近距离内射合集

Justine 鈥淪ally鈥� Opel directed Opera Southwest for over 30 years, building the fledgling opera company into the venerable Albuquerque institution it is today. She also directed 65 operas and numerous children鈥檚 productions.

鈥淪he was Opera Southwest,鈥� OSW鈥檚 current executive director, Tony Zancanella, said. 鈥淪he was the visible embodiment of the company. So, this seems like the passing of an era in a significant way.鈥�

Opel died Jan. 29 at the age of 89. A memorial honoring her life will be held Tuesday at the KiMo Theatre in Downtown Albuquerque, and anyone who knew Opel or was touched by her work is welcome to attend. Visit to register.

The program, organized by OSW, reflects Opel鈥檚 love of 20th century American opera, including performances of the 鈥淩ain鈥� quartet from Marc Blitzstein鈥檚 鈥淩egina,鈥� 鈥淭he Trees on the Mountain鈥� from Carlisle Floyd鈥檚 鈥淪usannah,鈥� 鈥淕litter and Be Gay鈥� from Leonard Bernstein鈥檚 鈥淐andide鈥� and the 鈥淲illow Song鈥� from Douglas Moore鈥檚 鈥淭he Ballad of Baby Doe.鈥�

鈥淣ot only was she in love with modern American operas, but she insisted on them,鈥� her eldest son, Robert Stevenson Tate, said. 鈥溾�� I literally think she鈥檚 responsible for growing the audience in Albuquerque to accept modern operas. And it wasn鈥檛 just mid-century. There was a local composer named 鈥楽anta Fe鈥� James Galloway. She commissioned original work from him, and they performed it. She did something by Dave Brubeck, a jazz artist.鈥�

鈥淗er big interests were mid-century modern American opera,鈥� Zancanella said. 鈥淎nd she had a terrible soft spot for (Giacomo) Puccini. 鈥� From my perspective, one of her crowning achievements was her 鈥楾urandot鈥� that she did in 1997. 鈥� I always had a sense that she was extraordinarily proud of that particular production.鈥�

David Bartholomew, who served as Opel鈥檚 artistic director for many years, said Opel connected with Puccini emotionally.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so pedestrian to say, 鈥楽he loved opera,鈥� but I think, in point of fact, she appreciated opera more on an emotional level than she did on a musicological level,鈥� Bartholomew said. 鈥淔or her, (opera) was more of a Gesamtkunstwerk (a 鈥榯otal鈥� work of art) 鈥� the whole thing put together.鈥�

Opel鈥檚 capacity to empathize with tragic heroines sometimes led her to novel interpretations. When she directed Puccini鈥檚 鈥淭urandot,鈥� Zancanella said, she brought a fresh perspective to the title character.

鈥淪he never liked the interpretation of Turandot as an unsympathetic ice queen,鈥� Zancanella said. 鈥溾�� Turandot, in her conception of the piece, is a victim of circumstance and a character who Sally somehow wanted to make sympathetic.鈥�

Opel鈥檚 son, Tate, said his mom probably would have loved to play the witch in Engelbert Humperdinck鈥檚 鈥淗ansel and Gretel.鈥� Not only is the witch a 鈥渇un, magical, wacky character,鈥� he said, but she is also a misunderstood character, the kind that appealed to her.

鈥淪he found the humanity in them,鈥� he said.

Kathleen Clawson, a mezzo-soprano, sang in 16 of Opel鈥檚 productions from 1979 through 1997, including the title role in Puccini鈥檚 鈥淪uor Angelica.鈥�

鈥淭hat piece is essentially all women, and (Opel) brought her own female point of view to the piece, which was brilliant 鈥� because it was her lived experience of being a mother, and how that changes everything about you,鈥� Clawson said.

Opel ran OSW out of her home for many years, Clawson said. Her work was inseperable from her life.

鈥淪he was totally devoted to the art,鈥� Clawson said. 鈥溾�� There鈥檚 an aria in an opera called 鈥楢driana Lecouvreur鈥� (by Francesco Cilea) that says, 鈥業o son l'umile ancella,鈥� which means, 鈥業 am the humble servant of the creative force鈥� 鈥� and that makes me think of Sally.鈥�

Woody Kuehn, OSW鈥檚 former board president, said he used to tell new board members that they couldn鈥檛 really understand the company until they had been to Opel鈥檚 home.

