Berkeley Opera featured SFO's Violetta Ailyn Perez at gala; "Companies should help each other."

Ailyn Perez/Cindy Warner/Kevin Courtemanche/Berkeley Opera/Photo: Cindy Warner

Ailyn Perez sang Mimi of La Boheme with Kevin Courtemanche and will sing Violetta at SFO in July

Want a sneak preview of Ailyn Perez, the Merolina from 2005 who will sing Violetta in La Traviata this July at SFO? Here she is above in a Violetta-esque red gown from Sunday’s gala at the Berkeley Opera. Ailyn comes from the SF Bay Area. That's the writer, center.

Ailyn is in a video singing with Andrea Bocelli at the Traviata link above.

Chapel of the Chimes it would have been a nice spot for Tosca as well. Julia Morgan was one of the architects. Paul Sugarman/Berkeley Opera/Chapel of the Chimes/Photo: Cindy Warner

Tenor Kevin Courtemanche has performed Cavaradossi, but he delighted the intimate audience of Berkeley loyalists with no less than Nessun Dorma. He said that’s the beauty of Berkeley Opera, that a chorister from San Francisco has the chance to solo at Berkeley Opera, that’s why it’s so worthy of support.

Me? I like the personality and independent non-conformist spirit of it and how it’s made over into every day English. The true story The Ballad of Baby Doe starts Saturday evening July 11. Jonathan Khuner who will direct says it’s the story from the Old West about how a self made millionaire’s marriage goes on the rocks after he encounters the enchanting singer Baby Doe. It’s a rags to riches to rags story says Jonathan.

Free library concert of Baby Doe highlights.

Kevin’s opening song was followed by soprano Nicolle Folland who performed another favorite, the letter song from Eugene Onegin. Board member Siggy Seigel, chorister with SFO, right.

Nicolle Folland/Sigmund Siegel/Berkeley Opera

Kenneth Kellogg, who John Martin says has stage presence and would make a good Scarpia, sang a dramatic number I hadn’t heard before after fixing the audience with a commanding stare. He’s tall enough to have a commanding presence even over a diva. He had removed his scholarly glasses for the performance.

Kenneth Kellogg/Berkeley Opera

For the finale we were treated to the stage presence of Ailyn Perez, who will sing Violetta in La Traviata in July. Pretty, vulnerable yet composed, she sang Mimi from La Boheme with Kevin and the two walked off arm in arm after deciding to stay together through the cold Paris winter, their voices echoing in the chamber of the church hallway.

It was a fun and chatty crowd and the hors d'oeuvres just kept coming along with pink champagne.

Siggy Siegel/E'lynne Mar'ee Allen/Berkeley Opera/Photo: Cindy Warner

Siggy, the long time chorister at SFO pictured above with friend E'lynne Mar'ee Allen. Siggy as a board member of Berkeley Opera, said

Companies should help each other.

That might explain why so many of the silent auction items came from the music world such as Philharmonia Baroque and the Merola Program at SFO.

Marian Kohlstedt even quilted an auction donation. I saw her hovering near the Sea Ranch getaway at Paul Sugarman's place.

Marian Kohlstedt/Berkeley Opera/Photo: Cindy Warner

Incidentally I’m going to the Merola concerts this summer, here’s the link to a couple of romantic comedies to be staged and the two concerts. The singers are 24 to 30 and get the summer program free of financial burden. What does that sound like?

I learned from Eileen Meredith, a soprano living in Alameda, about the Grant Teton Music Festival. Donald Runnicles started the festival. He built the hall five years ago, it’s wood. The orchestra comes from Chicago and New York Philharmonic says Siggy. features about a hundred singers, 25 in each section. The tall dark and handsome tenor from Yosemite’s Bracebridge dinner, Pedro Rodelas, will perform as well.

Claire Kelm of the SF Opera Chorus is going says Eileen; Claire’s portrait in costume, her in black from La Forza del Destino was one of the auction items.

John Martin/Claire Kelm photograph/Berkeley Opera/Photo: Cindy Warner

The photographer John Martin donated it. He’s putting together a small book of photos of Bonesetter’s Daughter for Amy Tan’s personal use.

Berkeley Opera supporter Steve Holland bid on a painting of blue for his son.

Steve Holland/Heart 2 Heart/Photo: Cindy Warner

He’s involved in the Oakland non-profit Heart 2 Heart, which sends doctors to Russia to train Russian doctors how to perform heart surgery on children. He had just been to the Russian consulate, inside the chambers where Gorbachev first met Reagan.

Steve emails today after I asked him if he is Russian and what his favorite opera is:

I have four Norwegian grandparents. I was President of the Rotary Club of Berkeley in 1994-1995. We chose an International Service project to purchase a heart lung machine to put in a hospital in St. Petersburg. The older machine was unreliable and made it difficult to do open heart surgery. The machine is still in use today. We raised over $50,000 and this machine has saved a countless number of people.

I love Turandot!!!

I told him I write all my articles on a laptop loaned to me from a Russian film graduate Isa Magomedov, who’s sister is a doctor in Russia. Isa then said he would help Steve as a videographer with the Heart 2 Heart documentary. My friend Isa and his wife Jasmine have good hearts for which I am eternally grateful.

Berkeley Opera’s Ching Chang with camera in hand.

Ching Chang/Berkeley Opera/Photo: Cindy Warner