It sure seems like there are cameras everywhere these days. My guess is that their cost has come down enough to make it economically feasible to use them in a whole host of new ways. They’ve even figured out a way to automatically give me a traffic ticket if I’m not careful at various intersections around the Denver metropolitan area.

Parallel to the explosion of CCTV cameras is the increase in bandwidth and stability of the Internet. So what’s this have to do with the opera? I imagine that in years past many a Central City traveler has left the mild climate of Denver only to be hit with adverse weather shortly after embarking up the hill. Predicting the weather in Colorado is not easy and even seasoned meteorologists can get it wrong.

Well, I always get excited when I come across compelling web functionality that I think can be used in meaningful ways by our opera patrons. Fortunately, our friends at CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation) have provided us with internet access to multiple cameras positioned in locations to show current traffic, weather and road conditions in route to the Central City Opera house. Here are a few:

Traveling west from Denver

• I70 near Rooney Rd.
• I70 near Genesee park
• I70 near Lookout Mountain
• I70 near Evergreen
• I70 near Floyd Hill

Traveling east from Mountains

• I70 near Copper Mountain
• Eisenhower Tunnel
• I70 near Hidden Valley

We all know how important it is to get to the theatre before the ushers close the doors. I don’t know how many times I’ve come within only a few minutes of missing the first act. Please let me know if you find this information useful, I guess we have no excuse for being late now.

Recently, we prepared an eMail for a small portion of Central City Opera’ s subscriber base. The title of the eMail was “Share the Spirit” and the subject matter was end-of-year giving to the organization.

We do this every year since many of our opera patrons can use the contribution as a tax benefit. Well, I couldn’t help remembering an eMail I received from a friend towards the end of the election this year and how viral marketing can be used for soliciting support.

The eMail had been personally tailored to me and contained a link to a two minute video on how the outcome of the election had been determined by a single vote…mine. The context and images in the video even used my name! The eMail became a viral sensation since anyone could personalize and forward it to their friends with a click of the mouse. Here’s the video I received:

The success of viral marketing is measured by how well the message passes from one person to the next. A viral email is sent using a viral trigger. In other words, the email has a trigger for the recipient to tell-a-friend and it establishes a connection to an automatic process at the host site. Viral eMails work when there is something unique about them and the viewer wants to tell their friends about it. In the case above it was humor.

I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts on the topic and any ideas you have for a viral eMail we could put together for the opera. I thought the example above was timely and apropos since our organization is mostly supported by patrons and we only have a few weeks left in 2008. Every person’s contribution is important and making a donation to Central City Opera will make a difference. Thank you for your generosity and happy holidays.

The 2008 festival season is now complete. Fortunately, I was able to drive up the hill on Sunday, August 10th to participate in the end-of-season festivities. Every year the final performance is preceded by various activities including; acknowledgements of the personnel that work behind the scenes, awards for the young artists, any special tributes and the official closing of the festival with everyone singing “Auld Lang Syne”.

I thought it would be interesting to capture the backstage atmosphere so I inconspicuously made my way through the door labeled “authorized personnel only”. I’ve always enjoyed observing the different disciplines working together to make an opera performance a success; interestingly, for Susannah, the performers’ costumes were similar to that of the stagehand’s clothes (overalls and such) so it wasn’t always obvious who were performers and who was supporting them.

In any case, there is something to be said about watching a performance through the curtain seams. In some ways, it makes you feel as if you are actually part of the making of the show.

After the final encore, several association members made their way on stage to acknowledge various behind-the-scenes personnel, followed by awards given to several young artists. With everyone backstage being onstage, I decided to move to the auditorium since the ushers had opened the exit doors.

At one point, the Mayor of Central City made a special tribute to John Moriarty. He said that by his calculations John had probably walked from his summer house to the opera house over 20,000 times in the last 30 years and the city felt that it was only fitting to rename the street to “Moriarty Lane”.  I think everyone in the audience agreed.

Later at the cast party, I met with members of the Central City Opera board, the association staff, musicians from the orchestra, friends of the opera, principal vocalists and young apprentices. I think everyone was glad the season was over, but my sense is that they will soon be reminiscing the many good times the season provided them and longing for it to start up again.

On the way home I started thinking about this blog posting when out of nowhere the most colorful rainbow I had ever seen appeared. Because my camera was still in my pocket I was able to take the picture above. The rainbow made me think of all the people that make up the performances in the Central City Opera House and somehow seemed to capture the entire year and boil it down to a single beautiful metaphor.

