Radar Magazine. Interview to Ricky Terezi. Photo by Scott Robinson.

More info at: IBOC
BrazilianOpera.com & BrazilianTheater.com

Interview with João MacDowell – Composer and Artistic director of the International BrazilianOpera Company – IBOC.

RADAR – I understand that you are launching the International Brazilian Theater Unit inside the International Brazilian Opera Company, please tell us about it.

João – It is a work-group inside IBOC’s greater umbrella. The goal is to experiment with spoken word and develop a repertoire that translates the Brazilian theater artistic experience, while also creating opportunities for international collaboration. IBTU represents an effort to focus on a certain type of performance and to give our artists a chance to develop a new set of productions that may not be perceived as “Operatic” in a narrow sense. In a broad sense, everything that we present at IBOC is indeed theater, even when we present formal concert recitals, with no elaborate costumes or scenery, there is always a dramatic ritual going on. It is a pact between audience and the artists that enables the evocation of an ancient ritualistic practice, while we are in a performance mode of interaction and creating a communion of living souls. Hopefully, that communion will trigger an initiation experience, where one is allowed to be touched and changed at some level by the ritual itself.

RADAR – Is this something new or unique?

João – It is not new in that it has represented a tendency in performance art for a long time. It is nice to open the books from the great thinkers about theater and realize that the perspective is generally unifying through history. We look at Stanislavsky, Grotovsky, Artaud, Boal, Brecht, Becket, Aristotle, Kant and up to our times with someone like Robert Wilson, and it is always a perspective that brings together the arts that prevails at the highest level of thinking. The compartmentalized perspective that separates theater, dance, music and visual arts, that is a way of thinking that is in fact very limited to a short historic period in the Western mind. It is part of the mental trash that we inherit from a recent past and that we need to shed in order to move on. This need to separate and classify, to label things in different folders, has to do with the encyclopedists, they thought they could separate explain all aspects of reality. It is a very arrogant concept if you think about it, but it was useful for a moment. Nowadays people go to Wikipedia, which is fine for what it is, but it cannot be a source of knowledge at a deeper level. I doubt that one could achieve wisdom from Google. Instead, I believe in looking at the actual books and then maybe editing the Wiki, to make it more reliable and comprehensive. In “The Portrait of the artist as a Young Man” Joyce dedicates a long chapter to his Aesthetic theory, he picks it up from Thomas Aquinas and develops it a degree further. It is not a theory for literature, it is a theory for art in the broader sense. He talks about Integitas, Emanitas, and then Claritas, from which emanates the mark of Beauty: “A sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something.” That brings him to the concept of Epiphany: the experience of perceiving something that one was not aware before.  I relate Epiphany to the Initiation Ritual, where one is expected to change as the basic assumption of the work. For me, if there is no Epiphany it becomes Entertainment, and I am not very interested in Entertainment, except maybe from a craftsmanship perspective.

RADAR – Most people see you as a composer. Please tell us about your theater experience.

João – I came to music from a theater and literature perspective. My first play was performed in 1984, it was a text called “Plin.” It was about a family dinner going slightly insane as the youngest child plays with a glass, ringing at irregular intervals.  In a way, it was a musical text also, although there is no proper music in it.

I was a student at the dramatic college of Dulcina de Moraes. She represented an older school of theater that was already dying when I met her, and for many, she was the best Brazilian Theater artist ever. I had the privilege of being her pupil before she passed. She asked me to prepare Hamlet and I remember she would never let me go beyond the first few lines of text – she would take over and start doing the text. There was so much life in each of her words, it was impossible not to be mesmerized. It was a way of acting that had a lot to do with how opera is still presented, due to the supremacy of the written intonation in the music. She delivered each line as a musical phrase, full of drama and meaning. Nowadays most actors have a more naturalistic delivery, which is heavily influenced by cinema, it is a different school, and it implies on a certain type of aesthetic philosophy. It is interesting to see how the modern becomes old and the very old becomes contemporary.

