Le Villi is coming!!!!

I remember one day last May traveling to a church in Vancouver, Washington to sing for Salvador Brotons, conductor of the Vancouver Symphony.  Maestro Brotons was one of my professors at Portland State University and I also sang as a professional singer under his baton with Vancouver Symphony when we presented a fine evening of Strauss music a few years back.  It was so good to see him again.  I sang a couple of arias for him because he hadn't heard me in a few years.  It was a great time of singing and and getting reacquainted with him.  We visited after the singing and he mentioned that for the first time ever in the history of Vancouver Symphony that he would like to perform an opera in concert.  He suggested that I might sing the leading role which was Anna in the opera Le Villi.  It's so hard to obtain opportunities to actually perform roles in their entirety in this region (especially when one is a free agent like me).   I was absolutely thrilled that he would consider me for this role.  I can't believe that the time to perform this opera is actually upon me.  It's this weekend already (April 19th and 20th... see ticket information in previous blog).  I hope that many of you can take time out of your very busy schedules to come hear this fantastic work.  It's one of Puccini's very first operas and it's quite lovely.  

"Puccini wrote this opera while still a student to participate in a competition announced by Sonzogno in 1882. Although he failed to win, this opera attract the attention of Giulio Ricordi who not only published the score, but also arranged the première at Teatro del Verme in Milán. The première was so successful that the Teatro della Scala accepted it for the following season. With this production Ricordi established a lasting relationship with Puccini and commissioned him to compose his second opera, "Edgar"."  This last bit of information was quoted from a website that I found giving more information about the opera (http://www.geocities.com/airepuccini_english/LEVILLI.htm)