May I have Just One Minute Of Your Time?

Everyone enjoys opera, but they may not know it.

I love opera, and I am not afraid to tell you about it. I won't mince words - I think it is the greatest art form there is.

Yet I get "looks" when I tell this to some of  the guys at work. I do get more sympathy from the women in the office (bless their hearts)... but even some of them struggle at the thought of  sitting through "opera." How can there be people who don't understand how great it is?

How do I convince these skeptics to try opera?

I talk and talk. Write and write. Post and post. But all of that cannot convey what opera is, and more importantly how it affects you. I know this is an art form everyone can relate to, no matter what their background is. I know opera can touch people who have never experienced opera before! But how do I break the spell of this mysterious and scary word "opera" and it's effects on those non-believers around me?

Then a magical moment happened! Fresco Opera was invited to the Fire and Ice Ball at the Majestic Theater in Madison. We knew this would probably not be a "typical" opera going crowd. But we pursued it, knowing we are not a "typical" opera company. Our mission is to introduce opera to new audiences. The audience at the Majestic that night certainly fit the bill.

Directors Melanie and Frank Cain, along with singer Holly Flack presented a Fresco piece and captured it on tape. And something magical happened.

Give me just one more minute of your time.

Watch the first minute of this video. If you don't think you like opera, I think you will love this. If you love opera, you will witness a response you may have never heard at an operatic performance. This group of people, many of whom were hearing Fresco Opera for the first time, reacted in a way we could only dream about before this event.

One minute. Watch and listen.

PS - This is the Diva Dance from Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor: “Il dolce suono”, the mad scene of Act II, Scene 2. You may know it better as the part in "The Fifth Element" where the blue lady sings.


Jeff Turk
Fresco Opera Theatre
www.frescooperatheatre.com

Leonora, Fresco's Tamer Of The Beasts

Abominable One! Where are you going with your wild anger?

  The voice of humanity won’t tame your tiger will.

  Even through your wild soul, I see a rainbow.

  So quiet and pure, you make my blood flow.

  Come, hope.  May the stars illuminate my goal.

"Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?" from Fidelio by Beethoven

Presenting Melanie Cain As Leonora The Tiger Tamer!

Melanie Cain/ Director and Leonora - Tamer of the Beasts 

Melanie Cain, Soprano, holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance and Opera Production and a Masters of Music from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

A native of Carroll, Iowa, she received her BA in both Music and Art from Luther College in Decorah, IA.  Ms. Cain was Assistant Director/Stage Manager of the UW Opera’s productions of Orpheus in the Underworld, Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte and Le Nozze di Figaro, and Carmen  under the direction of William Farlow. She was administrator and project manager for Dorian Opera Theatre for several seasons. Currently she operates a successful private home studio. 

Melanie has performed both in the Madison area and nationally receiving rave reviews.  The Capital Times wrote, “Melanie Cain sang with a gorgeous range and a strong, thrilling voice that projected to the top row. Cain is a graduate student in vocal performance with a big career ahead of her.” 

Her past roles include Second Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, The Mother and The Witch in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Madame Lidoine in The Dialogues of the Carmelites, Alice Ford in Falstaff, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus. She has also studied the roles of Leonora in Beethoven’s Fidelio, Miss Jessel in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, the title role from Gluck’s Armide and Salome in Herodiade by Massenet in UW’s Opera Workshop.  While at UW, Cain understudied the well known soprano, Julia Faulkner, in the title role of Vanessa. She has been a finalist and semi-finalist in numerous national vocal competitions including the Orpheus National Vocal Competition in Tennessee and the prestigious Jenson Vocal Competition in New York.

http://www.overturecenter.com/production/big-top-opera

Fresco's Big Top Opera Featuring Leonore - The Tamer Of Beasts

Fresco Opera Theatre is proud to present Fresco's Big Top Opera, a spectacular show unlike anything you have seen before, or are likely see outside of our ring.

A combination of fine music and circus feats, presenting such acts as Sizzle Cisler the Fire Breather, Princess Charming the Half-Man/Half-Woman, the Strong Man - Ben the Barbarian, The Inseparable Suramese Twins, Amina the Airwalker, Baba the Bearded Lady, Leonora the Tamer of Beasts, and THE WHEEL OF DEATH!

