#david devan

Audience members at the 2013 Opera on the Mall broadcast of Nabucco.  

Pamela Yau: What has been the inspiration for Opera on the Mall? How has the event evolved in the past four years since Opera Philadelphia first presented the event?

David Devan: When we first conceived of doing a free HD broadcast of Carmen in 2011, we wanted to create a big civic event for Philadelphia with opera at its center. We wanted to create a community gathering that Philadelphians could be proud to participate in, that was held in an iconic Philadelphia place, and that had room to grow over the years. Independence Mall provided us with all of those things and more. The event has just continued to grow. We had an audience of about 4,000 people for Nabucco in 2013, and this year we anticipate 10,000 registrations.

P Y: As the event takes place on Independence Mall, what do you hope the public will get out of the experience of watching The Barber of Seville in such a historic and public space? Also were there any particular presentation considerations that had to made as the event will be taking place outdoors?

D D: We definitely had to find the right partners to pull this off. Independence Mall is really big, and opera needs the right level of sound system and a really big screen (or two) to make an impact. We have been fortunate to work with Bruce Bryant and PRG to help us make this event really shine. Again, I think the public gets a feeling of pride in Philadelphia from an event like this. Philadelphia has such incredible public spaces and a fabulous arts scene, and when we bring these things together through events like the Fringe Festival or Opera on the Mall it really reminds us what a cool city we have.

Opera Philadelphia General Director and President David Devan giving remarks before the broadcast of Nabucco in 2013. 

P Y: What do audience members have to look forward to at this year's Opera on the Mall? What are you most looking forward to at this event?

D D: The Barber of Seville is such a great opera to enjoy in this setting, because it’s music we’re all familiar with and it’s one of the funniest works in the history of opera. It’s a great “starter opera,” and I think we’ve programmed the event on the Mall to appeal to both opera buffs and first-timers. I’m really looking forward to watching our cast as they watch themselves on the big screen. In past years, it’s been a joy to see how much the singers love this event. They interact with fans and they feel it’s a great honor to have their art up on a big screen next to the birthplace for our nation. Also, the kid in me is looking forward to watching the Bugs Bunny cartoon, Rabbit of Seville, before The Barber of Seville. It’s like the perfect warmup!

Children playing at the broadcast of Nabucco at Opera on the Mall in 2013. 

P Y: Any recommendations or suggestions for the audience members who will be attending Opera on the Mall?

D D: I think people should definitely plan to come out early, because there are so many fun things to do before the start of the opera. Definitely get your photo taken against The Barber of Seville backdrop, and get something to eat from one of the great food trucks parked on 5th Street. Then find a spot for your picnic blanket or beach chairs and watch the great pre-show produced by WHYY. And make sure to bring a fully-charged smartphone, because our Resident Technologist, Dr. Youngmoo E. Kim of Drexel University, is planning an awesome bit of audience-interaction for Act II.

Audience members settled in for an Opera on the Mall on the green of Independence Mall.  P Y: What does the public have to look forward from Opera Philadelphia these coming months?

D D: This is Opera Philadelphia 40th Anniversary Season, and all five productions are new. We have three excellent new productions from the traditional opera repertoire alongside two new operas from our American Repertoire Program, all featuring some of the greatest singers alive today. We are looking forward to February’s East Coast Premiere of Oscar by composer Theo Morrison and librettist John Cox. It stars David Daniels, one of the world’s greatest countertenors, as Oscar Wilde. Philadelphia-born bass-baritone Eric Owens comes home in April to make his role debut as King Philip II in a new production of Verdi’s Don Carlo. This Academy of Music production features the Opera Philadelphia debuts of Dimitri Pittas as Don Carlo, Leah Crocetto as Elizabeth de Valois, and Michelle DeYoung as Princess Eboli. The popular Aurora Series for Chamber Opera at the Perelman Theater returns with two new productions: Ariadne auf Naxos, starring the gifted young voices of the Curtis Opera Theatre, under Artistic Director Mikael Eliasen; and the American Repertoire Program’s World Premiere of Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD, by composer Daniel Schnyder with a libretto by Bridgette A. Wimberly. American tenor Lawrence Brownlee stars as Charlie Parker, with soprano Angela Brown as his mother, Addie Parker, and baritone Will Liverman as Dizzy Gillespie. Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD marks Opera Philadelphia’s first World Premiere in more than three decades, making it a fitting capstone to the 40th Anniversary Season.

Opera on the Mall: The Barber of Seville

Time: Gates Open at 5:30PM, Pre-show at 6PM, Broadcast at 7PM

Location: Independence Mall

Admission: FREE to the public