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Newsletter of the Manatee Guild Early Spring 2021

HAPPENINGS PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Preludes/Prologues

The Opera is pleased to present the following introductions to the Winter Season . Please stay tuned for instructions to join these meetings online.

Tuesday, 3/30/21 4:00 PM – Il signor Bruschino, Scott Guinn. Reserve here. How sweet it was to get together last month for our first event of the year. We will meet again at the Tuesday, 4/6/21 4:00 PM – Dido & Aeneas, Opera House on April 13th. Look on the last page in Rosanne Martorella, PhD Reserve here. this issue for more information. As more and more of us are vaccinated, I look forward to a reopening of monthly meetings next year.

Everyone at our February event was very happy to be back with their Sarasota Opera family. DeRenzi, Richard Russell, Scott Guinn and Nancy Guyer gave us a very warm welcome and we are so grateful that they opened the Courtyard to us for some socializing, and a beautiful concert by the covers (understudies) of this year’s operas. We were all thrilled by the peformances, and the artists were so grateful to have such an appreciative audience.

Our long time member, Virginia Page died in February. Virginia was a dedicated party goer and always attended our Gala and later our Soirée. As a columnist for the Bradenton Herald, Virginia covered the art scene in Bradenton and Sarasota Also, she devoted so much energy to presenting at our Preludes and later as a Greeter, she directed us to the Preludes at the Towers building at Westminster.

