East Village Opera Company

The East Village Opera Company (EVOC) is rock group cofounded by vocalist Tyley Ross and arranger/multi-instrumentalist Peter Kiesewalter. Vocalist AnnMarie Milazzo was then recruited to provide female vocals. EVOC includes eight other members: two guitarists, a bassist, a percussionist, and a string quartet. EVOC could be described as a cover band whose niche is traditional operatic pieces that are then arranged to reflect more modern musical stylings.

Discography

In 2004, EVOC released their first album, "La Donna", under the Canal Records label. On this album, Ross and Kiesewalter fuse classic Italian arias and Neapolitan folk songs with "unabashed 70's arena rock, sultry bossa nova, four-on-the-floor disco, and celtic and bluegrass-tinged ambience." It was arranged and produced by Peter Kiesewalter, vocal arrangements by Tyley Ross, mixed by Wayne Bartlett at Bartmart Audio, Ottawa, and mastered by Steve Fallone at Sterling Sound, New York. Behind the famed duo, are over twenty musicians, including guitarist Vernon Reid (Living Colour), banjo master Tony Trishka, Blue Man Group music director Byron Estep, and a string ensemble from the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada. [http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/tevoc]

"La Donna" found its launching point as the soundtrack for Derek Diorio's 2001 film, The Kiss of Debt. The comedic film stars Ernest Borgnine as the godfather and self-proclaimed opera aficionado, and Tyley Ross, as Tino Moriano, the talented young tenor aspiring to sing with 'The Continental Opera Company." Ross performs Panis Angelicus and Ave Maria, from "La Donna", and the rest of the tracks are background music to the fanciful storyline. The CD contains the following tracks:

# Vesti la giubba - Ruggero Leoncavallo
#Una furtiva lagrima - Gaetano Donizetti
#la Danza - Gioacchino Rossini
#M'appari tutt' amor - Friendrich von Flowtow
#Maria, Mari - Eduardo di Capua
#la Paloma - Sebastien Yradier
#la Donna e mobile - Giuseppe Verdi
#Panis Angelicus - Cesar Franck
#Questa o Quella - Giuseppe Verdi
#la Serenata - Francesco Paolo Tosti
#Ave Maria - Franz Schubert

EVOC's debut self titled album was released September 27, 2005 on the Decca Records label. The album was produced and recorded by Neil Dorfsman, a Grammy Award winner who has worked with notable artists such as Sting and Paul McCartney, and group acts like Dire Straits. Symphonic portions were performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

The CD contains the following tracks:
#Le nozze di Figaro Redux - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
#Nessun Dorma Redux - Giacomo Puccini
#Flower Duet Redux - Leo Delibes
#La Donna è Mobile Redux - Giuseppe Verdi
#Un Bel Di Redux - Giacomo Puccini
#Au Fond du Temple Saint Redux - Georges Bizet
#O Mio Babbino Caro Redux - Giacomo Puccini
#Ebben? Ne Andró Lontana Redux - Alfredo Catalani
#Che Gelida Manina Redux - Giacomo Puccini
#Habanera Redux - Georges Bizet
#When I Am Laid in Earth Redux - Henry Purcell
#E Lucevan Le Stelle Redux Giacomo Puccini

Olde School released in 2008.

The CD contains the following tracks:
#The Ride from "Die Walkure" - Richard Wagner
#King of the Night from "Die Zauberflote" - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
#Help Me (Jove, In Pity) from "Semele" - George Fredric Handel
#Brindisi Libera (Pop the Cork) from "La Traviata" - Giuseppe Verdi
#Gloria from "Griselda" - Giovanni Bonocini
#Walk from "Semele" - George Fredric Handel
#As You Were Then from "Norma" - Vincenzo Bellini
#Soldiers from "Faust" - Charles Gounod
#You're Not Alone from Cantata BWV 208 Was Mir Behagt, Ist Nur Die Muntre Jaged - Johann Sebastian Bach
#Va Tosca from "Tosca" - Giacomo Puccini
#Butterfly Duet from "Madama Butterfly" - Giacomo Puccini

Comparisons

EVOC's music has drawn comparisons to other contemporary artists in pop culture including the Trans Siberian Orchestra, Mannheim Steamroller, or Metallica's Symphony & Metallica (S&M) album. Fans of EVOC generally reject these comparisons for various reasons.

