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| Ann Stanke with Maestro Roland Johnson. |
Ann Stanke, Madison Opera’s general director from 1984 to 2005 and a coach, accompanist, and manager for nearly all of the company’s 50 years, passed away on May 18th at the age of 76, following a 22-month long battle with ALS. It is hard to adequately express her contribution to our company and community, but several local writers have done so. You can read about her extraordinary life and impact below:
Madison.com: Obituary for Ann Stanke
The Isthmus: Ann Stanke leaves a legacy of humane musicality (John W. Barker)
Wisconsin State Journal: Former Madison Opera director dies (Doug Moe)
WISC Madison: Ann Stanke, an artful life (Neil Heinen)
The Well-Tempered Ear: Madison Opera Founder Ann Stanke is dead at 76 (Jake Stockinger)
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| Ann considered the commission and world-premiere of Shining Brow the proudest moment of her career. |
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| Ann and Maestro Johnson backstage. |
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| Ann in the old Madison Opera office. |
Relive the magic of Madison Opera’s The Marriage of Figaro and La Traviata starting this Saturday on Wisconsin Public Radio!
Saturday, May 21st at Noon – Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, starring Jason Hardy, Anya Matanovic, Jeff Mattsey, Melody Moore, and Emily Lorini. Recorded live in Overture Hall on November 5, 2010. View complete cast and learn about the opera.
Saturday, May 28th at Noon – Verdi’s La Traviata, starring Elizabeth Caballero, Giuseppe Varano, and Donnie Ray Albert. Recorded live in Overture Hall on April 29, 2011. View complete cast and learn about the opera.
How to listen – Click here to listen online, or tune into 88.7 WERN if you’re in the Dane County region.
Want to make a complete 180 after basking in the lush, gorgeous voices of last weekend’s La Traviata? This weekend, the Madison Theatre Guild presents Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins. Jenkins was an American soprano who became famous for her conviction that she was a great singer, despite her obvious lack of talent and basic ability to sing on pitch. Think we’re kidding? Just listen to her take on Mozart’s Queen of the Night aria.
Souvenir, by Stephen Temperley, premiered on Broadway in 2005 and stars local favorites Terry Kiss Frank as Florence Foster Jenkins and Taras Nahirniak as Cosme McMoon. From the press materials: “Souvenir is a heartfelt, wickedly funny look at the limits of self-perception and the unpredictable nature of friendship. The story of real-life Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York socialite and tone-deaf diva who thought she was a great soprano. Unfortunately her great love of music was not matched by her own abilities. Her brilliant, wry accompanist, Cosme McMoon, chronicles Florence’s unlikely rise to cult status, which culminated in an infamous sold-out Carnegie Hall performance in October 1944.”
Performances are May 6-21 at the Evjue Theatre at the Bartell (113 E. Mifflin Street) and tickets start at $15. Betty Diamond directs.
Our newly appointed general director Kathryn Smith won’t officially start until July 1st, but we thought it’d be fun to get to know her a little bit better in the interim. Here are her answers to ten questions we recently sent her way:
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: Seattle
Q: When did you first attend a live opera, and what was it?
A: I think it was either Porgy and Bess at age six or seven, or Rigoletto (in English) at eight or nine. I remember that the latter bored me.
Q: It’s not fair, but I have to ask: who are your top 3 favorite composers?
A: Mozart, Schubert, and Cole Porter.
Q: What are your top 3 favorite operas, if you had to choose? This is a desert island scenario.
A: Le Nozze di Figaro, Carmen, and Les Contes d’Hoffmann.
Q: What is the last book you read that you’d recommend to a friend?
A: I read all of Dorothy Sayer’s Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries this year – a surprising lapse in my education – so I’d recommend any of them.
Q: Who is your favorite non-classical, non-opera musical artist?
A: Judy Garland or Fred Astaire (and I do consider him a musical artist)
Q: Can you name one of the highlights from your time at the Met?
A: Just one? The first time you set foot on the stage is unforgettable, and so is the first time someone cancels an hour before curtain. Plus I heard so many incredible performances, from Natalie Dessay’s first Met Zerbinetta to Hei-Kyung Hong in just about anything, and Bryn Terfel and Ferruccio Furlanetto playfully negotiating a platform that rose out of the stage an act too early in Don Giovanni.
Q: What are you most proud of achieving at Tacoma Opera?
A: Growing a company that was truly connected to its community, using mostly Northwest-based singers to present operas that a company of our budget size had no business producing, like Le Comte Ory and Faust.
Q: What intrigues you most about moving to the city of Madison?
A: Learning to drive in the snow.
Q: After spending a week with Madison Opera during our rehearsal process for La Traviata, what are you most excited about in joining our company?
A: Every individual I met, whether audience member or stage crew, told me how much Madison Opera meant to them. Joining a company and a community that cares that deeply is a very exciting prospect, as it means we all want to do great things together.
Thanks, Kathryn – we’re all looking forward to working with you, and perhaps lending some snow-driving tips along the way!
What a weekend!
First, we announced our new general director, Kathryn Smith:
Then, we put on Verdi’s La Traviata:
And lastly, our 50th anniversary gala on Saturday night was a huge success. The evening opened with the Art of Opera Glasses Auction and music by Anthony and Leslie Cao. Dinner was accompanied by a tribute to Madison Opera’s past, present, and future, with a very special appearance by founder Roland Johnson, as well as performances by the former Madison Opera Showcase Singers, the MO High School Apprentices, and the MO Chorus with Donnie Ray Albert. The evening concluded in spectacular fashion on the Overture Hall stage, with desserts and entertainment by the inimitable Robin Pluer:
