Monthly Archives: October 2014

Win a One Night Stay at The Modern Hotel

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Hawaii Opera Theatre wants you to win one night stay at The Modern Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii!

Everyone who has purchased an individual ticket to Hawaii Opera Theatre’s (HOT) 2014 “Gorgeously Gothic” Opera Ball being held Saturday, November 8, 2014, at The Modern Honolulu, will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win one of two One Night Stays at The Modern Hotel.

This black-tie evening will celebrate HOT’s 2014-2015 season finale, Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, and will be based on Victorian themes of the day with food, entertainment and surprises galore!

The event begins at 6:00 p.m. and will continue through 11:00 p.m.  Along with a specially designed dinner, there will be the usual outstanding entertainment and of course dancing.  The Opera Ball is greatly appreciated for its live entertainment featuring performances by Hawaii Opera Theatre artists, including its Mae Z. Orvis Opera Studio singers, both adult and youth.

Please join us!

If you haven’t yet purchased a ticket, you still can, and be entered for your chance to win a one night stay at The Modern Hotel.

Buy your ticket online here, call (808) 596-7372, or email development@hawaiiopera.org (individual ticket or table or donation of $350 or more by the end of Tuesday, 11/5/2015.)

For questions, email development@hawaiiopera.org or call Nicole Kobayashi at (808) 596-7372 X 203

HOT Education Presents The Pirates of Penzance!

Hawaii Theatre Pirates of Penzance

Tickets are on sale now to the Nov. 5 performance of HOT Education’s presentation of The Pirates of Penzance at the historic Hawaii Theatre in Downtown Honolulu!  For tickets, call (808) 528-0506!

You do not want to miss this fun comedy classic, which stars Members of HOT’s Mae Z. Orvis Opera Studio!

For more information and to buy tickets online, visit Hawaii Theatre’s Show Page!

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Opera in a Warehouse – Siren Song Kickstarter Fundraiser

Hawaii Opera Theatre Siren Song

Be a part of history as you #SupportLocalArts and back HOT’s Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to raise money for our Opera in a warehouse, Siren Song!

Why would you be a part of history?

  • HOT ventures into new territory with our fourth production of the season (for the first time in 20 years)
  • This new venue is being developed in a revitalized warehouse in collaboration with Kamehameha Schools in the Urban Arts District of Kaka’ako
  • Your support goes towards the staging of a modern opera by Jonathan Dove for the very first time in Hawaii!

Why support through Kickstarter?

  • Our goal is to raise $22,000 on Kickstarter, and it’s an all or nothing endeavor!  Every penny counts and your pledge will only be charged through Amazon’s secure payments system if we reach our goal.
  • Crowdfunding gives the option of fun rewards and incentives at different levels to get involved. Check out the Siren Song Rewards on our Kickstarter and choose the one that excites you the most!
  • HOT is a non-profit and your donation is tax deductible!!!

How to support through Kickstarter?

  • Register with Kickstarter
  • Select your favorite reward (or no reward if you just want to donate)
  • Log-in to your Amazon account and confirm the total
  • Spread the word via email to your friends and family who might be interested in being a part of history!

Madam Butterfly Memories

This run of Madam Butterfly is in the books!

The Star-Advertiser raved about it as a ‘must-see’ as audiences filled the Blaisdell each night with their presence and even greater ovations!

Let the memories live on with these beautiful photos by David Takagi, long-time HOT Supporter & Board Member, whose work has graced the pages of the New York Times!

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Honolulu Magazine: Behind-the-Scenes of Madam Butterfly

Go behind-the-scenes of HOT’s production of Puccini’s Madam Butterfly with these amazing photos of last week’s VIP Night and Opera for Everyone by Ross Hamamura/SONY for Honolulu Magazine online now!

Photographer: Ross D. Hamamura - RDHphoto.net

Soprano Lina Tetriani getting into character with the magic of HOT’s Wig & Makeup Designer Sue Sittko Schaefer

Photographer: Ross D. Hamamura - RDHphoto.net

Getting pumped for HOT Education’s Opera for Everyone!

Photographer: Ross D. Hamamura - RDHphoto.net

Maestro getting the HOT Orchestra in the zone!

Photographer: Ross D. Hamamura - RDHphoto.net

More smiling faces!

