Opera Louisiane serving up love songs day, night
Don’t take Ira Gershwin’s lyrics literally.
Plenty of love songs have been written, and at least one is for you. Opera Louisiane will make sure of that on Valentine’s Day, because you can start the morning off with a love song and end the evening with another. And rest assured, they’ll all be for you.
However beautiful their song may be, the Gershwin brothers simply got it wrong when they wrote “But Not for Me.”
You’ve heard its minor key, where the singer mourns how he or she found love and lost it. And how songs of love are being written, “but not for me.”
Well, if you can’t find one to fit your taste from Opera Louisiane’s OperaGram selection for Valentine’s Day, maybe there really haven’t been any love songs written for you. Not likely.
“We have a variety to choose from,” Leanne Clement said.
She’s Opera Louisiane’s executive director, and the company is going to be busy on Tuesday, Feb. 14.
Not only are singers going to be delivering OperaGrams throughout the area, the company also is staging its second Chanson d’Amour concert at Louisiana’s Old State Capitol.
“We’re excited, because this year, we’re preceding the concert with Apêritif,” Clement said.
“It’s a pre-concert meal catered by Heirloom Cuisine, and we’re thrilled that we can offer this to our patrons. So many people make dinner reservations before the concert, and we didn’t want them to have to worry about the meal. It will be a one-stop Valentine’s celebration.”
Apêritif will begin at 6 p.m., followed by the concert at 7:30 p.m. Separate tickets are required for the meal and concert.
The meal lineup up includes balsamic pears on marinated steak medallions, shrimp remoulade on homemade crostinis, bourbon barrelwood smoked pork tenderloin, assorted fruits and vegetables and heart shaped desserts. Champagne and white wine are included with the meal, and a cash bar will be available.
Then comes the concert lineup of husband and wife duo Yvonne Douthat Hartinger and Virgil Hartinger and New York couple Jessica Cates and Michael Krzankowski singing opera duets, Broadway hits and popular American love songs.
The concert will mark a homecoming for mezzo soprano Yvonne Douthat Hartinger. The Baton Rouge native lives with her husband in Salzburg, Germany.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from LSU, master’s degree from the University of Houston and doctorate of musical arts degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. Yvonne Douthat Hartinger has performed the title role in numerous operas and is now on the voice faculty of the University of Miami Frost School of Music at Salzburg and a faculty member at Gordon College’s Salzburg Institute.
Tenor Virgil Hartinger, meantime, is a sought-after soloist and has performed in operas throughout Europe. He earned degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the Mozarteum in Salzburg.
As for Krzankowski, he’s a baritone and Chicago native. He recently made his San Antonio Opera debut as the count in Le nozze di Figaro and has performed with the Puccini Opera Festival in Lucca, Italy. He also has performed many roles in musical theater.
Krzankowski earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa and his master’s degree from Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.
Finally, soprano Cates is a native of Greensboro, N.C., who recently debuted with the Fort Worth Opera as Yum-Yum in The Mikado. Upon completing her first summer as a Young American Artist with Glimmerglass Opera, Cates performed in The Tenderland and covered Elisa in Tolomeo. Additionally, she appeared as a soloist in Steven Blier’s “Killer B’s” concert, in collaboration with The New York Festival of Song.
“They’re singing a variety of love songs in different genres,” Clement said.
“There will be songs of unrequited love, fun and flirty songs, some that are serious and some that are romantic. There will even be one piece by John Denver, so you can hear everything from opera to John Denver.”
And the OperaGram selection is just as varied.
Now, remember, Chanson d’Amour comes at the end of the day. Romantics can begin the day with a song by sending their significant others an OperaGram.
Opera Louisiane began offering the singing telegrams in 2011.
“It was very popular last year,” Clement said. “We weren’t overwhelmed, but we made a lot of deliveries.”
Each OperaGram will be delivered by a company member for $50. The delivery will include a special message card, translation of the song and either a rose or chocolates.
Special requests will be accommodated at $65 apiece.
“We’ll have four choices for each voice part,” Clement said. “So, this year, we’ll have 16 song choices. We’d also like to expand them for other special days like birthdays and anniversaries.” And as promised, the selections are varied.
Soprano choices are “O mio babbino caro” from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi; “Someone to Watch Over Me” from George and Ira Gershwin’s Oh, Kay!. “Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man,” from Jerome Kern’s Showboat; and “Deh vieni non tardar,” from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.
Mezzo soprano selections are “Bewitched” from Rodgers and Hart’s Pal Joey; “Habanera” from Bizet’s Carmen; “My Funny Valentine” from Rodgers and Hart’s Babes in Arms; and “Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix” from Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila.
Tenor choices are “Che gelida mannina,” from Puccini’s La Bohéme; “Johanna” from Stehpen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd; “Be My Love” from Nicholas Brodsky’s The Toast of New Orleans; and “O Sole Mio” by Di Capua/Capurro.
Finally, baritone selections are “If Ever I Would Leave You” from Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot; “Some Enchanted Evening” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific; “Bella Siccome un Angelo” from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale; and “I Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley.
And there you have it. Plenty of love songs written for everyone. Especially you.