Brigadoon

Read what the Daily Progress  has to say about Ash Lawn Opera's production in the online article:

"Brigadoon is a pleasant escape"

 

See Ash Lawn Opera's coverage of Brigadoon and KidsFest on:

WCAV CBS 19

Director Dottie Danner speaks about:

Brigadoon

 

Don Giovanni

Articles about the production from The Daily Progress:

Opening on a high note

Great Review in the Daily Progress

 

An interview with Christopher Burchett (Don Giovanni), Seth Mease Carico (Leporello), Christopher Larkin (Artistic Director), and Michelle Krisel (General Director) on:

NPR Radio

Ash Lawn Opera on:

WAHU Fox 27!

Michelle Krisel Appointed New General Director

April 12, 2010

     

President of the Board of Directors, Frank Buck , announced today that Michelle Krisel will be the new General Director of the Ash Lawn Opera Festival. "We are delighted that Michelle Krisel will assume the artistic and administrative leadership of our company. With her thirty-years of professional work in the opera field, Michelle brings us broad experience and extensive contacts both nationally and internationally. Her record demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to the development of young artists. We look forward to welcoming her to our community and to working with her in the months and years ahead”.

Michelle Krisel said, "I am excited to be taking the leadership of the Ash Lawn Opera Festival in the beautiful city of Charlottesville at this special time, with the move to the elegantly renovated Paramount Theater on the historic Downtown Mall. Ash Lawn Opera has a long track record of discovering and nurturing young talent, and excellent Apprentice and Education Programs already in place. I particularly look forward to working with the dedicated Board of Directors, the enthusiastic Guild, and the greater Charlottesville community".

Ms. Krisel will be only the second General Director in the history of the Ash Lawn Opera Festival. Judith Walker, whose distinguished leadership brought the company from its infancy to its current professional status, announced her retirement at the end of 2009 and was recently named General Director Emeritus by the Board of Directors.

The appointment of Michelle Krisel marks the successful conclusion of a national search. Mr. Buck thanked the Search Committee and co-chairs Donna Plasket and Anne Fife, for their excellent work.

About the Ash Lawn Opera Festival

Founded in 1978, the Ash Lawn Opera Festival was originally presented outdoors at Ash Lawn-Highland, the home of President James Monroe. While still presenting some performances among the boxwoods of President Monroe's estate, 2009 marked the first season in residence at the beautiful Paramount Theater on Charlottesville's Downtown Mall. Moving indoors to a proscenium arch theater seating over 1,000, now permits higher level productions where singers and orchestral musicians can perform comfortably come rain or shine.

The Ash Lawn Opera Festival has carved out an important niche in American musical life, by offering a bridge to the professional world for singers and stage technicians who have completed their studies. Many of the performers who made their professional debut at Ash Lawn, have gone on to have major careers, but remain devoted to the company which gave them their first opportunities.

In addition to two full-length productions during six weeks of July and August, the Festival also provides a variety of evening concerts featuring company artists, free lunch hour recitals, a series of Saturday morning concerts for children and families, and educational programs with local schools.

About Michelle Krisel

Michelle Krisel's professional career in opera spans thirty years and includes broad experience in all aspects of opera production and administration.

When Plácido Domingo took the leadership of Washington National Opera in 1996, he invited Ms. Krisel to join him as his Special Assistant. In 2002, he asked her to design and lead the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, to train singers, coach/accompanists, conductors, and directors on the verge of international careers. It quickly grew to become one of the most respected and sought-after Young Artist Programs in the world. Ms. Krisel created performance opportunities for these talented young performers by forming partnerships with local organizations such as the Smithsonian Renwick Gallery, the Mexican Cultural Institute, the Inter-American Development Bank, and many Embassies. She took Young Artist performances to Beijing and Monte Carlo, as well as to the White House, the Senate, the Kennedy Center Honors, and many other prestigious venues. Seeking to broaden opera audiences, she launched a program to attract first-time opera-goers, Generation O, to support an annual full-length Young Artist performance at the Kennedy Center Opera House, and which now boasts 13,000 members.

In 2001, Ms. Krisel produced Plácido Domingo's international vocal competition, Operalia , raising over a million dollars to insure its success.

In 2004, Ms. Krisel was asked to lead WNO's Education and Community Programs - with its extensive school, library, and summer programs; as well as the production of four different Family Operas.

Before joining Washington National Opera, Ms. Krisel served for a decade as a pianist, vocal coach, accompanist and assistant conductor at opera companies in the U.S. and abroad. She learned another aspect of building and promoting the careers of opera singers by working as an artists' manager and representative for a decade in New York, before moving to Washington, D.C.

Ms. Krisel holds degrees in music from Yale University and the University of Southern California, and rounded out her musical studies in Vienna and Paris. She is the mother of three children: a twenty-three year old daughter who lives and works in New York City, and identical twin boys who will be freshmen at Yale University and the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in the fall.

For a more complete biography of Ms. Krisel click HERE