautiful voices and the musicality of their interpretation of the score.  We so enjoyed Sunday’s performance and eagerly await news of your next production!"

Our review from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette (June 17, 2007)

Sunday, June 17, 2007 Opera Works’ ‘Figaro’ has stark set, lush singing Local talent puts texture into a classic MUSIC REVIEW By John Zeugner Telegram & Gazette Reviewer Sopranos Grimes and Crane bring clear-toned dignity and elegance to their roles, and LaBarre conveys the cunning, confusion and ultimate powerlessness of the count.   Evidence of a strengthening transformation of Worcester’s local classical music scene continues to pile up. Case in point: Worcester Opera Works, a 5-years-young outfit that began as an outreach to students in the area and has evolved to a fully staged production of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” on Friday night, with a repeat performance this afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Warner Theatre on the campus of Worcester Academy.  (Yes,there is still time! Set aside that last bagel and hasten over to the Warner Theater, itself an intimate, columned venue worth seeing.)  The performance is ingeniously staged with a minimalist set — a chair, a closet, a doorway, a raked slightly elevated walkway surrounding the stage. By way of stunning contrast, the costumes are lush, brilliantly colored flowing hoop skirts, long coats in tan and black, capes in red and blue, with nifty faience on the stark set. In the pit, five string players anchored by Ian Watson’s always vigorous, impeccable keyboard work, accompany 11 first-class singers. Musical director Michael Lapomardo keeps Mozart’s glorious “singspiel” spinning steadily forward, cresting into those unbelievable golden quartets, quintets and sextets that climax each of the four acts. Mozart’s singable melodies seem spread evenly among the cast, but the ultimate impact of the performance swings on the competence of the two lead couples, Figaro and his would-be bride, Susanna (Brian Ballard and Rebecca Grimes), Count and Countess Almaviva (Jonathan LaBarre and Elaine Crane), and the epicene, hyper-innocent, hyper-hormonal, aptly named Cherubino (Jacque Eileen Wilson). These five rise beautifully to the occasion. Ballard brings authority, command and a sturdy voice to Figaro, as well as comic adroitness to the some of the slapstick, while at the same time suggesting through the dark texture of his singing that this opera buffa, for all its frolic and misfired assignations possesses a lyric music that in Maynard Solomon’s words can “disturb the sleep of the world.” Sopranos Grimes and Crane bring clear-toned dignity and elegance to their roles, and LaBarre well conveys the cunning, confusion and ultimate powerlessness of the count. Ms. Wilson emerged the audience favorite in the final standing ovation curtain calls, as Cherubino, sweetly delivering the arias, “Is it pain, is it pleasure …” and “Tell me, fair ladies …” and broadly mugging her way through the required double cross-dressing. As the recent closed-circuit broadcasts of the Met in New York indicate, opera may be the best vehicle for rescuing classical composition from its aging aficionados. This splendid production by Worcester Opera Works demonstrates the depth of the talent in the area. So does the appearance of the Worcester Collegium at the recent St. Paul’s Festival. Both entities are tied to student proselytizing. Such home-grown magical music-making deserves celebration, support and, most of all, profound gratitude.