Check out Anna’s website … http://www.annanetrebko.com

In the ‘Ask Anna’ section, Diva Netrebko gets candid about a variety of subjects including:

Opera for Young People

Career Doubts

Cosmetics and Hair

Favorite Ice Cream

Russian Writers

Together … on Martha’s Christmas cookie show ???

Snoop Dogg, brownies with green sprinkles
Renee Fleming, sugar cookies

Click here to go to Martha’s site and learn more

Aiko, a Big Wild Opera fan living in Chiba, Japan, shares a song she believes captures the feelings of Eugene Onegin at the end of the story/opera.

Lovers of classic romantic R&B, click here to hear the legendary Teddy Pendergrass singing ‘It Should’ve Been You’ OR Eugene Onegin’s lament.

Aiko … this is a Rockin’ soulful pop/opera connection. We Salute You!

AO’s powerful and beautiful production of EUGENE ONEGIN.

Don’t miss this incredible love story set to some of the most beautiful music ever composed.

Click here to get your tickets!

That’s right … the most bang for the buck is AO’s upcoming production … Eugene Onegin.

Why?

Not because it’s written by Tchaikovsky, the composer of The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, the 1812 Overture and many other famous classics.

Not because the story was written by one of the greatest poets ever … Alexander Pushkin

Why?

Because it’s the first time a Russian grand opera is being produced in the American Circumpolar North, specifically Big Wild Anchorage, Alaska.

And why is that important? Because of all the places in the United States, Alaska has the most significant historical, social and strategically important relationship with Russia.

Some people say you can see Russia from Alaska! Truth is … only 2.5 miles of sea separate Alaska and Russia at their closest point, and it is possible to walk across when the Bering Strait freezes in mid-winter.

Get ready Alaksa, AO’s Onegin will be one for the record books!

Oh … and Cramer … don’t forget, the Real BOO-YA will be Big Wild Opera!

Click here for tickets and more info

Apprentices belted it out and kicked up their heels to cheers from a sold-out audience at their Eclectic Cabaret! A silent auction and deliciously decadent dip buffet accompanied the spectacular Broadway melodies. 

Special guest Professor Fran Lautenberger of the UAA Dept. of Theater even joined ensemble director Mari Hahn for a racous rendition of Bosom Buddies!

The apprentices are now gearing up for their final performances this semester.  Eclectic Broadway will feature little known gems from Kiss of the Spider Woman, Chess, Little Women, Light in the Piazza, Secret Garden, Follies, Urinetown, Side Show and Assassins, along with some favorites from West Side Story and Thoroughly Modern Millie.  Directed by Mari Hahn, accompanied by Janet Stiles, and lighting design by Cedar Cussins. 

The Opera Ensemble does Broadway… come and check it out! 

Dec. 4 and 6 in the UAA Recital Hall, 7:30 pm. 

Tickets at the UAA Box office:  786-4TIX.

Click here to learn more

Tell ‘em about OPERA TOLERATORS. Bring your friends and family to the worlds most entertaining and fun opera support group.

Powerful, dramatic shows, special discount ‘newbie’ tickets, and ‘painless’ opera info chats. And if that’s not enough, we offer:

• Barf bags
• Ear plugs
• Post show counseling
• Emergency beverage treatment during show intermissions

The next OPERA TOLERATOR gathering is Wednesday, November 11.

Click here to learn more

Click here to visit AO on FACEBOOK and listen

I’ve been singing in Sister Angelica for the past month or so, and lately I’ve been thinking about one of the opera’s themes – a mother’s love for her child and how it relates with my experiences in the Alaska Native and Native American communities. 

My heritage is a mixture of Inupiaq, Irish, Scottish-Irish and English. My mother was born in Nome and raised in Seattle, and my grandmother, who was born in White Mountain, was raised in Kivalina, a tiny community in northwest Alaska. A desire to connect with this part of my heritage is what brought me to Alaska from Toronto, Canada, where I grew up. A singer for most of my life, this fall I found myself singing in the Anchorage Opera’s double-feature production of Suor Angelica/Pagliacci.

Sister Angelica, who is from a royal family, was forced to enter the convent seven years before the opera begins because she had given birth to an illegitimate child, thus staining the reputation of her family’s name. As any mother would, she yearns to hear word of her son, but in the meantime, she dutifully whiles away her time at the convent. All of the other nuns, although they might not know the truth of her deepest desire, know that she sorely misses her family. When word of a noble visitor is announced, all thoughts turn to Angelica, and all nuns, concerned for their fellow sister, disregard their own desires and unite in a wish that the visitor might be for her.

I have experienced this sort of unity of spirit. A few years ago, I was a member of an Inupiaq dance group called Iknaaniktut, which is an Inupiaq word meaning, “It has been lit”, referring to a legend about the Northern Lights. Before beginning our practice, we would hold a talking circle, a ceremony that Alaska Natives have borrowed from Lower 48 Native American cultures. In a talking circle, the designated leader announces the purpose for the gathering, and then participants take turns smudging with sage and then pray while holding a “talking stick” – a stick (or feather) that often is decorated with beads, that, when held, indicates who is speaking. No one is to interrupt the speaker until he or she is done. The stick passes around the circle until it reaches the group leader. We had our talking circle, and then would dance, finishing our gathering with a feast of nigipeak, or traditional Inupiaq foods.

On occasion, we would also do a special talking circle for Iknaaniktut members who were going on trips, as going on a journey always presents possible risks. We would pray for protection for the person traveling. One time, I was traveling to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC to work with some Alaska Native Elders. My dance group held a talking circle for me before I left. As I took off in the plane, I could feel the energy of their prayers surrounding and protecting me. Believe what you will, but I felt stronger having gone through that experience, knowing that my friends were thinking about me and had focused their thoughts on my safety.

Sister Angelica is a short, one-act opera, but like a shooting star, is heart-breakingly beautiful in its brevity. I hope you will join us, and think of what it means to pull together and support one another as you watch the drama unfold.