Sun Valley Opera and Broadway Making News
Q Smith Learned About the Power of Voice from Gladys Knight
BY KAREN BOSSICK
Broadway star Q. Smith learned from Gladys Knight what they did not teach her in school.
“I learned the power of voice. I learned from her that a voice is a muscle,” said Smith, who performed with the legendary singer and Rita Coolidge while touring with “Smokey Joe’s Café.” “Even when she was not feeling her best, her voice was a powerhouse, the same every single night, because of muscle memory. She taught that it’s a muscle and it gets tired and you have to rest it like you do other muscles. So, before I have a show, I’ll take a melatonin and go to bed early, rest my body. And I’ll drink lots and lots of liquids.”
Smith will perform at the Sun Valley Opera and Broadway’s Diva Party and Concert at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31, at The Argyros. The Diva Party will include hearty hors d’oeuvres catered by Silver Fox Catering and the Concert will follow.
“I’ll be performing the soundtrack of my life in two acts—a little gospel, a little ‘60s, a lot of Broadway…” she said.
hat soundtrack revolves around a robust musical theater career that includes originating the role of Hannah in the Tony Award-winning musical “Come from Away” and 11 tours with “Smokey Joe’s Café.” She performed with Wynton Marsalis at the Lincoln Center in “Abyssinia: A Gospel Celebration” and she sang in “Showboat” in concert at Carnegie Hall.
She was the first African-American to have a leading role in “Mary Poppins,” and she played Aretha Franklin in the Broadway show “A Night with Janis Joplin.” She was a guest soloist for Hilary Clinton’s Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards and a guest soloist at Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration.
Smith grew up as Quiana in Omaha, Neb., but switched to Ms. Q when kids at the Omaha, Neb., day care where she taught theater and dance as a 16-year-old couldn’t pronounce her name. She cut her teeth taking part in the Christmas and Easter plays her mother and grandmother, both professional playwrights, wrote for their church.
“I got to high school and began acting in musicals and I said, ‘You can actually get a degree in musical theater?! Sign me up!!!’ she recounted. “Les Miz came through town when I was in 11th grade. It was the first musical soundtrack I’d ever had on tape, then disc, and I loved it so much that I talked my parents into taking me to the theater. Thank God they did because it changed my life.
“It was like a child reading their favorite book when they open it and it comes to life. It changed my life in a way that it helped me believe and continue to believe that dreams can come true,” added Smith, who went on to perform in the first revival of “Les Miserables.”
To tour with Gladys Knight was a dream.
“I was so young and she’s a legend. And she’s a legend for a reason. I covered her for one of her songs, ‘Kansas City’ and she was kind—one of the hardest working professionals I’ve met. She almost named ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ ‘Midnight Train to Houston,’ but Georgia just had a better ring to it.”
Q. Smith-On a Tour of Sun Valley
Story and photos by Karen Bossick
Q. Smith has canvassed America on Broadway tours of “A Night with Janis Joplin” and “Mary Poppins.” And on Wednesday she took a whopper of a tour around Sun Valley and Ketchum, putting a smile on the faces of all she met with her infectious enthusiasm.
“I got here and saw a fireplace at the airport—you’ll never see a fireplace in the airports in New York,” she told those who turned out to hear her in concert at The Argyros. “And then I the bus rolled up and I asked how much it cost. And when the driver said ‘Free,’ I said, ‘You mean just for today?’ And when he said it’s free all the time, I hopped on.”
The singer hopped off at strategic spots to buy underwear and souvenirs for friends and family back home in New York. Then she stopped at Backwoods Mountain Sports to buy insoles for her shoes.
“This singer Q came to Backwoods and she didn’t know what to do in Sun Valley. She didn’t have the shoes to go snowshoeing—she had high heels on. So, I told her to go to Sun Valley Club and try a pair of classic skis. She invited me to her concert and I am very excited to see what she does,” said Laura Furtado, who came to Sun Valley from Brazil years ago.
Smith wasted no time in putting smiles on the faces of those who came to see her “Broadway Bound!” concert staged by Sun Valley Opera and Broadway.
She told how she had played three different roles for her tours with “Mary Poppins,” including that of the woman who sings “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and the “Bird Woman.”
Composer Richard Sherman, whose doorbell plays “It’s a Small World,” said that Walt Disney cried every time he heard the haunting song “Feed the Birds” which pleads people to buy bags full of crumbs to feed starving baby birds.
Broadway actress to perform in Ketchum next week
Concert to blend gospel, show tunes and more
Concert to blend gospel, show tunes and more
By RAIZA GIORGI Express Staff Writer
Jan 26, 2024
Broadway actress and singer Q. Smith is constantly working on “making it”— even though she has been a member of Tony-Award winning performances such as “Come From Away.”
“I am constantly hustling and redefining myself,” Smith said. “Even though I’ve done three Broadway shows, I am not done yet.”
Smith will be bringing her eclectic style to Sun Valley Opera’s Diva Party and Concert from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at The Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum.
Smith grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and sang in her family’s church. Her mother was the drama minister and her mother and grandmother wrote plays for the church.
“I never thought of a career in theater until high school, when my drama teacher told me I should think about pursuing it. I jumped right in and applied for schools and didn’t get accepted anywhere,” Smith said, laughing.
But Smith earned a full academic scholarship to the University of Nebraska and kept auditioning for theater schools until she got into Ithaca College. She graduated in 2000 with a degree in musical theater.
