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, principle 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.

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.

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!

We are proud to announce that Central City Opera now has a MySpace page. Check us out at www.myspace.com/centralcityopera and tell your friends! We will keep you updated on upcoming events and special offers only avaiable to our loyal friends on MySpace!

Approximately twenty years ago I attended my first opera at the historic Central City Opera House. I dressed up for the occasion and while en route was feeling very gratified in my new interest in opera. During intermission I made a trip to the ladies’ room. Upon my return, a number of other opera patrons kept glancing my way, and this scrutiny continued throughout the next act until the opera was over. Once the house lights came back on, I was horrified to realize that a piece of chewing gum had attached itself not only to the bottom of my shoe, but also to an embarrassing foot-long trail of stray toilet paper! Over the subsequent years this mishap has provided me and my friends with loads of chuckles when I recount my first opera experience.

At the risk of sounding like a movie title, ‘the summers of 1964 & 1966’ remain a fond remembrance for me. I worked at the Teller House both summers, first as a member of housekeeping and the latter as a hotel tour guide. The people I met, the work itself, the city and the Teller House and Opera House will remain forever in my memory. I can recall the young ladies being presented to society by coming down the stairs between the Teller and Opera Houses. I can still see the ushers ringing the bell for the presentation of a performance in the Opera House. I can remember my “pitch” when I sold tours in the middle of the street for $.25. Central City was and is, quite a place.

Or the inside of the Opera House, I think I remember most vividly the straight black chairs and the limited comfort they provided, still; I cannot recollect a bad seat for viewing the stage. The knowledge that so many great performers had appeared on that stage, kept me enthralled with whatever I saw being performed. As another reward for being a staff member of the Teller House, I was able to socialize with the crew and cast members of the operas and the plays presented at the Opera House.

In 1964 I had tea with Myrna Loy and a libation with Richard Benjamin, two of the stars of “Barefoot in the Park”. I attended not only the performance of the play but also Madame Butterfly and the listed world premier of The Lady from Colorado, quite an highlight to a summer of working between college semesters. I was able to work on various press receptions and other functions before the play and opera performances –at the livery stables across from the Teller House –allowed me to meet so many wonderful people involved with the Opera Association.

-In 1966, Mr. George Gobel and Mr. Phil Harris performed in “The Odd Couple” doing a simply marvelous job, a delight to watch. One day, Mr. Gobel was, shall we say chased, by fans into the Teller House. I told him to go into the dining room on the second floor while I redirected the fans to another direction. Some days later, Mr. Gobel filmed a milk commercial in the lobby of the Teller House and he persuaded the film crew to pay me to keep fans and tourist out of the hotel while filming proceeded. With the exception of when the camera was rolling, Mr. Gobel preferred another beverage than milt to consume, and I found the means to supply that refreshment. When the play finished its run and the artists departed, Mr. Gobel left me a signed photo wishing me happy landings in the future since I was on orders to the US Army and flight school of October of 1996.

Summers of 1964 and 1966 left a lasting impression on me. I have continued to enjoy traveling to Central City. It was and is a special place.

Here are a few memories from Ed Austin: 1951-1954, during which time I sang 4 seasons in the opera chorus; square danced in Williams Stable 3 seasons; and drove jeep tours in surrounding mining area for a Denver Mortician who owned the Jeep Tour business. During this time I was a student in the Business School at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

At this time, the chorus was made up of college students from area colleges who won their places through auditions with Florence Lamont Hinman at the U of Denver. I had studied voice since High School days in Ft. Collins and further with Warner Imig, Dean of the CU music school. And had the good fortune to be a 6’5” tenor!

My first season I rented a room in a house behind St. James Church. There after I lived in a house on the Cassey with other chorus members- the gals on the main floor and the men on the lower level. Some of the amenities included an outhouse and a hot water tank heated by a wood stove. One small tank of water had to serve all! So pity the person who did not follow the rule of “water on to wet”, ‘off to soap’, and ‘on to rinse!’

On Sundays a number of us from the chorus volunteered and formed a choir for the St. James church service was before the church was reconditioned and brought up to its current, original glory!

