Thank you to all who came to the concert première of Plastic Flowers. Thank you to all who could not come but were present in spirit, with their positive energy. Thank you specially to all our backers who made this production possible. It was a wonderful journey to write, rehearse […]

Plastic Flowers – Recording Available

We posted a link to the audio recording from last night’s première. Exclusive to our Kickstarter backers. We are all very happy about the performance last night. Thank you all who came, and those who are supporting us in the distance, you are fantastic! Awesomeness Thank you to Abby Powell, […]

Plastic Flowers – MP3 of Premiere Available for Backers!

This is just the first step, after the music is all recorded and fully revised on the score book, then we will pursue the fully staged version. A staged version of Plastic Flowers will be a lot of fun, we want to make it into an immersion experience. As in […]

Plastic Flowers on Kickstarter!

Introducing young virtuoso pianist Han Chen who will be performing the demanding piano part of Plastic Flowers. Han Chen has impressed everyone on the Plastic Flowers creative team with his technical skills, precise sight-reading of complex passages and true romantic expression.  Han Chen is an undergraduate at Juilliard School of […]

Han Chen on piano for Plasic Flowers

We are really happy with it. This is the posters that backers can get on top of the CD and DVD, if you support our kickstarter campaign. We have already sent out the posters to be printed, they should be arriving here towards the end of the week. Yes! They […]

Plastic Flowers: poster art sent to printers!

We just launched our Kickstarter campaign for the new Opera Plastic Flowers! Be an investor on this new work and have a chance to own some unique collector’s items!    

Launching Kickstarter for Plastic Flowers!

We are happy to tell that, after a period of auditions when we had a chance to listen to some amazing Mezzo-sopranos from NY, we have finally chosen Abby Powell to portray the lead role of Penelope in the Concert Premiere of Plastic Flowers to take place in mid December […]

Abby Powell cast as Penelope for Plastic Flowers

My sister, video artist extraordinaire Cila MacDowell is preparing the projection materials for our new opera: “Plastic Flowers.” So, we are looking for images from the female universe: girl’s bedrooms, untied beds, objects that sign for the presence of couples, wedding cakes, flowers, valentine flowers, wedding flowers, funeral flowers, cemeteries, […]

Send us Feminine Images for “Plastic Flowers”!

If you are a working Mezzo Soprano in the New York City area, this could be the role of a lifetime. All candidates at this stage should perform a video test of Scene 1. Ideally you want to schedule some time in my studio uptown Manhattan to record your reading. […]

Last Week of Auditions for “Plastic Flowers”

Mario Salimon’s Film “Parece Que Existo” (I Seem to Exist) won both awards for Best Full Length Feature Film and Best Soundtrack at The 45th Brasília Film Festival – Mostra Brasília (2012). We are bringing home two CLDF trophies. I am really happy with the result from this Festival. It […]

Best Full Length and Best Soundtrack prizes in Brasilia

45th Festival de Brasília do Cinema Brasileiro – Opening night Yesterday was the opening ceremony of the Festival. It is very special for me to be here. I am taking part in the Festival with the documentary “Parece que Existo” by Mario Salimon. The film has, at it’s main focus, […]

Opening Ceremony – 45th Brasilia Film Festival

(I usually write in English, but this time it’ll have to be in Portuguese) Encontrei uma lista das produções operísticas no Brasil de 2012 no site: Movimento.com Não creio que o nome seja derivado da ária “Movimento” na minha ópera Tamanduá… em todo caso, fiquei feliz em encontrar um portal […]

As Óperas de 2012 no Brasil

Luigi Porto is currently preparing the Live Electronics part for “Plastic Flowers“. This is one of the main aspects of the pre-production work that is taking place for this new contemporary  opera. The Italian composer, sound designer, electronic musician and music critic Luigi Porto has collaborated with Joao MacDowell on […]

Luigi Porto preparing “Plastic Flowers” soundscapes.

Nicolau El-moor is one of the greatest photographers in Brazil today. We are also friends from teenage-hood. I was honored when he asked me to be in of a series of portraits of people from Brasília.   Visit: www.elmoor.com

Photos by Nicolau El-moor

2012 The film “Parece Que Existo” (It Seems I Exist) by Mario Salimon will screen as part of the Mostra Brasília of the 45th “Festival de Brasília do Cinema Brasileiro.” Teatro Nacional Brasilia, sala Martins Pena. September 23rd 2pm Brasilia, DF. Brazil

45º Festival de Cinema de Brasília

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Since I started writing operas I found myself paying attention to stories that could be set to music. I listen to stories, I read them, I try to find hidden stories under the meaningless speech of everyday life. I keep stories in a large storage space that I have inside […]

I Collect Stories

The operatic aria developed from the song form. The aria da capo was preponderant in early baroque opera and for much of the classical period. The ABA form was sometimes criticized because the repetition did not always make sense in the dramatic flow. It is a situation where the musical […]

About Opera

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Opera has a way of mixing life touching stories with melodies that stay with us. Opera is the ultimate arrogance of art, and so it fails. Opera is chic, elegant, fine seductive. Opera is the charm of our time. Opera makes sense in a multidisciplinary world of art. Opera is […]

Why Opera? – 1a

If you happen to be in the Miami area, I am doing the sound for a very interesting art installation, by Simone Porto.    

Art Exhibit in Miami

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  This Sat. March 31st, 11pm (EDT-New York), with Sunday reprise, April 1st, 9am (EDT). Interview with Joao MacDowell at Globo International, in the “Planeta Brasil” Show. Featuring Paige Sandusky singing an aria from Tamanduá. Globo TV International … Este Sábado, 31 de Março, às 23hs (EDT-NY), com reprise no […]

Interview/Entrevista – Globo Internacional