We received a dear letter from a Youth Opera singer thanking us all for our support of the Youth Opera both as an organization and as individuals. Read it further on in this newsletter. Our unwavering support of the Youth Opera should make us all so Photo by Ky Thompson proud! Opera by the Numbers Ranking of Most Played Composers, 2017 - 2018 by Elizabeth Aversa Composer Number of Have you ever wondered about which operas are most Performances frequently performed, which are the longest and Verdi* 3499 shortest in the repertoire, or where you’ll have to pay Mozart 2357 more than top dollar for a ticket? Have you ever 2313 considered why many aspects of opera come in threes? Puccini The purpose of this column is to explore opera by the Donize Menoned, count numbers and provide links to related music to enjoy not given after delving into a few fun facts and statistics of Rossini Menoned, count not given interest to opera lovers. Wagner Menoned, count Operabase, an online source noted as “the reference not given** for opera performances” provides summaries of opera * Listen to - Gloria all' Egitto, Triumphal March seasons around the world, maps of the locations of opera houses across the globe, and an array of Source of ranking: www.operabase.com as reported by interesting statistics. For example, the most performed Opera Lirica di Roma operas are ranked by number of performances. Here **Source of ranking: www.operabase.com are the top five, with a link to an excerpt from an opera The most interesting fact in this data is that all but one on the list. of the most played composers worked in opera’s Ranking of Most Played Titles, 2017-2018 romantic period (1800-1914) while Mozart alone represents the classical period (1750-1820). It is also to Opera Title Composer Number of be noted that Bizet, despite ’s popularity, does Performances not appear on this list. La Traviata Verdi 871 Another fascinating ranking is that of run times of 700 Carmen Bizet operas. People unfamiliar with opera sometimes object Magic Flute Mozart 667 to it on the belief that “operas are just too long.” The La Boheme* Puccini 604 longest opera category is almost – but not quite – owned by composer . Only 553 Puccini breaks into the top five longest opera list with Einstein on the Beach, at 4 hours and fifteen minutes. Here are *Listen to La Boheme - Che gelida manina (Rodolfo) & the five longest operas and a link to some music. Si Mi chiamano (Mimi) Ranking of Longest Operas (Longest 5) [Source of ranking: www.operabase.com as reported by Opera Lirica di Roma https://www.operaliricaroma.it/ Opera Title Composer Run Time en/news/ – last accessed 3.6.2021] Göerdammerüng Wagner 4 hours, 35 minutes One might wonder if the composers of the most Die Meistersinger Wagner 4 hours, 35 minutes frequently performed works are the composers most von Nürnberg often played overall or if there is a variation in the Einstein on the Glass 4 hours, 15 minutes Beach* rankings. A difference might be caused by the volume Siegfried Wagner 4 hours, 10 minutes of a composer’s output, length of his career, and other factors such as size of cast required, difficulty in singing Parsifal Wagner 4 hours, 5 minutes a work, and the cost of a work’s production. This table will answer the question, and a link to music to enjoy *Listen to Einstein on the Beach while studying the statistics is listed below the table. Source of Ranking: www.theopera101.com On the other hand, shorter operas might appeal to some Staatsoper listeners. Especially in this time of COVID, when no one wants to spend too long in an opera house or to mix Where will we find the largest number of performances closely with others at intermission, shorter operas are to choose from? The US ranks first with 562 being performed – as they have been here in Sarasota performances and 118 productions in the most recent recently. But just how short can an opera be? The year for which data is available. (497 and 130) following table ranks some of the very shortest operas: and the United Kingdom (370 and 90) are in the top three in number of performances and productions. Opera Title Composer Run Time Austria and Australia complete the top five. [Source of Hin un Zuruck Hindesmith 14 minutes ranking: www.operabase.com – last accessed 3.2.2021] Clemency McMillan 50 minutes Another consideration, as we return to travel for opera, Riders to the Sea R. Vaugn Williams 55 minutes is the cost of tickets. According to Statista Dido & Aeneas Purcell 1 hour (www.statista.com), a fee based business data resource, the most expensive opera tickets in Europe were €430 at Bluebeard’s Bartok 1 hour, 5 minute Salzburg Festival, €320 at Festival, €293 for Castle Bavarian , and €273 at the Vienna State * Listen to Dido & Aeneas - When I am laid in earth Opera in 2016. Tickets in are available for considerably less. In the US, Met Opera tickets are [Source of Ranking: www.theopera101.com – last available for 2021-2022 from $25 to over $500, accessed 3.2.2021 ] depending on the performance, date, and special When we resume traveling, some of us may wish to visit opportunities such as student or group purchases. important opera houses here and abroad. Where, one What about the significance of specific numbers in may ask, do we find the most opera houses? Which are opera? The number three was considered by the Greek the “best, acoustically speaking? Germany has more philosophers to be a divine number for a variety of opera houses than any other country with 59. Italy and reasons: it signifies all that come in threes – harmony, the US follow closely with 53 and 52 respectively. wisdom and understanding; past, present, and future; ranks fourth with 30 and France completes the top five the beginning, the middle, and the ending. Visual artists with 27 working opera houses. use threes in their works, and the focus on threes in As to the acoustics of “good” opera houses, in a paper renaissance art has been attributed to the Christian published in the 2016 Proceedings of the International concept of the Trinity. Operas and plays most often have Congress on Acoustics, Calebe Giaculi Júnior and others three acts; trios of characters (e.g., the “love triangle) are reported that both conductors’ rankings and a proposed frequently central to the “story of the opera.” And three index of acoustic measures yielded similar rankings of a has been cited as important to the Freemasons, to which group of renowned opera houses, with the following Mozart and others belonged, and thus the number venues being identified as “good” by both measures: occurs in the works. An interesting discussion can be found in a 2019 Welsh National Opera article at https:// Opera House Locaon wno.org.uk/news/three-is-the-magic-number. Teatro Colón In sum, numbers mean something in opera, whether we Semperoper are counting the number of presentations of Verdi’s Teatro alla Scalla operas in a given year, the length of Wagner’s “music dramas,” or the number of women seduced by Don New Naonal Tokyo Giovanni (1003 in alone!). Listen to the array of Opéra Garnier geographically catalogued conquests in Don Giovanni: Staatsoper Prague “Madamina, il catalogo è questo” Staatsoper Vienna Finally, the number 4 is most important to all of us who love the Sarasota Opera – that is the number of operas New York in the 2021 Winter & Spring Festival! See you at the Festspielhaus Salzburg opera! INTRODUCING LANA MULLEN by Syble DiGirolamo FROM THE YOUTH OPERA Lana Mullen once told me that she is “Thank You Letter a “super organized” person, referring to home, office, travel, and to-do lists Hey! My name is Amy and I have been for every single day. When she a member of SYO for six semesters, began our interview by referring to and I”m working on my seventh! I’ve her career as “meandering”, I was been in other programs, but SYO is by highly intrigued, and very interested far the best! It gives kids an in exploring these seemingly oxymoronic comments. opportunity to learn how to sing, put on productions, and have fun in a So, here’s a bit of meandering. Lana grew up in Texas. She was raised on Opera and Classical music. In high friendly environment. My favorite part school she sang with the choir. Her education following of SYO are the productions we do in high school was Arts and Design focused, as was her the fall semester. I really enjoy being early career where she held the title of Art Director at a part of the production and being on Metropolitan Life Insurance Company managing the Art in cool ! I know our and Design Department, and designing such things as the Blimp, the Annual Report, Christmas cards, productions are expensive, and we Corporate Communications, and a Snoopy Campaign couldn’t do them without donors like from a tower office in Manhattan. Somewhere along the you! SYO has been a great experience way she added freelance book illustrator to her list of for me, so thank you all for all you’ve achievements, and since 1992 she has been the owner/ done to support it!” artist of Mullen and Katz, an award winning design and illustration studio.