“I think my voice lends itself to the Broadway classics, the big belter that is good for shows like ‘Les Misérables,’ ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ ‘Carousel,’ those types,” Smith said. “My first Broadway show was ‘Les Mis’ and I covered eight people as the swinger, which was so exciting.”
Smith was also a part of Wanderlust Theater, a nonprofit that brings theater and musical artists from New York City to perform in Central America.
“We performed in parks and neighborhoods, wherever the need was,” Smith said. “If I could do that forever and be paid well, I would. It was such an amazing experience.”
Smith travels back to Omaha at least once a year and hosts workshops with her husband, Lawrence Stallings, to give back to her community. They founded Your Stage, Your Moment, which offers master classes to help sharpen performing arts skills.
Smith is also writing a book titled “Queens of the Theater,” containing interviews from women in theater, television and film.
“Everyone has a story to tell and art teaches us what it’s like to be human and reflects our world of experiences and life,” Smith said. “We need more representation for every culture and how can we choose joy and talk about our experiences to come together.”
Her concert at the Argyros will be a blend of the music that has influenced her life, from gospel to show tunes and everything in between. She will be accompanied by pianist Sean Rogers. Tickets range from $100-$225 and are available online at sunvalleyopera.com.
Two is better than one at Sun Valley Opera
By JOEY THYNE Express Staff Writer Mar 17, 2023
To round out its season, Sun Valley Opera will present the dynamic duo of tenor Ashley Faatoalia and soprano Marina Harris on Thursday, March 23, at 6:30 p.m.
Sean Rogers will accompany them on piano. They will sing everything from pop to musical theater, with highlights from Sondheim and the Gershwins.
Each performer will have their moment to shine before joining together in harmonic bliss.
Faatoalia studied voice at Chapman University under Dr. Peter Atherton.
Harris is an alumna of the prestigious Adler Fellowship program at the San Francisco Opera. Her appearances with the company include four world-premiere operas: Nolan Gasser’s “The Secret Garden” (in the role of Susan Sowerby), Mark Adamo’s “The Gospel of Mary Magdalene” (Tamar/Girl/Seeker), Tobias Picker’s “Dolores Claiborne” (Maid), Jack Perla’s “Love/Hate” (Samantha). She starred in several leading roles, too, most notably Elsa in “Lohengrin.”
Harris has also joined the roster of the Los Angeles Opera to cover the verismo roles of Nedda in “Pagliacci” and the title role in “Madame Butterfly.” She has made leading role debuts with Opera Idaho (Tatiana in “Eugene Onegin”) and Pacific Opera Project (title role in “Ariadne auf Naxos”). As a soloist, she has performed with the Marin Symphony, the California Symphony, the West Los Angeles Symphony and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, among many others.
Faatoalia has played the role of Antron’s father in the premiere of the Pulitzer-prize-winning “Central Park Five” with Long Beach Opera; the role of the Crab Man in “Porgy & Bess” with Seattle Opera; EUROPERAS with The Los Angeles Philharmonic and The Industry; Albert Hoffman in “LSD: The Opera” with The Industry; Marco Polo in the premiere of the Emmy-Award-winning “Invisible Cities” with The Industry; Charles Edward in “Candide” with The Los Angeles Philharmonic; and many more.
He sang “The Star Spangled Banner” to sold-out audiences at both Dodger Stadium and The Staples Center
Marina Harris Talks About ‘Art Worth Saving’
March 19th, 2023
BY KAREN BOSSICK
Soprano Marina Harris has a dog that’s very concerned about her singing and a daytime job working in a pipe organ factory.
Such is the life of one of the top singers of Wagnerian repertoire who will join Ashley Faatoalia singing operatic, musical theater and pop duets Thursday night at the Sun Valley Opera House.
“My dog, a 28-pound Jack Russell-like rescue from Mexico, hates it when I sing,” she said. “He thinks that I’m dying, that something’s wrong with me. I tell him: ‘Don’t worry, Ruckus. Mama’s fine. But he’s still a little unnerved.’
Harris will join Ashley Faatoalia, who appeared as Marco Polo in the Emmy-Award-winning and Pulitizer Prize-nominated “Invisible Cities,” in Sun Valley Opera’s last concert of the 2023 winter season at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 23, at the Sun Valley Opera House.
Accompanied by pianist Sean Rogers, the two will present a program titled “Duets: Music from Around the World.” They will sing such numbers as “Habanera” from “Carmen,” Pagliacci’s “Vesti la giubba,” Sondheim’s “Moments in the Woods,” “Tonight,” and “Till There was You.”
“ ‘Till There Was You,’ from ‘The Music Man’ is a classic,” said Harris. “We’ll do some tried and true opera staples. And, of course ‘The Prayer.’ I did a show in Greenville, S.C., that was a mix of rock and opera and every night people got teary eyed with ‘The Prayer.’ It’s a simple song but people are really affected by it, especially after the pandemic. And it’s popular for people who would probably love opera but haven’t been exposed to it before.”
Harris, heralded by the San Francisco Chronicle for her “knockout combination of vocal power and expressive eloquence,” is an alum of the Adler Fellowship Program at the San Francisco Opera. She has performed with the company in four world premiere operas including “The Gospel of Mary Magdalene” and “Dolores Claiborne.”
She received national attention as a last-minute replacement in the role of Helena as in Helen of Troy in Boito’s “Mefistofele.” And she was awarded in the triennial International Wagnerstimmen Competition, securing her place as one of the top singers of Wagnerian repertoire worldwide.
She performed in Sun Valley in 2014 with Opera Idaho. And she is familiar with Idaho, having spent many summers at her grandfather’s cattle ranch in Eastern Oregon and visiting family in Coeur d’Alene.
