Where Talent Meets Opportunity: Career Trajectories in Opera with Kristin Ditlow & Jamie Flora
Where Talent Meets Opportunity: Career Trajectories in Opera with Kristin Ditlow & Jamie Flora
We often say that the road to a successful opera career can be a winding one––and we’ve got the receipts to prove it! Join Key Change co-hosts Anna Garcia and Olga Perez Flora as they discuss career trajectories, academic journeys, and artistic life with two legendary performers and educators: Kristin Ditlow, Associate Professor of Vocal Coaching and Opera Conductor at the University Of New Mexico, and James Flora*, acclaimed American tenor and Lecturer in Voice and Opera, also at UNM. Our conversation sets the stage for an exciting collaboration between Santa Fe Opera and UNM.
“The position that I have (at UNM) has evolved with me,” says Kristin, who has worked around the world as a conductor and a pianist. “That’s a testament to a healthy place that’s willing to grow along with its faculty and allow them to grow in a position.” It’s also a verdant artistic environment where raw talent is refined, and practice leads to proficiency.
Jamie hopes that the next generation of opera professionals will bring the art form’s epic storytelling and staging to a broader audience. “I’d love for opera to step away a little bit from exclusivity,” he says, reflecting on how the perceived cliquishness couldn’t be farther from the true experience of a live opera. “A lot of people who grew up in small towns like I did didn’t understand the opera was for them,” he says, adding, “Opera’s for everyone!”
*That surname is no coincidence. Jamie also holds the title of spouse to our very own Olga.
FEATURING
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
IMSLP – Petrucci Music Library for scores in public domain
Apprentice Program for Singers | Santa Fe Opera
Cold Mountain | Santa Fe Opera
The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs | Santa Fe Opera
Hometown to the World | Santa Fe Opera
This Little Light Of Mine | Santa Fe Opera
Der Rosenkavalier | Santa Fe Opera
The Turn Of The Screw | Santa Fe Opera
Die Walküre | Santa Fe Opera
La bohème | Santa Fe Opera
Rigoletto | Santa Fe Opera
A Midsummer Night’s Dream | Santa Fe Opera
Little Women | UNM Opera
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
Westminster Choir College
Boston Symphony Opera
BSO | Tanglewood
San Francisco Opera | Merola Opera Program
Arizona Opera
The Glimmerglass Festival
Pittsburgh Opera
Central City Opera
Kentucky Opera
Metropolitan Opera
This is Spinal Tap
New Jersey Opera Theater
Opera Steamboat
The Three Feathers
Benjamin Britten
Star Wars
Psycho
Opera Company of Middlebury
KEY CHANGE RECOMMENDED PLAYLIST
Catch up on the full story of Hometown To The World:
Season 1, Ep 6: Hometown to the World: Discovering Postville
Season 2, Ep 9: America Is Impossible Without Us
Season 3, Ep 3: Responding to the World
Season 3, Ep 8: Bridging Communities with Carmen Flórez-Mansi
Season 4, Ep 1: This Doesn’t Happen Without Audience; The Hometown to the World Premiere
Season 4, Ep 2: Influence and Inclusion: The Impact of Hometown to the World with Youth Chorus
Season 4, Ep 8: Hometown to the World Debuts on Broadway
Hear the evolution of This Little Light of Mine:
Season 2, Ep 7: Mother of a Movement: This Little Light of Mine
BONUS: Is This America?
Season 3, Ep 4: Singing A Call to Action: Is This America?
Season 3, Ep 5: Making a Choice With Conviction: A conversation with Jeri Lynne Johnson
Season 3, Ep 6: Building a Better Society with Florida International University Music Students
Season 3, Ep 7: Lighting a Fire: The Legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer
Season 4, Ep 6: A Day in the Life Before a World Premiere
Season 4, Ep 7: Telling Hard Truths
QUOTES
“It is always a delight to crack open a brand new score for the first time.” – Kristin Ditlow
“World premiere operas are a moving, changing animal.” – Kristin Ditlow
“This is such a unique business. Nobody else does business this way, so all of the little ins and outs and intricacies of the business––how to deal with music staff, how to deal with conductors, how to deal with directors, how to deal with agents, how to deal with general directors and artistic directors and other artists––it’s a very different world, and it has its own culture.” – Jamie Flora
“Whenever I leave UNM to go do a project away of any sort of length, when I come back, then, from those engagements, I feel like I’ve gone through another refinement process.” – Kristin Ditlow
“Whenever you’re a conductor or on music staff collaborating with someone or a group of people, by nature, there is some teaching involved in that task.” – Kristin Ditlow
“No one is ever above being a student of something, and no one is ever above teaching something. We are all teachers.” – Kristin Ditlow
“One thing that’s nice about UNM and the size that we are is that we allow room for growth, even from the youngest students. As soon as they get there, if they wanna participate, we’re gonna find a place for them.” – Jamie Flora
“I teach my students that we need to know – are we fight, flight, or freezers because we have to know how to thaw. We have to know how to calm down. We have to know how to amp ourselves up if we need to get hyped up.” – Jamie Flora
“When I was a little boy, I loved Star Wars, and then, because I love Star Wars, I discovered Wagner.” – Jamie Flora
“It’s really refreshing to come from out of state––we moved from out of state to come here four years ago––and to see how ingrained Santa Fe Opera is in the state of New Mexico. Not every opera company is that way.” – Jamie Flora
CREDITS
Key Change is a production of The Santa Fe Opera, Department of Community Engagement & Education.
Produced & Edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios
Hosted by Anna Garcia & Olga Perez Flora
Audio Engineer Collin Ungerleider & Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe
Technical Director Edwin R. Ruiz
Production Support from Alex Riegler
Show Notes by Lisa Widder
Theme Music by Rene Orth with Corrie Stallings, mezzo-soprano, and Joe Becktell, cello
Cover Art by Dylan Crouch
This podcast is made possible due to the generous funding from the Hankins Foundation, Principal Education Sponsor of the Santa Fe Opera.