Alaska’s professional opera company closes its 61st season with Verdi’s “La Traviata.” Meet five people whose talents are among the dozens who make it happen.
The cast of Anchorage Opera’s production of “La Traviata” includes Andrea Baker, of Chicago, as Violetta.
Whatever the demands, soprano Andrea Baker, from Chicago, said she felt fortunate to face them as she walked to rehearsal at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts nine days before opening night.This opera’s veteran stage director, Laura Alley, called Baker “sensational.” Ben Robinson, Anchorage Opera’s general director, chose Baker with confidence. Baker won a singing competition that Robinson helped judge in Ithaca, New York.
Lead “La Traviata” cast members and professional opera singers Peter Scott Drackley, left, and Andrea Baker rehearse on April 15. Drackley plays Alfredo, and Baker plays Violetta. There have been times optimism has waned and she has been close to leaving the lifestyle behind. Baker said most of her colleagues in the relatively small network of professional opera singers can relate. But so far, her love of singing has always won out. It’s addicting, she said, to sing onstage, to shatter expectations, and to perform for as many people as she can.
Moments before the first dress rehearsal began, she radiated excitement heading to her dressing room. She expected the days to come would prove to be the biggest challenge of her career so far. Performing Violetta Valéry is her longest and biggest role yet.When it closes, she expects to feel exhausted but thrilled. After that, Baker said her goals will remain simple.“If you don’t love it, there’s no other reason to do it,” she said.
“I have zero interest to be onstage whatsoever,” she said. “That’s not really where I shine. But I like being with the people.” “I’m very grateful that it worked out. I get to keep doing what I’ve studied to do and also can make a living,” said Muller.Before a dress rehearsal this week, stage director Laura Alley explained why a good stage manager is so important and why her confidence in Muller is high.
Then an immersive, impressive sound echoed through the corridors, even before actual singing got underway. Chorus master Richard Gordon leads warmup exercises in a hallway of the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts before a rehearsal for Anchorage Opera's"La Traviata" on April 24. Anchorage Opera chorus master Richard Gordon talks with singers outside dressing rooms at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts. Gordon has worked regularly with Anchorage Opera for the past decade or so.
The spotlight never falls on one of Anchorage Opera’s most veteran talents. Elle Janecek works below the stage. “We want people to be able to see people’s faces, so we try to make the eyes big and the eyebrows noticeable and nose and chin chiseled out, just so the people in the back row can still see a face.”
“A painter is a painter. I don’t think it matters if it’s on a canvas the size of a stage or a face,” she said. Anchorage Opera general director Ben Robinson walks through a prop storage area at the company’s headquarters. Anchorage Opera is in its 61st season. “What we’re trying to do is to make it so that opera, just in general, always sells itself,” he said. “Opera is a bit of a four-letter word sometimes for people.”
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