RADAR – Tell us more about your vision for contemporary theater.

João – We could call it “Total Theater” or “Ritual Theater” or “Contemporary Opera.” Labels are always problematic because the true artist navigates the borderline of the label. Audiences need the label, in order to classify and dismiss the work in a category that has already been explained. The advantage of using “Opera” as a classifier is that historically “Opera” has stood for this all-embracing art form. Wagner calls it “Gesamtkunstwerk,” the total work of art. It is drama, music, literature, visual art, but it should not be just a piling up of different disciplines, as much as a unified experience that embraces all senses. That is why I like to think in terms of an initiation ritual. When Opera started, the Renascence Florentines wanted to revive Greek Drama, except they did not know much about ancient Greek culture, so they invented a new style of musical theater. Apparently, Greek drama was also sung throughout. But Greek Drama was itself a reinvention of older ancient rituals, from a time when music, dance, theater, magic, and medicine were one and only. In contemporary performance art, we are back at that space, the classification is obsolete. Gerald Thomas, who is another Brazilian theater director developing a fantastic work at La Mama, likes to call his work “Dry Opera.” When we watch Robert Wilson’s work, “Einstein on the Beach” for example, it is hard to say if it is dance, theater, or opera in any traditional sense. For the true artist, these categories are irrelevant, it is only the narrow-minded critic that seems to care. Gerald Thomas and Robert Wilson are living artists that still inspire me in many ways, they are not trying to achieve the easy success of repetitive formulas, but taking the risk to look forward to where the theatrical experience may go.

“It is interesting to see how the modern becomes old and the very old becomes contemporary.”

RADAR – But now you also have a separate division on IBOC that is dedicated to spoken theater.

João – That is true. I believe we felt the need to explore a specific aspect of the dramatic technique. We have been focusing on immersive theater for some time, we did not classify it as such, also because the label has become somewhat overused. It is a specific approach that aims to develop new works within a certain limitation of the technical resources. As artists, we often isolate aspects of the technique in order to improve and deepen the relationship with the craft. The final work should still be experienced as a unified experience, but the path that leads to it may be through a certain limitation of techniques which allows us to explore a greater depth in that specific aspect, in this case, it is the spoken work. Traditionally when we think of opera we think the music has to prevail, when we think of theater the spoken word has the supremacy. The actual frontier is foggy at best, but there is a technical limitation that implies in a different type of ritual. The Theater Unit comes to life as a necessity expressed by the very artists who are at the core team of IBOC. I have always been a theater person and I am proud to have watched some great talent blossom under our umbrella. Laudiceia Calixto is one of them. She worked with us on the first concerts of my first opera: “Tamanduá.” When we first met I was deeply touched by her personality and felt so much dramatic potential in her stage presence, later she went on to star in the theater production of “The maids’ The Maids” and has been extensively reviewed by the New York Times, not a small feat for many artists with a longer career.

RADAR – Any other developments that our readers should be aware?

João – We are also launching the International Brazilian Dance Unit, led by Antonio Negreiros, who is himself a legend as dancer and choreographer. We are looking for more dancers to join the group. We also continue recruiting singers for the New York Brazilian Chorus. We say the company is Brazilian in spirit and international in collaboration. We are very proud of the great variety of nationalities represented in all our productions.

Links:
More about João MacDowell:
www.joaomacdowell.com

More about the International Brazilian Opera – IBOC:
www.brazilianopera.com

www.braziliantheater.com

Laudiceia Calixto and Rita Oliveira in “The Maids’ The Maids – NY Times review:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/05/theater/genet-interpreted-anew-in-the-maids-the-maids.html?_r=0

Other expressions of Brazilian Theater in New York:
http://thesegalcenter.org/event/contemporary-theatre-from-brazil/

Gustavo Pace, a Brazilian actor, and dramaturge that has been gaining a lot of attention in New York:
https://www.gustavopace.com/site/

Gerald Thomas and the Dry Opera Theater company:
http://www.geraldthomas.com/

Group BR – a Brazilian theater group that has been presenting the work of writers such as Clarice Lispector and Vinicius de Moraes to New York audiences:
http://www.group.br.com/

The post Interview Radar Magazine appeared first on joão macdowell.

