Perhaps the primary challenge that opera faces today is its need to reinvigorate itself with fresh talent and connect to a new, younger audience. In any time, the creation of a new opera company, however small, would be something to celebrate. But in 2001 it takes on a deeper meaning, because the emphasis on innovation and openness to new talent that opera needs is more likely to come from these smaller, more nimble companies rather than the established giants of the opera world. The Jade Opera Company is part of a new generation of intimate “startup” opera companies that are trying to help opera reach a younger, more intimate audience while it gives its up-and-coming performers invaluable stage experience. The story of the creation of Jade is worth noting because it is, one can hope, a harbinger of things to come— young artists making their own opportunities as they seek to take control of their craft and futures. I was eager to find out what drove the three young founders of Jade to take such a risk and the steps necessary to make it a reality.
Jade’s founders, Danielle DaVerio, soprano, Jocelyn Rubin, mezzo, and Alison Ostergaard, soprano, met in a summer workshop last year. They enjoyed their experience, but when fall rolled around they all found themselves faced with the same problem: they wanted more stage experience and role immersion, but could not find a suitable course or program to help them take the next step. All that seemed available was paying for crash course “stand and sing” or “park and bark” role preparation classes or blanket auditioning in the hope of getting on stage. Both Rubin and DaVerio had received their Masters Degrees in voice, but after graduating, found they didn’t have the full role experience needed for many of the higher-end apprentice programs or opera companies at the level-two or even level-three audition listings.
“After grad school I realized that getting on your feet was the only way to really learn,” DaVerio explains, “but I found that the number of apprentice programs has decreased so much that the competition is much higher. I hear of people that sound like they could almost be at the Met going into lower profile programs. So for me, somebody who is still figuring it out, there simply is no place, and not because I’m not good. There just isn’t anything. But you can’t just sit around and wait.”
In contrast, Ostergaard’s background was in straight theatre where small startups are much more the norm. So few singers learn or participate in any of the stage craft/tech-based elements that go into putting an opera on stage that they are unable to respect or even understand the process, from lighting to stage design. Few opera programs ever explain what goes on back-stage or in the lighting booth, let alone provide any kind of broad based, hands-on back-stage experience. In almost every small theatre company, each performer helps with everything, from striking the set to finding props, which leads to a fuller understanding of what it takes to put on a show. Singers too often stand outside that process, concerning themselves only with their singing and denying themselves this understanding of what goes on behind the scenes. It leads to the schism that seems so prevalent between the singers and the stage crew, each not understanding the other and viewing each other with suspicion or not at all. So with a desire to get into real character study and to create a program that would provide exactly the hands-on experience they craved, they set out to create their own opera company and craft a production that they could both learn from and be proud of.
“You get out of school, and the one thing that everyone seems baffled about is having to learn a role and get stage experience. It seems to be the most important thing but no one is doing it,” Rubin explains. Both DaVerio and Rubin had very negative past experiences with role preparation courses in New York and were desperate not to repeat their mistakes.
“There is so much generic opera being done,” Rubin says, “not just at this level, but you go to performances and characterizations are very bland. There is nothing going on. Doing the bare minimum of just learning a role isn’t very exciting. If you’re going to do something you want to explore it more fully. Opera deserves that.”
DaVerio adds, “Continuing to train people to ‘stand and sing’ is pretty boring and in a climate where you have to be competitive, there is no reason not to explore it [an opera] fully.”
So the Jade Opera Company was born. The first order of business was to raise money, which turned out to be easier than they had thought. They sent out professional-style fundraising letters to everyone they knew asking for donations, and got more than they expected. “People are more eager to help a young creative endeavor like ours than I imagined. Even just twenty bucks, it adds up,” Rubin says.
Choosing a small, hundred-seat venue on West 42nd street helped cut costs as well. Ostergaard did the math, and they chose the largest venue that would allow them to recoup this investment. Finally, by double casting the show, the budget was realized. Most smaller shows are double cast but with only a short rehearsal schedule. For Jade, they set a lengthy two-month rehearsal schedule to accommodate their desire to focus on characterization and acting choices.
“I think we were very reasonable in terms of cast costs. Two hundred and fifty dollars for a full production and rehearsal schedule is not bad. Especially considering what people pay for many of these one or two week programs that don’t even get into staging at all,” DaVerio says.
