Indianapolis Opera singers mark Celebrate Opera Day with a serenade
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Two members of the Indianapolis Opera marked Celebrate Opera Day on Tuesday with a serenade.
Joseph McBrayer, a tenor and the opera’s alumnus resident artist, and Mezzo-soprano Lyndsay Moy, the Indianapolis Opera director of education and community outreach, stopped by Daybreak to share the spirit of the day.
“We are asking our patrons and viewers to support opera today,” Moy said. “Listen to your favorite aria, listen to your favorite composer, listen to your favorite singer, and maybe give a little to Indianapolis Opera.”
The Indianapolis Opera is Indiana’s only professional opera company. Its mission is to inspire, educate, and entertain Hoosiers through the creation and production of musical storytelling. In its most recent season, the company performed several works, including “Don Giovanni” and “Carousel”.
“Both of us just performed in ‘Carousel’ at The Palladium, which is fabulous,” Moy said. “An entry point [to opera] is classical musical theater. We actually do a lot of classical musical theater and so that’s a production, for example, that’s in English.”
McBrayer says his role as the opera company’s resident artist gives him a way to connect with younger audiences.
“I go into a lot of schools or record stuff for schools, and so that way, you get to plant the seed in young minds early,” McBrayer said. “They’re like, ‘I think I like opera’. They might not know why. They may not know what happened. And then, you know, they tell their parents we should go see them do something. That’s a cool conversation if it happens.”
The Indianapolis Opera Company is accepting donations on its website and will also host a “Lobster Palooza” fundraising event in July.