Top: Maria Todaro, left, and Michelle Jennings. Above: The "Divas Unleashed" in action. This is just one of over 20 events happening this weekend as part of the Festival of the Voice.
This Thursday, the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice kicks off a weekend of opera, showtunes, divas and vocal virtuosity of all kinds. Bigwigs galore will be in attendance, including Ted Blazer, the President of the Olympic Regional Development Authority (which is in the process of taking over Belleayre Mountain Ski Center), and Lisa Robb Executive Director of the NY State Council on the Arts.
To celebrate, we've put together a special VoiceFest section with articles and announcements about the many shows.
The first festival show is "Divas Unleashed," an operatic comedy starring VoiceFest co-founder Maria Todaro and soprano Michelle Jennings.
It's not often you see opera stars making fun of themselves -- check out the clip above to see Todaro and Jennings hamming it up while mocking the "often ridiculous behavior of those in the opera industry."
The festival mainstay is "Madama Butterfly," Puccini's opera about the allure of the orient. But there are about 20 other festival shows as well, including a Broadway revue of showtunes, a one-woman opera, and tribute to composer (and Catskills local) Peter Schickele. (For the full schedule of festival events, click here.)
The Watershed Post is partnering with the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice. Today only, we're selling deeply discounted tickets to Madama Butterfly, Voices of Distinction: Broadway, and Divas Unleashed: The Benefit. Visit our VoiceFest section to nab them before they disappear.