So with their sights set on true role emersion and character development, the young women set about finding a director and production team who fit the bill. They soon recognized that perhaps the opera world was not the best place to look. Ostergaard’s background in theater arts made the search easier.
“Because we crossed the line between the worlds of pure opera and pure theater, we tapped into a lot of resources that most singers don’t know are out there,” Rubin explains. They found a whole community of young theater people eager to work on anything, people with skill but without much experience. People like themselves. Many of the young people worked for very little or nothing, often just for the experience. This saved even more on production costs and added a greater sense of esprit de corps.
“The theater people know that hands-on, on your feet production is the only way to learn. So they were more than willing to work with us,” Ostergaard explains. “The first major step we took was to hire a director who was not a singer, but was a director from a theater standpoint. He was a director with a total vision who was able to speak to each singer based on character and all of that stuff that goes into a role. All of which you won’t get if you pay three hundred dollars to stand up and sing it.”
DaVerio adds, “I found that a lot of directors in opera aren’t opera directors or theater directors, but singers who direct. After working with that, having someone who demands of you a full characterization is very satisfying. I know dozens of people who do concert versions of everything and that’s a great way to learn. Good for them, they know the notes. But that’s only a quarter of knowing a role; you still don’t get the role in your body.” Having theatrical-level demands placed on their characterizations was just what they had in mind when they started the project.
“We had a director and production team that didn’t treat us as just ‘the voices,’ but rather as performers,” DaVerio says. “In a climate where there are so few opportunities at almost all of the levels, we need to be the most well-rounded performers that we can be. It’s not enough to have the most beautiful voice, and it’s sometimes not the thing that gets you the job. We wanted our production to speak to that and I think it did.”
They decided on Tracey Bersley, a young stage director with whom Ostergaard had worked earlier in straight theater in Syracuse. Tracey immediately began getting the singers, who were now treated more like actors, to become comfortable with the stage space and each other.
The smaller venue forced them to become more comfortable with their characters and set pieces, as the audience was only feet, sometimes inches away from them.
“Opera needs to be intimate, it was meant to be that way. And you don’t need a big organization or big money or a big place. So much can be lost in the big theaters—not that I don’t want to sing in one—it’s just that such an intimate space forces you to fully inhabit your character and really become a ‘stage animal,’ just living and breathing and crawling on stage. Just totally free,” Ostergaard declares.
Rubin adds, “This kind of real in-depth character study is very rare in opera. She also got us to be so specific in our movements and decisions that it became impossible for us to become tense in our singing, as it was not the only priority.”
“For Tracey, story telling is put first,” Ostergaard said. The concern was consistently: Are we getting this across? Is this moment telling the story? Does this work? Story telling is often missing in opera. It is taken for granted that the audience understands the story already so they don’t try as hard. So much is lost then.”
The response to the four sold out shows has been very positive. Rubin explains, “The main thing I got from people was (A) I didn’t think opera was this much fun and (B) I understood everything.”
Ostergaard was also pleased at the response. “People were saying, ‘I’ve seen Cosi three times and I’ve never understood the story and never had fun,’” she says. “One guy even said he’d seen it in English and didn’t understand the story. Then he sees us do it in Italian (with no subtitles) and he walks away with a better understanding of opera.”
Rubin interjects, “Even better, old school opera buffs said to me, ‘I never enjoyed Cosi, but tonight I laughed.’ This is a veteran opera fan who found something new that he enjoyed in this production. Even better was looking around after the performance and seeing the pure joy on the faces of the cast. One man, who I worked with before in a small production came up to me after and said, ‘I am so proud of what we did here. Even if I made a big name for myself I would come back for a company like this.’ That was just so satisfying.”
As I watched the three young ladies discuss their trials and tribulations, I couldn’t help but feel their excitement and enthusiasm at having been part of something that they created and believed in. You could see it in their faces and body language, and feel it in the air. It was very contagious and no doubt translated to their audience. If only more singers and companies could get excited about what they are doing and stop thinking only of their voice and their star. Maybe if more would actually care, the days of the cliché “stand and sing” opera would be over. That is what will bring new fresh faces into the audience. Not more distance or set gimmicks. Audiences feel it when the singers really care about what they are doing. That is what they will react to, real emotion and affection for the art. But that is too rarely the case these days. Something Ms. Rubin said earlier really stays with me. She is right. Opera deserves more.
