Behind the Scenes

Q&A with La Bohème's educational trio, who've spent quite a few long nights at the opera.

by A.D. Amorosi

John Douglas, music director

City Paper: You've been teaching at Temple's music program for 20 years. Do you think you've come to define Temple's program — if not more than it has come to define you?

JD: I'm not sure I could define our program that easily. I think we are probably defined by others: those outside of our area, our perceived historical and current place in the city, our patrons, our students, our college and our university. And I think that all those definitions would differ.

CP: How would you define it, then?

JD: All programs usually provide some mix of performance, education and service to both their institutions and their students. ... At Temple, we strive to be excellent in all three categories: maintaining a high quality of public productions, providing a high level of teaching and also creating opportunities for as many students as possible, not just the stars.

CP: So what do you look for in the operatic voice?

JD: As director of the Young Artist Program at Lake George Opera, I hear about 400 auditions every year. I can see who is working, and what they sound and look like, and where they have been trained. I'm looking for the qualities that predict success. Vocally, that includes operatic size, timbre and technique, good high notes — and low notes for basses and contraltos. You listen for good diction and an understanding of how style relates to the process of singing. ... At Temple, we're looking for singers who are ready to develop their gifts to their potential.

CP: You've made it so even the program's music staff is composed entirely of students — that's an iconic idea amongst high-level opera programs. Why? And what are the greatest risks?

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JD: That is a perceptive question to recognize this as a benefit, but also a risk. One risk is to pressure student pianists to perform at a professional level and what happens if they don't — I can't fire them. ... Another risk is spreading our resources, including myself, too thinly. I may run seminars in Italian recitative, for example, with 10 singers from the cast, instead of hours and hours of private coaching. I establish memory checks of acts that serve like tests, putting the responsibility for learning music on the students' shoulders, not my staff's. We are training them to train themselves. This serves one of my pedagogical goals: to make singers as self-reliant as possible.

CP: Do you feel as if you've focused attention on any particular students, or does this brand of program act pragmatically to equal the playing/learning/singing field?

JD: We have two goals in this regard: to provide the opportunities for students to shine who are ready to do so; and to provide those who are not ready to shine opportunities that can help them develop, no matter the level. Many of these latter opportunities take place in a less pressured environment than our full productions. ... But I try to be available to all who need it, but always to the end of making them confident and self-sufficient.

CP: What's been your best season or program so far and why?

JD: Boy, this is a tough one. We have won national awards for our productions of Hansel and Gretel, L'Amico Fritz, Falstaff and the Tales of Hoffmann all in just the last five years. Every production is a child of sorts, created with much labor. It's impossible for me to pick one out.

CP: How do you choose your operas?

JD: My first step when choosing main-stage opera repertoire is to make a list of the singers who will be returning the next year. ... To that, I add names of auditioning singers who would affect repertoire choices and who are legitimate prospects to come to Temple. ... We have many different programs at Temple and those in the master's in opera are required to do major roles, so I have to make sure that the program is "serviced" by my choices. I put all that together and create a short list of options, if I can. I then begin conversations with my producer, Jamie Johnson, regarding budget implications of the various choices. Then I discuss the options and my thinking with the voice faculty for their input and any directors we have hired. Then I must discuss orchestral demands with the instrumental department to see if any of the options create problems for them. It is a very complicated process. We don't mind doing unusual repertoire. I try to balance it with standard works for educational purposes. But it is a much more complex process than most people realize. And we have to live with a bad decision for an entire term, so I try very hard not to make mistakes.

CP: How long have you been at Temple?

LPK: This is my fourth season with Temple as a director — Hansel and Gretel, Falstaff, Don Giovanni and now La Bohème.

CP: What's so invigorating about the interaction between students and instructors?

LPK: It's especially exciting to work with students who have a wide range of experience. Some of them are experiencing opera for the first time, and others are already professional. It's fun to watch the first-timers, who are sometimes skeptical at first, become caught up in the emotional sweep of all that goes into it. By the time they've completed an opera, they understand what all the fuss is about. The professional-level students help the less experienced along. ... It's a collaborative process.

CP: What's so amazing about La Bohème in that regard?

LPK: Bohème has so many levels. It's got all those ingredients I mentioned. And it's always a challenge to keep the romantic story in the forefront. Opera is so wonderful because the music helps this process and gives it a "soundtrack," as it were.

CP: How did you get to the music school at Temple?

JJ: My first courses were as a student in the radio-television-film department. I was in a college exchange program. While pursuing my bachelor's degree, I was privileged to take private voice lessons with Robert Grooters, and to sing in the Temple University Concert Choir. My voice teacher convinced me to continue my voice studies, and to work toward a master's degree in vocal performance. I sang in nine Temple University Opera Theater productions and hold master's degrees in both voice and opera performance from the Boyer College of Music and Dance. I have been involved in every Temple University Opera Theater production since 1983. I was first hired as a part-time faculty member to teach production values to the opera workshop classes, and to coordinate the construction of sets for the main stage opera productions. This position was replaced with a full-time production management position, [which] was eventually upgraded to the position of technical director, which was then upgraded to my current "Producer of Opera" position.

CP: What's so amazing about La Bohème?

JJ: The students take ownership of our productions. It's exciting to see how much they enjoy performing in a "popular" opera production such as Bohème. Many university programs cannot afford to present fully staged operas with an orchestra. We emphasize to the students that it is "their" production. They not only help with the production and office responsibilities, but they are expected to learn a role in a foreign language, know what they are singing so that they can interact with other characters, learn the music to be sung and still have enough energy to go to, and learn in their other classes.

CP: Why did you choose to produce this?

JJ: John Douglas and I have many conversations before short lists are even discussed for upcoming operas. ... John has the hard task of matching returning voices and potential incoming students to find operas which include the specific voice requirements of any given year. Sometimes he is able to find a match with another company or institution, as was the case this year with Opera Delaware. After further discussions, John then presents his recommendations to Christine Anderson, the department of voice and opera chair, and to the rest of the voice faculty for discussion. Auditions were held on the first day of classes this semester and the show was cast by the end of the week. I wish it were as simple a process as I make it sound.

CP: What does John Douglas mean to the process?

JJ: John and I both wear many hats when it comes to putting it all together. I'm primarily responsible for the visual elements which are seen on the stage, and the maintenance of the budget to make it happen. This includes the set, costumes, lighting, props and personnel. We're both involved from the beginning to the end of the project, and work with each other on a daily basis. ... John's first and foremost task is in the direction of the music and what is heard from the stage and from the orchestra pit. ... To the Temple community, he is best-known as the conductor of the operas, but he does much more than that.

(a_amorosi@citypaper.net)

La Bohème, Fri., Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m. and Sun., Nov. 23, 3 p.m., $20, Tomlinson Theater, Temple University, 1301 W. Norris St., 800-298-4200, www.temple.edu/boyer.