Photographer: Ross D. Hamamura - RDHphoto.net

Hawaii’s Jamie Offenbach returns as The Bonze!Photographer: Ross D. Hamamura - RDHphoto.netWithout these three, this production would not be possible! In 2009, Dean Shibuya (Set Designer) and Anne Namba (Costume Designer) joined HOT’s Artistic Director Henry Akina (Stage Director) in Finland to bring some Aloha to the Savonlinna Opera Festival! This production has wowed international audiences since and has finally made it to Honolulu for a homecoming!

Check out the full gallery online at Honolulu Magazine’s website!

 

‘Must-see’ Madam Butterfly is HOT!!!

Review: ‘Butterfly’ a must-see at HOT

REVIEW BY JOHN BERGER / jberger@staradvertiser.com

The cultural disconnect is evident immediately: An American officer expects a Japanese businessman to shake hands and is surprised when he bows. Moments later we learn the American,  B.F. Pinkerton by name, is an officer but not a gentleman.

Welcome to Hawaii Opera Theatre’s season-opening production of “Madam Butterfly.” For the benefit of anyone who doesn’t know how Pinkerton’s marriage with Cio-Cio-San turns out, HOT’s production is a beautifully staged treatment of one of the best known operas this side of Wagner.

(Spoiler alert! Spoiler alert! Stop reading now if you don’t want to know what happens.)

For everyone who thinks they don’t like opera but has read this far out of curiosity, don’t let the opera aspect keep you away. Opera is often portrayed in mainstream pop culture as stuffy or inaccessible or arcane.

Good opera — like HOT’s “Madam Butterfly” — is none of the above. It’s musical theater, albeit without spoken dialogue, and with its own conventions regarding plot structure and vocal performance. That said, musical theater is much more operatic these days than it was in the days of “The King & I,” “West Side Story” and “South Pacific,” and that means that the differences between the two are not as wide as they once were.

Yes, most operas are sung in a language other than English, but anyone who can handle reading the subtitles of films like, say, “Kikaider: Reboot,” can certainly handle the “supertitles” that are projected on the proscenium above the stage at HOT.

In short, Hawaii, don’t let opera scare you. The beauty of the principal voices transcends language. So does the acting.

Add beautiful if anachronistic costumes, imaginative lighting and the single multi-level set, HOT’s “Madam Butterfly” should be considered a must-see for first-timers and curiosity seekers as well as dedicated fans.

Lina Tetriani (Cio-Cio-San) immerses herself in the role of the naïve and idealistic 15-year-old geisha who marries Pinkerton with the expectation that he intends to be her loving husband until death do they part, and who renounces her family, her country and her religious faith for him. To borrow a phrase from William Jefferson Clinton, in Tetriani’s powerful soprano voice and expressive acting we feel her pain. We also feel her hope, her optimism, her joy, and her final commitment to the Japanese credo: “Who cannot live with honor must die with honor.”

Mezzo-soprano Ning Liang (Suzuki) is perfectly cast as the loyal maid. Her duets with Tetriani are exquisite, so are her solos.

Daniel Sutin (Sharpless) brings a rich baritone and appropriate gravity to the role of the American consul. Sharpless warns Pinkerton against his callous plan to discard Cio-Cio-San when it suits him. He then becomes a mute witness to the tragedy that follows. Is he an enabler or a man who shrinks from delivering bad news? Sutin is a commanding presence, vocally and visually, whichever way you see it.

Jamie Offenbach (The Bonze) has a dark and foreboding scene as the terrifying voice of tradition who condemns Cio-Cio-San for renouncing her ancestral religion and becoming a Christian. Lighting Designer Peter Dean Beck has Offenbach lit from below for most of his big number; the stark lighting gives Offenbach an added measure of frightfulness.

Jeffrey Halili (Goro) adds an occasional light moment as the mercenary mariage broker and real estate agent. Halili’s eyes sparkle in an early scene when Goro counts the money Pinkerton has given him. Halili also does a neat trick with his hat that likewise brings a touch of levity to

Eric Margiore (Pinkerton) is such a convincing cad that many in the opening night audience booed him during his curtain call — of course there was no question that the boos were for Pinkerton, not for Margiore’s acting or his rich and passionate tenor.

