HAWAII OPERA THEATRE
Shown is a set from Act 2 of the Hawaii Opera Theatre production of "The Merry Widow." Funds raised during "The Merry Widow Ball" Saturday will help to cover the cost of productions.
Opera company aims
to expand its audience
Pop media have been giving opera a bad rap for years.
'The Merry Widow Ball'
Where: Sheraton Waikiki
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
Tickets: $225
Call: 596-7372, ext. 14
The season
Performances early next year will take place in the Blaisdell Concert Hall. Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 p.m. Sundays and 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tickets are $29 to $100 per show; three-show packages start at $81. Call 596-7858.Verdi's "Otello": A powerful retelling of Shakespeare's horrifying tale of envy, betrayal and fatal insecurity; runs Jan. 30, Feb. 1 and Feb. 3.
Mozart's "Cosi Fan Tutte": Does a cynical bachelor prove that all women are fickle? Romantic entanglements vs. true love and emotion; Feb. 13, 15 and 17.
Lehar's "The Merry Widow": The economic fate of the Republic of Pontevedro depends on finding an appropriate man for a merry widow in turn-of-the-century Paris; Feb. 27 and 29, and March 2 and 4.
Who among us didn't grow up with images of big, bulky, spear-carrying women wearing horned helmets and metal breastplates, and of overwrought men bellowing passionately in some incomprehensible foreign language? And isn't opera where that phrase, "It ain't over till the fat lady sings," comes from?
Those stereotypes may have faded in recent years as a new generation of opera stars have enjoyed success as mainstream celebrities and recording artists, but expanding the audience for opera in Hawaii continues to be a challenge for the Hawaii Opera Theatre.
Ticket sales to HOT's three-show opera season currently cover just 40 percent of the nonprofit organization's operating budget, spokeswoman Juliana LeReaux explained earlier this week. Although HOT is most visible during that three-show winter season, it also brings opera to an estimated 40,000 students each year through outreach programs such as Opera Express, which brings small opera performances to campuses, and Opera for Everyone, which brings high school students to see full-length Grand Opera Season performances.
HOT also provides training for students who hope to sing opera professionally.
Few realize that opera has been part of island culture for more than a century. As for homegrown talent, Tandy MacKenzie performed in Europe and on the mainland in the '20s and '30s. Keaumoku Louis, although almost forgotten today, enjoyed such star status in the '20s that Victor Records shipped recording equipment out to California when Louis' performance schedule prevented him from traveling to the label's East Coast studios.
More recently, Buz Tennent's name comes to mind as a Hawaii native who has represented the islands on opera stages across the mainland and in Europe. And, lest anyone think that opera singers only sing "that foreign stuff," Tennent distinguished himself earlier this fall as "Father" opposite Mary Chesnut Hicks ("Mother") in Diamond Head Theatre's production of "Ragtime." Hicks is also a seasoned opera singer who will be seen in HOT's production of "The Merry Widow" next year.
And, in a segue reminiscent of the Three Stooges' classic "Why Are Fire Engines Red?" routine, it so happens that "The Merry Widow" is providing the theme for this year's HOT fund-raiser.
"The Merry Widow Ball" is being held Saturday, and includes entertainment by Jason Pell from the Honolulu Symphony, Karen Bechtel and the Galliard Quartet, and selections from "The Merry Widow" performed by Erik Haines, Mary Chesnut Hicks and Malia Ka'ai.
In addition to funding HOT's educational outreach programs, the party will also help HOT bring internationally acclaimed artists from other parts of the world to perform here.
The $225-per-person ticket price includes "wonderful cuisine, great entertainment, fantastic silent-auction items and opportunity to mingle with some of Hawaii's movers and shakers," says LeReaux. "It's a party that attracts a wide variety of people."
Owen Ho is creating French-inspired decor in keeping with the setting of "The Merry Widow," which takes place in Paris at the dawning of the 20th century. The design includes art inspired by the cancan dancers representative of the era, street lamps and a miniature version of the Eiffel Tower.
And about that foreign language barrier -- HOT productions now include projected supertitles that provide English translations of the casts' performances.
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