Karen Nimereala, Opera Innovator
(Paris, France) - Voice teacher Karen Nimereala first came to our attention through a friend in 2019. Classically-trainer and a former opera singer herself, some of Ms. Nimereala’s longtime clients include pop music icons Sting and Mylène Farmer. Prior to flying to Paris to see Ms. Farmer’s landmark residency, a friend mentioned that they had a social media connection to “Karen, Mylène’s voice teacher…did you know she was an opera singer?” A longtime fan of Ms. Farmer, this information had somehow eluded me…
Has Central City Opera Lost The Plot?
Something’s apparently rotten in the state of Colorado. We first heard about Central City Opera’s entanglement with AGMA (American Guild of Musical Artists) via the latter’s 15DEC statement on Instagram, which was shared and commented upon by a few individuals across the opera spectrum. THE JIST: Per Eden Lane’s Colorado Public Radio story: “Founded in 1932, Central City Opera is one of the oldest opera companies in the United States. Now the company is in a bitter dispute with the labor union representing its performers…
Breaking Opera's Rules | OI Insights Q&A with Claudillea
We discovered London-based artist Claudillea Holloway by accident. Like many things these days, it started on Instagram. While scrolling through the stories of friend and tenor Elliott Paige, a video of Claudillea performing an operatic cover of The Rolling Stones’ Paint It Black appeared. Given OI’s love of all things that move the dial for opera, we literally fell out of our chair, screaming…
Opera Innovation | No. 1 Playlist + Liner Notes
Surprise! Welcome to the Opera Innovation | No. 1 playlist + liner notes. Since we’re still about opera and the classically trained voice, we thought we’d highlight artists who’ve been on the blog or our social media channels since we launched in late Spring 2020. Some people here are friends I’ve known for a while, others I’ve only met online, and some who are sadly no longer with us but live on through their one-of-a-kind work…
Letter from Berlin: Insignia Athlone Artists Power Forward in Europe
The first time I met Ian Burns, he was a 2019 Santa Fe Opera Apprentice. He and his colleagues had just given a stirring concert performance at Four Seasons Santa Fe, an annual event that generally kicks off the Company’s summer season. It was wonderful to see him excel across four (4) different productions..