Sesow paints during Opera

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Don Giovanni ... Matt Sesow paints in Raleigh, North Carolina (october 2006) *

lookwhoscoming
MATT SeSOW

on THE NEWSSOBSERVER +

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BUT PAINTING TO LIVE OPERA? | Seo will pint
stage and inthe by drag CI
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‘Sesow spoke with staf writer Ellen Suna from 4
his home in the Adams :
Morgane neighborhood of
Washington, D.C. } .
v did this pai i by aplaneand hisworklooks like trauma. To me, art is a healing
legit ee | SESOW (hist And T was going to TBM meclanism Its almost expected
jeotcome about? i CONTINUED FROM PAGEIC Wearing a suit and tie. ‘of me to paint a severed hand or
‘The person who con. : ‘My prices were really igh. My an airplane crashing into me.
Avtatad me is Rober } How did you becomeknown friends really couldn't afford my When we et told what we are
Galbraith, the director of jas an “outsider artist”? work, {tbecame very stressful just by people who are going to make
{he opera company, He When T started painting in to be a painter. I didn't want to profit, that's a problem. [ think.
had met me at a srest :94, Twas workingat IBM as paint anymore. most people who buy my art now
festivalupherein Wask = DETAILS 4 computer programmer, I was" In2001,] was workinginadot- don't even know what outsider
‘ngtoas DIGS abut thes hut by an airplane when [was 8 comand they went bellyxup.Tde- artisurd don’t care. Tome, that’s
year Heikinehe en en ‘which removed my dominant lelt cided that day Twas going to try so satisfying.
Neue ht Se Ta hand. Thankstossupportvefan- wo bea punter fuitine fied Fe
metals orators ily and everything lvedapretty my agent and Ijust started doing intng is usualy such a soli
ight? or sana Nidh school fet played aloft myself all of my market” ( Dtary pursuit, Do you think
: musta. foothall, ran track, didallthe var- ing, appros. theandieness at the opera will be
ge WELL MERRTS MnPRE Mera sity sports. ing niy work online. 1 would eom- a distraction? .
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prices ae realy low. He fren centy Ralegh big dea, Butonce I started paint: Internetsopeeple couidsee things / MT might be a distraction
probably bougttsomeof "¢ggy cays singin say ov alot baially wile they were wet In prety expense pes
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are from $20 40 960, CONTACT IESE, Aes hing to eam ou these ce this oneshanded guy wp there
also do a project every wMmMcperancicom ally strong emotions. My colors probably with paint all over me
year called "31 Days of 8244000, wmwsicket and my lines were very bright and an outsider artist “moze than on thecanvas, And I'm
July." Itake the cover of aaa strong and powerful. ‘No, no, I don’t. To me it a pretty tall guy. So I'll try my
ithe Washington Post RMATION ‘When Istarted to try to show /Ascems that outsider artis a best not to be disruptive
oi Gey ands ined SNE AEN ray work in 1995, a wonnan .. I terminvented by people who will :
pti ues abet ser THhak she bought id of my pieces profit from it Its Ukealabeltoval-(~)Areyou inspired by the story
ob ee bat eof ee atashowin Georgetown Ittums idate high prices. 'm a person C2of Don Giovanni
A en pee oa inet out that she was an outsider art who has shown in museums, isin A really haven't seen alive per
pi camel nes acne api ee Gear, or fol art dealer. Because permanent eolletions—and’m / formance. [do have tke movie
aacaichw infalegh Se istyeae at Re liad because like live. You can deal direct with out amy ant abe
Beco piece teat reidheod ted tina © topeint raw, tay sisleis very rem me. Spired by what Bob does. The mu-
ee inscent of hat folk art or outs "Tut onsiler myself an es sicof Mozart ors
‘When he contacted me us thrl sider art style prossionist. and thot has inspired me. The ws
of me pling ont ofan seals ie Tec sas of excitement: > [With outsider art) its almost of musie while painting isjvery
there's an opera being performed is fascinating. “There vas thiskid and he got hit like you have to live in your key tomy style

Timo excited about it,
SEE SESOW, PAGE

bbups:/www.sesow.com/giovanni.htm

[page 1 machine-read (OCR) from the image]

7/6/26, 6:56 AM

Don Giovanni ... Matt Sesow paints in Raleigh, North Carolina (october 2006) ***

Paintings being created at 'Cameron Village' in Raleigh... surrounded the orchestra during the performance:

"Master Giovanni"

"Zoo Keeper"
Created as part of the Oct. 2006 performance of Don Giovanni by
the Opera Company of North Carolina. CLICK here for DETAILS
approx 11feet by 6feet
acrylic/housepaint on canvas

