Six Carmens Later & Putting on Productions with Olga Perez Flora and Anna Garcia
Six Carmens Later & Putting on Productions with Olga Perez Flora and Anna Garcia
What do disco naps, pantsuits, and chili preferences have to do with life at the opera? If you’re new to the art form in general and Key Change specifically, welcome! And don’t worry, all will be revealed. To our returning fans, a hearty welcome back! We’re excited to share another season and a fresh focus with you.
Back to that opening inquiry… “I was thinking it would be really great if we did a lightning round together where we got to know a little bit more about each other and about what’s coming up this season,” explains Olga, making her official debut as Key Change co-host, alongside three-season veteran Anna Garcia. Their answers reveal a lesser-known fact about opera: it’s more approachable and playful than newcomers might think.
This season, we’re pulling back the curtain further on accessibility via Santa Fe Opera’s brand new partnership with the University of New Mexico Department of Music. But we haven’t abandoned new works or the original mission of Opera For All Voices (the initiative that launched this podcast). Instead, Key Change is momentarily adjusting its spotlight to focus on the development and evolution of new voices.
“I’ve loved learning about the process of the artists, teams, our community members, our teaching artists, and administrative staff,” says Anna of this season. “Everybody has their origin story, and I think our audience really wants to hear that aspect. It’s kind of like the backstage of opera.”
Change is key, as we like to say. We’re glad you’re along for the ride.
FEATURING
Olga Perez Flora, Mezzo-soprano, Voice Area Head, Associate Professor of Voice, University of New Mexico
Anna Garcia, Manager of Programs and Partnerships, Santa Fe Opera
Andrea Klunder, Producer, Key Change Podcast
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Olga Perez Flora
Der Rosenkavalier | Santa Fe Opera
James Flora
Opera Company of Middlebury
This Little Voice Of Mine at Kentucky Opera
Fannie Lou Hamer
OPERA America
National Endowment for the Arts
Opera Theatre | University Of New Mexico
Albuquerque Academy
Palacio Restaurant
The Turn of the Screw | Santa Fe Opera
La Traviata | Santa Fe Opera
La bohème | Santa Fe Opera
Young Voices | Santa Fe Opera
Opera Makes Sense | Santa Fe Opera
Apprentice Program for Singers | Santa Fe Opera
Apprentice Program for Theater Technicians | Santa Fe Opera
“Catching Up on Key Change” Recommended Playlist
Season 1
Episode 1: Setting the Stage: New beginnings, heightened expectations, the heart of opera, and the Santa Fe of it
Episode 5: Other Duties As Assigned: The role of education & community outreach in opera companies
Season 4
Episode 6: A Day in the Life Before a World Premiere
Episode 7: Telling Hard Truths
Episode 8: Hometown to the World Debuts on Broadway
Season 5
Episode 3: Harmony in Process: The Young Voices of the Santa Fe Opera with Amy “Process” Owens
Episode 8: An Opportunity to Encounter Excellence (and Big News!)
QUOTES
“The crew is often the unsung hero in an opera or, really, in the theater–and they are just amazing, what that team does, and they make the magic happen.”
– Olga Perez Flora
“Some composers will change the key slowly, and they will introduce a little change, and I often think that that makes for a great key change.”
– Olga Perez Flora
“The process with having Olga in the studio will now include more voices, new voices, and I think that’s kind of the M.O. of this whole podcast is the many different people that we talk to and why.”
– Anna Garcia
“I love the idea of bringing people into love opera or even just consider it that just never would’ve thought of it.”
– Olga Perez Flora
“I want to be a part of the process, and then, hopefully, we can add a little bit of my spiciness as we go along.”
– Olga Perez Flora
CREDITS
Key Change is a production of The Santa Fe Opera, Department of Community Engagement & Education.
Produced & Edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios
Hosted by Anna Garcia & Olga Perez Flora
Audio Engineer Collin Ungerleider & Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe
Technical Director Edwin R. Ruiz
Production Support from Alex Riegler
Show Notes by Lisa Widder
Theme Music by Rene Orth with Corrie Stallings, mezzo-soprano, and Joe Becktell, cello
Cover Art by Dylan Crouch
This podcast is made possible due to the generous funding from the Hankins Foundation, Principal Education Sponsor of the Santa Fe Opera.