Michigan Opera Theatre COVID-19 Response

As one of the only ways to stay connected with our audiences during this time of forced closure, Michigan Opera Theatre relied on the expansion of our MOT at Home programs to maintain our presence and provide audiences with curated educational resources and online experiences. The objective of these programs is to continue MOT’s commitment to advancing the humanistic interpretation of opera and dance for a broad public with emphasis on musicology, history, regional studies, and interdisciplinary topics.

MOT at Home Materials Released in 2020

Videos 

MOT In Conversation: Themed Discussions on Opera 

• “On Representations of Race in Opera and the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” a conversation with University of Michigan professors Dr. Naomi André, Dr. Mark Clague, and George Shirley, moderated by Austin Stewart. 

• “On Site-Specific Opera” with Dr. Megan Steigerwald Ille (University of Cincinnati) conducting an interview of MOT Artistic Director and MacArthur Foundation Fellow on site-specific opera, and the changing media and meaning of the art. 
  
  
• “On Wagner’s Ring” with Dr. Gundula Kreuzer (Yale), Dr. David Levin (U-Chicago), and Dr. Kirsten Paige (Stanford), moderated by Arthur White. 
  
  
• “On Bel Canto” a library book club presentation on the music and politics of Ann Patchett’s critically acclaimed novel Bel Canto, presented in conjunction with the Michigan Library Network. 

MOT’s Dance Dialogues: Livestreamed Conversations with Scholars and Critics of Dance 

• “On Ballet Blanc and Swan Lake” with David Lyman (Journalist and Essayist, Cincinnati), hosted by Jon Teeuwissen. 
  
  
• “On Paul Taylor Dance Company and American Modern Dance” with Dr. Suzanne Carbonneau (George Mason University), hosted by Jon Teeuwissen. 

Virtual Lectures with Austin Stewart 

• “The World and Revolution of Richard Wagner” 

• “Sir Walter Scott and The Italian Lady of the Lake”  
  
  
• “Shakespeare in Opera, Part 1: Verdi’s Falstaff” 
  
  
• “Mythologizing Opera: Wagner’s Parsifal” 

Written Materials 

• Dance Blog Series by Jon Teeuwissen 

• “A Controversial Masterpiece: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Fawn” 
  
  
• “Four Minutes a Dying Swan: Anna Pavlova and Becoming the Symbol of the New Russian Ballet” 
  
  
• “Ballet Blanc: Shades, Shadows and Spirits” 

• “The Story of Swan Lake in Black and White” 
  
  
• “Les Sylphides: The Origins of Abstract Dance” 
  
  
• “Arden Court: Paul Taylor’s Masterpiece Danced by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater” 
  
  
• “Aureole: Exploring Paul Taylor’s Landmark Work” 

• Published scholarly program notes commissioned for MOT’s drive-thru parking garage opera, Twilights: Gods (attached as a single PDF) 

• “Richard Wagner and the Journey of the Ring” by Dr. Austin Stewart 
  
  
• “There’s No Place Like the Parking Center? Moving Beyond the Opera House in 21st-Century American Opera” by Dr. Megan Steigerwald Ille (University of Cincinnati) 
  
  
• “Airing Out Wagner’s Götterdämmerung: Wagner in the Age of Coronavirus” by Dr. Kirsten Paige (Stanford University) 

 OperaHERE Podcast  

• Celebrating Pride: A conversation on opera and dance that tells LGBTQ stories with Andrea, Scobie, Arthur White, and Jon Teeuwissen. 
  
  
• Opera for Our Times: Andrea Scobie and Arthur White examine how operas that were once “new” are now cornerstones of the canon, and which contemporary works will join that esteemed list. 
  
  
• OperaHERE, Twilight: Gods: Arthur White and Andrea Scobie interview legendary Detroit poet Marsha Music on her creation of the poetry and narrative behind Twilight: Gods, and the challenges and inspiration of condensing Wagner’s massive Ring cycle into poetry with a distinctively Detroit flair.