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Utah Opera has a new chorus master. Michael Spassov makes his company debut with the season-opening production of "Carmen," which opens its five-performance run Saturday, Oct. 8.
Christopher McBeth, Utah Opera's artistic director, said Spassov's chemistry with his singers was evident the first time he worked with them during the audition process.
"We have a very dedicated group of choristers with a passion for Utah Opera," McBeth said, noting that some chorus members have sung with the company for 30 years. "Michael not only has amazing skills as a chorus master and conductor, but he quickly developed a rapport with them. … He understood quickly the dedication they have."
McBeth said the hiring process was "fairly long" because "it had been a while since we had a full-time chorus master on staff, and we wanted to make sure we had the right fit." (Spassov's predecessor, Caleb Harris, had been transitioning to full-time duties as he fulfilled other musical commitments during his two seasons with Utah Opera, but ended up moving to Nashville when his wife, pianist Heather Conner, landed a prestigious faculty post at Vanderbilt University. Former chorus master Susanne Sheston, who's now on staff at Santa Fe Opera, came back to town to split the chorus duties with the Madeleine Choir School's Melanie Malinka last season.)
After a nationwide search that included a round of Skype interviews, McBeth brought two finalists to Salt Lake City to work with the chorus. Chorus members were invited to give him their input privately as well.
"We love having Michael here," McBeth said. "Not only professionally, but the passion and joy in what he does is kind of infectious."
Spassov is from Ottawa and began his music studies in Canada before earning bachelor's and master's degrees in composition at the Juilliard School in New York. "I've never been a singer," he said. "I'm primarily a composer, and I play piano and organ. Anyone in chorus will tell you I have ears but not, perhaps, a voice." Nevertheless, opera always appealed to him, and he started taking coaching and conducting jobs shortly after graduating from Juilliard. Most recently, he was artistic administrator and chorus master at Edmonton Opera. He currently resides in British Columbia, where his wife of five months, Tatiana Vassilieva, is principal coach and music administrator at Pacific Opera Victoria, but plans to find a residence in Salt Lake City as well. He said he got a great welcome to Utah in September when McBeth and principal coach Carol Anderson, with whom Spassov has collaborated the past two summers at Santa Fe, took him to the sheepdog championships in Midway. "There was a poutine truck there," he said. "I felt right at home."
He's pleased to be working on two of his favorite operas, "Carmen" and Mozart's "Don Giovanni," in his first season at Utah Opera. "Don Giovanni" was the first opera he saw in a theater, "and it completely terrified me. It's always been my favorite."
Spassov has a long history with "Carmen," as well, and considers it "a really great opera for chorus" because the singers get to play so many roles — soldiers, townspeople, cigarette girls, smugglers — and sing in so many styles, often while dancing or brawling.
"They're doing a great job," he said. "It's a really versatile group and it's a blast working with them. … It's great that there's such a strong choral tradition here." ¡Olé!
Utah Opera opens its season with Georges Bizet's "Carmen." Singing and spoken dialogue are in French, with Supertitles in English.
When • Saturday, Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m.; evening performances continue Oct. 10, 12 and 14, with a 2 p.m. matinee Oct. 16
Where • Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South, Salt Lake City
Running time • 3 hours, including two intermissions
Tickets • $21-$110; various discounts available; utahopera.org
In a nutshell • A soldier's obsession with an indomitable woman doesn't bode well for either of them.
Learn more • Pre-performance lectures by Utah Opera principal coach Carol Anderson an hour before curtain and post-performance Q&A led by artistic director Christopher McBeth, all in the Capitol Room on the west side of the theater; background reading at utahopera.org/onlinelearning