All About Love: Small Batch with Opera Carolina
January 30, 2025
Love is in the air! With all the chilly gloom of winter, it can be easy to forget that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. What better way to shake off your wintry blues than by spending time with those you love?
We sat down with some of the artists who’ll be performing at our upcoming Small Batch concert to chat about what warms their hearts: music, movies, memories, and more! Hopefully, their answers will inspire you to get in that lovey-dovey spirit.
Corey Lovelace on La Bohème and other operatic loves:
(Plus, a couple of local recommendations!)
Corey Lovelace hails from Chicago, but has happily made her new home in the Carolinas. Most recently she stepped in for Italian soprano Barbara Fritolli to sing the role of Nedda in I Pagliacci with Opera Carolina. Last season she made her debut as Leonore in Fidelio with Mid-Ohio Civic Opera and had the pleasure of performing Shostakovich’s Seven Romances by Alexander Blok with Chamber Music for All. In the coming 2024/25 season, she can be heard singing the roles of Frasquita in Carmen, First Lady in The Magic Flute, and Musetta in La Bohème.
This Small Batch program is titled, “Voices of Love,” romantic opera arias and duets, art songs, and musical theatre staples. In your opinion, what are some of the most romantic pieces of music?
Of course as an opera singer, when I think of the most romantic music, I immediately think of Italian opera legends; Verdi and Puccini. Thinking especially of La Bohème and La Traviata. But French opera is equally romantic. I love Massenet‘s operas especially Manon and Thaïs, not sure you can find a more romantic piece of music than the “Meditation” from Thaïs.
Love is a central theme in many operas. What love stories have you portrayed onstage? Do you have a favorite?
I have portrayed both Mimi and Musetta from La Bohème. I love both roles equally! It doesn’t get more romantic than La Bohème in my opinion! What I love about the characters of La Bohème is how they show so many aspects of love. There is a purity and devotion in Mimi’s love, while Musetta is all passion and fire. Both characters show love through loyalty in friendship.
I see you’re new to the Carolinas! Are there any local spots you recommend to friends and family that come to visit?
There are so many wonderful places to recommend in Charlotte. I do a lot of hiking in my free time. Something I love recommending to friends visiting the area is a day of hiking at Crowders Mountain followed by a great glass of wine at Veronét Vineyards & Winery.
If Music be the Food of Love with Emily Jarrell Urbanek
Emily Jarrell Urbanek has been Opera Carolina’s Director of Music Preparation since 2007, and has served as coach, pianist and assistant conductor in companies around the United States from New York to San Diego. She also frequently performs chamber music in the Charlotte, NC area and is an extra keyboardist for the Charlotte Symphony. Recently she has taken the conductor’s podium for productions of Verdi’s La Traviata, Redler/Dye’s The Falling and The Rising, and Wang’s Scalia/Ginsburg.
There’s a little bit of musical theatre in this program, including songs from iconic Broadway musicals about love. Do you have a favorite love story in theatre or cinema?
It’s not a story with a happy ending, but I love Eugene Onegin, Tchaikovsky’s opera based on Pushkin’s masterpiece. Young Tatyana is innocently in love with Onegin, but he rejects her and she moves on with life, marrying an older gentleman of status. When Onegin returns to see her grown up and realizes that he made a mistake, she has the inner strength to reject him. I also love it because it’s an opera where the heroine doesn’t die, sorry for the spoiler!
One of the sections of this program is titled, “From the female perspective.” What are some romantic pieces of music by women composers that you love?
“Clairières dans le ciel” (Literally “clearings in the sky”), the entire set of songs by Lili Boulanger from which Johnnie and I are performing the song “Parfois, je suis triste” (“Sometimes I am sad”) is astounding in its beauty and complexity. The talented sister of the famous French composition teacher Nadia Boulanger wrote this set around age 20, about the time that she became the first female composer to win the Prix de Rome. Unfortunately she only lived another 5 years due to chronic health problems. As with Georges Bizet, the composer of Carmen, one wonders what more she would have accomplished had she lived longer. I’m also a big fan of Florence Price, who was a master of writing for the piano as well as the voice — “Hold Fast to Dreams” is a favorite for programming in song recitals. And there’s another scrumptious setting by Undine Smith Moore of “I Want to Die While You Love Me” in addition to Rosephanye Powell’s beautiful version that we’re performing. The team of Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler has written some spot-on musical theatre gems like “Taylor the Latte Boy.” Romantic with a shot of espresso, I guess.
Valentine’s day doesn’t have to be just about romance! Tell us about a friendship or special connection you’ve made thanks to your musical career.
It’s hard for me to draw the line between colleagues and friends in the performing arts. We all survive by supporting each other 24/7. But there’s a special bond between young “apprentice” performers who go out and play school shows for restless audiences, often two a day, with the morning one occurring hours before God intended people to sing. There are people I toured with all over Ohio or the Carolinas 20+ years ago that I still stay in touch with. Romantically speaking, I met my husband at a party because a board member of the opera company I was working for invited the cast of the current production, and then she and the lead soprano kept conniving to get us together again!
Online tickets for this Small Batch concert are “tapped out!” A limited amount of walk-up tickets will be available at the door. Please direct ticketing questions to malathem@wdav.org, and check out the Eventbrite page for important event information and updates. Cheers!