Vancouver Opera is hip!

Jeff Sodowsky
Chief Development Officer
Vancouver Opera

At a recent open house of The Michael & Inna O’Brian Centre for Vancouver Opera for subscribers, I had several guests comment to me how intrigued and impressed they were with the space. 

These 30,000 square feet seem to ooze creativity. It houses where we rehearse, make and store costumes, props and some scenic elements, along with our administrative and ticket centre operations. The building located at 1945 McLean Drive has an inspired history as well. This former mattress factory was also the early home for Lululemon.

Our renovations were minimal but effective. Our space planner and designer, Janay Koldingnes of DIALOG, infused the space with punches of the artistry that make us excited about the work that we do. She also helped the company establish a more open and collaborative physical working environment. 

Instead of being spread over six different working locales with lots of walls and doors, we are now all under one roof with many communal spaces to come together in working toward producing the best opera productions possible with our resources. 

Music Library

The look of The O’Brian Centre is contemporary and clean while still being warm and not fussy. Many of our visitors get a big smile when they enter the building and make their way to the front desk. They are greeted by a striking wall papered with a mural of European style opera boxes from one of the world’s grandest opera houses. .

Mural in Reception

Up close

 It was so much fun to open the January 2012 issue of Canadian House & Home to discover on page 50 that this very same design element was featured as one of this year’s “hottest looks”

While the finishing touches for our space continue to evolve, it is a pleasure to welcome people into our new home. We hope that in time many community organizations will have the opportunity to utilize the space; educational groups will be able to come in and enjoy our orchestra, choral and staging rehearsals; and the public may enjoy the resources available in our music library, etc. Opening the door to a few hundred subscribers was an enjoyable way to show this special space and offer a glimpse into life beyond the performances at the theatre. 

- Jeff Sodowsky
Chief Development Officer
Vancouver Opera

Proof that VO patrons are the most stylish in the land!

Christine is a VO subscriber and volunteer. You may have seen her at the theatre, always dressed to the nines in her signature unique style. Looks like others are taking notice: yesterday, Christine was snapped on the street for the AAA Culture Serf - Vancouver Style blog.

Culture Serf writes:

Beautiful – this woman is so put together. The powder blue suit makes her blue eyes pop, as does the slight tinge of blue in her collar, and she frames these pastels with a beautiful black coat. She had this collar custom-coloured and tailored to match fur-trimmed gloves, and using the leftovers she had enough for matching trim on a hat. Doesn’t the complementary colour of the orange bag electrify the blues? At one time this woman wanted to study at Parsons in NYC, but she has obviously kept that artistic sense alive in her work in banking.

Nicely done, Christine!

I noticed a poster at the Italian Cultural Centre in Vancouer for Hansel & Gretel on Feb. 25th but the front desk didn't know anything about it. How do I get tickets to this event and what is the cost? Is it appropriate for 3 year olds?

The Hansel & Gretel performance on Feb. 25th is for the Italian Cultural Centre school's students and families. If one is an ICC member, they should contact the ICC's school administrator. Alternatively, if one is not part of the Italian Cultural Centre, you can check here for a list of public performances:

http://www.vancouveropera.ca/vois.html

Generally, our VOIS shows are performed for elementary school-aged children. We have had 3 year olds attend our public performances, but it is up to the discretion of the parent to know if their child can sit attentively for the duration of the show, which is 45 minutes.

Ask me anything

Susbcriber Appreciation Night at VO

Last Thursday we invited our subscribers to the O'Brian Centre for Vancouver Opera to show them just how much we appreciate them. They toured the building, learned how productions are put together, had a sneak peek at our upcoming production of Tea: A Mirror of Soul, and scarfed some delicious treats. Here some snapshots from that night.

In the Martha Lou Henley Rehearsal Hall, going over the last few details before
we throw open the doors to the public! We're expecting more than 200 subscribers
to come through our doors tonight.

Mmm sandwiches!

Check out that spread!

A free poster for each subscriber. The 2011-2012 illustrations are by
Brian Stauffer, and the posters were designed by VO's Graphic Designer Annie Mack.

A chance to see Musetta's dress close-up. This dress was
worn by Monica Huisman in the 2008 production of
La Bohème

Special Projects Manager Jennifer Lord leads a tour. Here, she's describing
how the sprung dance floor was installed just in time for
West Side Story rehearsals.

Doug carefully removes all danger from the tour route. Our Assistant Technical
Director, Gregg Steffensen builds smaller set pieces here for our mainstage
and Vancouver Opera In Schools touring productions.

Touring the Production and Props areas.

Our Head of Props is Valerie Moffat. Let's give her a hand!

Through the Production offices, where we see bits and pieces from several
productions, including this giant sign from 2003-2004's The Threepenny Opera.

The Production area kitchen, where we run into The Motones! The Motones
barbershop quartet was on hand to provide fun musical entertainment
for our guests.

