Husband and Wife Stephen Costello and Ailyn Pérez Headline La Bohème at L.A. Opera, Opening May 12

By -
When Ailyn Pérez and Stephen Costello came together to sing Puccini’s ill-fated lovers in Cincinnati Opera’s La bohème, it was a match made in opera heaven. The Enquirer called Pérez’s Mimì “radiant” and Costello’s Rodolfo “wonderfully sung,” and praised the “warmth of tone and effortless high notes” of their duet; likewise, Music in Cincinnati reported: “The two singers made an attractive and emotionally appealing couple, with fresh young voices that soared. … The chemistry between Costello and Pérez was potent.” Now – in the first of three collaborations together this spring – the lyric soprano and tenor dubbed “America’s fastest-rising husband-and-wife opera stars” (Associated Press) reprise the same roles at Los Angeles Opera, where they headline the company’s signature production of Puccini’s masterpiece. Marking Costello’s house debut, the revival opens for six performances on May 12.

“I feel very comfortable with Ailyn on stage and that allows me to be more intimate in love scenes,” Costello explains. “I also think she is a singer who takes chances when given and that means I have to take chances in order to hold my own on stage.” He adds: “Bohème is very special because we both sang it for the first time together and that is when we started dating.”

Pérez expands on her very operatic love story with her husband now of four years:

"Stephen and I were studying at the Academy of Vocal Arts together. We had worked together in the past, singing opposite each other in La traviata and L'elisir d’amore, but Bohème is what brought us together. We had always been friends, but it was during rehearsals for Bohème that we started dating. I lived alone in a tiny little attic around the corner from Stephen, where he lived with a few other guys - just like Mimì and Rodolfo! After rehearsals we liked to blow off some steam, and Stephen asked me out dancing to the salsa club across the street from where he lived. My response was 'you don't salsa!', but surprisingly enough, he can! He tried to kiss me on the way home, but I turned him down. That didn't last long though, and over the next few months we fell in love. A lot of couples fall in love over Bohème, and lots of them have a line from the opera that is special to them. My favorite line is 'Sempre tua per la vita' [‘always yours, for life’], which Mimì tells Rodolfo in their Act III break-up scene.”

Originally created by iconic film director Herbert Ross, the L.A. Opera’s La bohème has been credited with “maintaining the work’s charm, while breathing vitality into its characters and supplying imaginative new action” (Variety). Conducted by Patrick Summers, music director of the Houston Grand Opera, and featuring a strong supporting cast, the new revival is staged by director Gregory A. Fortner.

Comments

Margherita said…
Nice article! Beautiful love story! I wish I could be there in L.A. to see them both as Rodolfo and Mimì. I'm sure that will be unforgettable!

A hug, Chip.

Margherita Carosio.
March 22, 2012 at 2:19 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In &quo
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

The Art of String Quartets by Brian Ferneyhough

By -
Image
When an artist sets paint to canvas, there are brush strokes used for different effects. Sometimes those strokes are subtle, imperceptible; they produce works of art like the Mona Lisa . Other times the very obvious nature of the stroke is the art, as in works by Van Gogh. With some composers of music, the notes on the page are their craft. How those notes translate into an aural experience is what defines some composers as great artists. Brian Ferneyhough has a masterful command of the techniques of putting notes on the page. These techniques are sometimes so subtle, even though written in black and white, they escape detection. Some of what he attempts with his music is just that, to escape detection, to bury the framework, diverting the ear away from the structure, so only the music is heard . The subtlety is so fine it is almost imperceptible. Even though he studied at several institutions, he is considered self-taught, studying scores from Boule
Read more