“It’s so nice we’re in the Opera House because it’s historic and beautiful. I’m excited to see how our voices fill the space,” she said. “Definitely expect to be entertained because both Ashley and I have big voices—we’re loud. And we know how to fill a space with our voice.”
Harris and Faatoalia have been good friends for years.
“We sing with lots of different people but I’ve never sang before with Ashley. I can’t wait because our voices are so nicely matched,” Harris said.
One of the songs they plan to sing is “O Soave Fanciulla.” A romantic duet from Puccini’s 1896 opera “La Boheme” it’s sung by Rodolfo and Mimi when they realize they’ve fallen for each other.
“The title simply means, ‘Oh, sweet girl,’” said Harris. “Opera was the big popular music style back in the day. At the end, it was really pop music, just in Italian.”
That song has only been performed for Sun Valley Opera once before—when a full production of the opera was presented at the Community Campus, noted Sun Valley Opera Co-Founder Frank Meyer. “The famous duet ‘Tonight’ is also in Thursday’s program, and it was heard on the big screen not long ago in Steven Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story,’ he said.
Though Harris has made it, so to speak, in the opera world, she maintains a job in a pipe organ factory near her home in Long Beach.
“My dad was a pipe organ builder who had his own business for many years before retiring. The Disney Concert Hall flattop is sort of our claim to fame,” she said. “Working with the pipe organs lets me use my brain, my knowledge of music, so it’s really great. And the basic mechanics of singing and pipe organs are not all that different in a lot of ways—the airflow, engaging notes to make certain sounds…”
The job is also flexible, allowing her the opportunity to hold down a day job while traveling to sing. And the paycheck helps cover the cost of performing opera which, she said, is an expensive career by the time you figure in such things as $200-an-hour voice lessons.
“But there are moments on stage where you say, ‘There is nothing like this,’ ” she added. “I feel incredibly lucky and fortunate to be doing this at all. Being a millennial, it’s not what I thought I would be doing, but I’m so lucky with the amount of traveling I get to do. One of the biggest gifts is singing for people who may not have been exposed to opera before—we sang in China’s Sichuan province in a hall where no one had ever sung opera, and the audience was so appreciative. With the red curtain, they had not been exposed to a lot of western classical music.”
Harris said singing opera is like going to church for her: “Spiritually fulfilling and rewarding. We know it’s hard to be interested in an art that is so old. But it’s also an art that’s worth saving, an art that’s worth treasuring.”
Sun Valley Opera Can Be a Social Adventure
Sunday, March 19th, 2023
STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
Robyn Watson alternately grimaced and laughed as she played along with baritone Hadleigh Adams on the stage of The Argyros. As the piece drew to a close, those sitting around tables in the audience roared in applause as Adams presented Watson with a rose and a bottle of champagne for being such a good sport.
Opera is hardly stuffy in Sun Valley.
From noshing on chicken skewers and glorified grilled cheese sandwich quarters catered by Vintage Restaurant to enjoying summer concerts in elegant gardens, Sun Valley Opera performances are a hands-on experience.
“I love the intimacy of the Sun Valley Opera concerts,” said Susan McKee, as she selected an array of artichoke hearts and asparagus spears from a small buffet to put on her plate. “It’s so nice we can have conversations, as well as wonderful internationally known singers in a venue where we can see and engage with them.”
Often, the performers make enough of impression that they are invited back. Such is the case of Ashley Faatoalia, who will perform duets with Soprano Marina Harris on Thursday, March 23, at the Sun Valley Opera House.
And such was the case with Adams, who grew up in New Zealand but came to the United States to sing in a program administered by San Francisco Opera in 2012.
“It’s New Zealand coming to you instead of you going to New Zealand,” the opera’s Board Chair Kyle Johnson told the audience at Adams’ concert a couple weeks ago.
“What do I want to sing in mid-winter in one of the most beautiful places in the world?” Hadleigh Adams asked the audience. “I don’t want appetizers. I want great big pieces that make us warm. And one of the biggest things I’m thinking about is words. It doesn’t matter how good someone sings if you don’t have great words.”
Changing lights enveloped Adams in magenta and golden streaks as he performed such songs as “Music of the Night,” “Toreador Song” and “That’s Why the Lady is a Tramp.”
“You can just picture the inside of cathedral, can’t you?” he noted.
Hadleigh Adams Anxious to Continue Love Affair with Sun Valley Audience
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
BY KAREN BOSSICK
Hadleigh Adams has played plenty of larger-than-life roles, ranging from Agrippa in “Antony & Cleopatra” to Mercutio in “Romeo et Juliette” to Jesus.
But he slips into character for his next role so quickly that he sometimes forgets the character he just left behind.
“It’s a funny thing to say “Oh yeah, I forgot I played Jesus,’ ” but the career is a lot of involving yourself in the interior world of a character you’re playing, then a day later forgetting it all and moving on to the next,” said Adams. “That said some characters are harder to say goodbye to than others. Stanley Kowalski from ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ was amazing to play. But, being from New Zealand, the Southern accent took a lot of work!”
The bass-baritone will assume a variety of characters for his performance with the Sun Valley Opera at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, at The Argyros in Ketchum. The program, which kicks off with wine and hors d’oeuvres at 5:30 p.m., is titled “Stories from the Stage: A Life Well Lived in Musical Theater and Opera.”