There will also be a cavalcade of side show attractions, including performance artists and acrobats as well as a world premiere composition that is sure to please.

And we will be sending in plenty of clowns!

Fresco's Big Top Opera will be an EXTRAVAGANZA FOR THE SENSES! A SPECTACLE BEYOND BELIEF! A ONCE IN A LIFETIME ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE! (And it will all be done without those annoying circus smells)


September 30th 7:30 - 9:30 pm
October 1st 2:30 - 4:30 pm (Matinee) and 7:30 - 9:30 pm

Overture Center - Promenade Hall
201 State Street
Madison WI 53703

Reserved Seating $25
Overture Center Box Office (608) 258-4141

http://www.overturecenter.com/production/big-top-opera

The Challenges In Making A Wheel Of Death

When Melanie told Fresco she wanted a wheel of death for one of the Big Top numbers, I was interested.  I figured it will be something people would remember.  After all, you don't see a singer singing while being spun on a wheel with knives being thrown at her every day.

But then the obvious question:  How does one go about building a "Wheel of Death?"

Rough Sketch Number 1.  Back To The Drawing Board.

I contacted Master Carpenter Mike Gilmore and gave him a simple challenge:  Build Fresco a Wheel of Death that will not fall apart and potentially kill the singer... and do it as cheap as possible.  At Fresco it isn't about the money, but let's face it:  We are a fine arts group, doing our thing during one of the worst economic times our country has seen in like a million years.  And we gotta eat too! 

Luckily, Mike is a pretty talented guy.  He did a nice job on our coffin, and built a lovely electric chair that didn't electrocute the singer for our Ding Dong The Divas Dead show.  The guy is pretty good with "death" construction that is "life" friendly.  Not to mention he believes in being green, which makes us feel a little better in that we aren't killing trees to build it.

So he did a little sketch, came up with the materials, and is in the process of creating what will no doubt be a memorable part of the show.  He will be the first to ride the wheel, ensuring no disasters during the show - particularly the matinee where we are going for a more family oriented crowd. 

This Is What We Are Talking About!

The last thing we want to do is put Caitlin Cisler in harms way.  She is one of our featured singers, and we need her to come out for the finale!  Plus we would rather not have Jonathan Ten Brink singing to a spinning wheel with the girl knocked out on stage.

I think we will have a winner here.... (fingers crossed)  I haven't talked with Caitlin too much about the wheel.  I hope she is up for a little topsy turvy while belting out Rigoletto.  Does Dramamine affect the vocal chords at all?  At least we have some spare clowns to clean up any unfortunate messes.  That is something you normally see at a circus, anyway.

http://www.frescooperatheatre.com/upcoming-performances.html



Jeff Turk

Fresco Opera Theatre

A Day At The Circus World With Max

Max Wendt is a phenomenal photographer.  He has done our last two promotional posters, featuring Emily Morrison-Weeks and Dominick Carmine Giannattasio (I call them Em and Dom to make things easier for me).  Fresco receives a lot of positive feedback about these posters, due to the artistry of Max.                                                                                      



Print from "Ding Dong The Divas Dead" - by Max Wendt

Dueling Divas and Ding Dong The Divas Dead were solo shots - single posters.  And they were in studio.  We knew with Fresco's Big Top Opera we had an opportunity from an artistic standpoint to really stretch out creatively when it came to shooting promotional shots.  The characters of a circus lend themselves to interesting pictures.  The fact we have a U.S. National Landmark in Circus World Museum practically in our backyard was also a bonus.

Melanie and Frank Cain, along with Max, went to Circus World Museum to scope out the potential shoot.

The first thing that hits you as you walk through the doors of Circus World is history, with all of the vintage posters and props that surround you.  Our challenge was choosing among the many elements to use for a backdrop.  The trio found some very suitable shot sites.

Another element that makes our Big Top promotional pictures interesting is the costuming.  Melanie has a specific vision of the show in terms of the look.  After the day at Circus World, she came away knowing exactly the look she was after.  I won't spoil anything here by describing it.  We want you to see for yourself when the time comes.  But I will say without hesitation, that the costumes Melanie has chosen are the most interesting Fresco has ever displayed.

