When most people think of opera they think of lavish productions with enormous sets, rich costumes and lighting, virtuoso tenors and the proverbial fat lady singing.  Opera Ithaca, the region's new professional opera company, breaks those stereotypes.  With its first production under its belt and another due to open March 28th has hit the ground running.  General Director Zachary James and Artistic Director Lynn Craver say they are bringing an intimate version of professional opera to Ithaca.

"We want to do something exciting and visceral," James says.  "There is something really thrilling about opera in an intimate space.  Imagine 20 people singing at once in the Lehman Theater.  Your whole body is going to vibrate in the audiance."

He is talking about the upcoming production of Il Sogno, set to open March 28th.  James will direct the production, and it will be performed by professional singers including Canadian baritone Michael Nyby as Demetrius.  Il Sogno is an operatic fantasy based on the dream in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream by Kristin Heather Wyatt.  Costume Designer Anna Grigo has created entirely waste-free costume designs that James says is a perfect fit for Ithaca.


"We're really excited about it because Kristin Heather Wyatt is a living and female composer," James says.  "The sets and costumes are completely waste-free designs.  I think it's really important because theater design does waste a lot, especially when you talk about the lavish productions where the sets are burned afterwards."

Grigo is an Ithaca College Student who designed the current production of Little Women as well as last month's Running to Places production of Fame.

"It started as a joke," Craver says.  "We had a conversation about some of the paper products we had for marketing our last production.  Someone said 'Oh we should make costumes out of it -- ha ha'.  The rest is history."

To mount an opera you minimally need a rehearsal space, a piano player, and a venue for the actual performances.  The company would love to have a home-base, but for now the 'business office' is where James and Craver meet at Gimme! Coffee, and rehearsal spaces are wherever they can find a room.

"We are a roaming band of gypsies right now," James says.  "We were at CSMA.  Next we're going to be at the Lehman Alternative Community School Theatre.  We've used the CRS Barn Studio for rehearsal.  We often rehearse at the Ithaca Ballet.  So we've made a lot of friends in the community and everyone's eager to help out.  That is one of the most exciting things."

Craver and James are Ithaca College alumni who pursued professional opera careers after graduating.  Hailing from Spring Hill Florida, James recently moved to Ludlowville from New York City.  He has a deep bass voice and travels to work with various opera companies.  He says he likes the 'calmer' Ithaca atmosphere for a home base.  It is a lot of work as well as a lot of travel - he has been learning one role per month for the last six months.  His career in opera started when he was in college.

"My voice teacher Carol McAmis encouraged me to train classically," James says.  "She started giving me extra lessons and it really took off.  I ended up pursuing opera instead of musical theater. I've done both, but I've been a professional opera singer now for 13 years.  It's a crazy life.  But it's a really exciting life."

Opera Ithaca Artistic Director Lynn Craver and General Director Zachary James
Originally from Rochester, NY, Craver fell in love with opera in high school when music teacher Ralph Zecchino encouraged her to begin voice lessons.

"I said, 'No, that's not for cool kids.'  He said, 'Just try it. if you don't like it drop out of class.'," she recalls.  "He started to bring me vinyl LPs of Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne.  I put them on my turntable and just fell in love with the art."

She worked in New York City before taking a break to have a child.  She was also a pre-school teacher for 18 years and recently finished a masters degree at Ithaca College and Opera Ithaca is her re-entry into opera.  She says that there will be an education element to the new company's activities.

"I think not for profit administrators need to be educators as well," she says.  "Here's this art form.  Have you been exposed to it?  This is why you should be exposed to it.  This is what it can do for a community.  This is what it can do for your soul and your life and everything else.  It combines all of my passions."

One look and you see Craver, a coloratura soprano, is not the stereotypical fat lady. She says that the current movement for opera singers is not to be heavy, which she notes is also not healthy.  And while she has not broken any champagne glasses while singing, she has a powerful voice.

"I killed a mouse with my voice once, or pretty much shocked it," she laughs.  "Well, it was more like a scream.  In my car."

After James moved to Ludlowville the two heard of each other, and soon met.  They shared a desire to form an opera company that would attract professional singers and provide a venue for professional opera singers who live here such as Stephen Stull, who will be appearing in Il Sogno.  They have obtained fiscal sponsorship through Fractured Atlas to supplement ticket revenue.  The money goes to pay the artists and other production costs.

"We both had the same vision and had heard of each other," James says.  "We teamed up and it was a match.  So we decided to go right ahead and plan our first production.  We mounted Bluebeard's Castle in October with no money and a lot of creativity."

While Craver is Artistic Director and James General Director, they say the company is too new and small to strictly adhere to titles.  The two of them do everything.  While James's title implies he takes care of the business side, he is also directing Il Sogno this month.  The first full-cast workshop was held for the 23 member cast last week.  There are also a couple of understudies and a five-person chamber orchestra, as well as a full production staff.

Joining the professional cast are several student singers in the chorus, plus newcomers Eric Flyte and Counter Tenor Ryan Kennedy for whom Il Sogno will be their first professional opera job.

"It's important to us as Ithaca Collage Alumni that we help create opportunities," Craver says.  "We were those kids as well.   There was an opera company here when I was in school. I had an opportunity to perform with them.  I still think of those memories and what it gave me and I'd like to create that opportunity for other up and coming artists."

The company's premier production, Bluebeard's Castle by Bela bartok, filled the house at CMSA, and they hope to duplicate that with Il Sogno.  Craver and James both say they are delighted they are able to play to full houses.

"I think I was surprised because Ithaca is an arts-rich community," Craver says.  "There were four other organizations performing that night and it was our first night out.  We didn't have a reputation or a subscription series.  Considering all those things were going on we still snagged 150 people per night.  it's fantastic."

Craver and James say local support has been enthusiastic.

"Many people came up to me and said 'I'm so glad it's here. I travel an hour to go to Syracuse or Tri-Cities'", Craver says.  "It's so great that we're adding another dimension.  We are going to do literature that's a little different. We're going to try to have standard repertoire in our season, but because we are smaller we have the ability to do new works, and productions outside the box."

The pair have already announced plans for the next year.  Il Sogno opens March 28th.  A concert version of Don Giovani by Mozart is planned for this summer.  John Gay's The Beggar's Opera will be produced in the Fall.  Then The Juniper tree by Philip Glass and Robert Moran will be performed in the spring of 2016.

"We're doing it for the passion right now and we hope that it picks up," James says.  "We clock a couple of hours a day on this and each have separate jobs and lives.  It's a big labor of love but we believe in it strongly.  Every great town needs an opera company.  We have big dreams and we think the support is there. We're committed to the longevity of this.  We want Ithaca to have this company."

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