It will include what Adams calls “a relaxed mix” of traditional music theatre, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Stephen Sondheim, songs from The Great American Songbook and a few beautiful pieces from the world of opera. Among them, Weber’s “Music of the Night” and “Toreador Song” from “Carmen.”
“Essentially, I chose pieces that I would like to hear in a concert in the middle of winter. Big music theatre ballads, soaring melodies and some lighthearted fun,” he said.
Born in Palmerston North, New Zealand, Adams was about to graduate from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London when he decided to apply on the spur of the moment for San Francisco’s Merola Opera Program. He had been mesmerized by a DVD of the San Francisco Opera’s “A Streetcar Named Desire” and decided he wanted to be part of a company that could produce a show like that.
He flew to New York for a five-minute audition and was soon forging his career on yet another continent.
At 37, he has the tall, dark, handsome looks of a leading man on the big screen. But he has chosen to perform on stages of opera and musical theater in places like San Francisco, New York, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Sydney, Australia, praised by such reviewers as Paul Selar of operachser.com for his “deeply cavernous and adrenaline-rich baritone.”
He also has been acclaimed for his comic touch. and he says he loves performing comedic roles, despite the immense demands of getting the timing down as precisely as Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes dropping a touchdown pass into Travis Kelce’s arms.
“Holding a laugh line a second too long can ruin the punchline. But, at the same time, a lot of it is out of your control,” he said. “You can deliver a punch line that one audience will laugh riotously at, and the next performance that same laugh line falls flat on its face. The stage and the audience create the environment together, and every show really is different.”
Adams says opera is not a passive experience and for that reason he loves the Sun Valley audience.
“I had a blast the last time I performed in Sun Valley in 2018. Audiences there are so warm, appreciative, and generous. I’m delighted to be back,” he said.
Sun Valley Opera Co-Founder and President Frank Meyer said the feeling is mutual—Sun Valley Opera patrons can’t wait to see him in concert again.
"It is no surprise that six years ago when we had two performances with this New Zealand baritone, the patrons asked: When is he coming back?” he said. “We finally got him back and music lovers are looking forward to not only his voice but also his humor and fun personality. In fact, the New Yorker calls him ‘a comic tour de force.’ ”
Adams says it doesn’t hurt that he’s being accompanied by Sean Rogers, a Boise pianist who accompanies all of Sun Valley Opera’s guest stars.
“He’s one of the greatest pianists I’ve had the pleasure to work alongside,” Adams said. “It’s worth coming just to hear how good he can make me sound!
Zachary James Serves Up a Little Lurch, a Little Honest Abe
Monday, February 6, 2023
STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
Zachary James was tasked with creating the role of Lurch, a tall gloomy butler, in Broadway’s version of “The Addams Family.” And he followed that up with a robotic version of Abraham Lincoln in Disneyland’s Hall of Presidents for Philip Glass’s opera “The Perfect American.”
This past week he was simply asked to pivot from an evening of duets with country/opera star Bonnie Montgomery to fly solo after four days of ice storms in the South prevented Montgomery from flying to Sun Valley from her home in Arkansas.
No pressure.
James simply doubled the number of songs he had planned to sing to 20 as he recounted his journey to becoming a 2022 Grammy Award winner and Broadway Vocalist and Performer of the Decade before a Sun Valley Opera crowd at The Argyros in Ketchum.
“The thing that opera has that’s unique is its high quality, said the opera’s board chair Kyle Johnson. “This is a classically trained music guy who can sing Broadway and opera in a voice unlike anything else.
James, known for his huge, robust bass, starred in the Metropolitan Opera’s “Akhaten” and “Wozzeck.” But it didn’t happen overnight he told the audience.
He was uncertain about his future, he said, when a teacher told him of auditions for musical theater.
“I said, ‘I don’t sing.’ The teacher said, ‘You can sing Happy Birthday.’ ”
Bitten by the theater bug, the 6-foot-6 singer studied opera in school. But he questioned his choice of professions as he wore holes in his shoes walking from audition to audition in New York before he landed his first role.
“It was hard, but what an incredible journey. You’ve got to hold onto that dream and not let up,” he said, as he broke out into Merle Travis’ “Sixteen Tons.”
Finally, he landed a role as a bass singer in a choir singing “Messiah” in a Broadway show. The show ran just three weeks. But, by the time it ended, he had obtained his actor’s equity card, which meant he couldn’t be turned away from an audition even if there were a hundred people waiting in line. And the doors began to open, with him landing a role in “South Pacific” at the Lincoln Center
“The Lincoln Center for me is like the crossroads of the universe—there’s no place better. I sang ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ every day for two years and never tired of it,” he said, as he reprised the Rodgers and Hammerstein song.
It was “The Addams Family: The Musical” that took him to the opera stage.
James noted off stage that the role of Lurch was a huge moment in his life, and it ended up taking several years of his life. First, there was two years of development as the Broadway team staged readings and workshops preparing to bring the musical to life.
“I studied cartoons as I thought about how to make Lurch real,” said James. “I played Lurch for a thousand performances. I told myself: It’s your job so be engaged. Keep it fresh.
“It’s not so much singing but about the people,” he added. “Between the time you start rehearsal until the last performance, the people you’re working with become your family. They become your family instantly because you need to tell the story together.”
Playing a robotic Abraham Lincoln, which he did at London’s English National Opera, Teatro Real in Madrid and Australia’s Opera Queensland, was wonderful, he added: “I learned how progressive he was.’
Marybeth Flower, who was among those in the audience, said she had cultivated a love of opera through her late husband Joe Bauwens.
