Our first Talkback!

After a truly magical (and sold out!) matinee of La Cenerentola (Cinderella), the cast and Directors came back out on stage to see what the audience thought. About 150 ticket holders stayed to give their opinions and ask their questions... Maria even came out to the edge of the stage to sign an autograph for a young fan. Dandini, performed by Michael Mayes, when asked how he prepares for this type of performane, cleverly quipped that he "doesn't go for the laugh," making fun of his over-the-top comedic expressions and actions throughout the opera that made him a crowd favorite.

It was interesting and experimental to offer a talkback, something that is very common in theaters, but is just starting to show up in opera companies and classical arts as a way to connect with patrons, to receive feedback, and to allow audiences to feel more involved in the performance. In an opera, the feedback is always immediate... did they laugh or not, did they clap or not... and the performers can feel that, it energizes them to bring more to their performance. Other feedback can be harder to gauge unless you ask the audience directly what they thought. Some questions that the audience asked were about the details of the scenery and where it came from, how are the costume changes made so quickly, and how difficult was it to sing and act so fast.

It was the first "talkback" I've ever witnessed, and it was very enjoyable. I guess if the performance hadn't been so wonderful, maybe I wouldn't have liked the "talkback" as much. :) And Christopher Devlin made an excellent moderator, thank you so much!!