Opera A La Carte

Happy Frederic’s birthday from Opera A La Carte! How old would he be?? 🤔🏴‍☠️🎂

Greetings, friends of Opera A La Carte! Many of you will be receiving our end of year letter or email soon. But just in case you haven't heard the news, we have a new Artistic Director!

Alan Freeman is well-known to many people in Southern California. He was the Artistic Director of the Occidental Theater Festival and taught in the Theater Department at Occidental College. He is a director, writer, producer, and actor—and we are proud to announce that he is now the Artistic Director of Opera A La Carte.

No one will ever be able to replace our founder, Richard Sheldon. He grew Opera A La Carte into the preeminent Los Angeles Gilbert & Sullivan production company and we enjoyed many decades of touring around the country and performing locally.

Alan is committed to respectfully building on the foundation that Richard created while infusing the company and the repertoire with a fresh vitality. Together with our growing board of directors, Alan wants to grow Opera A La Carte into a fully professionalized company, with simple, bold productions and competitive pay for our performers and designers. He is on fire about leading the artistic path of Opera A La Carte into some new territory while staying absolutely committed to preserving the soul and intent of the original works.

We are excited about what is in store for 2019! Stay tuned for news of our upcoming events.

Super interesting things happening behind the scenes at Opera A La Carte. Thank you for your patience and stay tuned... we will be opening the curtain soon!

A must read for anyone who is interested in the future of Gilbert & Sullivan. I have long been a fan of Nygasp’s work. Kudos to our east coast friends! https://www.crainsnewyork.com/features/opera-business-has-found-its-voice-again

The opera business has found its voice again One New York company epitomizes the turnaround

So fun! Wish we could all go to this! http://www.vloc.org/singout2018.html?utm_source=VLOC+Master+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=fda6e695c5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_04_21&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b5f77744a3-fda6e695c5-347425801

The 6th Great Gilbert & Sullivan Sing-Out What is the Great Gilbert & Sullivan Sing Out? Come join our expressions of glee! The Sing-Out honors the immortal operettas that were created in a partnership of the superb librettist, Sir...

Thank you so much to our donors! We’ve raised a bit over $4000 in the last month. Would really love to hit $5000 by midnight tonight. All donation money goes to putting on a production in So Cal in 2018. Thank you all again, and see you at the show!!

Greetings from Opera A La Carte! Thank you so much for all your support this year. We are so grateful to our community of Gilbert & Sullivan lovers. We are now about $1250 away from our minimum goal to start putting together a local production in 2018. Every bit helps so much and we’ve been so heartened by the donations we’ve received. Keep ‘em coming! We’d love to have the chance to delight you in 2018!

OK, everyone! Good job on the first quiz. Here's another:

Which of the following is NOT true about Sir Arthur Sullivan:

A. Sullivan's first great love affair fell apart for, among other reasons, his fiance's desire that he give up his life of "moral and physical ruin."

B. Sullivan was born into aristocracy and loved his ability to socialize with royalty.

C. Sullivan's longest relationship was with a married woman from Boston.

D. Sullivan composed his first anthem at the age of eight.

Let us know what you think! And, while you ponder, take a moment to help us keep this wonderful music alive! www.operaalacarte.org/donate/

Let's have some fun! As part of our fundraising campaign, we are going to send out periodic quizzes to see just how much you know about our beloved world of Gilbert & Sullivan.
Which of the following statements is NOT true about William S Gilbert?
A. Gilbert was known for his love of oysters.
B. Gilbert drowned trying to save a young woman in his swimming pond at Grim's D**e.
C. Gilbert's inspiration for the Mikado came when an antique Japanese sword in his study fell on him.
D. Gilbert was abducted when he was a toddler by some Italian brigands in Naples.
Answer in comments, and please help us continue the work of keeping this legacy alive! www.operaalacarte.org/donate/

Seasons greetings to our friends --

Thank you all the support you have shown us over the years! You have enabled us to survive many upheavals and triumphs.

We were especially grateful for the overwhelming support you showed for the creation of our new highlights show, Hail Poetry!, which we premiered last year to enthusiastic audiences in Orange County.

Looking to the future, we would love to bring another production of Hail Poetry! closer to home to perform for our Los Angeles audiences. And we want to start touring again.

We have committed to raising $25,000 by the end of the year. If we can raise $25,000, we will be able to put on two weekends of Hail Poetry! in Los Angeles, and we will be able to tour the Northwest.

Please go to www.operaalacarte.org/donate/ and support us today! All donations are tax deductible.

Happy 181st birthday to William Schwenck Gilbert! His nickname when a child was “Bab” and his first published works were collections of fanciful rhymes called the Bab Ballads. Many of his later works with Arthur Sullivan had their genesis in these imaginative confections. Happy birthday, Bab!

Hail Poetry!, our theatrical highlights show, asks the question of why we go through the incredible work of creating art. Here are some of the cast members’ stories of what music and performing means to them.

Why We Do This - Hail Poetry! Hail Poetry! The Magic and Madness of Gilbert & Sullivan asks the question "Why do we do this?" As performers and artists, those of us behind the…

Had such a productive time at the North West Booking Conference! Made a lot of new friends and have many presenters to follow up with. (So busy I didn’t have time to ask someone to snap a pic with me actually inside the booth!)