“Joe was the kind of person who did a deep dive into something if he was interested in it. He taught me how different characters had different voices and how different instruments played along with their singing,” she said.
Ed McDonnell said he got his first taste of opera when his father was backstage manager at the Boston Opera House.
“I liked to go with him to work. I’d grab a broom and pretend I was busy sweeping the floor while I listened to the rehearsals for opera and Boston Pops,” he said.
James told the audience he was elated to return to Sun Valley to sing for Sun Valley Opera for second time: “I went 19 months without an audience during the pandemic. I’m so grateful to be singing here before a live audience in a beautiful space like this.”
Sun Valley Opera Co-founder Frank Meyer punctuated his sentiments: “It’s so great to have a full house, the kick-off to our 21st season, which is going strong. The crowds have not yet come back in full measure at many places, including The Met.”
COMING UP:
Feb. 17—Hadleigh Adams will perform Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Music of the Night,” “Carmen’s “Toreador Song” and more at The Argyros.
March 23—Ashley Faatoalia and Marina Harris will perform music from Sondheim, Gershwin, Hammerstein and others at the Sun Valley Opera House
July 14—Soprano Ibidunni Ojikutu will sing at a Signature Salon and Concert at a private home.
Aug. 25—Emmett O’Hanlon and Emmet Cahill will perform solos and duets from such musicals as “South Pacific” and “West Side Story” at The Argyros.
Zachary James and Bonnie Montgomery to Serve Up Potpourri of Opera, Country and More
BY KAREN BOSSICK
Thursday, January 26, 2023
“Anything you can do I can do better.”
That refrain from Irving Berlin’s classic song is the theme of the evening as opera/country star Bonnie Montgomery and Broadway/opera star Zachary James team up to kick off Sun Valley Opera’s Winterfest 23.
The two will teasingly try to outdo one another—and they’ll join hands at moments, as well—as they present an evening of opera, country, pop and show tunes on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at The Argyros. The evening will feature a Diva Party with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 5:30 p.m., followed by the concert at 6:30 p.m
The concert is the first of three in the Winterfest series.
“Each of the three Winterfest concerts has its own uniqueness,” said Sun Valley Opera Co-Founder Frank Meyer. “The first one on Jan. 31 showcases the versatility of world-class voices. Mr. James, classically trained for opera, has performed on Broadway and was recently one of the principal stars at Phillip Glass’s new opera “Aknahten.”
“Bonnie Montgomery is likewise a classically trained vocalist and the winner of the Entertainer of the Year award at the Arkansas Country Music Awards. With this versatility we will have something for everyone, including “Habanera” from “Carmen” and “Shallow” from Lady Gaga” and “Crazy” from Willie Nelson or Patsy Cline.”
In fact, those attending Tuesday’s concert can expect Irving Berlin’s “There’s No Business like Show Business,” Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “If I Loved you,” Roy Orbison’s “Blue Bayou,” Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” Merle Travis’ “Sixteen Tons” and Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” among others.
Montgomery said she is excited to perform favorite American and Broadway standards, along with the aria from “Carmen” where she played the title role, along with some country classics she performs all the time with her band in country venues.
“As Wanda Jackson told me, ‘We’re in the fun business,’ and both opera and country are part of show business with the same components, even though they might look very different. From venue to audience to show times to improvisation, the two genres can vary greatly, but I find the basics of performing are exactly the same,” she said.
“Plus, the subject matter of opera and country is strangely similar—love, sex, murder, heartbreak, drunkenness, drama infidelity, unrequited love… Most people don’t realize that the subject matter of opera is pretty trashy, even though that’s a widely known fact about country music.”
Montgomery is a creative nomad lauded as much for classical opera arias, and polished parlor songs as for her lawless country barnburners. Having grown up in Arkansas, she loves everything from high romantic ballads swaddled in violins to spaghetti western-inspired vignettes.
In addition to winning 2020 Entertainer of the Year with the Arkansas Country Music Awards, she has won such titles as 2019 Americana/Roots Artist of the Year, 2016 Outlaw Female at the Ameripolitan Awards and Best Americana Artist and Best Female Vocalist at the 2018 Arkansas Country Music Awards.
She even wrote a 2016 opera about President Bill Clinton’s youth as a 14-year-old in Hot Springs, Ark., that won accolades from The New Yorker and Huffington Post.
“It’s named ‘Billy Blythe’ because that was his given name until he changed it at age 15, his father William Blythe having passed away before he was born,” she said. “It’s based on his autobiography and his mother’s, as well, and all the events depicted in the opera are factual event. He had a very dramatic upbringing with plenty of colorful, vibrant, southern characters. In many ways, it’s a portrait of Arkansas in the 1950s, as much as it is about Clinton. And it’s an uplifting story about hope and the courage to dream.”
It was none other than Zachary James who facilitated the premiere of the opera at Opera Ithaca before it was performed by colleges around the country and at workshops in New York.
“He’s been an angel in my life all these years. But, although we’ve collaborated and recorded remotely, this will be our first time singing together and I am thrilled,” Montgomery said.
Zachary James is a Grammy Award winner, the Broadway World Vocalist and Performer of the Decade and a TV actor. He’s been applauded as “a true stage animal” with a huge robust bass with “oomph and range,” according to reviewers for Opera News and others.
He created the role of Lurch on Broadway’s “The Addams Family” and the role of Abraham Lincoln in Philip Glass’s opera “The Perfect American at the Teatro Real in Madrid.”