*SOLD

CLICK here for View #1
CLICK here for View #2
CLICK here for View #3

"Commendatore"
Created as part of the Oct. 2006 performance of Don Giovanni by
the Opera Company of North Carolina. CLICK here for DETAILS
approx 12feet by 7feet
acrylic/housepaint on canvas

*SOLD

Created as part of the Oct. 2006 performance of Don Giovanni by
the Opera Company of North Carolina.
CLICK here for sketch used to paint from
approx 12feet by 7feet
acrylic/housepaint on canvas

*

SOLD
CLICK here for View #1
CLICK here for View #2
CLICK here for "Making of" on stage

"Hunted"

"Scorned"
Created as part of the Oct. 2006 performance of Don Giovanni by
the Opera Company of North Carolina. CLICK here for DETAILS
approx 6feet by 6feet
acrylic/housepaint on canvas

*SOLD

https://www.sesow.com/giovanni.htm

Created as part of the Oct. 2006 performance of Don Giovanni by
the Opera Company of North Carolina.
CLICK here for sketch used to paint from
approx 12feet by 7feet
acrylic/housepaint on canvas

*

SOLD
CLICK here for on stage #1
CLICK here for on stage #2
CLICK here for on stage #3
CLICK here for on stage #4
CLICK here for on stage #5
CLICK here for on stage #6

"Reality Theater"
Created as part of the Oct. 2006 performance of Don Giovanni by
the Opera Company of North Carolina. CLICK here for DETAILS
approx 11feet by 6feet
acrylic/housepaint on canvas

*SOLD

2/6

7/6/26, 6:56 AM

Don Giovanni ... Matt Sesow paints in Raleigh, North Carolina (october 2006) ***

Created as part of the Oct. 2006 performance of Don Giovanni by
the Opera Company of North Carolina. CLICK here for DETAILS
approx 6feet by 6feet
acrylic/housepaint on canvas

*SOLD

.

"Seduction"

"Serenade"

Created as part of the Oct. 2006 performance of Don Giovanni by
the Opera Company of North Carolina. CLICK here for DETAILS
approx 12feet by 7feet
acrylic/housepaint on canvas

*

SOLD
CLICK here for "Making of" on stage

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Sunday, September 24, 2006
Raleigh · Durham · Cary · Chapel Hill

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Published: Sep 24, 2006 12:30 AM
Modified: Sep 24, 2006 09:50 AM
Wolfgang wired
The Opera Company of North Carolina kicks off an ambitious season with a reality TV
spin on 'Don Giovanni'
CRAIG JARVIS, Staff Writer
RALEIGH - A closed-circuit TV cameraman roves
the audience and then the stage, mingling with
the cast of "Don Giovanni" as the performers
scamper over scaffolding and chrome towers. As
Mozart's arias flow, the singers' images appear
on TV screens placed on the stage.
This is a new take on "Don Giovanni," a
multimedia production that considers the Don
Juan legend in the era of TV and YouTube.
Presented in the year of Mozart's 250th birthday,
the production also reimagines Opera Company
of North Carolina in its 10th anniversary season.
"Our company is about to change very
dramatically," said Frank Grebowski, the
company's new general director. "Our presence
in the community is about to increase severalfold."
"Don Giovanni" opens the first season in which
the company is staging three full productions.
Rehearsals began last week with an invitation to
the public to drop by Cameron Village and watch
the stars work.
Grebowski and artistic director Robert Galbraith,
who founded the company with his wife,
Margaret Poyner Galbraith, brainstormed a flood
of ideas for reaching beyond opera's traditional
audience -- performing scenes from "La Boheme"
in shopping malls, starting discussion groups for
"The Crucible" in schools, libraries and retirement
homes, sending singers out with carols at
Christmas.
The vision for "Don Giovanni" responds
artistically to the goal of reaching people who
perceive opera as overly refined and irrelevant to
modern life. And it's the company's first attempt
at original interpretation.
"It's the project I'm most excited about," Galbraith
said. "It's a contemporary look that has never
been seen in Raleigh before."
The singers will wear clothes from their own
closets instead of lavish costumes. The stage will
be strewn with what Galbraith calls "technical
gadgets" -- scaffolding, kits, hanging sculpture,
https://www.sesow.com/giovanni.htm