When I was growing up our family would go to Virginia Beach every year for summer vacations. One highlight was going to the boardwalk, where my dad would reluctantly buy us all t-shirts. Selling souvenirs must have been quite a business since there were always a lot of shops to choose from. My father didn’t really mind what we picked out, I just remember proudly showing off my new attire when we returned home.

Marketers might label this type of purchase as “impulsive buying behavior” and when you think about it, there’s really no reason to purchase this sort of thing if you aren’t at the destination. This got me thinking about Central City and my guess is that the casinos experience this phenomenon too. 

I recently saw a shirt with the heading “I got lucky in Central City”. It’s a clever motto, but you probably have to be in Central City to buy a shirt like this. I guess there might be the possibility that an affiliation with gambling or the play-on-words could be enough to drive this purchase, but I speculate that most of these shirts have been acquired free of charge.

So what does this have to do with Opera? Well, we recently updated the Central City Opera online gift shop with souvenirs using images from this season’s performances. So naturally, I wondered if the same impulsive buying behaviors apply? Would you come to the web site and purchase a “Susannah” t-shirt to show off your affiliation with the opera? My guess is no, especially if you had not seen the opera yet.

Select the image above or HERE to go to the online gift shop now.

What if you were given the opportunity to purchase a souvenir during the process of buying your ticket? My guess is the likelihood would increase dramatically; in fact, I can imagine a time when you could go online, purchase a performance, select your seats, add a shirt, print your ticket, arrive at opera and have the usher deliver your souvenir while you wait for the opera to start?

Combining the gift store with ticket buying is about convenience and removing obstacles in the transactional path. We live in an on-demand world and the internet can be used in so many powerful ways to support the one-to-one paradigm. I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts on this matter. In the meantime, feel free to look over the new apparel on the Central City Opera web site and online store!

We recently posted a link to a short video profile of Central City and the opera house on Denver’s CBS-4. To kick things off, Emmy-award winning journalist and television anchor Jim Benemann introduces Colorado Getaways producer Doug Whitehead and he quickly dives into the rich history of Central City and the opera house.

Like many opera patrons, I’ve been going to performances in Central City for quite some time now. Well, I was really taken back with all the wonderful background information provided in this short video production.  My hat goes off to the folks that created it.

Select the image above or HERE to see the Colorado Getaways video.

At first, I thought it would be interesting to discuss several talking points from the video, then an underlying theme emerged and the marriage metaphor seemed apropos. From the day (1878) Welsh and Cornish miners cut the rock to erect the structure, to the day (1931) the daughter of then Colorado governor John Evans saved the building by selling seats, community and patron support has played a major role in the opera house’s longevity.

This mining town and this opera house have been married for generations and it may just be time to reaffirm their vows: I, Central City, take you Opera House, to be my partner, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward.

There are so many little tidbits in this piece to enhance your next journey to Central City. From the boomtown beginnings, the great depression, and finally to today, I know my next visit will be slightly more enchanting. Whether you are a long time subscriber or a newbie, this video is chocked full of intriguing information on the opera house. Thank you for doing this CBS-4 Denver!

On May 16th, my wife and I had the privilege to attend the 2nd annual L’esprit de France event at the Westin Tabor Center in downtown Denver. The evening was organized by the Rocky Mountain French American Chamber of Commerce (www.rmfacc.org). The guest of honor was David Appia, Minister Counselor of Economic Affairs and the Head of the Economic Department at the French Embassy in Washington D.C.

There were several special guests including Claudine Pepin, television host and daughter of acclaimed chef and food writer Jacques Pepin, as well as, Sarah Jane McMahon who performed a French aria by Poulenc and excerpts from her role as Maria in West Side Story, to be staged this summer by Central City Opera.

The master of ceremonies was Bill Clarke, noted Denver television celebrity and reporter. There were several awards presented to individuals for their contribution to French-American business. Rick Spear, President of Leitner-Poma of America and Robert Joyce, President of Wheelabrator Group both accepted the honors.

Over several hours, we enjoyed a five-course gourmet dinner with French wine pairings prepared by Chef Jean-Luc Voegele in collaboration with Claudine Pepin.  The wine and culinary treats were from the Rhone-Alpes region of France.

