0205: The Audacity of Storytelling: bringing us from another to each other

"The more we get to know one another through our stories, the closer we come together as a community, as a nation, as a world... and as you start to dissect many operas, you're really telling the story of the delicacy and strength of the human condition." ~Dr. Estevan Rael-Gálvez We invited some of our favorite storytellers to talk to us about the role of story in opera. They each share their unique perspectives on the big question: Why are we even bothering to tell stories? Not only that, but also how do we choose the stories we tell; what challenges do we face with diversifying the storytelling landscape; how do we better represent, attract, and reflect broader audiences; and what are the risks of creating new works in opera of creating new works? In this episode, we are honored to feature interviews with:   Dr. Estevan Rael-Gálvez, Storyteller, Historian, CEO and President at Creative Strategies 360° Paige Hernandez, Performer, Director, Choreographer, Playwright, and Teaching Artist Carolyn Kuan, Conductor, Music Director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra Jim Robinson, Artistic Director, Opera Theatre of St. Louis Cori Ellison, Dramaturg for the Santa Fe Opera and Opera for All Voices Judy Chicago, Visual Artist, Author, Educator Donald Woodman, Photographer *** Key Change is a production of The Santa Fe Opera in collaboration with Opera for All Voices. Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios Hosts: Andrea Fellows Walters and Brandon Neal Audio Engineer: Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe Theme music by Rene Orth with Corrie Stallings, mezzo-soprano, and Joe Becktell, cello Cover art by David Tousley Special thanks to Shannon Harris for recording our sessions in Chicago Special music licensing from PodcastMusic.com, curated by Brandon Neal OFAV Consortium Members:  Lyric Opera for Kansas City, Minnesota Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, San Francisco Opera, Sarasota Opera and Seattle Opera. This podcast is made possible due to the generous funding from the Melville Hankins Family Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and an OPERA America Innovation Grant, supported by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. To learn more about Opera for all voices, visit us at SantaFeOpera.org