The best breakfast in CC was one of “Mert’s” Cinnamon rolls in the “Olde Fashioned” coffee shop across from the Teller House. It filled a plate with its delicious goodness- and it often filled my stomach, too! Later Mert would marry Howard Knoll, a local CC stalwart citizen. In 1954 Howard’s daughter Gerry was a senior in High School and worked the soda fountain in CC’s drug store. Gerry and I became summer friends, though Howard thought I was much too old for Gerry- and he did his best to keep us apart (unsuccessfully)! While Gerry (Sheldon) who no lives in Denver, and I each went our own family ways, still, 50+years later, we are still friends!

In 1951 Eleanor Steber starred in “Amelia Goes to the Ball.” The story was told that she did not even see the score until she boarded her plane for Colorado. But the consummate artists that she was, as she sang one line, prompters in the box and in the stage wings fed her the line to follow. I don’t recall her ever missing a beat! Perhaps the split of champagne delivered to her dressing room before every performance helped! I especially wanted to include a Louise Pote picture of Ms. Steber, but it’s missing from my files. In my scrapbook I noted that the seat prices in 1952 ranged from $3.55 in the balcony to $7.50, downstairs, on opening night.

It was necessary in the summers for me to make money to help pay for my university expenses. Sadly, no one job in Central City paid very much! As a “union” chorus member I believe I was paid $50 a week! But once the performance season was underway, as a chorister, I had much free time. Therefore I added 2 additional jobs!

The Williams stable was then used as a venue for square dance exhibitions presented both before and after all productions in the opera house. Dr. Lloyd Shaw and his Cheyenne Mountain Dancers was the first group to perform during the earliest days of the Association. Later, the Dudes and Dames square dance club from the U of Denver provided the dancers. Their last year was 1951. That year I befriended the dancers since I was also an active square dancer at CU. When there was a sickness or absence among the men, I filled in for them. A sliver dollar was inlaid into the center of the dance floor to help the dancers remain centered.

Then in 1952 the Association decided to take over the Square Dance Activity themselves- and they held tryouts in Denver. The 4 women were chosen, among other attributes, by the color of their hair! The Association person in charge wanted a gal of each hair color! Since no redhead applied, the caller’s daughter dyed her hair for the summer and became our token “redhead”! This job was a natural for me, since I was already in the chorus. I was accepted, and now had a very busy performance day! After the pre-performance exhibition in Williams Stable, I had to rush to the Opera House to get into costume and makeup for my own stage appearance with the chorus.

Usually I had to forego the closing, on-stage curtain call, because I had to clean off my makeup and change into my square dance clothes. As soon as the Opera House doors opened and the patrons started streaming out, we dancers, positioned in the street in from of St. James, would start whooping it up as we ran down the street and into the stable. A photo of this action, with me in the lead couple is attached to this email. The fiddler and piano player would be at the ready, as was the caller, Ray Smith, an outstanding caller from Dallas, TX. Opera patrons would fill all the bleachers on 3 sides of the dance floor and we would give an exhibition of the tradition of the traditional dances of the mining days-with a few modern additions!

On days when there was no matinee, and on Monday’s when there was no performance, I assumed my role as a Jeep Tour Driver. Because we worked strictly on commission, we did our own promotion to assure a full load! I would go down the street enticing folks to come see the interesting sights that lay beyond the confines of Central City. When we had a Jeep load, off we would go up to the Glory Hole and the surrounding area.

One season, probably 1953 or 1954 the owner of the Jeep Tours decided to take the opera starts on an outing to the top of James Peak. My offer to drive one of the Jeeps was turned down because he had enough drivers, but since there was extra space (riding over a rear wheel well!), I was welcome to come. We took the back road through Apex toward Rollinsville- then cut off toward James Peak. At one spot on the mountain’s slope it because so steep that the passengers were asked to walk. With one of us drivers sitting on each of the front fenders to hold the front of the Jeep down, we inched our way over this very steep section.

Then the passengers again boarded while we drivers walked back to get the next Jeep. Suddenly there was a scream! The first Jeep, loaded with Opera Stars, was starting to roll backward down the mountain! All of us rushed to the Jeep, and with the sheer strength of numbers were able to stop it! The not so experienced driver had only left the Jeep in gear-and had failed to put on the brake. It had slipped out of gear. My, what anxiety! Needless to say, a pall settled over the event, and we immediately turned around and returned to Central City. The errant driver became a passenger, and I was asked to drive back.