He performed in The Metropolitan Opera’s “Akhnaten” and “Wozzeck” and he’s performed at London’s English National Opera, Spain’s Teatro Real and the LA Opera, as well as on HBO’s “Succession,” the sitcoms “30 Rock” and “Murphy Brown” and on PBS Great Performances and Live from Lincoln Center.
“We have known each other for 10 years,” said Montgomery. “He brought my opera to New York City when he was running a young renegade opera company called Metropolis Opera Project. We had it in Hells Kitchen at a tiny venue with no AC or elevator. And it got great media reviews.”
COMING UP:
The Sun Valley Opera is just getting started with Winterfest23:
On Feb. 17 Hadleigh Adams, touted as the International Showman of Musical Theater and Opera, will perform “Stories from the Stage: A Life Well Lived in Musical Theater and Opera.” The 6:30 p.m. concert will be preceded by wine and hors d’oeuvres at 5:30.
On March 23 Tenor Ashley Faatoalia will join Soprano Marina Harris for a Crossover Concert featuring duets of opera, pop, musical theater songs from around the world. That concert will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Sun Valley Opera House.
Psst—Buy tickets to all three shows, which gives you a 10 percent discount and a $175 tax deduction.
Sadly, however, MetHD screenings have been postponed due to technical difficulties. So much snow piled up on the roof top of the Magic Lantern Cinema beginning in early November that the Dish Network could not install the dish.
Sun Valley Opera hopes to have them up and running by March.
Opposites attract at Sun Valley Opera
By Joey Thyne - January 26, 2023
On paper, the partnership of Bonnie Montgomery and Zachary James may seem strange.
Counterpunch Magazine described the compositions of Montgomery, an Arkansas country star, as “white trash arias, soaked in alcohol and sex.” James is a Broadway actor who has garnered widespread acclaim for his performances at the Metropolitan Opera and London’s English National Opera.
Still, they are united by world-class training and, above all, a pure love of music. That’s why they will come together for “Old Friends: Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better,” presented by Sun Valley Opera.
The Argyros will open its doors at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31, for a Diva Party. Vintage will serve cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. A table costs $350, a table for four costs $700, a table for six costs $1,050. General admission costs $75. The show starts at 6:30 p.m.
They will sing everything from Dolly Parton to Rodgers and Hammerstein.
“I am my most authentic self on stage,” James said. “I bare my soul and my heart, and I hope the audience feels they had an intimate experience.”
Before going out onstage, he reaches out to a higher power. He asks to be in service of the audience, the story and the moment.
“I don’t want to put my belief system on anyone, but I pray, for lack of a better word,” James said. “I ask to trust my body, my mind, my heart, my tongue to say the right words.”
To him, performing is exhausting in the best way possible.
“It’s like running a marathon, like being an Olympic athlete,” James said. “It’s totally exhilarating.”
Montgomery and James were both born into musical families.
“It’s kind of my calling. This is what I love to do most. It’s really all I know how to do,” James said.
Growing up, he idolized Beverly Sills, a soprano diva who also appeared on the “Carol Burnett Show” and “The Muppets.”
“She was a pop culture icon, not just an opera singer,” James said. “That, to me, really resonates.”
He has made appearances on prestige dramas like “Succession” and sitcoms like “30 Rock.”
“I don’t think of myself as an opera singer; I just think of myself as an artist,” James said. “It’s all just storytelling to me, and connecting to the audience.”
Of course, a career in show business is more than just performing. He navigates networking, advocacy, diplomacy and administrative responsibilities.
“There’s not a lot of time to really reflect on it. You just keep going. I’m always trying to understand that wherever I am, it’s where I’m supposed to be,” James said. “Where am I today? What audience am I connecting with today? How am I going to engage them? What’s the story?”
He began taking vocal lessons in college. In the summer of 2003, he did eight musicals at the Bucks County Playhouse in Pennsylvania, and never looked back. He’s been working consistently since.
As a 6’6” bass, he is a rarity in the theater world.
“There’s not a lot of me,” James said. “So, I tend to create a lot of roles in both operas and musicals.”
He has played Lurch in “The Addams Family” musical and the role of Abraham Lincoln in the world premiere of Philip Glass’s opera “The Perfect American.” In a recent show, he juggled and carried a man for 10 minutes.
“I make myself irreplaceable by adding special things,” James said.
Working as an emcee in a show like “Old Friends” he gets to connect directly with the audience.
“I really rely on the energy of the audience and meeting them,” James said. “We inform each other how the evening is going to go based on our relationship.”
When he first breaks the ice, viewers usually offer up nervous laughter. By the end, they respond heartily.
“That’s very cyclical,” James said. “Without an audience there, there’s no performance.”
He says less than 5% of Americans have experienced the opera—a form, he admits, can come off as “pretentious” and classist. But, James wants to make it accessible to all.
“You are welcome. Come as you are, you don’t need to study it. You don’t need to know the language. You don’t have to dress up,” James said.
Last year, he won the Grammy for Best Opera Recording.
“It was really the best day of my life,” James said. “Not because I was given an award, but because I was in a room with thousands of people who also were nerdy music kids and have dedicated their life to this. The energy of that moment was so palpable. I really will never forget it. I don’t think I’ve been happier.”
He has put out both jazz and pop albums. As a listener, he keeps up with Top 40 hits.
“I stay inspired by hopping genres consistently,” James said. “How is music changing right now? What are younger people listening to? What are we saying as a culture, as a people?”
He still gets stage fright—and, at this point in his career, considers it a friend.
“If I didn’t get stage fright, I would be panicked, because something would be terribly wrong,” James said. “It’s the body reminding you that you’re about to go into the mouth of the wolf or to jump out of a plane.”
