Community Building in the Washington, DC area!!

SFP Editor: What inspired you to work for the washington national opera? Neil Alpert: To tell you the truth, most people think that a job is a job, but that isn’t how I approach the Opera. What attracted me to it is the spirit of creativity embodied by our General Director, Plácido Domingo. The man is an absolute visionary—and I strongly agree with his vision for a vibrant cultural institution in DC that provides great art to a great city. The Opera goes far beyond putting on expensive shows for a select few—we really add to the community through our education projects and through exciting initiatives like this year’s Opera in the Outfield. The Maestro’s vision combined with those that work at the opera were my attraction to WNO.

SFP Editor: What is your role and goals for the organization?

Neil Alpert: I am the Director of Institutional Relations. It’s a vague title on purpose; while everyone here does have a title, we have a gung-ho sense of working together to make sure the entire organization succeeds as a whole. My goal is to make sure that Plácido Domingo’s vision is carried out and that we can put on great operas, have a positive impact on the lives of people—and especially children—in the DC area, and generally to make Washington National Opera as successful a community member as possible. In my capacity, I lead a great team that is responsible for all of our corporate, foundation and government outreach as well as our VIP outreach and invitations.

SFP Editor: What is Opera in the Outfield???

Neil Alpert: Opera in the Outfield is a really exciting initiative that we started last year and have continued this year due to its resounding success. The gist is this: On September 12 at 7pm we will be hosting a free, live simulcast of our season-opener of Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” at Washington Nationals Park. This will definitely be a fun filled evening intended for families and individuals alike. We will also have more than 5,000 military personnel in attendance. The evening will start off with a tee shirt toss and then we will be showing the Warner Brothers classic, “The Rabbit of Seville”. There will be raffle prizes as well as other “give-aways” from our sponsors like the Mars Corporation and Target.

SFP Editor: Why is supporting opera important to you?

Neil Alpert: Supporting the opera is important to me because it represents what is in my opinion the most collaborative form of art. Opera is more than just a fat lady singing; it’s the instrumentalists, the tech crew, the conductor, the designers and directors, the painters, the dancers, the poets who write the stories, the composers who write the music in addition that singer, who must also act and often dance. It’s a piece of total art combining the best in music, the best in visual arts, and the best in performance. How could you not love opera?

When it comes to supporting the Opera (by which I mean WNO), I think I’ve already mentioned my reasons, but here they are again: we’re more than just a theater. We’re a fully participating member of the community, and I would be loathe to see our contributions to the city decrease in any way. We are an opera company who cares as much about education and outreach as we do about opera itself. WNO has three major goals, all of which I support and I think the community can support; 1) presenting world class opera, 2) training the next generation of opera singers, and 3) utilizing the art form to help education the students of the DC metro area.

SFP Editor: What education opportunities are there with the Washington Opera?

Neil Alpert: Washington National Opera has a whole host of educational programs for ages 6 to 99. On the younger side of the spectrum, we run programs in all of DC’s public libraries as well as in a majority of elementary schools. For kids a bit older, we have a special program for them to attend our dress rehearsals and—if they’re really into opera—work at our offices for academic credit. For the rest of us (oh if I were a kid again!) the opera runs O-Zone lectures before select performances for free for the public, as well as special behind-the-scenes looks at the inner workings of the opera. For a full listing of all of our free educational programs, you should check out http://www.dc-opera.org/educationtraining/educationcommunity.asp

SFP Editor: What brought you to DC?

Neil Alpert: Would it be a little too “Mel Brooks” to answer by saying American Airlines (who happens to be a WNO sponsor)? Actually a job in fundraising brought me to DC almost a decade ago. That coupled with my best friend who lived in DC at the time egging me on, it seemed like the next logical place for me to live.

SFP Editor: What do you enjoy the most about the city?

Neil Alpert: DC is one of the most amazing cities I have ever been to, and that’s saying a lot from someone who is originally from New York. There is so much that I enjoy, that it is hard to narrow it down to one specific place or activity. I would say it has to be two things, the first of which is DC’s culture. In the short time that I have lived here, I have had the opportunity to watch DC transform from a city with limited culture to one overflowing with culture that we can be proud of. While WNO is the #1 performing arts organization in our nation’s capital, we have a thriving art scene, our ballet and symphony are not to be missed, and where else can you go to a museum for free?

When I am not enjoying the arts culture, I am enjoying the political and government culture, if one can string those words together. Having had the opportunity to go to the State of the Union, having enjoyed amazing meals at the world’s embassies here in DC, or simply going to the Menorah lighting at the White House, there is so much to do here. Mayor Williams’ had the goal of turning DC into a world class city, and now when our neighbors from across the ocean come to visit, we can be proud of what they will experience.

SFP Editor: What do you see as challenges in DC in terms of promoting the arts?

Neil Alpert: In the end, I don’t think that DC has any more challenges than any other city in the US when it comes to arts promotion, except for our lack of representation or the fact that we are not a state. If we were any other city we could appeal to our mayors office for help, as well as our governors and congressmen and senators offices. Here we can appeal to the Mayor and then our choices are limited, and while Representative Norton is extremely supportive, in some ways her hands are tied.

Once, long ago, live performance was the only way for people to enjoy music and drama, but in today’s world of iPods and TiVo it can be hard to convince people to make it all the way out to the theater. That’s why it’s so important for us to show that we can seamlessly merge high art and high technology by projecting one of our classic operas on Nationals Park’s state-of-the-art jumbotron.

SFP Editor: What is the best way for folks to get involved with Washington Opera?

Neil Alpert: Come to our performances! Really, that’s a little simplistic, but once you get out to the Opera, the many different ways that you can get involved become clear. Do you sing? Join our chorus! Do you want to be on stage? Be a supernumerary? Want to be involved behind the scenes? Volunteer! Just want to enjoy good music? Sign up for our mailing lists and find out all about the fun events we have planned during the season. If all else fails, our website, www.dc-opera.org , is a one-stop shop for all the opera you could need.

SFP Editor: Do you have a favorite moment working at the Washington Opera to share?

Neil Alpert: Without a doubt I do. Last year when the Pope came to Washington, DC to conduct a mass for almost 50,000 people, I was fortune to travel with our General Director Plácido Domingo to Nationals Park where he sang for the mass. Having the opportunity to not only spend the day with the greatest tenor of all time, but to watch him warm up and then perform for almost 50,000 people was a moment that I will remember on so many levels for the rest of my life.