Notable performances

* Jockey Club del Perú, Lima, Peru, September, 2008
* Royal Ontario Museum Re-opening Gala, Toronto, Ontario, June, 2007
* Vértice de la Cultura del Museo de La Nación, Lima, Peru, April, 2007 [http://www.livinginperu.com/features-294-entertainment-east-village-opera-company-announces-concert-peru]
* Miss USA 2006, in Baltimore, Maryland.
* New York City Opera Opening Night Gala, 2005 & 2006 [http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/720315/in_east_village_opera_companys_hands_puccini_rocks_the_house/index.html]
* A&E's "Breakfast with the Arts", December 25, 2005 [http://www.cami.com/?topic=press&prsid=46]
* Mod Club Theatre, Toronto, Ontario, 2005

Quotes and reviews

*“The group’s charisma is inescapable and infectious, they electrify the classics for a new generation” – "Time Out New York" [http://www.cami.com/?topic=press&prsid=46]

*"Opera buffs are likely to find joy, because the tunes aren't bastardized, but electrified." - "The New York Post" [http://www.artsnews.ca/Archives/2005Q4/2005Q4Music.html]
*East Village Opera Company announces concert in Peru - LivinginPeru.com, 04-03-2007 [http://www.livinginperu.com/features-294-entertainment-east-village-opera-company-announces-concert-peru]

*East Village Opera dishes out classic favorites with a startling new twist- Chicago Tribune, 06-10-2006 [http://www.topix.net/content/trb/1880421009150810590334203837090287821738]

*In East Village Opera Company's Hands, Puccini Rocks the House- Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Ky.), 06-06-2006 [http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/720315/in_east_village_opera_companys_hands_puccini_rocks_the_house/index.html]

* Feature Artist - EVOC: Romantic Rock - The Music Edge, 03-23-06 [http://www.themusicedge.com/moxie/news/featartist/evoc-romantic-rock.shtml]

*Rocking the Classics - GayCityNews.com, 09-29-2005 [http://gaycitynews.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17004303&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=8]

*Group takes riff on opera - The Washington Times, 09-09-2005 [http://www.washingtontimes.com/weekend/20050928-092538-7278r.htm]

Trivia

* EVOC made their debut performance in March, 2004, at Joe's Pub in Manhattan [http://www.topix.net/content/trb/1880421009150810590334203837090287821738]
* Even though Kiesewalter and Ross both grew up in Ottawa, Ontario, they knew each other only through friends, and had never before collaborated professionally until 2001, on film "The Kiss of Debt." [http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/720315/in_east_village_opera_companys_hands_puccini_rocks_the_house/index.html]
* Kiesewalter is the musical arranger and a solo instrumentalist in NYC's The Downtown Messiah, in which Ann-Marie Milazzo also has performed. Incidentally, this is where Kiesewalter and Milazzo met. [http://www.nyrock.com/worldbeat/11_2002/111802a.asp]
* Kiesewalter isn't an opera buff per se. Kiesewalter was noted as saying "I've never been an opera fan. Yet the more I listened to opera, the more the melodies cried out. These arias, in essence, are pop tunes that have stood the test of time." [http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/720315/in_east_village_opera_companys_hands_puccini_rocks_the_house/index.html]
* Ross became a self-proclaimed fan of opera, during his three month immersion in the genre, in preparation for his work on "Kiss of Debt." [http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0199-4746294_ITM]
* After seeing Tyley Ross' performance as the lead in Peter Townshend's "Tommy", CTV National anchor Sandie Rinaldo loved the performance so much, she named her new dog "Tyley." [http://www.stage-door.org/reviews/tommy.htm]
* '"Overture from Le Nozze di Figaro" incorporates the keyboard solo from The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again," and "Che gelida manina" from "La Boheme" styles its guitar after U2.' [http://www.washingtontimes.com/weekend/20050928-092538-7278r.htm]

Merchandise

[http://evocstore.com/ Official East Village Opera Company Store]

External links

*East Village Opera Company [http://www.eastvillageoperacompany.com Website]
*East Village Opera Company [http://www.myspace.com/eastvillageoperacompany MySpace]
*East Village Opera Company [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5405416&ft=1&f=1039 Interview] on NPR
* [http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/cod/concerts/20080212opera Listen to a full EVOC concert]

References

*CD Baby. " [http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/tevoc The East Village Opera Company: La Donna] ", 2004. Retrieved on April 8, 2007.
*CAMI. " [http://www.cami.com/?topic=press&prsid=46 The East Village Opera Company Signs with CAMI] ", 01-10-2006. Retrieved on April 8, 2007.
*von Rhein, John. " [http://www.topix.net/content/trb/1880421009150810590334203837090287821738 East Village Opera dishes out classic favorites with a startling new twist] ", 06-10-06. Retrieved on April 8, 2007.
*Lexington-Herald Leader. " [http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/720315/in_east_village_opera_companys_hands_puccini_rocks_the_house/index.html In East Village Opera Company's Hands, Puccini Rocks the House] ", 06-06-2006. Retrieved on April 8, 2007.