“The concept came out of the desire to create new and innovative ways to get beyond our own four walls,” said Robert McNichols, newly appointed manager of community events and engagement for Opera Theatre of St. Louis. “We wanted to get into the community and find creative ways to introduce people to opera – and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.”
Starting Thursday, March 31 and continuing through April 4, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis will take a sample of its musical offerings on the road in a unique five-day concert series that will appease multiple senses while giving a taste of its 41st season, which kicks off in May.
Opera Tastings features intimate performances by four of OTSL’s young artists as the musical backdrop for an evening of food and spirits at a diverse collection of venues across the region, from Chesterfield to South City.
“We sent the chefs and the sommeliers (and in the case of Fleur de Lilies, the mixologist) selections of the recordings so that they could come up with some new ideas to help enhance the music,” McNichols said. “And hopefully the music will also help enhance the flavors. There’s a pairing of the food and the drink to the music on purpose.”
The concerts kick off at The Dark Room in Grand Center and continue at Moulin Events (April 1), The Alphabet Club at Central Print in Old North St. Louis (April 2), Balaban’s in Chesterfield (April 2), Fleur de Lilies in Soulard (April 3) and concludes at SqWires Annex in Lafayette Square on April 4.
“We want to connect with diverse audiences – and figured the way to do that is to connect with people who were already connecting with diverse audiences,” said McNichols, who will also serve as one of the master of ceremonies for Opera Tastings.
“Opera Theatre is purposely programming things that are diverse, but we are also reaching out to diverse communities to show them that everybody has a place.”
The music is stunning and the stories are enthralling, but McNichols and OTSL know that opera can be a tough sell for those who are not open to the experience.
“The stereotypes that we face are partly because of the history of the art form – it’s an Italian, a European art form,” McNichols said. “But there have been tons of contributions to the art form by African Americans, Native Americans and everyone else.”
By meeting audiences in their element, OTSL will create a welcoming and comfortable environment for their “Opera 101” experience – which ranges from the music in its most classic sense to a selection from OSTL’s upcoming world premiere of Jack Perla and Rajiv Joseph’s “Shalimar The Clown.”
The event falls in line with OTSL’s legacy of presenting diverse material that contributes to the American canon of operatic repertoire – and dispels the myth that opera is a dying art form.
“Hopefully with the tastings we can show them diverse groups of performers and the music is diverse,” McNichols said. “In these great venues we will dispel the stereotypical view of what opera is and hopefully put opera in a new light.”
For a full schedule of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ Opera Tastings concert series, visit http://www.opera-stl.org/opera-tastings.