Then she meandered - a 16 minute walk Tributes downtown to Red Cross Headquarters to take a one day In memory of Virginia Page volunteer seminar from Jean Roberts where she decided immediately that Not only has our Guild lost a valuable member, but she wanted to have the entire Arts community in Manatee and a much larger role at Sarasota counties will feel this loss. Virginia was Red Cross. To go active for most of her life in all things Artistic, and after that goal, Lana bulked up her Red Cross resume she will be widely missed. by creating her own “Red Cross 101” taking as many volunteer classes as she could: Mass Care, In memory of Virginia Page from the Board and Psychological First Aid, Public Speaking—one class per members of Manatee Opera Guild. Read her week meeting other volunteers, staff and instructors to obituary here. become familiar with the opportunities available in the NY Chapter. Lana also trained to become a Volunteer In memory of Claire Marsh from the Board and Intake Specialist. She learned how to conduct members of Manatee Opera Guild. Read her interviews with new volunteers and to manage data on obituary here. the organization’s My Red Cross Web site. She began In memory of Victor Dina from the Board and developing training manuals for the volunteer members of Manatee Opera Guild. recruitment and placement process and helping match that are part of the job. She soon concluded that other volunteers with assignments. luxury cruises were just not “her cup of tea.”

Then Lana wanted to have direct contact with the Thus, more meandering. This time for an exploratory people being helped so she began more training as a sabbatical trip to Sarasota where she expected to get responder. She kept up her work in volunteer back into the visual arts. In Sarasota, she immediately coordination while adding the response training and an joined the Red Cross Chapter and signed up for 8 hour shift in emergency response. She says: “That Ringling College of Art adult education courses. Then a made for some long Red Cross days.” Soon, she long time friend insisted that she meet up with his became certified as a Level 4 (full) responder. Lana’s friend - Richard Russell. And there we have it, Richard stories that begin with “I was there on the Street as an immediately finds her a volunteer assignment and she Official Red Cross Responder” include High Rise Fires, arrives as a Sarasota Opera volunteer. Here her energy Planes Landing on the Hudson, and lots more. They all and expertise and total willingness to volunteer for end with “It was long hours of totally exhausting anything were soon evident to all. I met her when she horrible situations in which it was humbling and filled in leading a back stage tour. The volunteering rewarding to be able to help”. She continued her Red resulted in a job offer which she turned down to go on Cross volunteering and joined the Sarasota Chapter a summer adventure biking in the Grand Canyon. A soon after moving here. broken ankle forced her early return, and isolation spurred her to ask if the job was still available. Lana is L a n a ’ s n e x t c a r e e r now Communications Coordinator in Sarasota Opera’s meandering took her to Marketing Department. I’m sure you’ve seen her in the Cuba, initially tied to her Red lobby at evening performances greeting and assisting Cross experience, but soon patrons, and I’m sure you have seen her work in all the morphing into a passion for press and video communications sent by Sarasota the Country. She was hired Opera in this last year. And it is here that I have seen as a program director at her demonstrate the “super organized” trait. I R o a d S c h o l a r a n d personally enjoy her communications summaries to the A b e r c r o m b i e & K e n t , SOA Board that helps us stay more in tune. providing leadership for groups of US citizens traveling to Cuba for educational I asked Lana more about the Grand Canyon bike trip and humanitarian exchanges under the US OFAC and the broken ankle and discovered that she loves people to people license. Lana’s passion for learning solo travel. For the last 12 years (Not 2020, she spent soon provided her with an extensive knowledge base the Covid year renovating the Sarasota house she and awareness of Cuba’s history and current political bought), she has traveled for a month or and cultural issues. Her propensity for writing long so every summer on some adventure essays as part of the required Treasury reports after the where she tries hard to get to know the trips resulted in these essays being used in people and their culture. She works to Congressional reporting. Lana says “These weren’t meet people who live in the country luxury tours. Cuba is a country of contrasts, with the she is visiting in their normal every day very privileged and the very poor. The programs places, churches, parks, grocery stores, delivered humanitarian supplies to Cuba and focused cafes, etc. For Lana, the adventure is on helping people to become entrepreneurs getting people as well as places. started in new business ventures such as restaurants, I ended our interview with my favorite Arts groups, etc. on a path to becoming independent question: What is it that sparks joy in your life? Her from the communist government”. It was very answer was “everything.” She went on to say “all our rewarding work, and Lana was sad to move on from it. performances, all our patrons, the team I work with From the Cuba venture, she meandered to luxury cruise here, really “everything.” Sarasota is a wonderful expeditions, leveraging her Cuban experience in cultural town and Sarasota Opera is the heart of it. I leading tours and creatively solving the constant issues love Opera. It feels like I am back to my roots.” SARASOTA OPERA WINTER SEASON 2021 Purchase tickets at the Sarasota Opera Box Office:

The Happy Deception. by Gioachino Rossini, 61 N. Pineapple, Sarasota FL 34236 by Giuseppe Maria Foppa 366-8450, extension 1 A duchess disappears and then washes up on a beach in a small mining town. A kind miner takes her in and SARASOTA OPERA HEALTH AND SAFETY MEASURES cares for her, until ten years later when her grieving Face masks required for all audience members at all husband and his entourage pay a visit. Abduction, times menace, passion, and comedy all swirl towards a happy conclusion. Print your tickets at home or receive a ticket on your Livestream: February 22 - March 26 mobile device. Self-scanning as you enter the theater Maid to Mistress, by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, with will limit your contact with our ushers and staff. libretto by Gennaro Federico. The box office in the lobby will be closed.

A wealthy older bachelor grows impatient with his Please do not come to the Opera House if you are saucy young maid and resolves to find a wife to care for feeling ill. Temperature checks will be required him properly. The maid has other ideas and schemes to before you enter the Sarasota Opera House. get the promotion she desires — bride and mistress of All seats will be reserved to accommodate distanced the home. seating. February 19, 24, March 2 at 7:30 February 21, 27 at 1:30 Opera Club and McCorkle Lounge will be closed . Livestream, February 22 - March 31 Concessions and drinking fountains will be closed.

Il Signor Bruschino by Gioachino Rossini, libretto by Social distancing rules will be observed. Giuseppe Maria Foppa Sanitizing stations have been installed in the theater This lighthearted operatic comedy opens with one of and we have optimized the air conditioning system Rossini’s most innovative and playful . Anxious to provide better air flow and filtration. young lovers navigate their way through meddling parents, an arranged marriage, and a case of mistaken MANATEE OPERA GUILD GET-TOGETHER APRIL 13 identity, with sparkling and ensembles soaring towards happily ever after. We will meet again for an informal get-together on April 9, 13,16, 21 at 7:30 April 13th at 10 a.m. at the Sarasota Opera House. As April 18, 24 at 1:30 with our last get-together, masks are required, and Livestream: April 19 - May 19 priority will be given to members. We will be again restricted to 34 people to allow for social distancing. Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell, libretto by Nahum This time, we will meet for coffee and conversation in Tate the Courtyard, but we will move to the second floor of In this Baroque treasure based on the Aenead of Virgil, the Opera House for our concert, to avoid the Dido the Queen of Carthage falls in love with the Trojan abundant sunshine and heat that we experienced in warrior Aeneas, yet scheming sorcery and fateful spells February. doom their great passion. Hear the abandoned and This will be a perfect opportunity to pay your dues for heartbroken queen conclude the epic tale with one of next year, so please come with your checkbook. Dues opera’s most memorable laments. remain as they were last year. Look in your Directory April 11, 25 at 1:30 for the dues schedule. April 15,17,20, 22 at 7:30 To reserve a spot email Jeanne Yeagle at Livestream: April 26 - May 26 [email protected] or call 941-782-3257 or 941-755-7426. First come — First (re)served.