We leave the Motones to rehearse as we continue our tour.

Through the big doors and back into the other part of the building. The O'Brian
Centre is split into two sections: Production at one end, and the MLH Rehearsal
Hall at the other. Admin offices are upstairs.

Into Wardrobe! Head of Costumes Parvin Mirhady tells our guests how
costumes get built and altered for each production.

And back into the Martha Lou Henley Rehearsal Hall.

The Motones serenade the crowd. Along with the sprung floor, the mirrors along the
back wall were installed for our West Side Story dance rehearsals.

Our guests are delighted by the roving Motones!

The catering is well-received.

General Director James Wright with a subscriber.

Thanks for coming! And thanks for supporting Vancouver Opera!

Opera Magazine Loves our West Side Story!

I received my copy of Opera magazine today. Published in the UK, Opera truly takes an international view of the art form, reviewing the productions of companies around the world, presenting interesting stories on singers, producers, creative artists, etc., and sharing news of the industry.

Vancouver Opera is reviewed occasionally – more frequently in the past couple of years than previously – but not every production we put on appears in Opera.

I was very pleased to see a really glowing review of our West Side Story in the latest issue. The critic, Bernard Jacobson asked, “How well can an opera company production of West Side Story stack up against the brilliant movie Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise made of this quintessential Broadway masterpiece?” He answered, “Very well indeed. In some respects... [VO's production] can even be said to have outshone the movie version.”

Some readers may be aghast - some may say, “never!” and some may think, hmm...maybe.... I, of course, am happy to agree with him! But the writer lays out the arguments for his case strongly and succinctly, lavishing praise on everyone involved along the way: Leslie Dala’s conducting, Ken Cazan’s vision and staging, Tracy Flye’s choreography, Cameron Anderson’s set design, the singers, the dancers, the costumes... all get kudos from Opera magazine.

Of course, this makes me very proud of the production and all involved with its creation, and bolsters my already-strong belief in the validity of West Side Story for the opera house and for its place in the repertoire. It also confirms my feeling that an opera company can bring its considerable forces to a major music theatre piece such as West Side Story in a way that’s hard for any other regional arts organization to equal.

As we embark on a major strategic planning initiative at Vancouver Opera, we are seriously considering the ramifications – positive and perhaps some negative – of producing “music theatre” in addition to what’s commonly perceived as “opera.” Do we? What? How often? In lieu of what, if anything? As we toss around these ideas, it is inspiring and instructional to read today the opinion of the respected trade paper, Opera magazine.

- James Wright
General Director, Vancouver Opera
@jwwright61

The Volunteer Committee of Amatori dell'Opera

Carmen Murphy
Development Manager, Individual Giving
Vancouver Opera

My primary role at Vancouver Opera is fundraising and stewardship of our major donors. Part of what I also do is participate in a committee that attracts and stewards planned gifts to Vancouver Opera: the Amatori dell'Opera committee.

Amatori dell’Opera means “lovers of opera”. To Vancouver Opera, this means that the person has professed to “love opera” and has made plans to leave a gift to us. There are more than 75 Amatori members today. 

The committee of Amatori dell’Opera is made up of volunteers, all of whom are Amatori members themselves. These committee members meet at least quarterly to plan marketing opportunities, seminars, provide ideas for house program ads and updates on cultivation and stewardship activities.

Recently, I had the distinct pleasure of making a presentation on the value of our Amatori dell’Opera committee volunteers.

The Canadian Association of Gift Planners invited me to speak at a panel presentation yesterday at their monthly breakfast meeting at the Terminal City Club in Vancouver. The invitation sent to the membership of the CAGP was

Bequests, advice, teas and beyond: the magic of volunteers in the Planned Giving world. Learn from a panel of planned giving experts representing 3 non-profit organizations about how volunteers have helped to make their meaningful contribution that benefits both the cause and you personally.

My co-presenters were Joanne McLellan, Director, Gift Planning, Lion’s Gate Hospital Foundation and Heather Wardle, Development Director, Seva Canada.

 

Before I made the presentation, I asked members of the Amatori committee to tell me why they wanted to be a part of this volunteer group. Their responses were almost unanimous: to make a personal commitment to making sure Vancouver Opera is well supported, to ensure that their legacy will sustain their love of opera, to make a valuable contribution to planning the future of Vancouver Opera, to promote what they believe to be vital and important.

I believe in the value of volunteers, and the dedication of the Amatori dell’Opera is one great example of the power and strength of volunteers in our company.

- Carmen Murphy
Development Manager, Individual Giving
Vancouver Opera

To find out more about Amatori dell'Opera, email us!

Coming to Vancouver?

Coming to Vancouver but don't know where to stay? We have a nifty hotel search engine that you can use to plan your trip. It will give you a range of hotels close to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

Check it out here.