鈥淥ne room was where she did the finances, another room is where she kept the costumes and props, a third room is where she kept all sorts of marketing materials 鈥� I mean her house was Opera Southwest headquarters,鈥� Kuehn said. 鈥淪he just devoted her life to it, and it was extraordinary.鈥�

Bartholomew, who lived in Boston, used to stay at Opel鈥檚 home whenever he was in town directing an opera. He witnessed her tireless work ethic.

鈥淢any was a time, in the middle of the night, when this ghostly figure would move past my door and into the office where she was putting together the program, or doing those kind of details,鈥� Bartholomew said.

Opel managed to devote herself full-time to the opera while also raising three children.

鈥淪he didn鈥檛 have a babysitter,鈥� her daughter, Justine 鈥淭ammy鈥� Tate Lease said. 鈥淪he brought us to the theater, and we did our homework and sat in the audience and watched people onstage, and it was great. 鈥� It was kind of exciting (because) we were out 鈥檛il 10 o鈥檆lock at night.鈥�

Sometimes Opel cast her children as background actors in her operas or had them assist with lighting. She also introduced them to the business side of her job.

鈥淚鈥檝e been a bookkeeper for many decades of my adult life, and I owe that to my mom, because she taught me how to use a program called QuickBooks,鈥� Tate Lease said. 鈥淓ven before QuickBooks was around, she taught me how to use those green ledgers to do income and expenses. And when I got old enough, she let me file our taxes.鈥�

Opel鈥檚 youngest son, James Paul Opel, said their mother was always very supportive.

鈥淪he was a great mom 鈥� allowing us to be who we all wanted to be, and never judgmental,鈥� he said, 鈥渏ust encouraging us to explore the world 鈥� but never trying to have any of us fit within any type of mold, either.鈥�

Opel was introduced to opera at a young age by a beloved uncle and wanted to introduce new generations of children to the world of opera, as well. So, she created her own children鈥檚 operas, replacing the words in classic arias with new, kid-friendly lyrics. She gave her technical director, Stewart Dawson, free rein to invent fun sets and props. One of their collaborations, 鈥淕asp,鈥� was about a villain who created a machine to suck up all the air in the world.

鈥淚 designed a giant nose for the machine. It was this nose on wheels that this guy would push around, and it had hoses coming out of the nostrils,鈥� Dawson said. 鈥溾�� The kids loved it.鈥�

Opel received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in theater and art history from Vassar College and was accepted into Yale University鈥檚 School of Drama.

鈥淚t was at a time when they were purging homosexuals from the program 鈥� in the late 鈥�50s or early 鈥�60s,鈥� her son, Tate, said. 鈥淪he started protesting, and she left the Yale School of Drama, which is one of the most prestigious drama schools in America, out of protest. 鈥� I think it鈥檚 cool. It tells you where her mind was at, even back then, still very young.鈥�

Opel transferred to Smith College, earning a master鈥檚 degree cum laude in theater.

After leaving an unhappy first marriage, Opel moved to New Mexico and met the man her children describe as 鈥渢he love of her life,鈥� Ron Opel. He was a dishwasher repairman who later ran his own company.

鈥淭hey met because he installed her dishwasher when she was moving into a new house,鈥� Tate said. 鈥淗e installed her dishwasher, and they just fell immediately in love. He ended up helping her fix the whole house up, and then he married her.鈥�

The couple wed in 1974 and remained together until Ron鈥檚 death in 2008.

In her later years, Sally Opel suffered from dementia. But even in her diminished state, her love of opera remained.

鈥淥n the very last night she was alive, she was very agitated, which I think happens to people when they鈥檙e dying,鈥� Tate said. 鈥淚 visited her, and I had a recording of the 鈥楻ain鈥� quartet from 鈥楻egina.鈥� I started playing it for her, and the second it started, she calmed down. She said, 鈥極h, I like this very much.鈥欌��

Logan Royce Beitmen is an arts writer for the 近距离内射合集. He covers visual art, music, fashion, theater and more. Reach him at lbeitmen@abqjournal.com or on Instagram at .