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DETAILS
WHAT "Don Giovanni."
WHEN 7:30 p.m. Oct. 5-6.
WHERE Meymandi Concert Hall,
Progress Energy Center, Raleigh.
COST $20-$75.
CONTACT 783-0098,
www.operanc.com; 834-4000,
www.ticketmaster.com.
The cast
HERBERT PERRY (DON
GIOVANNI): The bass-baritone
has garnered rave reviews for his
portrayal of Don Giovanni. His
career has spanned all of the
major U.S. opera houses and has
included several national telecasts
and recording projects. Perry has
an outstanding reputation as an
interpreter of contemporary music,
most notably in his work with
American composer Phillip Glass.
TIMOTHY NOLEN (LEPORELLO):
The Broadway and Metropolitan
Opera star won a critic's award as
Judge Turpin in "Sweeney Todd,"
and he played the title role in
Broadway's "Phantom of the
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7/6/26, 6:56 AM

Don Giovanni ... Matt Sesow paints in Raleigh, North Carolina (october 2006) ***

chrome towers and TV sets. With the roving
camera and projected images, he said, he's
contrasting reality television with the fiction of
opera.

Opera." He has been a guest star
on TV's "The Sopranos" and
"Guiding Light" and is a respected
director and narrator.

"There's a stronger, more profound reality in our
storytelling, in our pretending, than what we're
getting as our daily dose of reality on television,"
he said.

HERBERT ECKHOFF
(COMMENDATORE): The bassbaritone is well known to
international opera, symphony and
oratorio audiences. He made his
Metropolitan Opera debut in "La
Traviata" in 1987 and performed in
"Billy Budd" in 1989-90. Eckhoff
has appeared on opera stages
nationally and internationally,
receiving rave reviews in
symphonic and oratorio
performances.

As an added element of interest, an artist will
create two large paintings about the opera during
each of the two performances. Matt Sesow of
Washington, D.C., who paints in the outsider or
contemporary folk style, will begin the first picture
15 minutes before the curtain rises and finish it
before the overture. He'll also paint the second
during intermission.
Along with the new comes something old: The
orchestra will be on the stage rather than in a pit,
which Galbraith said is true to Mozart's time.
Tapping resources
This departure from past productions reflects
differences behind the scenes. Galbraith sees
this as a pivotal time, and he wants the company
to run more like a business. His newly shaved
head is a radical switch from the ponytail he wore
just a couple of years ago, but the changes he
has in mind are more than cosmetic.
Up to now, Galbraith has stayed closely involved
in running the company, even when he had a
managing director on staff.
"It's time for me to get into the nuts and bolts of
the artistic element and leave it to someone like
Frank to guide the business," he said.
The company has a stellar track record
artistically, but its history is written in red ink.
Income from ticket sales and donations has
increased in recent years, and Grebowski said he
thinks the market is strong enough to double or
triple the company's budget, which hovers just
under $1 million. Yet the company, which has
relied heavily on financing from the Gailbraiths,
still operated at a loss last year, partly because it
staged two operas for the first time since 1999.
The company is working with a consultant on
how to recruit board members from a broader
segment of the community who have access to
money and other resources that haven't been
tapped. And the company is paying attention to
the Triangle's geography. Last season, it staged
"Salome" in the newly refurbished Memorial Hall
at UNC-Chapel Hill. Now Galbraith and
Grebowski are surveying Durham's Brightleaf
Square, where Triangle Opera staged shows in
the open air for years. Opera Company of North
Carolina absorbed Triangle Opera four years
ago, and a return to Brightleaf seems fitting.
Galbraith has been talking for a long time about
staging three operas in a season, and to him and
Grebowski the time seems right. They chose
works with an eye to younger audiences -Robert Ward's "The Crucible" and Puccini's "La
Boheme" follow "Don Giovanni" -- and hope to
bring students into the opera fold.
"This is doing something more than saying 'opera
is neat,' " Grebowski said. "This speaks to the
kids: 'La Boheme' is popular with teens, they've
read 'The Crucible,' everyone knows a Giovanni."
The company is also thinking of inviting students
to rehearsals, visiting schools to talk about the
issues and sing selections, and offering student
discounts.
https://www.sesow.com/giovanni.htm

