A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
A recent trek up the tallest mountain in the contiguous U.S. reminded me of the sheer power and awesome beauty of nature. Impossible to ignore, everyone on the mountain's trail bonded in an impromptu community of respect for the wilderness surrounding them. The grandeur of nature, it seems, has a knack for bringing people together. Afterwards, upon returning to the concrete and glass of our city, it's easy to get lost in the practicalities of an urban jungle; it takes special effort to maintain a feeling of mutual connection to one another and to our planet.
As we all endeavor to move toward more environmentally sustainable means of living, artists and audiences alike should regularly ask themselves: how does what we do impact the environment? City Opera strives to employ the latest eco-friendly and carbon footprint reducing technologies via maintaining a nearly paperless office, by minimizing travel and fuel costs through our focus on homegrown talent, by an outreach program that goes to schools rather than bringing (bussing) schools to us, and by our use of time-sharing vehicles (like Zipcar) for production related transport.
The real contribution our company makes, however, isn't only by jumping on the bandwagon of acknowledging the world's fragility. We also educate audiences in how to best address the globe's increasing smallness, by showing how other citizens of the planet get the job done . Our enthusiasm for "going green" may be relatively new to our contemporary American way of life, but many cultures abroad have lived close to the soil for thousands of years. Some of the customs which have honored Mother Earth since time immemorial are still very much alive beyond our shores.
This season, many of City Opera's artists hail from places where music and dance still highlight special relationships between us and the Earth we inhabit. Our new outreach program is bringing the joyful and exotic energy of these ceremonies right to your neighborhoods and to your schools. Not only does it make for fantastic entertainment, but for a richer, deeper, and grander celebration of the big, blue spinning ball we all call home.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
IMMERSING STUDENTS IN A WORLD OF POSSIBILITES
CITY OPERA ENABLES STUDENTS AT MELROSE ELEMENTARY TO TOUR THE GLOBE!
An unprecedented and highly interactive day of total
cultural immersion greeted the students of Melrose Elementary as they joined the illustrious Dr. Romulus
Delacroix on an unforgettable and eye-opening journey to the four
corners of the globe. This
special event transformed their campus into a real world adventure.
With the guidance of some of LA's most notable musicians, parents and
students—passports in hand—were transported to strange, new lands. The school's teachers, costumed in authentic native garb, officiated some of humanity's most exotic rites and rituals.
World-Famous Matador Trainer Coleman Cooney & Mojacar Flamenco
Destinations included a stopover in Europe to visit a Spanish Toreo de Salon (bullfighting academy) where a genuine matador taught students the death-defying ballet of challenging horns with a capote
while other students participated in the hot-blooded and assertive
gestures of flamenco dance; their travels to China included an elegant
and authentic tea ceremony and the graceful and rhapsodic music of a gu
zheng virtuoso; a short visit to a tipi on the Great Plains of North
America brought them next to a crackling fire and the velvety tone of a
wooden flute, where they learned about the evocative environmental
ceremonies of the Lakota Sioux; the day ended in a small village in
the West African nation of Cameroon where the invigorating and energizing rhythm of tribal drumming and communal dancing had everyone celebrating our tiny world.
CITY OPERA, BRASIL BRAZIL, & CAPOEIRA BRASIL AT ROSEMONT MIDDLE SCHOOL—A SAMBA, CANDOMBLÉ, & CAPOEIRA EXPO!
City Opera presented Brasil Brazil and Capoeira Brasil, an electrifying pairing of one of the most exciting bands in Latin music today with expert ritual movement and dance from their colorful South American homeland. Demonstrating the origin of breakdancing while amping up the high-octane samba rhythms of the music was the explosive martial arts footwork and spinning headstands of master capoeiristas.
LEVERAGING RESOURCES THROUGH CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS
CITY OPERA & THE DA CAMERA SOCIETY OF MOUNT ST. MARY'S COLLEGE AT GERMAIN STREET ELEMENTARY
"I have been an educator for 32 years and I have never seen a presentation of such high caliber. The musicians lit up the space with their dazzling melodies as they played their instruments and moved throughout the audience telling a story without words. The children were mesmerized and I was so pleased that they were able to understand and explicate the underlying themes."
—Sonia Ugarte, Principal, Germain Elementary School.
City Opera teamed up with The Da Camera Society of Mount St. Mary's College to present The Syrinx, the company's first original production. The Syrinx redefines the musical outreach experience for young people with an immensely engaging and incredibly kinetic concert presentation that enchants kids and teachers alike. Based in part on the work of Joseph Campbell and fully choreographed by Mecca Andrews of Hysterica Dance Company (with additional movement consultation provided by the avante garde Osseus Labyrint's Hannah Sim), The Syrinx is a contemporary and living fable of a young girl who steps outside the drudgery of her daily routine and into a dream world of warring woodwind and string instrument tribes. With the help of some of LA's very finest musicians, the story's heroine engaged and inspired students as she discovered how to reconcile the orchestra through her (and the school's!) latent talent of dance.
