In 1984, soprano Marjorie Kahn auditioned for the title role in the production of Carmen directed by Peter Brooks at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center. They were set on using a mezzo for the role, so Kahn was not cast. Nonetheless, experiencing the production as an audience member was a pivotal experience for Kahn and gave a glimpse to what lay ahead in her future.
“I just loved how Peter Brooks reached a brand new audience with this version of the classic opera. It was so accessible and theatrical-not to mention being a very sexy production.”
The power of Brooks’ abridged Carmen stayed with Kahn for years. She toyed with the idea of producing an abridged opera of her own, in an effort to bridge the distance she perceived between professional opera and the general public.
“It really bothered me that that relatively few people had ever seen a first-rate, fully professional operatic production. It was frustrating to know that many people were discouraged from attending operas in traditional venues because they were prohibited by the significant cost and time involved.”
She also recognized that many people were intimidated by the foreign languages in which the classic operas are performed, or held long-standing misconceptions that opera is inaccessible to the “novice” audience member.
As the years passed, Kahn continued to maintain her professional performance career, but her passion to bring opera to a wider audience remained. In 2000, she decided to do something about it. She produced and starred in an abridged version of Carmen, presented with English narrations. Titled Carmen in the Afternoon, the production was performed at Danny’s Skylight Room on Theatre Row in New York City, and Kahn’s company, La Piccola Opera (“opera in miniature”), was born.
“I truly had an affinity for Carmen. I always had the feeling I could sing Carmen, even before I really learned how to sing. I also knew it was the perfect show to reach people who had never had the opportunity to experience live opera before.”
Kahn set to work to create an hour-long adaptation that would maintain the highest professional standards. After she determined which musical pieces to include, she engaged the assistance of mezzo Gisela Ramos, whom she had met during a Carmen production the year before. With Kahn’s input, Ramos wrote the narrations that served as transitions between the musical pieces.
“Gisela is a wonderful writer, and we just seemed to click together,” Kahn says, with warm appreciation for this synergetic relationship.
Kahn then assembled a company of four singers, including herself. Her first company consisted of talented professionals with whom she had worked in the past, though she now has garnered a reputation that has brought many interested singers her way. For this first production, she called upon Kelly Horsted to serve as musical director.
“Kelly was my vocal coach, right arm, and ears par excellence for the previous 10 years. It was a natural progression for him to serve as musical director for La Piccola Opera.”
Determined to offer a theatrical production of the highest caliber, Kahn had the costumes professionally made. She spoke to a seamstress who had altered her costume gowns in the past, who agreed to build the costumes from Kahn’s sketches and ideas. These costumes are still used in La Piccola Opera performances, though they are supplemented with rentals and pieces from the performers’ personal wardrobes.
Having performed cabarets at Danny’s Skylight Room, Kahn was familiar with its setup and knew that the setting was perfect for Carmen in the Afternoon. The production premiered on September 24th, 2000, at 2:00 p.m. to an enthusiastic audience. While her original vision was to have several performances grow into a steady run of the show, a comment from an impressed audience member caused Kahn to change the direction of La Piccola OperaÕs mission.
Audience member Noel Berman, a trustee of the Music Performer’s Trust Fund, suggested to Kahn that the abridged Carmen was ideal for school assembly programs. Kahn was thrilled at the idea of exposing young people to opera, and his comment set her imagination reeling.
“I had longed for a way to bring opera into the lives of children and teenagers, in order to expose them to the timeless beauty of opera and open their ears to a different kind of music than what they were used to listening to.” Kahn felt strongly that if students could see how the storylines of the great operas relate to their own lives, it could combat the myth that operatic music has nothing to do with our modern world.
Berman proceeded to write a letter of recommendation on La Piccola Opera’s behalf to Arts Horizons, an MPTF-sponsored agency that books school performances. The coming season of 2001, La Piccola Opera signed with Arts Horizons to perform abridged versions of Carmen and The Barber of Seville for school assembly programs. The first year was very successful, and in addition to school bookings, La Piccola Opera began to perform in community concert venues, libraries, and senior centers.
Also in 2001, La Piccola Opera performed a production of Carmen for the Riverside Opera Company, which was videotaped and presented on public television in Staten Island, New York. Kahn also was approached to present a La Boheme in a joint production with the Riverside Opera Company. With La Piccola Opera enjoying such inspired growth, Kahn was eager to find a stage director and found exactly what she was looking for in Robert Perry.
“I got a tip that Robert Perry, who had sung at City Opera, was now interested in directing. I called him, and he was indeed interested and quite excited to stage La Boheme. The rest is history. He has now directed all of the operas we do.”
Perry joins each production after the performers have completed 8-10 two-hour music rehearsals led by musical director Horsted. Kahn has now triple-cast each of the operas in order to deal with the inevitable problems that come up when working within the confines of singers’ schedules. There are now eleven singers included in the La Piccola Opera company. When speaking of the entire company, Kahn is glowing in her remarks:
“I have been very fortunate in that everyone in the company works extremely well together, and we are all very comfortable with each other. The rehearsals are a work in progress, so no one feels that they have to be perfect or afraid that they will be criticized if they are trying out something new. Kelly Horsted and Robert Perry are very patient and kind when making suggestions and giving directions, which allows everyone to be free to express himself or herself creatively without being self-conscious.”
