Bringing opera to the suburbs
Eve Budnick thought her summer would be filled with relaxing days. Instead, she said, her family has had a great view of her back as she sits for hours at the computer ``organizing things."
That's just what happens when you decide to found an opera company. Her change of plans began across state lines. In December, Budnick, an opera coach and accompanist at the University of Connecticut, was chatting with soprano and University of Connecticut opera workshop instructor Rebecca Grimes when the two discovered they were neighbors. Budnick lives in Wayland, Grimes in Northborough.
``We were talking about how there didn't seem to be much opera going on in our area in the western suburbs," said Budnick. ``And then we thought maybe we could provide a service."
That ``service" idea morphed into their cofounding the nonprofit opera company Opera del West. As the name notes, they aim to cast mainly talents living west of Boston and to stage shows in communities there.
Meanwhile, their ambitions are high-note high. To start, they are presenting a program Sunday at The Center for the Arts in Natick that features 16 performers hopping among nine operas. Selections span from Mozart to American composer Kirke Mecham, and from the comic mayhem in ``Die Fledermaus" to the hauntingly beautiful aria of fading love ``Porgi Amor" from ``The Marriage of Figaro."
The scenes will be semi-staged, with English translations projected so all can follow the story.
Budnick will accompany on the center's on-stage Yamaha grand piano. Boston-based director Jacob Krause will direct, with Grimes assisting.
The two women hope to present a children's opera in winter and one-act operas by next summer. Ultimately, they want to mount a fully staged opera, with full orchestra.
They say the area is brimming with untapped talent. ``We auditioned 50 to 60 people, and they were amazing, but most are just doing temp work and not many paid gigs," said Grimes, adding that about a third who tried out live in west suburban towns.
``There are so many good singers in this area that need opportunities. But if you notice, in Boston, the same singers do all the same gigs. If you're new in town, it's very hard to break in."
So, like Newton Symphony Orchestra, which presents semi-staged opera concerts, and Longwood Opera, which presents programs in Needham, Grimes and Budnick aim to cast newer vocalists with well-trained voices who can wow Opera del West audiences.
In turn, they hope to serve as an incubator for homegrown talents. ``This will just give them something to build their resume so they can go on to bigger and better things," said Grimes.
Five locals (plus Grimes) made the final cut of 15 performers: Alex Lawrence of Weston; Patrick Kane of Chestnut Hill; Ashley Harmon and Colin Levin, both of Dover; and Melynda Davis of Wellesley.
``In other areas, opera is very vibrant right now," said Grimes. ``I just think having a regional company with local performers demystifies the whole experience."
They see their cause as urgent. ``I'm from a small town in Texas, Lake Jackson, so it's amazing that I'm doing this here," said Grimes. ``If you go to Europe, people there are very informed about classical music. But American audiences just aren't as exposed to classical art and music as they might have been 50 years ago. Most people can tell you who won `American Idol,' but they can't tell you who won the Met auditions or even name three famous opera singers. . . . Nothing against `American Idol,' but I don't think it's the best that society has to offer."
Opera del West performs Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at TCAN, 14 Summer St. in Natick. Tickets are $16, or $15 students and seniors, $14 for members. Call 508-647-0097 or visit www.natickarts.org.
FROM BLUEGRASS TO ZOOGRASS: Acoustic has never sounded so electric. At first, Lowell ``bluegrass" group Hot Day at the Zoo looks like a bluegrass band. The instruments are bluegrass (all strings). The fast-paced, finger-pickin' tunes start out sounding like bluegrass. Even the slight drawl in singer Michael Dion's voice seems like traditional bluegrass. But listen a wee bit longer and it is anything but.
``Imagine Earl Scruggs and his buddies in a bar fight. That's what we sound like," said Dion. ``In a nutshell, we're using the bluegrass lineup, but we're coming from a rock 'n' roll, jazz, ragtime, and urban vibe. We call it zoograss."
That zoograss sound made the ears of members of the Holliston summer concert committee perk up when they popped the Zoo's CD into its player.
``They were urban and gritty and bluegrassy and rootsy," said committee member Sue Peterson. ``We liked it so much we decided to book them right then."
Thus, on Tuesday, this high-energy quartet takes the stage at Goodwill Park as part of the town's weekly free concert series. Call it a concert or call it the sounds of the Ozarks go for a carnival ride.
Dion, a Lowell native who sings and does most of the songwriting, mixes in Latin beats, rock rhythms, and boozy, broken-hearted, and sittin'-at-the-bar lyrics. He discovered bluegrass playing with lifelong pickers in -- of all places -- Seattle.
``Lowell is a blue-collar town, a little rough around the edges," he said. ``I try to harness that energy and mood in the music."
Hot Day at the Zoo performs a free show Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Goodwill Park (at Green Street and Route 16) in Holliston. No rain date. Call 508-314-1501.
MORE THEATER DAY BY DAY: The Hudson Arts Alliance just can't sit still. This eager-beaver arts organization puts on an impressive array of workshops, concerts, and other performances, and now it has added community theater.
This weekend, The Rivers Edge Players present their debut production, ``Godspell." The hit musical is set simply in an alley, but features a live rock band in the orchestra pit, original choreography, and all the show's famous tunes, including ``Day by Day."
For now, the Players plan to present a big summer musical at the high school each year and then several smaller shows during the year at Town Hall. Casts will feature adults and youths older than 17.
``We have a beautiful Town Hall with a great stage, and it just cries out to be used. That's partly why this all started," said the alliance's program director, Barbara Worrest of Hudson, who is producing the show.
The other motivator was that students were aging out of the alliance's youth theater programs while adults were clamoring to get involved. But once auditions were announced, fewer locals showed than expected.
``We got a good turnout from experienced actors from throughout the region, but we think using auditions scared some talented locals off. Before the next show, we plan to hold an audition workshop to make people more comfortable with the process," said Worrest.
``Godspell" runs today through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Hudson High School's air-conditioned auditorium, 69 Brigham St. in Hudson. Tickets are $15, $12 for seniors, $10 for students. Call 978-562-1646 or visit www.upwitharts.org .
SURVIVING AND REMEMBERING: Seventeen years ago, Helen Stern Kuban sat down in a hotel room and hand-wrote her memoirs. As she is a survivor of Auschwitz and Birkenau, it was no easy task, but she felt it needed to be done.
Two years ago her two sons, including Dr. Karl Kuban of Sherborn, decided it was time to seek a publisher for ``Born Twice." The book was released in May. Stern Kuban, 88, of Hollywood, Fla., presents a reading Sunday in Sherborn.
Helen Stern Kuban appears 3-6 p.m. Sunday at her son's house, 1 Fawn Road in Sherborn. Call 508-653-2248 or visit www.borntwice.net. Look for a full story on Stern Kuban in Sunday's Globe West .
Have an arts event? Send information to westarts@globe.com. 
