BCO Summer Opera Festival

The Music of the Russian Soul

Arias and duets from Tchaikovsky's opera Mazeppa, Rimsky-Korsakov's Snowmaiden, Rachmaninoff's Francesca da Rimini, M. Musorgsky's Boris Godunov, A. Borodin's Prince Igor, S. Profkofiev's Alexander Nevsky and others performed by the participants of the Summer festival. Accompanied on the piano by Katerina Souvorova.

Ravel L'Enfant et les Sortileges

Stage Director: Nicholas Olcott, Set Designer: Olga Shpitalna, Murat Tasar, Art work: Melody Greenlief, Costume designer: Emma Gorin, Producer, Conductor: Katerina Souvorova

Rodgers/Hammerstein The Sound of Music

Stage Director: Debbie Niezgoda, Set Designer: Murat Tasar, Jason Child, Costume designer: Lois Dunlop, Producer, Conductor: Katerina Souvorova

Randolph Rd Theater, 4010 Randolph Rd, Silver Spring, MD

Performances of J.S.Bach's Coffee Cantata and Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona, which were scheduled to be performed on March 28 and 30, are postponed. Both shows will be produced on September 19-21, 2014, opening BCO's next season. We apologize for inconvenience. Dr. Katerina Souvorova, General and Artistic Director of BCO

INFORMATION

This year Bel Cantanti Opera is holding its seventh highly successful annual summer opera program for young singers.
This is the first year, when we included a musical in to the summer program. We will be working not only with the young professional singers, but also with the children (elementary through high school)

The festival will start on June 7 and run till July 13 with the performances of Ravel's opera L'Enfant et les Sortileges on June 27-29 and Rodgers/Hammerstein's The Sound of Music on July 10-13.

The AUDITIONS for both productions will be held by appointment only. Contact auditions@belcantanti.com

For the auditions for L'Enfant et les Sortileges singers are required to sing an aria in French and an aria of their choice.

For the auditions for The Sound of Music adults and childern should prepare one or two English pieces.

To apply to auditions the applicants need to send via email the following materials to auditions@belcantanti.com.

MATERIALS:

1. Application - Children and Adults (download and send to auditions@belcantanti.com).

2. Application Fee Children and Adults $36.50 (PayPal)

3. Headshot ( Adults) For the children we would need a picture of any kind, not a headshot.

4. Current Resume (email and bring a hard copy for auditions). Adults only.

5. Recent mp3 recording. Youtube or DVD if available. Adults only.

6. Short bio. Children and Adults

7. Costume measurements. Children and Adults (download and send to auditions@belcantanti.com).

"L'Enfant et les Sortileges is performed in French. Stage director: Peter Kozma. Rodgers/Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is performed in English. Stage Director: Debbie Niezgoda.

Tuition: $1000 (Tuition is Non-Refundable after April 1.)

Housing: Limited housing for out of town singers might be available.

Venues: Rehearsals will be held in the Church in Bethesda and Randolph Rd. Theatre.

Payments: Pay an audition fee online with your credit card through PayPal. You do not have to have a PayPal account and can use any major credit card.

Audition Fee is $36.50 ( $35 plus $1.50 PayPal fee).Tuition is paid by check sent to

Bel Cantanti Opera, 13007 Prairie View Pl. Germantown, MD, 20874.

Check has to be postmarked not later than March 20th, 2013.

SAMPLE DAY'S SCHEDULE (Adults)

9:45 am - Check In.

10:00 am - Yoga session

11:00 am - Coachings sessions / music rehearsals / staging rehearsals

2:30pm - Short break, Lunch

3:00pm - Guest-Artist Event / Master Class / Performance seminar

5:00 pm - Short Break / Dinner.

6:00pm - Music Coachings / Staging rehearsals

10:00 pm - Participants released.

Each individual schedule will be different depending on participation.

The schedule for the children will be 12pm - 5pm
The activities will include daily music rehearsals, staging rehearsals, music coachings, acting, choreography.
The schedule will be determined according to the role and involvement in the program.

ROLES TO CAST

RAVEL L'ENFANT ET LES SORTILEGES

L’Enfant, a child: mezzo soprano,
Maman, the mother: mezzo-soprano, contralto
Le fauteuil, a big armchair: bass
La bergère Louis XV, lady’s chair: soprano
L'horloge comtoise, a clock broken by the child: baritone
Le théière, Wedgwood teapot: tenor
La tasse chinoise, a broken china cup: mezzo soprano, contralto
Le feu, the fire in the fireplace: coloratura soprano
La princesse, the princess torn out of a storybook: coloratura soprano
Une pastourelle, a shepherdes: soprano
Un pâtre, a ball of yarn: contralto
Le petit vieillard, the torn math book: tenor
Le chat, a cat: baritone
La chatte, a cat: mezzo-soprano
La chouette, an owl: soprano
L'arbre, a tree: bass -baritone
La libellule, a dragonfly: mezzo-soprano
Le rossignol, a nightingale: Coloratura soprano
La chauve-souris, widower bat: soprano
L'écureuil, a squirrel: mezzo-soprano
La rainette, the tree frog: tenor

RODGERS/HAMMERSTEIN THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Maria, a postulant at Nonnberg Abbey
Captain George von Trapp
Max Detweiler, a music agent and producer
The Mother Abbess, the head of Nonnberg Abbey
Baroness Elsa Schrader, Captain von Trapp's would-be fiancée
Rolf Gruber, the 17-year-old boy who is in love with Liesl
Sister Bertha, the Mistress of Novices
Sister Margareta the Mistress of Postulants
Sister Sophia, a sister at the Abbey
Franz, Captain von Trapp's butler
Frau Schmidt, Captain von Trapp's housekeeper
The Children:
Liesl von Trapp, age 16
Friedrich von Trapp, age 15
Louisa von Trapp, age 13
Kurt von Trapp, age 10/11
Brigitta von Trapp, age 9
Marta von Trapp, age 6/7
Gretl von Trapp, age 5, the youngest child