Friends of the Opera Events

Between the Notes 

Between the Notes offers an exclusive opportunity for members of our donor family to join other opera enthusiasts interested in taking their operatic knowledge to a new level. Held one week before each production, this intimate, interactive lecture series delves into the musical details, historical background, and characters of each opera using video and audio excerpts. Contributor ($100) level and above.

Powder Her Face - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 12:00 p.m.

Opera Philadelphia is thrilled to present the company premiere of Thomas Adès's provocative 1995 debut opera Powder Her Face, which the then 24-year-old composer based on a real-life sex scandal that rocked the British aristocracy in the 1960s. Opera Philadelphia Composer in Residence Lembit Beecher will perform musical excerpts and offer insights into Adès's whimsical and powerful score, which references such 20th-century composers as Benjamin Britten, Kurt Weill, Astor Piazzolla.

About Composer In Residence Lembit Beecher: In 2011 Lembit Beecher was appointed for a three-year term as the first Composer In Residence of the Opera Philadelphia in collaboration with Gotham Chamber Opera and Music Theatre Group of New York. Born of Estonian and American parents, he grew up under the redwoods in Santa Cruz, California, a few miles from the wild Pacific. Since then he has lived in Boston, Houston, Ann Arbor, Berlin and New York, earning degrees from Harvard, Rice and the University of Michigan. This varied background has made him particularly sensitive to place, ecology and the strong emotional relationships that people forge with patterns in nature. He is also interested in memory and the various ways we tell stories, from emotional personal narratives to crisp and clean documentaries. Recent pieces have focused on reflections of the immigrant experience and the integration of recorded interviews with music.  While a fellow at the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities (2008 – 2009), Lembit wrote And Then I Remember, a multi-media, documentary oratorio based on the World War II stories of his grandmother.  And Then I Remember won the 2010 Opera Vista competition leading to a fully staged production in March of 2011 in Houston, Texas. Active also as a pianist and conductor, his work has been performed at the Tanglewood, Aspen and Cabrillo Music Festivals and he has received awards and grants from the American Music Center, ASCAP, New York Youth Symphony, NewMusic at ECU, Society for New Music and Austin Peay State University. Lembit served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Denison University for the fall of 2009.

Final Dress Rehearsals

Sustainer level and above. To reserve tickets, please call Donor Services at 215-893-5934.

General Director’s Backstage Tour 

A backstage tour of the Academy of Music and the set of a current production hosted by General Director David B. Devan (Partner level and above).

Friends Vocal Recital

The Friends Vocal Recital honoring the Robert B. Driver Legacy Fund was held on April 7, 2013 at the Curtis Institute of Music. Opera Friends and Patrons enjoyed an afternoon of opera arias and art songs, followed by a reception with the artists.

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