Michael Rossi, the founder and artistic director of the Miami Beach Classical Music Festival, is planning three upcoming full opera productions, three symphonic concerts, featuring 200 classical musicians, and several other concerts. You’d think he’d feel a little pressured.
But, no, he’s enjoying it all.
“It takes a full year to organize, to plan just this summer, fireworks, orchestra, the immersive productions,” Rossi said. “But we love doing it.”
(Miami Beach Classical Music Festival)
20230719 MMF IMMERSIVE SPACE SYMPHONY DRESS REHEARSAL
The festival's Immersive Space Concert.
Right now, he’s excited about the Immersive Space Symphony concerts which combine projection-mapping technology with music from Holst, Strauss and film composer Hans Zimmer.
“(Last year’s) Immersive Space concert was so popular you couldn’t get a ticket to it, that’s why we’re running more shows.”
You can watch a video of last year’s concert on the festival’s web site, but Rossi warns, “You can’t compare it to the video, it’s very immersive. We’re bringing it back and pushing the boundaries.”
The Immersive Space Symphony will be held July 18 and 19 at 7 p.m. and July 21 at 1:30 p.m. at Faena Forum, 3300 Collins Ave.
The festival will also feature an immersive production of Wagner’s “Die Walküre” (Act 3) and Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”
(Miami Beach Classical Music Festival)
A previous production of the Magic Flute.
“I try to pick things that will be fun musically and artistically at the same time,” Rossi said. ‘The Magic Flute’ is definitely family friendly, it’s a shorter version, it’s very magical. We’ve done it without projections before, but now it will be very magical, everyone will be in the forest.”
“Magic Flute” director Marc Callahan is also looking forward to the immersive production.
“I’m very excited about it. It absolutely is fun. I directed for the festival before, but we’re taking a new turn on this, putting a new twist on it,” he said. “Michael Rossi, our artistic director, has acquired an LED wall. I believe it’s 320 by 40 feet, as well as brand-new projectors, and he’s creating the world of ‘The Magic Flute’ so that we can project it in a 360-degree space so the audience can be immersed in the land of ‘The Magic Flute’ and that will be really exciting.
(Miami Beach Classical Music Festival)
Michael Rossi, Creative Director
“Not only will the actors be in the set, the audience will also be immersed in the set, so I’m excited about that.”
If last year’s immersive productions are any indicator, this year’s productions will be a hit.
“Last year Michael and I did Ravel’s ‘L’enfant et les Sortilèges’ immersively and the audience loved it,” Callahan said. “I was over the moon when we got the reviews back. (The audiences) just absolutely loved it. They thought it was fun, it was something they had never seen before.”
He said immersive opera gives the audience a new insight.
“The actors not only interact with each other but interact with the space in a different way,” he said. “I feel the audience, rather than being spectators, they were active participants in the opera as well, so it brought them closer, not only physically, but dramatically.”
Callahan said this production would be welcoming for adults and children.
“Children will like it right off the bat, our production is very child friendly. The actors walk out in animal costumes and interact with the audience,” he said. “There's a not scary serpent, and a not scary dragon that breathes fireballs. Actors will be holding giant lanterns to represent fireballs coming from the serpent’s mouth.
(marccallahan.com)
Marc Callahan, Opera Director
“We’ll sing in German but all the dialogue is in English and the dialogue is light and fun so I think that will also help the children.
“There’s a lot of comedy and humor, it’s a show about friendship and working together and overcoming obstacles. It’s about friendship.”
Callahan explains that the summer series is great exposure for young talent.
“We get the opportunity to see a lot of young singers,” he said. “We get the opportunity to see the next generation of singers, the Renee Flemings before they become who they are.”
The Immersive Magic Flute Opera will be held Saturday, July 6, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, July 7, at 2 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El, 1701 Washington Ave.
If you want to catch rising opera singers on the ground floor, you might want to check out Opera Aria Night. No orchestra, just two collaborative pianists, and the singers – cast and chorus members from “The Magic Flute” – given an opportunity to shine.
“Each singer has to present the aria of their choice,” said faculty pianist Anna Fateeva. “I usually ask them to submit some selections from their repertoire. It’s going to be their business card to the world. They’ll be introducing themselves to a south Florida audience. And usually we include a few numbers from the current production, ‘The Magic Flute,’ to give a tease to the audience of what’s coming. We tease them enough to see the show with an orchestra.”
This year, Fateeva finds herself with an abundance of talent. “We have two concerts because we have 27 singers. They’re from all over the country and from around the world,” Fateeva said. “We have singers from Korea, from China, Mexico, Peru, and all over the U.S. Some local, very good ones from Miami and from Florida in general.”
( Anna Fateeva)
Anna Fateeva, Pianist
Fateeva stresses a lot of work gets done in a little time.
“The festival just initiated literally today. (June 12). The singers arrived yesterday and today we have the first session of the music rehearsal with the conductor and two collaborative pianists. We are at full-speed already,” Fateeva said, laughing. “The fun part begins.”
“I’ve been working for the Miami music festival for several years,” she said. “Each year this festival is very intense because it’s a relatively short amount of time. Three full weeks for production with young singers. It’s very intense. They’re very busy.
“They have to be very focused and healthy, it’s a lot for them to do.”
The aria performances take place in the art gallery of the Betsy Hotel.
“The Miami Classical Music Festival is very blessed to collaborate with the Betsy Hotel because beside the fact that they’re very friendly and accommodating, they have great acoustics in its gallery. The gallery itself is intimate enough to have beautiful acoustics and a beautiful experience for the audience and the singers.
“I’ve played many concerts in the gallery of the Betsy Hotel and it’s always a wonderful experience,” Fateeva said. “So we’re very grateful for the hotel. It’s an iconic place in Miami Beach, it’s just wonderful and we’re very grateful.”
Fateeva is also grateful for the audiences. “They always respond great. It always feels like a family. At the end of every concert, we have audience members coming up to the singers, very encouraging,” she said. “They react to the concerts like it’s home. The audience has a chance to get familiar with the young performers. I know that some bigger fans of the festival - who take in all the performances and all the concerts - they have to love to see how the singers are evolving later on. It’s a very personalized look at young talent.”
The Miami Beach Classical Music Festival Summer Series began June 27 and runs to July 28. Visit miamimusicfestival.com for performance dates, times and locations.