Delivering more than just assembly performances, City Opera's three-year residency on the campus of Germain Elementary enabled students to begin an instrumental music program during the school day as part of their regular curriculum. Working with the generous help of the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation and the school's administration, City Opera enabled students to receive string instruments as well as highly qualified instrumental music instruction.
CELEBRATING NEARLY A DECADE OF PARTNERING WITH SCHOOLS COUNTYWIDE
One
of the very first participants in the L.A. Unified School District's
Arts Community Partnership Network, CITY OPERA rolls-out new K-12
educational programs every academic
year. Click here
to learn more about how you can bring CITY OPERA to your school this
year, and don't forget to take a look at our exciting line-up of
professional concert artists, all of whom are available for outreach
performances.
Here's just a small sample of some of the schools we've worked with this year:
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Germain Street Elementary
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Vena Elementary
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Theresa Hughes Elementary
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Arlington Heights Elementary
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Liberty Elementary
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It's not too late to add your school here!
THIS SEASON
BRASIL BRAZIL
Celebrating cultural diversity in the workplace, the illustrious divas Sonia
Santos
and Ana Gazzola of Brasil Brazil wow Sempra Energy employees starting
at the beautiful
Gas Company Tower downtown on October 23rd, and follow with special
concerts at Gas Company of Southern California locations throughout LA.
ARPA Y AULOS
In the Rafael Room at the General Consulate of Mexico.
2401 West 6th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90057
Free parking
Information: 213.351.6800
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
ANDREA PUENTE
Originally from Mexico City, CITY OPERA's harpist, Andrea Puente, was interviewed this past season by La Opinión, the nation’s largest Spanish language daily newspaper. You can read the interview (in Spanish, of course!) at La Opinión Digital by clicking here.
Andrea talks about her role and success as a first generation
artist-educator and the special importance of music education within
L.A.'s Latin-American community.
AND SO MUCH MORE!
City Opera is unlike any other arts institution or live entertainment
production company in Los Angeles. Featuring one of the best and most
eclectic rosters of classical, crossover, and world music, dance, and
theatrical performing artists in the city, we turn special places into
special events, and special events into unforgettable and engaging
occasions. Educational entertainment--"edutainment"--is central to what we do, whether on stage in an arena of 20,000 fans or a "cafetorium" of 200 students, if you're looking for a way to make how you live, work,
learn, or play more culturally valuable, beautiful, and diverse, you
found it!
City
Opera is so much more than an opera company! We started off by
producing opera almost 10 years ago, and quickly became one of the most unique,
diverse, and exciting performing arts companies in LA a cooperative
social enterprise featuring some of the most creative talent from
around the globe.
Our
goal is to transform your community into a culture of personally
meaningful collaboration, international awareness, and positive,
open-ended change. We're working hard to redefine the role of the arts,
entertainment, and education in our neighborhoods and in contemporary society at large.
Committed to our social contract to change the world by changing our home, City Opera's
artists donate a significant portion of their income to global
charities, most often based in their country of origin. City Opera
matches the generosity of its artists with direct contributions to local charities
based in L.A.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM PAST SEASONS
City Opera opens for Mayor Villagairosa
at the Los Angeles Convention Center
CITY OPERA's Brasil Brazil with Mayor Villaraigosa (standing center)
CITY OPERA kicked off L.A. City's 2006 "Congress of Neighborhoods". The event was sponsored by the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment and staged at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The company provided music just before Mayor Antonio Villagairosa's opening speech and served as the city's first official entertainment partner at this annual event.
Brasil Brazil began the day on the main stage, and later, Arpa y Aulos provided music at the congress' VIP luncheon and reception. Approximately 1000 community stakeholders and neighborhood council members attended the event throughout the day. The company's general and artistic director, Sean Bradley, addressed the congress and invited members from the more than 90 certified neighborhood councils throughout Los Angeles to partner with CITY OPERA in its local educational programs and community redevelopment initiatives.
City Opera Wows Kids at Liberty Elementary in Southgate, an All American City
Before embarking on a world tour with legendary rock guitarist Steve Vai, City Opera was fortunate enough to connect with U.S. Fiddling champ Alex Depue. Mr. Depue, as well as local rock and jazz icon Robert Anderson from String Project L.A., amazed kids and teachers alike with their brilliant and electrified playing, and by demonstrating the relevance of these instruments in contemporary music. Chinese gu zheng virtuoso Bei Bei He and harpist Andrea Puente rounded out the day, drawing multicultural connections to string music from around the world. Mr. Depue's solo arrangements of "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes, and "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson brought the house down in uproarious applause.