The Central City Opera table included Kevin Mynatt and his wife Kate, Deb Hruby, Jeff Haddox and several musicians came down the hill to perform for everyone. Sarah Jane had to moderate her wine consumption so our table considered a silent auction for her serving allotment. Later in the evening, she and her accompanist gave a fabulous performance. I think it made everyone at our table feel really good.

The Denver Art Museum presented a wonderful slide show of French and American painters from two exhibitions: “Inspiring Impressionism” which closes on May 25 and “Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism”, the visiting exhibition opening June 14, 2008.

It’s funny how things work out in life. Nearly 20 years ago, the french company Dassault moved me to Denver from Los Angeles to be the liaison between EG&G (Rocky Flats) and their headquarters in New York and Paris. In the years that I worked with them, I developed a fond appreciation for the unique culture of France.

In many ways, I will be forever indebted to Dassault; after all, I met my wife in Denver and we have been raising our family here for over a decade. Last year, my wife and I went to Paris for Valentines Day. When we arrived at the train station from London, I was able to immediately communicate with our taxi driver. My wife was in disbelief since she had never heard me speak French before.

I am so glad to be a part of the RMFACC and that there is an organization in Colorado facilitating these sorts of cultural and business interactions. Bob Snyder has a first class operation running. My special thanks go out to Virginie Ganivet, it is amazing how the organization squeezed all those activities into a single night.

Thank you so much for having us. Great Job!

On Friday, April 25th, I took the trip over to the Pinehurst Country Club to hear Pat Pearce talk about this year’s upcoming production of Susannah. I enjoy these events since I get to see and catch-up with all the opera regulars; interestingly, at this event there seemed to be numerous newcomers as well.

[audio:http://www.centralcityopera.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/teaserintro.mp3]

This was the final part of the 2008 opera teasers series. I decided to record the event for those of you that couldn’t attend, but wanted to hear the proceedings. To listen to Pat’s presentation select the arrow directly below the image above.

Capturing this sort of thing is ideal for mp3 audio files. Many businesses use this format to present and archive seminars online and often call them webinars. Several opera companies are using this technology to distribute their rich media through podcasting.

A podcast is used to describe the distribution of a digital-media file over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and/or computers. The term podcast can refer either to the content itself or to the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is also called podcasting.

I’m hoping to get your feedback on the topic. Do you find it valuable to hear events like this online? Would you subscribe to a service that automatically downloaded opera teasers to your computer or mobile device? Could you imagine listening to the basic facts of an opera on the way up to Central City before a performance instead of reading the program notes?

In this case, digital video doesn’t make a lot of sense because there really isn’t any staging and visuals remain mostly the same throughout the presentation. Video files are many times the size of audio files and can be costly to deliver to would-be viewers. As bandwidth increases on the Internet this becomes less of a factor, but today audio files are still more prominent for podcasting.

Like the Met’s Live HD broadcasts, there are many things you miss out on by not participating in an event like this in person. So next year make sure you sign up for these events when you get the mailing like the one above. Seating can sometimes be limited.

The Pinehurst Country Club was beautiful on Friday evening and conversations during cocktail hour are always a lot of fun. Our table all laughed out loud at Chris’ chicken stories while Nancy scoured the room for potential donors. Deb and Pam gave me cautious support for trying something new and then Phoebe just came by and gave me a big hug.

The Internet gives us so many options, but cyberspace can’t really replace the feelings we get from the personal interactions we make with people at events like this. You can’t be in two places at once though and it’s pretty easy to record these sort of things now.

I’ve actually found myself reminiscing the powerful music of Carlisle Floyd again and again. Click here to listen to several short musical selections on Amazon. I guess that means this opera teaser was a success since Susannah will be an event I’ll be sure not to miss this year. Perhaps this electronic version will do the same for you!

On Saturday, April 5th, I made the trip up to Colorado Mills Mall to see the live HD broadcast of Puccini’s La Bohème. The performance lasted a little over 3 hours and had 2 intermissions. I was interested in participating in the event for several reasons:

First, I had volunteered to provide information on the opera, upcoming events and ask attendees to complete an audience survey for Opera America. Second, I wanted to experience the event. I admit, I’m a bit of an opera novice, but over the last few years I have become increasingly intrigued with the music genre.

Finally, I wanted to see and talk to people knowledgeable with opera about their thoughts related to participating in remote broadcasts. After all, the Los Angeles Times has said,  “The Met’s experiment of merging film with live performance has created a new art form.”