Pinkerton quickly registers as despicable during his first conversation with Sharpless, in contemporary terms he’d be described as a playa. However, when Margiore and Tetriani are working together in the lengthy wedding night scene that closes Act I, Pinkerton seems every bit as in love with Cio-Cio San as she is with him. The long duet, performed as Margiore is undressing Tetriani down to a simple red under-kimono is romantic despite our knowledge of Pinkerton’s long-term plans. It is a remarkable performance by Margiore and Tetriani alike.

And, when Pinkerton returns three years later, bringing his real American wife with him, Margiore makes the man’s self-pitying mea culpa, “guilt will torment me forever,” convincing as well. Margiore again creates a well-rounded character; Pinkerton knows that he has destroyed the happiness of an innocent woman, begs Sharpless to forgive him, and then rushes off, unable to face the woman he’s wronged and leaving others to clean up after him.

Boo! Hiss! Great performance, Margiore!

Director Henry Akina uses giant Japanese lanterns carried by invisible kuroko (stagehands) to heighten the fanciful aspects of the story. The vigil scene — part reality, part dream or hallucination — where Cio-Cio-San spends the night waiting for Pinkerton to come up the hill from his anchored ship is staged in marvelous style. Conductor Ivan Torzs and the HOT Orchestra do justice to Puccini’s score throughout.

As footnote, HOT has presented “Madam Butterfly” several times since its inaugural production in 1961, most recently in 2007, and has moved the story around a bit time wise in terms of the costumes and wigs worn by the performers. It does so this time too.

If we assume that Puccini intended the story to take place in the present, which for him was the first years of the 20th century, well and good, but most of the Japanese men are decked out in the samurai-style hairdos of the Tokugawa-era rather than the modern haircuts representative of the final years of the Meiji era.
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John Berger has been a mainstay in the local entertainment scene for more than 40 years. Contact him via email at jberger@staradvertiser.com.

HOT’s Madam Butterfly Events Are Underway!

HOT’s production of Puccini’s Madam Butterfly is nearly here!  

With the production comes a number of exciting events in the lead-up to each opera.  HOT Members and Supporters might know this but maybe it’s news to you!

Kicking off the Madam Butterfly events, a very special Rehearsal Pau-Hana!  This was the first time HOT offered this event, giving those in attendance the opportunity to see the beginnings of a production.

And what would a HOT Opera Season be without the chance to lookg HOT?

Project Butterfly, a Fashion Show with acclaimed Hawaii Fashion Designer Anne Nambawas held at the Halekulani Ballroom on Sept. 28.

Check out these highlights from the event below featuring Anne’s creations and performances from the Stars of HOT’s Madam Butterfly.

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Photos by Stephane Lacasa

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Photos by Stephane Lacasa

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Photos by Stephane Lacasa

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Photos by Stephane Lacasa

Fun Fact: Anne Namba is the Costume Designer for Madam Butterfly, having created these for the original production with the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland!  Her work was last seen with HOT this past June in HOT’s modern take on The Mikado.

On Oct. 1, the HOT Opera Preview at the Honolulu Museum of Art went down!  Opera Previews are free to HOT and HMoA members.  It’s a popular event amongst our Patrons as the audience gets to learn about the cultural significance of the opera and hear fun stories from the Singers and Artistic Team.

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Fun fact: This cast shared that while practicing arias during a hike in Diamond Head, people could hear them at the base of the crater!

Oct. 6 marked VIP Night!  This HOT Member Benefit included dinner, drinks, backstage tours, and viewing of a Dress Rehearsal.  This unique opportunity lets the audience see the finishing touches on the finished product and is quite popular amongst HOT supporters.

On deck, HOT Education’s Opera for Everyone.  This Final Dress Rehearsal is very special as it packs the house with students, teachers, and families from around the island!  This past season, HOT partnered with Yelp to get Yelpers in the mix and this event just seems to grow in popularity by the production!

Still to come, we have the Meet The Stars Party on Oct. 10, an exclusive evening post-performance to have dinner and interact with the Cast and Artistic Team of Madam Butterfly!

Doesn’t it seem like we love events here at HOT?  Call us at (808) 596-7372 to learn more about these special days and nights.  And many thanks to our beloved, hard-working Office Manager, Tracy Jefferson Chavez, who is key in helping these all lift off.

See you at the Opera!