He thanks his body for his fight or flight response.
“Thank you for my sweaty palms and my shaky knees,” James tells himself. “I do recognize that I’m in a dangerous situation. This is scary. But I’ve decided as an experiment, I’m going to go out there to see what happens. I’m guessing I won’t die, but thank you for the warnings.”
Then, he goes out onstage.
“I have not died yet,” James said. 
Cayman Ilika Revels in First Concert Since Pandemic
By Karen Bossick, September 25, 2020
Cayman Ilika has just sent her son Teddy off to his first day of school in the basement of her home where he will spend the school year learning with three second graders, one second grader and one first grader.
The singer-actor, who has been called “one of the brightest lights to glow in the Seattle Theatre scene the past decade,” has been tending to his schooling since the coronavirus pandemic shut Seattle schools down in mid-March. And it is, she says, the hardest thing she’s ever done.
“I failed pretty miserably at teaching last spring. I figured out quickly I’m not someone who’s good at teaching. I didn’t go to school to learn to teach. I went to learn to sing,” she said.
But, with the COVID pandemic turning the lights off in theaters across the country, Ilika hasn’t performed since February. That’s why she can’t wait to perform at a Garden Concert Al Fresco organized by Sun Valley Opera with her accompanist and good friend Christopher DiStefano.
The concert, organized by Sun Valley Opera, will be held in a private garden at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25. Tickets are $75, available at 208-726-0991 or via https://www.sunvalleyopera.com. There will be pre-assigned socially distanced chairs on the lawn in groups of two and four.
“I am so excited,” Ilika said. “I’m going to rehearse at my parents’ house this weekend.”
Ilika and DiStefano have constructed what she calls “an excellent song list,” including many of the songs she has sung in shows over the years.
The raven-haired singer portrayed June Carter Cash in the musical “Ring of Fire” and Patsy in “Always, Patsy Cline.”
“I’ve got a great rendition of ‘Ring of Fire’ probably unlike anyone has heard before,” she said. “And Patsy Cline is almost bluegrassy with some yodeling. And that’s a flip between your chest voice and your head voice. If you get it right, it’s a magical trick that’s really fun.”
DiStefano will join her in a duet and she will perform songs from other roles in such musicals as “Oliver!” “Mary Poppins,” “Showboat,” “Kiss Me, Kate,” and “Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris,” as well as favorite country songs from the likes of Carl Perkins and Elvis.
“Country is one of my favorite forms of music,” she said. “There’s something special about country music. It has a really rich storytelling aspect—more so than popular music.”
Not being able to perform has been excruciating.
“This is my full-time career. I’ve performed in more than 100,000 performances. Never in my life have I held a job that’s not musical theater—nobody would want me making their coffee,” she said. “Everybody in theater has suffered tremendously. But the only way to do live theater is to gather people in one place–that’s just the nature of it. And not everyone has open-air space.”
Ilika started singing at 7 around the house where her mother, an OB-GYN, and her father who played Mr. Mom were always playing Ella Fitzgerald and Judy Garland records. Her parents signed her up for choir, but when she could not blend in with other voices they got her voice lessons, instead.
She recorded her voice lessons and mimicked them over and over, easily putting in 100,000 hours of practice.
“I can get lost in a song. I feel great when I’m singing and I love to make others happy,” said Ilika who studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston. “I love it when I sing a Johnny Cash song or some other song that enables people to remember personal experiences.”
Aside from singing, Ilika loves dogs, Indian food, The Beatles, Harry Potter and adding to her taxidermy collection.
She loves old things. And her husband Gavriel Jacobs–high school sweetheart, a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq war and now prosecuting attorney for King County—are always on the lookout for old records for him and jade and seafoam green Depression-era glass for her.
She also loves scouring antique shops for Victorian scrapbooks full of old newspaper advertisements, postcards and calling cards.
“I love looking through them and imagining how someone sat there for hours looking through cards that came from guys who would come to court,” she said.
But that’ll have to wait for now. After all, she has a show to perform.
“I will give the people in Sun Valley a wonderful evening full of songs,” she said. “I recognize this is such a gift to be able to do this at this time.”
Fall To Begin With Music Bloom
By Eric Valentine
Sun Valley Opera will host live music in September. Yes, this September! Sort of.
The local vocal arts organization has begun selling tickets to its first pandemic-era concert, starring Seattle-based acting and singing talent Cayman Ilika and her longtime friend and colleague Christopher DiStefano accompanying her on piano. Billed as a “Garden Concert al Fresco” and held at a private home in Warm Springs, it is not a pavilion or opera house event, but marks a step in the direction of hearing live music performances by Sun Valley Opera again.
“My last appearance was in February in New York. My next for-sure gig isn’t until August 2021,” said Ilika, who will perform a variety of country music classics and Broadway hits at the Sept. 25 event. “It’s a little scary right now.”
The fear factor has nothing to do with being on stage again for the veteran performer who has won multiple industry awards and is a proud Actors Equity member. It has to do, rather, with the performing arts industry’s future as COVID-19 restrictions have all but decimated live music in the Valley and beyond. On Sept. 15, Sun Valley Opera will present a screening of the 10 Academy Awards-winning 1961 film “West Side Story” starring Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno on the Sun Valley Lawn where folks can bring a picnic and lawn chair. It figures to be a refreshing and much-welcomed affair, but it’s still not a live show.
“I can’t wait to get back to Idaho and perform in front of real, live human beings again,” Ilika said.
