Opera
Bruce Bryant began directing opera simulcasts and OperaVision at Houston Grand Opera in 2001. He has directed hundreds of performances of over fifty opera productions. Please scroll down for highlights.
Highlights:
2012
Giselle
Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Chicago
Paris Opera Ballet
REVIEW
The best antidote to Chicago temperatures in the nineties is this surpassingly cool prospect — free Millennium Park concerts at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, where the sound is superb and the ceiling’s a canopy of stars.
Cooler still was the addition of big screen video to this outdoor mix that a huge crowd enjoyed June 27, when the Paris Opéra Ballet’s exquisite production of “Giselle” was projected live via the big screen, from inside the Harris Theater, to the traditional classical-loving audience of the Grant Park Orchestra.
There’s so much more to video presentation than just hanging up a big screen. It’s costly to broadcast high-quality sound and video, and it’s quite risky from an artistic standpoint. The camera crew must engage in its own choreography to catch the action in a way that underscores the drama and harmonizes with the music. The overall effect needs to heighten the experience for its intended audience.
That’s why it was so encouraging to see this remarkable “Giselle” take flight in a well-conceived, beautifully executed video production that drew upon the talent of video and film director Bruce Bryant, who has done similar work for the Houston Grand Opera, the Washington National Opera and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
The result was manna for the capacity outdoor crowd, which Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a big supporter, had estimated at as many as 15,000 people.
- Nancy Malitz, Chicago on the Aislea
Philadelphia Orchestra
We recorded another performance from this magnificent orchestra using eight robotic cameras.
I love Philly!
Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Music Director Designate
Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No.5
Mahler, Symphony No. 6
2011
Opera Company of Philadelphia
Carmen Simulcast from The Academy of Music direct to Independence Mall
Also in Philly...
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Verizon Hall, The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Fun project. We recorded two versions (US) and one version (Canada) of the National Anthem to be played on the Jumbotron Screen before each of the Philadelphia 76ers home games.
We also captured part of a Philadelphia Orchestra concert with
Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting. Higdon - Concerto for Orchestra,
Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 2 ("Little Russian")
The Kennedy Center
Washington National Opera Simulcast
Puccini’s Tosca featuring Patricia Racett as Tosca
2010
Washington National Opera Simulcast
Kennedy Center/Washington Nationals Ballpark
Verdi's Un Ballo In Maschera
2009
Opera in the Outfield
Mr. Bryant directed the opening night simulcast of Barber of Seville for the Washington National Opera. The performance at the Kennedy Center was simulcast at the Nationals Park drawing 20,000 spectators.
Chorus, Houston Grand Opera
CityCast, Back home where it all started!
Houston Grand Opera presented a live transmission of a performance of CHORUS from the stage of the Wortham Theater Center to venues throughout the city with a special Young Professionals event at Discovery Green!
2008
La Traviata, Washington National Opera,
Kennedy Center
Opera beamed into a ballpark has a distinctly different vibe than a concert-hall experience: It's T-shirts vs. tuxedos, baseball caps vs. opera glasses, chicken tenders vs. champagne, D.C. heat and humidity vs. central air.
It's Saturday night, and about 15,000 people have come to Nationals Park to see a winning performance. The anticipation is palpable. Across town, decked-out folks sit in the red-velvet womb of the Kennedy Center Opera House, awaiting the live performance of Verdi's "La Traviata." Here, though, everyone from the teething to the tattooed has pulled up a chair or a patch of grass for the Washington National Opera's first live simulcast into the stadium.
Watching in high definition on the JumboTron means that, as Israeli conductor Dan Ettinger stands in the orchestra pit, you can see the roosterlike combs in his gelled and spiked blond coiffure, shadows carving his face like a mask, as he stands motionless in his black frock coat. Suddenly, Ettinger lifts his baton, the fingers on his other hand vibrate and pulse as if playing the violin, and the music begins: gorgeous, symphonic sound swelling through the ballpark.
Teresa Wiltz, Washington Post Staff Writer
Don Giovanni Simulcast, Chicago Opera Theater
Bryant's lens opened up the drama through frequent and telling close-ups that made the video "Giovanni" a more vivid experience for the outdoor audience than the indoor patrons. The camera loved all the singers, especially the attractive and sexy lovers Zerlina and Masetto, as portrayed by Isabel Leonard and Ben Wager.
John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune.
2007
Don Giovanni, Washington National Opera
Mr. Bryant directed the high definition recording of a new production of Don Giovanni for the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center. Placido Domingo conducted Mozart's celebrated tragicomedy which is often considered the greatest opera ever composed.
La Bohème The Washington National Opera - new production from Teatr Wielki-National Opera Warsaw.
The simulcast was broadcast live from Kennedy Center to a giant video screen on the Washington Mall. It was also beamed live to two local movie theaters and 31 Cities around the country.
Thousands of visitors to the Mall enjoyed perfect weather and a free simulcast of the Puccini opera, which benefited from the close-ups and crosscuts that cameras could provide. I found this modernist production much more effective on the screen than I did in the Opera House. Yesterday, watching this "Bohème" was like watching a film, with close-ups, pans, crosscuts and other cinematic touches that humanized the action and made it all seem much more intimate.
Tim Page, The Washington Post
La Bohéme in Santa Fe and Albuquerque for the Santa Fe Opera. Bruce has the distinction of directing the Santa Fe Opera's first video simulcast in 2004 with their production of Bellini's "La Somnambula."
Die Walkure, Washington National Opera
Mr. Bryant had the honor of working with Placido Domingo and directing the television recording of Wagner's Die Walkure at the Kennedy Center for the Washington National Opera.
2006
San Francisco Opera, Madamé Butterfly
In May of 2006 Bruce directed the television simulcast of the San Francisco Opera's production of Madamé Butterfly as part of their "Return Of The Divas" summer program.
2005
Porgy and Bess, Washington National Opera
In November of 2005 he directed the televised simulcast of Porgy & Bess for the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center.
Additional Simulcasts
Romeo and Juliet, HGO
HGO 50th Anniversary Celebration with Sir Elton John
2004
Salsipuedes, HGO
2003
La Traviata (Rene Fleming) HGO
2002
Samson and Delilah, HGO
2001
Florencia en El Amazonas, HGO Carmen, Philadelphia, Houston
OperaVision, HGO
2005
Il Trovatore
Idomeno, King of Crete
Romeo and Juliet
Fallstaff
2004
Jenufa
The Magic Flute
Turandot
The Barber of Seville
Madame Butterfly
Salsipuedes
2003
Lucia di Lammermoor
The Merry Widow
La Traviata (Rene Fleming)
Manon
The Little Prince
Tosca
Julius Ceasar
2002
Eugene Onegin
Of Mice and Men
The Makropulos Case
Samson and Delilah
La Boheme
Ariodante
2001
Cosi fan tutte
Prince Igor
Don Carlo
Rigoletto
Tannhauser
Florencia en El Amazonas