Virginia Opera Announces STAYIN' ALIVE: VIRGINIA OPERA'S ALTERNATE FALL Season

Virginia Opera, The Official Opera Company of the Commonwealth of Virginia, is pleased to announce "Stayin' Alive-Virginia Opera's Alternate Fall," the Opera's latest programmatic initiative to address audience engagement in light of ongoing limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. "Stayin' Alive" will feature both digital and "analog" in-person performance opportunities, featuring the vocal skills of a quartet of the company's esteemed Herndon Foundation Emerging Artists Program (details/biographies below).

The artists will journey to Virginia for a full ten-week residency program, the first two of which will allow for artist quarantine prior to both rehearsals and performances including a special interactive, online, ticketed "Artist Showcase" on September 16, 2020 at 7 p.m. Designed overall to be a highly collaborative endeavor between artists, audience, and a VO artistic team and spearheaded by the company's Artistic Director, Maestro Adam Turner, and Assistant Conductor, Maestro Brandon Eldredge, this virtual Artist Showcase event will include a musical program allowing audience members to vote for the very selections performed that evening.

Tickets for the Artist Showcase will be available through the Virginia Opera website at vaopera.org for $20.

In addition to the premier showcase event, the two-month schedule of VO digital programing will include recorded arias and duets, master classes, as well as live streaming opportunities. Importantly, the company is also planning to present replacement educational content online to address canceled fall inschool VO Touring Program initiatives and to share opportunities with the organization's valued community partners in schools and other Commonwealth public-facing venues that provide safe and valuable community and family-based interaction. To this end the VO is pursuing a variety of new and trailblazing partnerships with fellow Virginia organizations that will be announced within the coming weeks, as well as exploring the VO's facilitation of providing resources for Community Curbside Concerts-an opportunity for those members of the public interested in hosting live performancesin front of homes or businesses. Priced between $500-$5,000, the VO will provide singers, a piano, and marketing materials to promote these privately hosted events. Questions or details provided via email at info@vaopera.org.

Virginia Opera Artistic Director, Adam Turner: "As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our lives, our communities, and our art form, we have looked intently at the ways that we may safely and creatively maintain visibility, while also reinforcing our dedication to our valuable patrons and donors. Embarking on a host of new programming for the fall, we have dubbed our initiative "Stayin' Alive," and we are planning an exciting slate of opportunities to spark connection with opera lovers across the state - from the comfort of their living rooms, to their front porches and beyond. In the following eight weeks, with the amazing talents of our Herndon Foundation Emerging Artists leading the way, we will help to bridge some of the elements of these difficult and isolating times. We know that Stayin' Alive will be an impactful and positive new adventure for the VO, and we understand that these analogue programs represent a bold adventure. With that said, we also want to reassure our audiences and patrons that we embark on these endeavors with the utmost commitment to safety. In providing all available resources to ensure a gratifying experience of in-person singing, we fully recognize the responsibility that comes with the promise of highest standards of safety. With these ambitious plans, the number of Curbside Concerts will be important, and yet limited-so for those interested in hosting, please be sure to let us know soon! We are so excited about seeing you throughout the fall in your community, perhaps even in your own backyard or the parking lot of a cherished local business!"

Virginia Opera's President and CEO, Russell Allen: "These amazing plans are a welcome relief to the absence of the performing arts in our lives. We are thrilled to welcome a talented group of young artists who will be at the center of this program, a couple who have already made significant contributions to Virginia Opera's 2019-2020 Season. With the safety of both artists and audiences at the forefront of our planning, we look forward to a variety of community collaborations to help recharge our artistic batteries."

Learn more at https://vaopera.org/.

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