This will be Ilika’s debut performance in Idaho, although she has visited the Gem State before. Her husband is a rock enthusiast and made a special trip to the Boise area earlier this year, she explained.
“Garnet is abundant there. We found some pretty cool stuff,” Ilika said.
On With The Show
Ilika, a Gregory Award nominee for her lead role in the musical Patsy Cline, is one of those rare vocal talents who can both croon country and belt Broadway. She’s been the lead in Mary Poppins, a key player in Show Boat and her vocals can be heard on the original cast album of Persuasion and the studio cast album of Yankee Doodle Dandy. Ilika and DiStefano will perform a number of hits from those and similar shows.
“Chris (DiStefano) is that annoying performer who can do everything,” Ilika quipped regarding her accompanist and musical arranger.
That’s why she’s especially excited to perform a duet with him made famous by Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline.
After the Sun Valley performance, Ilika says she’ll be back in Washington state primarily focused on improving her teaching and teacher-support skills for her seven-year-old whose school will not have in-person instruction until some time next year.
“I have a whole new appreciation for teachers. I don’t know how they do it,” Ilika said.
Opera welcomes new director
September 4, 2019
Educational programming and musical diversity are on the horizon
“I was a senior in high school when I just fell in love with it—the storytelling, the costumes, the sets, the music—everything.”
Robyn Watson first became enamored with opera at a young age while a student in Tulsa, Okla. She has carried that love of the art form with her ever since.
Thirteen years ago, Watson moved to the Wood River Valley full time and soon became a regular attendee of Sun Valley Opera events. Fast-forward to summer 2019, and her passion for the opera has landed her the position of executive director of the Sun Valley Opera.
Earlier this year, after many years of devoted service, Mary Jo Helmeke retired from that role and passed the torch to Watson.
2019 Summerfest
In a summer filled with music, Sun Valley Opera’s Summerfest is a standout! As in past years, there is something for everyone’s musical tastes whether it be Broadway, Opera or Country. The Summerfest begins with a Diva party in the garden of a private home on July 16th with the Broadway stars who will perform the following evening in the Sun Valley Pavilion. Each star will perform a song during the cocktail party. Diva tickets include the cocktail party and premier seating at the concert the following night and are $200 per person. Diva tickets can be purchased by calling Sun Valley Opera at 208.726.0991 or online at sunvalleyopera.com.
The following evening’s concert, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”, in the Sun Valley Pavilion stars three Broadway singers performing songs by the best of the girls’ groups-The Shirelles, The Supremes, The Pointer Sisters and more! The concert begins at 8 pm and general admission tickets are available by calling 208.622.2135 or sunvalley.ticketfly.com. The concert is produced by 42 Productions in New York.
For the lover of the classical voice, tenor Ashley Faatoalia will perform a Signature Salon Concert in a private home July 25th. Mr. Faatoalia. Opera News calls Faatoalia’s singing “hauntingly beautiful” and credits him with “a voice of winning purity and variety of expression” and The San Francisco Chronicle labels him “sweet-toned.” He has performed with major opera companies, symphonies and is featured on several recordings. Tickets are $150 and include a hosted cocktail party which begins at 6:30 pm followed by the concert at 7:30 pm. Tickets can be purchased by calling Sun Valley Opera at 208.726.0991 or online at sunvalleyopera.com.
As part of its Outreach program, Sun Valley Opera will host the BYU-Idaho Collegiate Singers in a FREE family concert on August 6th at the Community Theatre at 6:30 pm. Fifty fabulous singer will perform a variety of songs sure to appeal to the entire family.
The season concludes with a hosted Country Cookout and Concert by Brandon Lay who is making his mark in the world of Country music. The concert will take place on the beautiful grounds of River Grove Ranch. Tickets are available by calling Sun Valley Opera at 208.726.0991 or online at sunvalleyopera.com and are $175 per person. Mr. Lay is signed to EMI Records Nashville. He’s able to share his songs on a grand scale, beginning with his autobiographical debut single “Speakers, Bleachers and Preachers.” Inspired directly by Brandon’s life, the song spells out right in its title the three chief influences that shaped him. There was always country music on the radio, he played basketball, football and baseball, and his dad spread the gospel on Sundays as a minister. This is a great way to hear a person who performs in front of large crowds in an intimate setting.
For the first time, the SVO is offering season tickets for $500 which includes: one ticket to each event, plus reserved section seats for each concert.
March 2018
Board members and friends of Sun Valley Opera along with 2 of the Costa Jackson sisters who performed the following evening gathered January 29th to present a $10,000 check to Tim Mott for the Argyros Performing Arts Center. Mr. Mott is a Sun Valley Performing Arts Board member and Chair of the Argyros Performing Arts Center Planning Committee and Co-Chair of the Campaign Committee. Sun Valley Opera is the lead non-profit donating to APAC and is excited that they will have a “home” to present their concerts and events.
Robyn Watson
“I’m excited. We had a busy summer full of concerts, and I’m looking forward to the next items on the agenda,” Watson said. “We’re planning to continue to bring the high quality of performer that our audiences have come to know and expect from us.”
The opera’s summer festival concluded just this past Sunday, Sept. 1, with a Country Cookout event featuring live music by up-and-coming country music star Brandon Lay, who also played the Wagon Days street party the day before.
That event concisely captured what the Sun Valley Opera hopes to do for the local arts and music landscape. Though the word “opera” concludes the organization’s moniker, and that genre accounts for a fair amount of its programming, its reach extends well beyond the boundaries of opera.