Whew! Hello out there - it’s nice to finally get to sit down and blog a little about this amazing, whirlwind process that has been getting Opera Mariposa live, both online and with Witches, Waifs, and Wives. Lots has been happening all within a short time, and there’s been really very little time to think too hard about it until now. It didn’t seem quite so large until I stopped and took stock of all the rehearsing, coding, planning, and even photoshooting we’ve done…

And, of course, there’s still so much to do. We’ve still got rehearsals and coachings for our two soprani out the ying-yang, and posters to plaster up all over town. It will always be harder to get people to come out to recitals than it is to get them to come to the opera, but we’re hoping for a solid turnout nonetheless. No one wants to get up on stage and look out on an empty house.

Until then, though, there’s the first joint rehearsal for our two soprano soloists coming up soon, from which there will be live and exclusive updates on our twitter feed, which I’m sure will keep us occupied. Plus there’s the fact that the gala alone will have twelve costumes, most of them big gowns (though there will be a couple wardrobe surprises along the way). Add the organization of that to the setup of the surtitles, mix it in to the whole process of getting a recital ready for performance, and suddenly the number of people in the seats fades from your mind entirely, I’m finding. Instead, what’s important is the completeness of the audience’s experience, and the smiles on their faces when the show is over. It becomes less about how many people you reach, but moving the people who have come; about providing a spectacular show to whomever arrives, and hopefully reaching audiences that will want to return to us for more in future.

That is, of course, why we do this. No matter how proud I find myself feeling of all the technical feats we’ve achieved in getting this baby off the ground, in the end it won’t matter when the curtain goes up. We know we start small as an opera company - very, very small - but with time and patience and the obvious love for the art that is shared by everyone here, I can honestly say that I believe that great things will happen. And I can’t wait to share that with whomever we can.

Robin Eder-Warren
Managing Director