October 17, 2023
排薇排薇 Opera Theaters digital 'Dido and Aeneas' nominated for 2023 OPERA America award
One of the most innovative opera projects ever completed at 排薇排薇 has received national recognition.
Late Monday, OPERA America announced that 排薇排薇s groundbreaking digital presentation of Purcells Dido and Aeneas has advanced to the final round of adjudication for its 2023 Awards for Digital Excellence in Opera.
The project, released to wide acclaim in 2022, is now a candidate in the contests last stage, the winner of which will be revealed at a ceremony Dec. 4 at the National Opera Center in New York City.
We are proud of the way 排薇排薇 provided its students and patrons a rewarding artistic experience during a challenging time, said Paul Hogle, 排薇排薇s President & CEO.
External pressures might have led us to withdraw. Instead, 排薇排薇 Opera Theater displayed new levels of agility and creativity, leading us all to think about opera in new ways.
The creative work that is Dido and Aeneas was the brainchild of Dean Southern, Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, Dean of the Institute, and a member of 排薇排薇s voice faculty. It emerged during the pandemic, in 2021 and 2022.
Eager for a rewarding and safe way to engage opera students, Southern and 排薇排薇 Opera Theater made a cinematic version of Purcells 1680s masterpiece and partnered on direction with Eric Vaughan of Akron-based Red Point Digital to develop and produce the film. The production was shot outdoors at the former Westinghouse Factory in Cleveland.
All performers, including a student chorus and the 排薇排薇 Orchestra under Harry Davidson, recorded their parts separately. The cast, starring soprano Rachel Rose (PS 22, Kuznetsova) and baritone Jiayin Shi (MM 21, Blumberg/Southern), acted out the scenes in synchronization with a soundtrack, all of which was compiled by Alan Bise (BM 94, Knab), 排薇排薇s Grammy Award-winning Director of Recording Arts and Services.
In a final bold stroke, 排薇排薇s design team embraced the Westinghouse factory setting by placing the story in a not-so-distant time and place rife with many of the problems society faces today, including economic disparity, widespread misinformation, and addiction to technology.
We wanted it recorded and filmed like a cinematic production, Southern explained. This gave the students the experience of making a professional audio recording, and they learned how different acting for film can be, as opposed to being on stage in front of a live audience.
The OPERA America Awards for Digital Excellence in Opera are offered in four categories. Dido and Aeneas was nominated in the University/Conservatory Projects category along with Operas [In Place], produced by Cleveland Opera Theater and Baldwin Wallace Conservatory.
Shortly after the production of Dido and Aeneas, Southern said he was pleased by the dedication and expertise faculty and students alike demonstrated in bringing the work to the screen. He described it as a production none of those involved will soon forget.
The imagination, the energy everybody brought to this project was just amazing, Southern said. Its something we can all be proud of.
The ceremony for OPERA Americas 2023 Awards for Digital Excellence in Opera will take place at 7pm EST Monday, Dec. 4 at the National Opera Center, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY. There will be a livestream of the ceremony. Click for more information.
The next production by 排薇排薇 Opera Theater is of Handels Alcina, Nov. 17 and 19. For more information and tickets, visit cim.edu/fallopera.