Plastic Flowers – for the first time staged in NYC!

Tkts:

• Sunday: March 12th

• Monday: March 13th

At: The Slipper Room NYC

Doors : 7pm Start time: 8pm
Run time: one hour plus intermission
There will be an artist talk following the show.
PLASTIC FLOWERS

Music and Libretto by João MacDowell

Starring Abby Powell as Penelope

Directed by Jonathan Arak

Projection Art by Cila MacDowell

Soundscapes by Luigi Porto

Featuring Nelly Rocha on cello and The Virtual Plastic Orchestra

Please check: brazilianopera.com for more info.

The post Plastic Flowers – NY Premiere – as part of HeForShe Arts Week. appeared first on joão macdowell.

We would love to have you at our last recital of the year:
• December 17th 2016 – 8pm
Our Lady of Pompeii Shrine Church – 25 Carmine St. – West Village – New York

Featuring pianist YinJia Lin and the voices of sopranos Flavia Correia and Kristin Young plus singers from the Brazilian Chorus of New York.
In the program works by João MacDowell, Villa-Lobos, Carlos Gomes, Jayme Ovale and more.

Free Admission

Please check: brazilianopera.com for more info.

Join us!

The IBOC team

DONATE

Thanks to your support we have reached our goals and presented very successful concerts of “The Seventh Seal” – act 1- a work in progress by composer João MacDowell adapeted from text by Ingmar Bergman.

Please read a review of the concerts on:
www.classicalmusicrocks.net

The post Saturday – December 17th – 8pm – IBOC Recital appeared first on joão macdowell.

We will be presenting concerts recitals of The Seventh Seal opera – Act 1 this month!

Rehearsals are going really well. We have an amazing cast and a fantastic support team.

Please go to BrazilianOpera.com for more info.

Tickets – Nov 10th

Tickets – Nov 12th

Also check: www.7Sealtheopera.com

Please consider making a donation to IBOC!

The post Getting Ready for The Seventh Seal appeared first on joão macdowell.

Our posters for the November concerts of Act 1 from The Seventh Seal opera have recently received Double Platinum and six Gold awards from Graphis International. This poster will be featured on the cover of the Graphis International Design 2017 book.

Congratulations to IF Studio NY and IBOC (International Brazilian Opera Company) teams!

See you at Scandinavia House, NY. November 10th and 12th 2016.

http://www.graphis.com/…/poster-annual-2017/recent-winners/…

HERE you can pre-order you copy of the book!

The post Platinum and Gold awards for The Seventh Seal opera posters appeared first on joão macdowell.

I am very happy to be presenting this suite of dances from my first opera Tamanduá. Virtuoso pianist YinJia Lin and violinist JiIn Yang approached me with the idea. YinJia was familiar with the songs as we had worked together on the 2014 concerts of selections from Tamanduá. IBOC team used the opportunity to organize a private fundraiser for our upcoming concert previews of The Seventh Seal. Lots to celebrate.

IBOC cordially invites friends and supporters to a private recital.

If you are interested in attending, please send an email to contact@brazilianopera.com

Adress will be sent upon RSVP.

Morte info at www.brazilianopera.com
Funds raised will contribute to the cost of IBOC’s November concert preview of The Seventh Seal, a new opera by Joao MacDowell based on Ingmar Bergman’s film of the same name.

Our posters for The Seventh Seal concerts have recently won Platinum and Gold awards at theInternational Graphis Competition!

If would be great if you can make it to our recital.

The post Premier of Tamandua Suite for Piano and Violin appeared first on joão macdowell.

UPDATE:

Thank you all who attended and made this a fantastic party!

