Dutchman artists in town

Our guest artists for The Flying Dutchman arrived on Sunday. Whether from Norway or New York, they are now in Madison for this special occasion and began rehearsing on Monday. And it sounds like they've already clicked. This morning, I had the pleasure of sitting in on an interview with our director Michael Scarola, bass-baritone Bradley Garvin (The Dutchman), and soprano Turid Karlsen (Senta), who were all very enthusiastic and brimming with insights on Wagner's work. Something that stuck out was Michael's sheer excitement about the beautiful voices of the cast, and the unique mix of performers who have deep experience with their roles (Turid has sung Senta in over 6 different productions) and those making role debuts (like Bradley as The Dutchman and Arnold Rawls as Erik). There is great creative energy at work, and we all get to reap the benefits in three weeks!