Feel free to comment or add. Is this what G&S would approve of?
https://theadmiral1.bandcamp.com/track/when-i-was-a-lad-rap-version

When I Was A Lad (Rap Version), by The Admiral track by The Admiral

Our hearts go out to the people of Texas who are suffering. Please read to the end for the tribute.

Today's trivia.....

Around 1865 the discovery of the Schubert Unfinished Symphony and subsequent performance so excited two young Englishmen they that set off for Vienna to search for other "lost" works by Schubert. One of these men was George Grove, the noted musicologist; the other was Arthur Sullivan, his collaboration with W.S. Gilbert still in the future.

Upon arrival in Vienna they sought out Viennese music publisher Spina. Spina then sent them to a Doctor Schneider who was said to have many Schubert manuscripts. At Dr. Schneider's house he presented them with many bundles of manuscripts among which were symphonies nos. 1,2,3,4,and 6 and many unknown Schubert songs.

Still not satisfied the young men asked to search the house themselves and after digging through old cupboards and boxes found a large carefully bundled stack of music which was quite dusty.

Their find turned out to be the parts of the overture to Rosamunde, Schubert's music to the play Queen of Cyprus by Wilhelmine von Chézy. This music had been lost for nearly half a century as the play itself was a flop and closed within a few performances. While the play was forgotten, the music was well thought of at the time but Schubert himself didn't take advantage of that and packed up the music and forgot about it.

So, thanks to George Grove and Authur Sullivan we now have the beautiful Rosamunde Overture.

Here is a performance from Sydney and the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. This performance was a tribute to the people in Australia and the South Pacific who had endured tremendous suffering and loss from Tropical Cyclone Yasi in 2011.

Perhaps, if you have friends in Texas or are in Texas you can pass this along to those in need of the spirituality and solace that music imparts as so well said in the introduction at the beginning of this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-PkpqcOHCY

Rosamunde - Schubert The YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011 performs Rosamunde by Schubert at the Grand Finale concert.

Throwback Thursday.
Wow! Going through some old papers and I find this ticket. 1992 performance at Santa Monica College. This was my son's first live G&S performance and what a lot of fun it was!

Were any of you in the audience? As I remember the audience was full so some of you might have been there.

We are currently planning our 2018-2019 schedule. Stay tuned for news and information.

https://youtu.be/nBemvrd2pek

Opera A La Carte - The Genuine Article Opera A La Carte is a world-class Gilbert and Sullivan repertory company, performing across the United States. With a passion for authenticity, Opera A La Ca...

1871 brought the world the very first collaboration of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The work? Thepsis, a political satire which poked fun at aristocrats, Greek gods and grand opera.

What was happening in the world at this time? Charles Darwin published Descent of Man, Admiral Perry opened Japan, Napoleon III abdicated, and Winston Churchill was born.

3 Cheers and 1 cheer more to our audience! Thank you for a fantastic run of Hail Poetry! at the Soka Performing Arts Center!

Our final performance of the Hail Poetry premiere is today! We're clearly having a ball. Join us at the beautiful Soka Performing Arts Center at 3pm!

The exit polls are unanimous! Audiences are reveling in the fun of Hail Poetry! Only two more chances to catch this world premiere, so grab your tickets now for tonight at 7pm and tomorrow at 3pm!

Our second weekend at the beautiful Soka Performing Arts Center is underway! The Lord of the British Navy approves of our Friday night audience.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Opera a la Carte Presents: The cast of Hail Poetry! on Why We Do This. Don't miss our final weekend at the beautiful Soka Performing Arts Center!

Why We Do This - Hail Poetry! Hail Poetry! The Magic and Madness of Gilbert & Sullivan asks the question "Why do we do this?" As performers and artists, those of us behind the…

"I can't imagine doing anything else". The multi-talented Matthew Ian Welch, Actor / Singer interviewed our cast about Why We Do This. Don't miss it

Why We Do This A compilation of interviews with singers

Thank you to Bob Young Photography for these wonderful photos Hail Poetry! opening weekend! Get your tickets for our final weekend of performances!

July 2016

Our first weekend of Hail Poetry! was a smashing success! Get your tickets now for our final weekend at the beautiful SOKA Performing Arts Center

Opening night was a smash!

It's opening night! All you Poor Wand'ring Ones, come meet tonight's leading lady, Katherine Giaquinto!

Katherine Giaquinto – Opera A La Carte Katherine Giaquinto Katherine Giaquinto Lauded as “smart singer” with a “gorgeous, clear lyric soprano voice” (Operaworld.com), Canadian-American soprano Katherine Giaquinto is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and began her performing career as a professional actress in Canadian...

Be a part of the process! Opera A La Carte has created a brand new production about the lives and work of Gilbert & Sullivan. Thirty minutes prior to the show, join the director for a preshow discussion, and following each Sunday performance, stay after the show for talkbacks with the cast and crew.

Buy your tickets NOW!
http://www.soka.edu/news_events/events/2016/07/OALCHailPoetry.aspx

The ladies of Hail Poetry! had a blast at last night's preview! Thank you to our wonderful audience. We can't wait for opening night tonight at the SOKA Performing Arts Center!