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LAWRENCE HELMAN PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - SAN FRANCISCO, CA, February 2007 Opera Academy of California presents… GEMS OF RUSSIAN OPERA Two Days of Master Class and Performance MASTER CLASS - Fri. March 30 - Noe Valley Ministry PERFORMANCE - Sat. March 31 - Most Holy Redeemer Church Opera Academy of California (OAC) is pleased to announce GEMS OF RUSSIAN OPERA, a performance and a master class for singers that will be open to the public. The class will be lead by Yefim Maizel, the internationally renowned stage director from the Metropolitan Opera, and conductor Alexander Katsman, alumnus of the SF Opera’s Merola Program. The Master Class (Fri. March 30, 2007 at Noe Valley Ministry -1021 Sanchez St. (at 23rd St. in SF), will offer a special opportunity for opera lovers and newcomers alike to experience the behind-the-scenes work that singers, conductors and directors invest into the dramatic performance seen on stage. The audience will experience a unique combination: stage director and conductor leading a master class together. Work in the Master Class will culminate with a performance on, Sat. March 31 at Most Holy Redeemer Church, 100 Diamond St (at 18th St.), in SF. Six chosen singers will each perform scenes and arias from Russian operas by Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, and Mussorgsky. Each performer will receive live one-on-one coaching from maestri Maizel and Katsman. Areas of focus will include understanding character and stage performance direction, with details about Russian history and culture. Maizel and Katsman bring this music alive and relevant for a San Francisco audience. Both studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, now renamed in honor of great Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov who was the conservatory’s director from 1871 until 1905. Calendar Editors Please Note:
Contact: For more information on all the latest developments at OAC, plus audio and video clips, please visit our website, www.opera-academy.com, or contact Opera Academy of California at (415) 642 -0176. Yefim Maizel has directed and assisted in the former Soviet Union, in Europe, and in the U.S. at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera, Kirov Opera, Wexford Opera Festival, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Pacific, Michigan Opera Theater and Opera Santa Barbara. In 2004, he directed Madama Butterfly (Puccini) at the Metropolitan Opera with Placido Domingo conducting. In 2005-06 he directed productions of Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky), Something New For The Zoo (Hoiby), Tales of Hoffmann (Offenbach), Spooky Times: Witchcraft & Supernatural in Opera, The Impresario (Mozart), Happy Birthday, Mr. Mozart! and Dialogues des Carmelites (Poulenc). Mr.Maizel directed Un Ballo in Maschera (Verdi) at the Opera Santa Barbara. The 2007-2008 season will include The Merry Widow (Lehar), Lucio Silla (Handel), La Boheme (Puccini), Spooky Times Strikes Again and Les Bavards (Offenbach). Since 1999 he has worked at the Metropolitan Opera as a Guest Stage Director, where he directed Madama Butterfly (Puccini) and has assisted on productions of Mazeppa (Tchaikovsky), Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (Shostakovich), Il Trovatore (Verdi), Manon (Massenet), The Gambler (Prokofiev), Idomeneo (Mozart), Don Carlo (Verdi), Elektra (Strauss), Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart), Otello (Verdi), The Queen of Spades (Tchaikovsky) and Das Rheingold (Wagner). Mr. Maizel is a member of the faculty of the Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute (BASOTI) since 1998, where he directed Riders to the Sea (Vaughan Williams), Suor Angelica (Puccini), La Calisto (Cavalli), The Impresario (Mozart), Little Women (Adamo), and numerous scenes from different operas. Yefim regularly leads workshops and master classes for singers with the audience invited and also teaches opera appreciation classes for anybody who would like to enhance their knowledge and enjoyment of opera. Alexander Katsman, Alumnus of the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, received his M.M. from Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia. Since his arrival in the U.S. in 1990, Alexander has been sought after as a conductor and collaborative pianist. Locally he conducted for Opera San Jose, West Bay Opera, Bayshore Lyric Opera, Berkeley Opera, Oakland Lyric Opera, Solo Opera, Livermore Valley Opera, San Francisco Lyric Opera, Martinez Opera, Diablo Light Opera and also at CalState University at Hayward and Diablo Valley College. His conducting credits include productions of Un Ballo in Maschera, Madama Butterfly, Der Rosenkavalier, Faust, Rigoletto, La Juive, Andrea Chenier, L’italiana in Algeri, La Cenerentola, Carmen, The Magic Flute, Manon, Suor Angelica, The Bartered Bride, Die Fledermaus, Orfeo et Euridice, Kismet, Sweeney Todd, The Student Prince, Carousel, The Most Happy Fella, Traviata, Fiddler on the Roof, and Merry Widow. Alexander serves on conducting and coaching faculties of Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute and Peninsula Teen Opera. He is also on the coaching staff at the Opera San Jose, San Francisco Conservatory and at the Holy Names University. Alexander’s upcoming productions include Mikado and La Boheme. Opera Academy of California (OAC) is a non-profit charitable and educational organization, founded to educate new audiences about opera, and to give promising young singers an opportunity to polish their craft. OAC brings quality performers and appreciative audiences together to broaden the audience who become passionate about this bravura form of musical theatre. OAC History:
OAC Upcoming Productions:
OAC is currently developing, also, a series of opera appreciation classes based on the season of the SF Opera and Opera Companies around the Bay Area. |
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