Hello and welcome back to the Texapolitan Opera Roadshow. I’m your host, Michael Mayes, and this week’s episode comes to you straight outta Louisville Kentucky. David Roth is the General Director of Kentucky Opera, but personally, I’d like to nominate him for Operatic Evangelist, because when David speaks about opera, he does so with a passion and zeal that you’d expect from Joel Osteen, not someone who runs an opera company. n If you’re in the area, Kentucky Opera is a must for it’s innovative productions and intimate approach, due largely in part to David’s stewardship of a great tradition there in Louisville.
Before we jump right in with David, I’d like to take a minute and welcome the new listeners joining us via Operamusicbroadcast.com. I’ve recently been added to their roster of shows, and I’m pretty sure that this is not something those folks over there are used to hearing… and from early reports, we had listeners tuning in from all over the world… God Help us all… So to all of you out there getting your first dose of Texapollination, welcome, and be sure and tune in every Sunday at 11 pm EST, because the withdrawal symptoms are hell on the liver.
As always, if you enjoy the show, head over to the iTunes store [CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE] where you can subscribe for free, and let the podcast community at large know what you think of my little show here by leaving a review and comment. You can also find the show on Facebook, Twitter (@mazerthehazer), and email, mazerthehazer@gmail.com.
Allright now.. let’s get started with David Roth on the Texapolitan Opera Roadshow!
let’s just dive in and see where it goes..
a gift from Texas, Tito’s Vodka
Beau Gibson and the Distellery tours
Getting’ yer corn from a jar
White Lightnin’ vs Grappa
Ft. Worth ~ genuine Texas
If you want to see Atlanta go to Dallas, if you want to see Texas, come to Ft. Worth
It’s a good story, once…
A training in a tradition rooted in theatre
As with many folks in the opera business, it started with music theater
The shared lexicon of opera and addiction
Temp Jobs, Table waiting and more
If you don’t have work, you create your own work
Minnesota Opera, an historic perspective
Colin Graham’s Mikado
The formative influence of tight knit intimate opera companies
If you haven’t done your homework, you won’t recognize opportunity when it knocks
Creating your own degree plan
Staging PDQ Bach
Is the Star System a viable model in this economy?
The Opera is the star, not the singer
Thinking ensemble, not individually
The power of opera to create something bigger than any one person
Stars USED to be household names… where are the opera singers on Letterman
The ensemble system is harder to do, but the payoff is greater…
Audiences need nurturing, absent that, the economic impact of the recession is much greater
This art form is better than anything else, except when its not, then its worse than anything else
A bad opera done regionally hurts the business more than no performance at all
If you give one customer one bad product, you not only lose that customer, but all of their friends as well..
If you lose trust, multiply it by 5 or 6 to get it back
Opera today in the regional houses is 100x harder than it was at the met 50 years ago
Smaller houses are more adept at recreating the intimacy that the HD broadcasts afford
The power of silence
Silence has a volume
Shakespeare? Moving?
Shakespeare is meant to be seen, not read… just like opera is meant to be seen not recorded.
Force Feeding opera
The penultimate pianissimo
Perfection is a unicorn on a rainbow
I love it when a plan comes together
