– Presents –
OPERA TEASE
Journey North Opera Co. Team
Journey North Opera Co. Team
Executive Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Colleen Meier
Artistic Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amy Wolf
Minnsky Theatre Team
Founder & Chief Executive Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jac Fatale
Chief Operating Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Red Rider
Artistic Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tiffany Parks Roberts
Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Supreme Court
Lighting Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Persephone McTire
Stage Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grizzly Bear
The Cast
Soprano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kiley Hazelton
Burlesque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ostara Reign
Soprano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary Laymon
Hammock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gigi Chaton
Soprano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Colleen O’Shaughnessy
Burlesque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alexandro Rox
Soprano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erica Hoops
Pole Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Red Rider
Soprano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amy Wolf
Aerial Hoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jolie Meshbesher
Soprano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Colleen Meier
Belly Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sitri Sophia
Tenor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adam Lowe
Burlesque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jasper Jade
Mezzo-soprano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Briana Moynihan
Trapeze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kit Vicious
Mezzo-soprano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Laura Horner
Burlesque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jac Fatale
Aerial Hoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sissy Fuss
A visionary, an opera singer, and a burlesque performer walk into a theater… and what comes out of such an encounter is nothing more than creative genius. “What emerged?” you might ask. OperaTease: A Night of Song and Cabaret Improv brought to you by the collaborative efforts of Journey North Opera Co. and Minnsky Theatre.
Journey North Opera Company (formerly the Twin Cities Fringe Opera) prides itself on revolutionizing the traditions of Grand Opera, while the resident companies of the Minnsky “create cirque-style, comedy, and vaudeville performances for the people of the Midwest and beyond.” Suffice it to say, the operatic experience created by these two adventurous and courageous troupes is NOT your “father’s” opera, but it is just dazzling and entertaining. By night’s end, I had surprisingly and delightfully experienced nine stellar and promising young voices alongside ten very skilled, athletic artists performing in the arts of burlesque, pole, aerial hoop (lyra), trapeze, and hammock (silks). And although all performers were uniquely talented, there were several who shone most brightly in an already brilliant firmament.
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| Reign (l) & Hazelton (r) © 2019, Dubbvision Photography |
Now, how appropriate to start this review with the performance that started it all, namely, that of soprano Kiley Hazelton and burly performer Ostara Reign performing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s aria from Così fan tutte: Una donna a quindici anni (At fifteen a woman should know). In it, Despina sings of how she should know the flirtatious ways of the world in order to get what she wants (especially from men). And how appropriate that Hazelton uses the aria to teach Reign this much needed skill. I will say, I was a bit skeptical of the pairing of opera and burlesque, but this number not only demonstrated that the two can go together, but that they actually can go together quite well! Another notable performance was that of soprano Erica Hoops and pole dancer Red Rider. I absolutely love Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus (The Bat) [see my review of DMMO’s performance last summer here] and Hoops’ performance of Spiel ich die Unschuld von Lande (When I play the innocent country lass) was playful and fun, all the while exhibiting a technique refined and strong. She teases the audience with her notes above G, beautifully trilling the G to A, then tossing off Cs as if they were nothing of note ( …no pun intended) before finally hitting the tremendous high D cadence down to G ever so nicely [for a better understanding of what I am saying, start with this video at 4:10 and listen to the end]. Truly a wonder of a performance alongside a very talented and artistically sensitive pole dancer. Rider’s knowledge of the lyrics and score abounded in her own performance, with a strong demand of the pole, navigating it as if it were nothing more than a natural and very familiar extension of her own body.
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| Rider (l) & Hoops (r) © 2019, Dubbvision Photography |
I come now in my review to the two mezzo-soprano performances. The first of which I must comment on was given by mezzo-soprano Laura Horner, who performed the famous Habanera from Georges Bizet’s Carmen. In my notes, all I could write afterwards was “Wow!” Such a rich voice hitting the center of every chromatic pitch of a very well-known and popular aria of the late nineteenth century. Now, much to her credit, Horner commands a strong stage presence, so who better to pair her with than Minnsky’s own founder and chief executive officer Jac Fatale. Fatale’s burlesque performance was literally spicy! Donning a costume, no doubt inspired by (hell, it was…) a habanero pepper, Fatale saucily entertained us all (as well as Horner herself) as only Fatale can do. I have always found Fatale to be a true talent when it came to the art of burlesque, but as an entertainer and comedian, she truly leads the pack here in the cities.
Finally, we get to the performance by mezzo-soprano Briana Moynihan, performing alongside trapeze artist Kit Vicious. Moynihan is cast in Journey North Opera Company’s upcoming and greatly anticipated production The Rape of Lucretia by British twentieth-century composer Benjamin Britten. And, to be honest, it only took but one phrase sung by this extraordinary talent to understand why. I mean, what a talent! My notes read, “so lovely, esp. in high notes. What a talent.” LOL. And Vicious? What extraordinary lines! Such a marvelous and spellbinding athlete.
All in all, a superb evening! OperaTease, I will back! Your energy is electrifying and addictive. Emceed by Fatale and Journey North’s executive director Colleen Meier, the upcoming performance on September 14 is one you do not want to miss! Not only are these two larger-than-life and amazing performers (Meier sang Schubert’s Gretchen am Spinradde—not an opera per se, but, hey, I will NEVER turn down an opportunity to hear Schubert on any vocal program!) but, boy, did they make me laugh. Amazing rapport. Amazing chemistry!
And don’t forget to check out Journey North’s upcoming production of The Rape of Lucretia.
Performances will be at Minnsky Theatre:
Friday, September 6, 2019, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 7, 2019, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, September 8, 2019, 2:00 p.m.
This seminal and appropriate production, given the current climate in our country, will feature a thirteen-piece orchestra, an ensemble cast of eight singers/actors, and one aerial artist/dancer. Yes, Jolie Meshbesher, who performed this evening using the aerial hoop alongside Journey North Opera Co.’s own artistic director Amy Wolf (singing Mi tradi from Don Giovanni by Mozart), will lend her art and athleticism to this timely, challenging, and (what I am sure will be an) amazing production. I was able to catch up with Journey North’s own stage director Amanda Carlson who had this to say:
"In developing the staging of this production, and particularly doing so through the lens of a survivor in a post-#metoo era, I began to see circles. Everything from the omni-present nature of the Male and Female Choruses, all the way down to the simple act of spinning (thread) carried out by the female characters, and all pointing our attention back to the cyclical nature of humanity’s violence against women and against itself—the literal acts of violence themselves, the perpetuation of toxic ideals for both men and women… How do we look upon these events time and again, unable or unwilling to change, seemingly stuck in a circle throughout history? Can we break the circle, or is the answer to just inch it forward on the x-axis that is time? Once I started seeing circles, I saw them everywhere, and for that reason I was very excited to create a ninth role in the production for a female dancer and aerial artist."
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| Meshbesher (l) & Moynihan (r), our two leading ladies in anticipation of Britten's The Rape of Lucretia. © 2019, Mark Anthony Rodriguez |
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