willkommen, bienvenue, welcome...

Come on in, kick off your shoes, and allow me to pour you a virtual glass of wine. Welcome to coópera: Project Opera of Manhattan's brand-spankin'-new blog, The Score.

Why "The Score"? Here are just a few of the dozens of meanings of the word "score":

• the pertinent facts; lowdown
• written representation of musical composition
• a successful move, stroke, remark
• a line drawn or scratched, often to mark a starting point
• to get by effort or merit; gain
• to win or enjoy credit, popularity, success
  

Seemed appropriate. While we're talking names, the new name of our venture, coópera, was chosen because it represents what we've wanted for this company from the beginning: a true cooperative effort, a community of young artists and audiences creating opera together without the usual walls between any of us. A community like this needs a common space to share ideas, insights, inspiration, stories and thoughts. We can't always be in the same physical space, and from the beginning our support has come from far and wide: from Connecticut to California; from Iowa to Indiana; from San Juan to San German, Puerto Rico; from Bolton Hill in Baltimore to Marble Hill in Manhattan... So we hope that this blog can be that common space for us, a way to stay in touch and keep creating in-between productions, and a place where those far away who might not be able to make every performance can still be a part of the process.

So, to get the ball rolling and welcome you to our virtual common space, I thought I'd share a few POM anecdotes that have to do with our actual space, our apartment.

When we moved into Marble Hill in 2005, we had no thoughts about starting our own opera company, nor could we have ever imagined how serendipitous our choice of building would be once we did. Since then, our neighbors have included Kathleen Reynolds, our amazing publicist; Nancy Sylbert, our fabulous graphic designer and assistant director for Lucretia; Ken Howard, world-famous photographer who shot Lucretia before having to jet back to the Met; and several donors, including a fellow opera singer who donated fabric for our costumes.

During our first season, summer 2006, all of our musical rehearsals took place in our apartment, around our upright piano. There were frequent walks to Baskin-Robbins for post-rehearsal ice cream. Friends came in and out to help build set pieces. At least two of our cast members brought parents to come sit in on rehearsals. (Our artists' parents have been some of our most ardent supporters.) Our friend David (left) painted scenery on our living room floor -- I think we still have a spot or two of black on our ceiling from those panels!

We never knew how many people could fit in our one-bedroom apartment until our second season, 2007, when, over the course of our production of Magic Flute, we hosted our director, Chris, and his wife / our choreographer / third boy, Rachael, from Columbus; our Monostatos, Andy, from Chicago; and Randall and Sara, our conductor and his wife, from Baltimore. Somehow we had enough room for everyone to have a bed, but the single bathroom was a bit of a stretch.

Since we know that we can never pay any of our young artists what they are truly worth, we have often tried to make up for it by feeding them before rehearsal or during breaks. Laura's home-cooked meals, especially her famous arroz con pollo, have become production favorites -- when we show up to rehearsal bringing the caldero that's bigger than us, people know they're in for a treat.

coópera has helped make a real home and community for us, as it has become an artistic community for those who collaborate with us. More of their stories will be coming soon.

So make yourself at home in this new space. Tell us who you are. And stay a while -- everyone knows the music only gets louder as the party goes on...