Dueling Divas II - Promo By Max Wendt

On a hot Tuesday in early July, Em, Dom, Frank, Melanie, Max and myself ventured to Circus World for "the shoot."  It was a very sunny day, which created tons of "hot spots" for Max to contend with, which can be very challenging for any photographer.

There is no "Auto-Shoot" with Max.  Everything he does - the lighting and settings - is manual.  I was in awe of all the gear he had in the back of his Subaru hatch back... multiple lights, cameras, lenses, filters, stands, batteries, more cameras.  It was really incredible!  I say this because even with all of that gear, he knew what he needed, when he needed it and how to use it.  Sure, we could have used our iPhones and snapped a few shots, done some photo shop work and made a poster.  But his pictures have a depth to them you don't see in a typical promotional poster.  They themselves are works of art.  You don't want to open them and say like any other posting and say "yep," only to close them and go on to looking at other posts from your friends on FB.



Max working his magic at Circus World

 Max's work pops out at you - and you have to look at his images.  I know a lot of people who have permanently "borrowed" our posters to hang up in their houses.

We spent the entire day taking hundreds of pictures.  We will most likely use only a few - the best - for our formal promotion.  These pictures capture the mood of what will be Fresco's Big Top Opera, and we could not achieve that without the tremendous talents of someone we are proud to call the official Fresco photographer - Max Wendt.

http://www.maxwendtphotography.com/

Jeff Turk
Fresco Opera Theatre

We Are The Champions - Again!

After several performances in several cities, Fresco Opera Theatre has completed its run of Dueling Divas II.  And judging by the reaction of the cast, crew and audiences, it was a complete success.

What is the key to Fresco Opera Theatre’s success? We enjoy what we do. Our passions are opera, and creating new operatic performances that engage audiences. We also want our musicians to have fun performing in the style that is uniquely Fresco.  If we accomplish these goals, we can’t lose. And so far, we have a perfect record.

Melanie Cain, Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Fresco Opera Theatre, has created performances where audience members don’t have to worry about being trapped in a 4 hour study hall. Fresco audiences have been exposed to many different operatic styles within the confines of a quick-paced show. After each performance of Dueling Divas II we have heard “I didn’t know I liked opera!” which is music to our ears, and a check mark in the win column.

We have also ventured out past the Madison boundaries, with performances in Appleton WI and La Crosse WI. Our performance at the Trout Museum in Appleton was our second visit there. Last year, we took a condensed version of “Ding Dong, The Diva’s Dead” and staged it in the museum with an audience of approximately 120 people. This year with Dueling Divas II, the museum had to make a waiting list for the overflow of new opera lovers. Another check mark in the win column.

Through the connections in La Crosse of Jess Salek, our Musical Director, we were able to perform a benefit for the La Crosse Historical Society. For a crowd that rarely gets the chance to experience opera, their response to the performance was overwhelming. We were featured on the local news and in the La Crosse Tribune. I don’t know if words can convey the satisfaction we feel when an audience not familiar with the fine arts gives a standing ovation for classical music. Put one more check in the win column.

Fresco Opera Theatre is getting noticed. We will be featured in a prominent arts publication this summer and have been contacted by organizations all around the mid-west. One audience member at our Appleton show, who is associated with a well-known opera company, told us what we are doing is amazing. He went on to say he was going to a production the following day, and that after watching DDII, he knew he would be bored by that production. And this was a seasoned opera veteran. WIN!

A lot of work goes into our productions, but it is a labor of love for us all. The Directors work tirelessly to put out a high caliber performance, making it look effortless. The end result is a magical connection between the audience and performers. And thanks to the hard work and devotion of the Fresco organization, we have a perfect record.

We closed each of the Dueling Divas II shows with the cast coming out on stage and singing Queen’s “We are the Champions,” having the audience sing along. Appropriate considering the operatic nature of the popular music group, and appropriate in capping off our production of Dueling Divas II.



The Fresco Directors / Founders.  Artistic Director, Melanie Cain, pictured with Executive Director (and Announcer) Frank Cain at the Trout Museum in Appleton