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Community Corner

Opera Theatre of Montclair Presents Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" - Act II

On Saturday, January 18, 2014, 8 PM, Opera Theatre of Montclair will present Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, Act II, at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 73 South Fullerton Avenue, Montclair.  Tickets are $30.00 and are available at www.operamontclair.org or by mailing a check to 32 Cloverhill Place, Montclair, NJ 07042.  Tickets will also be available at the door.  For more information regarding Opera Theatre of Montclair, contact the General Director, Mia Riker-Norrie, at 973-202-7849 or montclairdiva@gmail.com .  Frequent updates are posted to www.facebook.com/operamontclair .  As a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a 501(c)(3) arts service organization, OTM can accept tax-deductible donations.

The 65-piece Opera Orchestra of Montclair will be conducted by the esteemed Maestro David Gilbert.  Soprano Alison Bolshoi of Bloomfield will sing the role of Isolde.  Tenor John Packard of Philadelphia will sing the role of Tristan.  Soprano Valerie Bernhardt of Clifton will sing the role of Brangäne. Bass-baritone Michael O'Hearn of New York City will sing the role of King Marke. Baritone Samuel Bolshoi of Bloomfield will sing the roles of Kurwenal and Melot.     
The score of Tristan und Isolde has often been cited as a landmark in the development of Western music.  The opera is not often staged, even at major opera houses, due to the difficulty of casting the extremely challenging roles.  Act II contains one of the most famous love duets in the repertoire.

This fundraising performance will benefit Opera Theatre of Montclair in its goal of producing full-length, fully-staged opera with orchestra in and around Montclair.  Throughout the past year, all artists, conductors, staff, orchestra and singers have donated their services 100% in order to help launch the company.  Most venues have also donated their spaces for performances.  

The company was started in January 2013 by General Director and soprano Mia Riker-Norrie, a Montclair resident.  OTM does not seek to compete with the likes of The Metropolitan Opera, but rather to provide performances of full opera on an intimate scale providing much-needed performance opportunities for the many highly-skilled singers in our region.  Community collaboration is a priority, and OTM has already formed affiliations with Montclair State University, local churches and civic organizations.  They are currently seeking grant, corporate and individual donations so that they may produce their first full opera, Verdi's Nabucco.  OTM has been doing concerts for fundraising and publicity in local venues such as private homes, St. James Episcopal Church, Westminster Arts Center, Montclair Center Stage, Presby Memorial Iris Gardens, Oakeside Cultural Center and the former Ido Sushi in New York City. 
The company recently produced an abridged staged and costumed version of Mozart's The Magic Flute with chamber orchestra at Redeemer Montclair.  It was the first staged and costumed performance by the company, and all costumes were designed and created by Lisa Krizner-George, a Bloomfield resident formerly of the Metropolitan Opera Costume Shop.  

Conductor David Gilbert was trained in the Wagnerian repertoire as assistant to Pierre Boulez in the groundbreaking Centenary RING Cycle directed by Patrice Chereau for the Bayreuth Festival in Germany. Maestro Gilbert is also acclaimed for his dynamic performances with orchestras throughout the United States, the Far East and Europe. Born to a family of musicians, he received Bachelor and Master's degrees from the Eastman School of Music and won first prize in the 1970 Dimitri Mitropoulos International Conducting Competition. Assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic from 1970-1979, he was principal conductor of the American Ballet Theatre from 1971 to 1975. From 1980-82, at China's invitation, David Gilbert served as principal Guest Conductor of the Beijing Central Philharmonic. The first American musician to hold a position of prominence in China, Mr. Gilbert was instrumental in rebuilding that nation's major symphonic orchestra. Maestro Gilbert has many CD operatic releases, including Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring and Ned Rorem's Miss Julie, as well as CD releases of his own compositions. He is Music Director of the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra and Bergen Philharmonic as well as director of the Conducting Department of the Manhattan School of Music. 

The singers on the program boast many international credits.  OTM's orchestra is multi-generational, composed of highly-experienced professional musicians and very advanced students (Manhattan School of Music, College and Pre-college; The Juilliard School; Hartt School of Music; New York Youth Symphony; Cali School of Music).

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