Lynne Hayden-Findlay Archives

Lynne Hayden-Findlay

Chelsea Opera: Glory Denied

November 21, 2015

Launching its twelfth season with a revival of its 2010 production of Tom Cipullo's widely acclaimed "Glory Denied," Chelsea Opera made clear once again the reasons for which it has become and continues to be a leader among small regional opera companies here in the Northeast: presenting a varied and ambitious repertoire, it maintains consistently high standards of both music and theatrical direction. Both the fine complex score of "Glory Denied" and the first rate musicianship of the singers and instrumentalists who performed it were enhanced by the staging and direction of the company's co-founder and co-executive producer Lynne Hayden-Findlay. [more]

Chelsea Opera: Tosca

June 15, 2015

St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Chelsea was used to near perfect effect as the setting for all three acts of the opera. "Tosca"'s first act, which does, in fact take place in a church was, precisely because of the narrative, “easy” to stage, but the successful transformation of the St. Peter's Chelsea chancel into first, the emotional claustrophobia of the villainous chief of police's quarters and then, for the last act, the open air witness to revenge and tragedy resulted from the imaginative, effective stage direction and set management of Chelsea Opera's co-founders Leonarda Priore and Lynne Hayden-Findlay. [more]

Chelsea Opera: The Face on the Barroom Floor & Emperor Norton

November 15, 2014

Since its composition and premiere in 1978, "The Face on the Barroom Floor" has been a familiar piece in the repertoire of small American and European opera companies for good reason: it is an accessible, well-conceived and lovely work. "Emperor Norton," written just four years later, is even stronger than The Face: it is more substantive musically, artistically and intellectually. This performance was "Emperor Norton"'s New York premiere. [more]