| East Village Opera Company | | Print | |
| Written by Stephen Mason | |
| Tuesday, 17 July 2007 | |
 For several years now the Todi Music Festival
has offered a large variety of events for music lovers. They have ranged
from classical to Broadway and several stops in between.
This
year however they started off their season with the most original
and, in my opinion, their most amazing performance yet.
The East Village Opera Company kicked off the festival with their powerful combination of contemporary rock and classic opera. The group was formed by Peter Kiesewalter and Tyley Ross, and consists of a five piece rock band, a string quartet, and two powerful singers, AnnMarie Milazzo and co-creator Tyley Ross. I will admit that as an opera lover I was skeptical because this music has been cherished for generations and I didn't know how I would react to these new arrangments. I was pleasantly surprised however. Despite the changes, the melodies were intact and the expertise of all the performers was amazing. Highlites of the evening were Ross's rendition of 'Nessun Dorma', Milazzo's performance of the 'Habenerra', and their highly unconventional male-female duet version of the flower duet from Lakme. But truly the whole evening was fantastic. I honestly have nothing negative to say. Even the look was hip - leather pants, t-shirts and other trendy modern dress replaced the tights and old fashioned clothing usually associated with opera.
Though the crowd could have been bigger, the performance made everyone there enthusiastic. There was cheering and clapping and even singing along. It was opera truly brought into this era without compromising the rich history behind the music. I encourage all those who did not have the pleasure of seeing this performance to visit their website and sample some of their performances. I guaranty you will become fans and their cd's are available there as well. I truly commend the organizers of Todi Music Festival this year. If the rest of the season is a fifth this good it will be a dynamite year that will be hard to top. |
I had the great pleasure
of getting to briefly speak with Mr. Ross and was pleasantly surprised
to find that despite his talent and success he was extremely humble
and very passionate about and grateful for the work he gets to do.
He was so excited to talk to me and and everyone who aproached him and
his enthusiasm was sincere.