By the second season with Arts Horizons in 2002, yet another opera was added to the repertoire: La Traviata. La Traviata completed a solid set of four exciting offerings of the most popular operas of all time, all in the signature abridged format for which La Piccola Opera is becoming known.
While Kahn obviously loves what she is doing with La Piccola Opera, she is not hesitant to speak of the challenges of this multi-faceted project.”ÒOne challenge is coordinating rehearsals so that all the cast members are available when I need them. Each show is triple-cast, but it still is not easy to be sure that an entire ensemble will be available for performances. I still get freaked that someone will not show up for a performance, or that something will happen and I won’t have a full cast.”
Administratively, Kahn cites her biggest challenge as securing work. With stellar focus, Kahn methodically sends out mailings, makes phone calls, and is persistent in following up with connections.
“Time and time again, I’ve proven the old adage-the squeaky wheel gets the oil,” Kahn quips.
Kahn is now working to promote her company to the next level and bring La Piccola Opera performances to corporate events, benefits, community concert series and private affairs, and to offer a pre-packaged productions for theater and opera companies. While she has gone into debt investing in a website (www.LaPiccolaOpera.com) and a movie screen ad that began running on June 1st, she remains excited about the direction in which her company is going.
Amidst the challenges of putting all the pieces together to make these performances happen, Kahn is determined not to lose focus of La Piccola Opera’s mission: to make great operatic music available to all audiences and individuals, regardless of their age, income, demographic background, or knowledge of music.
“Whether they are opera lovers who do not have the financial means to attend traditional operas, or they are being exposed to opera for the first time, audiences love these operas, and that is very gratifying.”
One audience member reported, “What I really enjoyed was the translation. It made me fall in love with the story. Had it not been for your shortened version, I never would have known that I loved opera.” Today, this person attends several operas a year, affirming KahnÕs bold and heartfelt mission to create a new generation of opera lovers through La Piccola Opera performances.
Note: To see La Piccola Opera in action, you can attend a performance in their run of The Barber of Seville at DannyÕs Skylight Room, 246 West 46th Street, New York, NY, on August 12th, 19th, and 26th @ 7:00pm. Visit www.LaPiccolaOpera.com for more details.
If you want to create a company to perform abridged operas, here are Marjorie Kahn’s tips for getting started:
Step 1: Decide on how many people will be in your company, including the musical and artistic director.
Step 2: Decide what opera you would like to do, keeping in mind the number of singers that you are working with. The number of singers in your company will play a large part in which opera you select. Bear in mind that some operas will have two small parts that can be played by the same singer. Make sure you are clear on your selection before you continue.
Step 3: Determine the length for your abridged opera. Next, start timing out the music from professionally recorded performances. Remember that if your abridged opera is to run for one hour, there can be no more than 45 minutes of music, so that fifteen minutes can be allotted to the narrations.
Step 4: Write the narrations, either by yourself or in collaboration with someone else. Ask several people to read them and, especially, to hear them read out loud. While you will continue to tweak them during rehearsals, it is helpful to have the text as solid as possible from the start.
Step 5: Secure your cast and production team (musical director, stage director). Settle on terms and fees for the performers. You may be able to get singers to rehearse gratis, in order to get the opera going, but you will need to have some startup money to use for accompanist fees.
Step 6: Set up a rehearsal schedule for the cast and stick to it. La Piccola Opera usually rehearses 12-15 times prior to performing in a paid venue. For operas that we’ve already rehearsed, we do “refresher” rehearsals to tighten things up, if we haven’t performed it in a while. Be sure to schedule “practice performances” in venues that are not paying you the big fees, just expenses, so that your cast will be comfortable when they are performing a new opera for an important regular paying venue. Senior Centers are an excellent option for “practice performances.”
Step 7: Ask your cast to bring what ever they have in their closet to rehearsals to see if any of their own clothes will work for costumes before purchasing real ones.
Step 8: Think creatively to come up with performance ideas and venues. For example, you could start small by collaborating with a church music director in a joint production. Audiences could give a donation at the door, and your company could split the proceeds with the church. Network enthusiastically, telling your friends and associates about the services your company provides. Determine what budget you have at your disposal for mailing flyers or postcards. Allow yourself to think outside the box and be open to exploring new venues and possibilities.
Step 9: Keep impeccable records. It’s important to keep track of invoices, contracts, and all communications pertaining to your company. Copy letters, print out e-mails, and organize them in a binder. It’s important to create a paper trail, especially when dealing with finances. Also, be sure to elicit feedback from every venue in which you perform. Testimonials are a priceless marketing tool.
Step 10: Don’t lose site of the passion! It’s easy to get bogged down with administrative details, so itÕs important to remember to enjoy the performance process, and make an effort to connect with your audience so that you can take in their appreciation. Post-performance discussions are a wonderful opportunity to see first-hand the effect that your work has on audiences of all ages and demographics.
[Editor’s note: for more information on doing shows such as these, see Make Money Performing in Schools-A Definitive Guide to Developing, Marketing, and Presenting School Assembly Programs by David Heflick. Go to the CS website bookshelf for ordering info.]