KELLY CAE HOGAN (DONNA
ANNA): The soprano returns to the
Opera Company of North Carolina
after her company debut last
season as Salome. She will return
to the Metropolitan Opera for
performances of "Jenufa" and "La
Boheme," as well as making her
debut with Opera Tampa as
Leonora in "Il Trovatore." Hogan
has worked with companies
throughout the U.S. and is praised
as a concert artist.
CHRISTINE WEIDINGER (DONNA
ELVIRA): The soprano has starred
in most major opera houses
worldwide. A frequent partner and
longtime friend of mezzo-soprano
Marilyn Horne, Weidinger
performed with Horne in
"Tancredi," Handel's "Rinaldo" and
"La Fenice." In North Carolina,
Weidinger has performed at the
Greensboro Opera. She lives in
North Carolina with her husband,
Raleigh native Ken Smith.
ANDREA EDITH MOORE
(ZERLINA): The soprano, a
Durham native, has a number of
operatic roles to her credit. She is
a founding member of the New
York-based Acanthus Chamber
Opera. In February, she will be
heard on the Evolution
Contemporary Music Series in
Baltimore. She was named the
Opera Company of North
Carolina's 2005 Emerging Artist of
the Year.
JOEL ANDREW WEISS (DON
OTTAVIO): The tenor made his
international debut last season as
Alfredo in "La Traviata" with the
Polish National Opera, conducted
by Jacek Kaspszyk. Upcoming
performances include Rev. Parris
in the Opera Company of North
Carolina's staging of "The
Crucible." Weiss made his TV
debut in the first season of "The
Sopranos." Weiss is married to
Kelly Cae Hogan, who plays
Donna Anna.
YUNGBAE YANG (MASETTO):
The baritone recently completed
his fourth year as a resident at The
Academy of Vocal Arts in
Philadelphia. Last season, he sang
the 1st Nazarene in "Salome" with
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7/6/26, 6:56 AM

Don Giovanni ... Matt Sesow paints in Raleigh, North Carolina (october 2006) ***

Losses ... and wins
The school outreach plan didn't materialize for
"Don Giovanni." But that hasn't muted Galbraith's
enthusiasm.
Nor did the loss of Lucas Meachem in the lead
role. Galbraith thought he had talked the young
North Carolinian, who sang the male lead in "The
Barber of Seville" last spring, into returning. But
the baritone dropped Raleigh for the Lyric Opera
of Chicago, where he is stepping in as a lastminute replacement in "Iphigenie en Tauride" with
star mezzo-soprano Susan Graham.
Galbraith can't complain: He landed Herbert
Perry, a bass-baritone who appears on the DVD
recording of Peter Sellars' controversial
"Giovanni," set in modern Harlem. Soprano Kelly
Cae Hogan, who sang Salome for the Triangle
company in February, will return as Donna Anna.
Galbraith is also eager to tackle "The Crucible,"
which transposes the topic of 1950s political
repression into the Salem witch trials. Ward, who
lives in Durham, won the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for
his opera.
"I think we're dealing with a lot of the same
issues now," Galbraith said. "It's long overdue
that we pay homage to his works here. It's getting
a revival across America. I think we're seeing a
rebirth of an American classic."
Staff writer Craig Jarvis can be reached at 8294576 or cjarvis@newsobserver.com.

the Opera Company of North
Carolina.
IN TRAVEL
Austria is the center of the Mozart
universe in the composer's 250th
birthday year. PAGE 1H
'Postcards' from N.C. composers
"The Crucible," the Pulitzer Prizewinning opera by retired Duke
University professor Robert Ward,
will return to the Triangle in
February at a plum time for North
Carolina composers.
Starting this week, the N.C.
Symphony will begin premiering
works it has commissioned from
seven state composers -- including
Ward. The series, called
"Postcards from North Carolina,"
features four- to six-minute works
that reflect an element of North
Carolina.
Here's the slate of composers and
the first round of performances of
their works:
* Kenneth Frazelle of WinstonSalem, "The Swans at Pungo
Lake," Thursday in Southern Pines
and Friday-Saturday in Raleigh.
* Roger Hannay, a Chapel Hill
composer who died in January,
"Triangle Transit," Oct. 12 in
Chapel Hill and Oct. 13-14 in
Raleigh.
* Stephen Jaffe of Durham, "Poetry
of the Piedmont," Jan. 25 in
Chapel Hill, Jan. 26-27 in Raleigh,
Jan. 30 in Fayetteville, Jan. 31 in
Greenville and Feb. 1 in Durham.
* Paul Elwood of Brevard,
"Overlooking Glass Falls," Feb. 910 in Raleigh.
* Anthony Kelley of Durham,
"Carolina Indigo -- Calls and
Responses," April 12 in Southern
Pines and April 13 in Raleigh.
* Robert Ward of Durham, "The
Beginnings," May 3 in Chapel Hill
and May 4-5 in Raleigh.
* J. Mark Scearce of Raleigh will
bind the works as a suite to be
scheduled next season. Call the
symphony at 733-2750 or visit
www.ncsymphony.org for details.
As for "The Crucible," based on
Arthur Miller's play, Opera
Company of North Carolina will
stage Feb. 23 and 25 in Memorial
Hall at UNC-Chapel Hill. The opera
has enjoyed a string of
performances of late; a staging at
East Carolina University in
Greenville was one of more than a
dozen last season.
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7/6/26, 6:56 AM

Don Giovanni ... Matt Sesow paints in Raleigh, North Carolina (october 2006) ***

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