Photos are available at: brazilianopera.com

I’ll be the DJ for Boca Boca Spring Masquerade!

Join us for a great party.

Tickets:

Boca Boca – Brazilian Opera Spring Masquerade Ball!

Manhattan Brew and Vine: 998 Columbus Avenue (at 109^th St) New York, NY 10009

April 16^th, 2016 8:00 pm – 1 am

NEW YORK, NY, April 6th, 2016 – The International Brazilian Opera Company (IBOC) is pleased to announce BOCA BOCA, that will debut with a spring masquerade dance party on April 16, 8pm-1am at Manhattan Brew and Vine, a new upscale South Harlem eatery and bar. The entrance fee is $30. Tickets at www.brazilianopera.com and at the door.

Attractions for the night include live performances by singers Alexandra Filipe, Abby Powell, Flavia Correia and Kristin Young, the Brazilian Chorus of New York and virtuoso percussionist Uka Gameiro. There will be a professional photo corner, with Athena Azevedo capturing images from the audience as well as a costume contest.

BOCA BOCA stands for “Brazilian Opera Carnaval.” It is also a Brazilian phrase that means “spreading the news by word of mouth.” The evening will fuse live operatic performances, Brazilian percussionists, electronic beats, and a playlist featuring Brazilian hits from the 1950s to now spun by DJ João.

“This is a chance to go back to my DJ roots. We are producing brand new dance tracks for our opera stars, experimenting with new sounds; and it is a chance to spin some great old Brazilian music too. The fun is guaranteed. ” says IBOC artistic director João MacDowell.

BOCA BOCA is an IBOC volunteer initiative to support the creation of new music. Funds raised will contribute to the cost of this fall season’s concert preview of scenes from The Seventh Seal, an opera based on Ingmar Bergman’s film of the same name.

Extra:

BOCA BOCA will feature a special performance by Andressa Furletti.

#‎TakeASelfieOnMe is a durational performance art where Andressa Furletti wears a costume made of mirrors where viewers are reflected. When the viewer takes a picture, knowing or not, he/she is taking a selfie. The performance sparks curiosity and invites the audience to play and be part of it.

The post Boca Boca: Brazilian Opera Spring Masquerade! appeared first on joão macdowell.

João on Red Carpet

Congratulations to Athena Azevedo for photo prize from Graphis! Feeling honored.

The post Photo prize to Athena Azevedo: Graphis International appeared first on joão macdowell.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FEB.18TH, 2016

OPERA AUDITIONS – THE SEVENTH SEAL

The International Brazilian Opera (IBOC) is pleased to announce the first round of auditions for “The Seventh Seal” – Act 1 Concert Preview.

Concerts will be presented in Manhattan in the second week of November 2016. There may be additional performances in late October 2016.

IBOC resident composer João MacDowell is currently developing “The Seventh Seal” an opera, with text by the late Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman. Repertoire will be in Swedish.

Audition dates:

ATTENTION: Due to high demand we are opening one more day of auditions on April 2nd. 1:40 to 7:00pm

Please contact us to book your slot. We are especially interested in listening to tenors and baritones.

Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC. A pianist will be provided.

How to audition:

1. Select 1 short piece of a standard repertoire of your choice

2. Send an e-mail to ibrazilianopera@gmail.com with:

3. Completed application form: IBOC Application Form – 2016

4. Three preferred dates/times for your audition, in 1-hour slots (you will have 15 minutes to audition).

5. Resume and Headshot

6. Submit USD $30.00 for your audition fee via our Donation button on the Support Page .

Principal roles will be compensated.

• Seeking new expression in contemporary performance.

We are also inviting singers who may be interested in free Portuguese and Vocal Training to be part of our Volunteer Chorus. If you know anyone that might be interested, please share this announcement.

Go To: www.brazilianopera.com for more information on auditioning.

For more info on the opera, please go to: www.7sealtheopera.com

The post The Seventh Seal: Auditions are open! appeared first on joão macdowell.