This is the second season of the transmissions. In the first season there were six (6) opera broadcasts and approximately 325,000 people purchased tickets to see the events in movie theatres worldwide. La Bohème was the seventh event of the 2007-2008 season and there is only one performance left, Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment on Saturday, April 26th. Next season the broadcast will take place over the entire season, beginning in October, 2008, and will include ten (10) transmissions.

At this event, nearly everyone I talked with had positive comments. The only negative comments I heard were around people eating popcorn and candy in the theatre. The close-ups of the performers were absolutely amazing and the transitions between the different camera positions had been meticulously planned.

In some ways, the experience reminded me of the intimacy we get with the interactions between performers in Central City; however, the size of this production was far different. Franco Zeffirelli’s recreation of Paris was incredible. Between acts, backstage cameras captured the behind the scenes activities and there was even an interview with the Met’s technical director. He said that there were 80 stagehands involved in the scene changes and it appeared as if there were hundreds of performers on the moving sets.

My only complaint would be the audio fidelity. In college, I remember making $7.00 per hour as an accompanist for the vocal majors. In most cases, the student would be only a few feet away and needless to say, our piano benches were equipped with seatbelts. There is something to be said about hearing music in person and I believe this is something that we get in Central City that will never be reproduced at these sort of events.

That being said, it’s not often that you walk away from an experience with the feeling that you have been a part of something that is the way of things to come. I have been working with technology the majority of my life and I am not easily impressed. On this day, I can tell you that I was very impressed.

My hope is that the next generation of opera lovers will enjoy these performances as much as I did. A few years ago, I took my 18-year-old stepdaughter to “The Tales of Hoffman” at Central City. As a result, she now brings her friends to the opera house on a regular basis. My guess is that the nature of these broadcasts will resonate with her. My plan will be to take her to the Met’s next live HD broadcast. See you on April 26th!

I thought it would be fun to take the family up to Central City on Easter weekend this year; after all, it was a glorious day in Colorado and as we grow older it seems like we don’t get as many opportunities to take family road trips.

We decided to make a day out of it, so we packed the cooler before heading off to Easter services. On the way to Central City there are a lot of things to take in. It’s a short trip and the only drive I know of that has space age houses and American Buffalo in the same few miles.

Easter 2008 Roadtrip

The new Central City highway is great. It’s much more convenient than US 6 or SH 119 and the views are spectacular, but we were surprised there were no picnic areas! I wondered if anyone could recommend a good picnic area on the way? I have fond memories of roadside picnics and it seems like there were a lot of families taking the short drive over the weekend.

It was nice to see the opera house again. As we drove up Eureka Street, it felt as if she was awakening from her winter hibernation. The snow and icicles were melting from the entrances and spring was in the air. I guess you could consider the visit our 2008 debut! Alejandro skateboarded the theatre entrance while Andre sang near the second story balcony exit.

I hope the majestic theatre did not take offense to our humble visit. I’m sure she has seen far more spectacular events in her lifetime. We had a great time; our boys really enjoyed learning how to use a video camera to make a short documentary. One of them even said it was the best Easter’s ever!

My name is Glenn Alsup and I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the readers of the Central City Opera Blog. I have been working with the Opera in one way or another for most of this millennium and hope to use this platform to periodically post thoughtful anecdotes on my experiences participating with the Opera and its many patrons, as well as insightful discussion points on the use of electronic media for the opera community in general.

A little about me: In Colorado for nearly 20 years now, our family of five calls Greenwood Village home. I grew up back East, my mother is an artist, my father a Ph.D. research scientist. As a result, I have developed and pursued with great interest, the intersection between art and science. Last year I was honored to become part of the Central City Opera Board. I enjoy bringing my insight and experience to the challenges of expanding the Opera experience through the growing use electronic media technologies. Select this link: Alsup family web site, to see more information about me.

Clearly, the Internet has streamlined the way many organizations run their business operations over the last 15 years and performing arts organizations are certainly no exception. Believe it or not, history has shown that opera companies have been instrumental in the evolution of electronic media technologies over the last century. Several examples include stereophonic radio, motion picture cameras and performance simulcasts.

I look forward to discussing the Central City Opera experience with you. I’ll plan to focus on how we can best use the Internet, electronic media and the World Wide Web to maximize our enjoyment of the Opera and to bring value to the organization and our beloved performers. So please stay tuned and join in on the conversation.