When the performance season was over, and the many students employed by the Association returned to college, the fall still enticed visitors to Central City! Since most of the college students in the usher corps attended Ivy League schools, and were not available in the fall weekends, tour of the world famous Central City Opera House beginning in just 10 minutes”. I often had 50 to 100 tourists in tow when I unlocked the door and led them into the lobby. There I collected the fee before taking them into the House- ½ of which was my pay! Probably only about 50 cents! For this student, it was a worthwhile trip up from Boulder!

I continue as an avid supporter of the CCOHA. A bit of my heart remains in Central City! Because I still have family in Colorado, I return each summer from my home in Rochester, NY. Depending on my Colorado schedule, I see at least one opera; through I have seen all 3 in 2 days! This summer, on July 2nd, I’m looking forward to seeing the “Ballad of Baby Doe.” I missed it the first time around, but not now!

I continue a family tradition. My parents attended Central City productions prior to WWII, when the only road into town was the Virginia Canyon Rd, and on the sidewalks were slot machines! Even in the 50’s the spirit of the mining days was still in evidence it! Even a bit admit that I miss what once was – but I thank God I was able to experience it! Even a bit of the past is still present! I note that in your Central City ticket office you still sell the Louise Pote photograph of the Lace House in Black Hawk as a post card. On the porch are 2 couples of the Central City Square dancers- I am the dancer in black, part of the couple on the left side! Thanks for letting me share some of my Central City memories.

For many of us, Central City summers were a positively memorable experience. This was certainly true for those who were connected with the dramatic productions in the historic opera house. And that included the daily performances of the singing ushers, the young men in black who prepared the patrons for the opera with a robust rendition of their welcoming song from the steps next to Williams Stables and then marched and sang their way up Eureka Street to open the opera house, take tickets and lead the crowd to their seats for the main event.

We are those singing ushers, and we are looking forward to the CCOHA 75th Anniversary celebration in 2007, but some of us from the ushers’ crew of 1959 cannot wait two years and are planning a preliminary reunion this summer (July 29-31). We remember 1959 as a significant year because it was not only Central City’s golden centennial year (100 years after the discovery of gold in Gregory Gulch), but it was also the year that the ushers defeated the local volunteer fire department in the opening day hose-cart race. The Ballad of Baby Doe was also revived at the opera house, three years after its world premiere on the same stage.

The Great Hose-Cart Race
Opening Day, June 27, 1959, was significant because Central City was celebrating its golden centennial (100 years after the discovery of gold in Gregory Gulch). It was also the year that, for the first time, the Central City Opera Houses Ushers be in good shape if we were going to compete with the more confident and experienced city volunteers. For a week before the main event, we dragged ourselves out of bed at the crack of dawn for a series of trials runs which separated the “horses” from the also-rans.

Opening Day was filled with colorful festivities: square dancing, an old-car parade, a rock-drilling contest, and a pony express race from Idaho Springs. At 3:15, the crowd lined both sides of Main Street in collective anticipation as the hose-cart competition was announced. The ushers went first and got off to a quick start at the top of Main and sped down the hill, the “horses” running vigorously in front of the cart’s great iron wheels that rolled relentlessly, pounding the pavement with frightening force. Paul Shearer came through in the clutch; he grabbed the unreeling hose from the rear of the cart, and, much to the delight of the cheering crowd, made a perfect connection at the fire hydrant, hooking up for a winning time of 28 seconds. The city volunteers followed and got off to a pretty good start but did not match the ushers’ time and failed to make a clean connection at the hydrant.

Mixing It Up with the Opera Stars
We occasionally invited the opera stars to join us for parties at the infamous House of Usher (Weckbaugh House), and even challenged them to a softball game on a rocky field above the town. My favorite star was Frank Guarrera who is remembered by most opera-goers for his outstanding performances as Tonio in Pagliacci, Horace Tabor in The Ballad of Baby Doe and Amonasro in Aida (father of the heroine, Beverly Sills). I remember that he also made a circus catch in deep left field to rob me of a home run on that rocky field.

The 59er
The ushers’ favorite watering hole after the opera: no swinging door, but the beer was cheap and the atmosphere was unpretentiously appealing. The perfect setting for the 59er Ushers to celebrate Central City’s golden centennial.